A Father's Promise. Marta Perry

braced both hands against the rail. “I don’t regret anything about having my daughter.”

      “No, I didn’t mean…”

      “It’s this way.” He turned toward her with sudden energy, as if he’d made a decision. “You know about the new bridge they’re building?”

      The abrupt change of subject left her floundering. “Bridge?”

      “Bridge from Athena Island,” he said, naming the vacation mecca from which ferries ran to tiny St. Joseph’s. “They’ve talked about building one for years, but now it’s really going to happen. When it does, I have to be ready for it.”

      “Ready?” She felt like a parrot.

      “I own beachfront property,” he said, a hint of impatience in his voice. “Right now I just have a lodge—rent a few rooms to fishermen, the occasional tourist.”

      “But when the bridge is built…” She was finally beginning to catch up.

      “The bridge will bring tourists, and tourists want beachfront rooms. That’s what I’m doing. Building an addition that will double the number of rooms I have.”

      Somehow that was the last thing she’d expected. She’d assumed, if she’d thought about it at all, that Daniel was probably a fisherman, like Josh. He had a rugged look she associated with working outdoors.

      “So,” she said, trying to adjust her image of him, “you’re going to be the Donald Trump of St. Joseph’s Island.”

      “Nothing like that.” He made an impatient gesture. “Just a small place. But enough to provide for Sarah. That’s why I’m doing it. I have to provide for Sarah, and that takes money.”

      She remembered his words on the beach. “You want the money to send Sarah to school.”

      “I need the money.” He leaned toward her, turning the full force of his personality on her. It was like standing in a hurricane. “I’m all Sarah’s got, and I will provide for her. That’s why I need you.”

      She couldn’t turn away from the passion in his voice. “I…”

      “I’m doing most of the work myself.” He swept on, not giving her a chance to respond. “Only way I can afford to do it. That means I work all day, every day. I have to have someone I trust to take care of Sarah.”

      “What makes you think you can trust me? You don’t even know me!” No, it wasn’t a hurricane she felt; it was an undertow. And it was pulling her under no matter how she struggled.

      “I saw you with Sarah.”

      He stopped, as if that were all he needed to say. This strong, self-reliant, proud man stood looking at her with…not a demand. She could have handled a demand. A plea. He wanted—needed—her help, and he wasn’t a person who asked for help easily. The pressure that had been building from the moment she walked into the kitchen broke over her.

      She had to answer him, had to say something. Despairing, she knew what it was.

      “I’ll help.” She held up her hand before he could say anything. “I’ll help out, but only for a few days. Just until you can find someone reliable.” What was she letting herself in for? “I mean it…just a few days, no longer.”

      Daniel clasped both her hands in his, and his warmth set her skin sizzling.

      “You won’t regret it, Leigh. I promise.”

      She already regretted it, but there was no point in telling him that. “I’ll be there first thing in the morning. Josh can tell me how to find you.”

      “Right.” His fingers tightened around hers, then he released her. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

      He turned away quickly, as if afraid to press his luck. “In the morning, then.”

      In a moment he was in his truck and backing out the drive, leaving Leigh wondering just what kind of idiot she was.

      You were going to tell him no, she reminded herself. You weren’t going to get involved. A moment of panic swept over her. How was she going to bear it? To get to know Sarah, to be teaching again, even for a few days—it would hurt so much to give it up.

      Just a few days. Daniel couldn’t talk her into doing more, though he’d proved to be a master at getting what he wanted. He’d disarmed her with his apology, drawn her into his dreams for Sarah, put her in a position from which she couldn’t say no.

      He was an impossible man to say no to. He was the last man in the world she had any right being attracted to. That had to stop.

      A few days, that was all. A breeze whispered over the marsh, bending the grasses, lifting the hair on her arms. She shivered. If Daniel thought she’d change her mind, he’d underestimated her. Daniel and Sarah were going to be a minor detour in the course she’d laid out for herself; that was all.

       Chapter Three

      Leigh stopped at the end of the path the next morning, staring at the scene in front of her. Trumpet-shaped white and lavender flowers lifted their heads from fringes of beach grass. The sun gilded blue-gray water, and the beach stretched empty except for the occasional laughing gull. The receding tide left wet sand in a smooth layer of light toast.

      The skeleton of Daniel’s building rose in a sea of beach grass and wild roses—two stories of bare timbers, awkward and raw looking, out of place in this little piece of Eden.

      Sarah played contentedly on a blanket spread in the shadow of a pile of lumber next to the construction. She wrapped a baby doll carefully in a scrap of pink blanket, then tucked it into a doll cradle, crooning something Leigh couldn’t make out.

      Leigh’s heart clenched. Only a few days, she reminded herself. This would last only a few days. She couldn’t become attached to Sarah.

      Why was Sarah by herself? A movement caught her eye, and she realized several things at the same moment. Daniel worked, alone, on the second-story skeleton, and he watched Sarah as he did so. And, right now, he also watched her.

      He stood, the movement taking him from shadow to sunlight, and her breath caught in her throat. He perched on what looked like an impossibly thin beam, balancing as effortlessly as a cougar on a tree limb. He was shirtless, and the slant of sunlight gilded skin and muscle as it did the ocean, making his flesh glow. Suddenly embarrassed to be caught staring, she raised her arm and waved.

      Daniel nodded, put down his hammer and strode the length of the beam as easily as a gull skimming the water. He reached the end and swung himself down, sleek muscles moving under tanned skin.

      She went toward him, sternly telling her breathing to get under control.

      “I hope I’m not late.”

      He shrugged.

      “I have to start early.” His gesture took in the expanse of half-finished building. “Lots to do.”

      “You’re doing it yourself?”

      “One of the local contractors helps out when I need it.”

      She’d already figured out that money was in short supply. So there was no crew of carpenters, just Daniel Gregory working alone on his dream.

      “Sarah’s been fine down here, but you can take her to the house if you want.”

      “Maybe we’ll stay here for a while. She might feel more comfortable near you at first.”

      He nodded. “You need anything just ask Joe. He knows everything.”

      Daniel’s gaze strayed back to his construction, as if pulling his attention from it was a hardship. As if a flesh-and-blood