Building The Perfect Daddy. Brenda Harlen

on her head, chastising her for the foolish choices she’d made.

      But she was no longer the idealistic twenty-seven-year-old who had been as much in love with the idea of being a bride as the man who had proposed to her. And she was still paying for that mistake—which was why she couldn’t afford a new roof right now.

      She looked up at the ceiling and sent up a silent prayer: Please hold out for just one more year. Just long enough for me figure out my finances and my life.

      She didn’t know who she was trying to bargain with—the roof or Mother Nature or God. At this point, she would willingly make a deal with anyone who had the power to change her fate.

      Her parents—Tom and Susan Garrett—had given her and Rob the money to buy a house when they’d married. A proper house, like the simple Craftsman-style bungalow in Ridgemount that she’d thought would be perfect for a young couple starting out. But she’d let her charming new husband convince her that they could split the money between a less expensive fixer-upper and his start-up sporting-goods business, The Locker Room.

      After six years, the house was still in need of major repairs, the business was failing and she was on her own with a preschooler and a baby. Was it any wonder that she only wanted to stay in bed all day with the covers over her head?

      But she didn’t have that option. She didn’t get to follow her bliss, as Rob had claimed he was doing when he walked away from all of his responsibilities. She was stuck right where she was with the old roof, drafty windows, leaky plumbing and rotting porch.

      Still, she tried to focus on the positive—her final divorce papers had come in the mail a few days earlier and she was grateful that it was done. She might have wished away her entire marriage, except then she wouldn’t have Kylie and Zachary.

      No matter what happened, she was determined not to let her mistakes impact their lives. She had to figure a way out of the precarious situation they were in, to give them a stable and loving home. Hopefully, the way out would be found within the business plan she’d prepared for her upcoming meeting at the bank, because taking more money from her family was definitely not an option.

      She glanced at the clock again—5:57 a.m.

      Knowing that Zachary would be up within the hour, she reluctantly pushed back the covers and slid out of bed. Avoiding the creakier floorboards, she tiptoed to his room to confirm that he was sleeping soundly in his crib. He was so big already. Almost eighteen pounds and twenty-eight inches long at his last checkup, he’d long since mastered rolling from his back to his stomach and over again and was now starting to use the rails of his crib to pull himself up.

      She gently touched the ends of his baby-soft curls and felt her heart swell inside of her chest. She might hate her ex-husband for a lot of reasons, but she would always be grateful to him for the two precious children he’d given her.

      Moving away from the crib, she headed to the master bath. Stripping away the tank top and boxer shorts she’d slept in, she showered quickly, determined to have herself put together and ready for the day before either of the kids woke up. But she hadn’t even finished drying her hair when she heard the baby stirring. Zachary was inevitably up with the sun, but apparently he knew seven in the morning even when the sun wasn’t shining.

      She hurried downstairs to fix him a bottle of formula. He was eating some solid foods now and drinking from a sippy cup during the day, but a bottle continued to be part of his early morning and late-night routine, and Lauryn appreciated the quiet time snuggling with her baby. She returned to the bedroom with the bottle in hand and lifted him from his crib, changed his diaper and settled into the rocking chair by the window to feed him.

      When Zachary was satisfied—at least for the moment—she headed across the hall to check on her daughter. Stepping into the little girl’s bedroom was like stepping into the pages of a fairy tale. The interior walls were painted to look like they were made of stone blocks, with three arched “windows” providing spectacular views of the kingdom, including snowcapped mountains, a lush green forest and even a waterfall spilling into a crystal-clear lake. There was also an exquisite glass carriage drawn by a pair of white horses making its way down a long, winding road toward another castle with numerous turrets and towers. The castle was guarded by knights and dragons; there were wildflowers in the grass, fairies peeking out from the trees and butterflies, birds and hot air balloons in the sky.

      She didn’t know how many hours her sister had spent, first sketching and then painting the mural. Jordyn had created a complete fantasy world for her niece, and Kylie absolutely loved everything about it. It was only Lauryn who had recently started to worry that she wasn’t doing her little girl any favors by encouraging her belief in fairy tales and happily-ever-afters.

      Lauryn used to believe in those same things. And when Rob Schulte had proposed, she’d been certain that he was her Prince Charming. Even during the rocky periods in their marriage, she’d been confident that their love would guide them through the difficult terrain. And she’d remained optimistic right up until the day her prince had ridden off into the sunset with a yoga instructor, leaving her trapped in a crumbling castle surrounded by fire-breathing dragons in the form of unpaid creditors.

      It had taken her a while, but she’d eventually come to accept that he’d never loved her the way she’d loved him. She could forgive him for walking out on their marriage—but not for walking away from their children. She was relieved, but not really surprised, that Rob hadn’t shown any inclination to fight for custody. She had enough struggles trying to manage the business he’d left floundering and keep a leaky roof over all of their heads without battling on yet another front.

      As she made her way down to the kitchen, Zachary let out a loud belch, then a relieved sigh.

      She continued to rub his back as he settled. “Does that feel better now?”

      The baby, of course, didn’t answer.

      Feeling dampness on her shoulder, she tore a paper towel off the roll and attempted to wipe off the spit-up that was now sliding down the front of her shirt. Obviously she would have to change, but Kylie would be up soon and she wanted to get her breakfast started.

      She settled Zachary in his high chair with a handful of Cheerios on his tray to keep him occupied while she gathered the necessary ingredients to make French toast. Hopefully Kylie’s favorite breakfast would make the little girl more amenable to spending the afternoon with her grandparents while Lauryn attended her meeting at the bank.

      Susan and Tom Garrett absolutely doted on their grandchildren, and Kylie had always loved spending time with them, but since Rob had gone, the little girl had become unusually clingy and demanding. It was as if she was afraid to let her mother out of her sight in case she disappeared from her life, too.

      Lauryn was turning the first slice of bread in the pan when she heard Kylie’s footsteps on the stairs. A moment later, her daughter trudged into the kitchen, wearing her favorite princess nightgown made of a silky pink fabric with a ruffled hem, white silk underskirt and puffy sleeves—and a decidedly un-princess-like scowl on her face. Kylie had never been a morning person.

      Climbing into her booster seat at the table, she reached for the cup of orange juice waiting for her. Lauryn cut up the fried bread and set the plate in front of her daughter, who picked up her fork and stabbed a piece of toast. Lauryn sat beside her and sipped her coffee.

      Kylie finished about half of her breakfast, then pushed her plate aside. “Can we go to the park today?”

      “Maybe later,” Lauryn said.

      “I wanna go now,” her daughter insisted.

      “It’s raining now,” she said. “And Mama has to take care of some paperwork this morning.”

      Kylie folded her arms over her chest in an all-too-familiar mutinous posture. “I wanna go to the park.”

      “Later,” she promised, kissing the top of her daughter’s head before lifting Zachary out of his high chair. “Right now, we have to get the two of you washed up and dressed.”

      She’d