Home At Last. Deborah Raney

giggled. “My lip don’t have buttons. You’re funny.”

      “It’s doesn’t. Your lip doesn’t have buttons.”

      “I know it doesn’t. That’s what I said!”

      She gave a little growl. “Never mind. Just go get your jacket.”

      She heard a car outside and her heart accelerated. “Lord, what have I done?” she whispered.

      ***

      Link wiped his palms on his jeans and reached to open the door. Finding it locked, he knocked on the wood framing the paned glass.

      A light came on at the back of the bakery, and he saw movement near the open staircase at the rear of the store. A minute later, Shayla, with Portia trailing behind, unlocked the door and peeked out. “Hi there. We’re ready.” She held up a car booster seat. “Do we need this?”

      He looked at Portia. “If she’s big enough for a booster seat, I’ve got them in the backseat of my truck—for my nieces and nephews,” he explained. “I wasn’t sure if she still needed a regular car seat.”

      “No. She’s big enough for a booster. Thanks.” Shayla stepped outside and locked the door behind her.

      “You look nice.” Link grinned at her, then peeked around her shoulder at Portia. “You look nice too, young lady.”

      Portia stuck out her lower lip in a pout. “Shay won’t let me wear sandals.”

      “Well, it’s kind of cold for sandals, don’t you think?”

      “Careful, there.” Shayla looked down at her own feet, which were shod in a pair of strappy open-toed shoes that his sisters would have declared “darling.”

      “Oops,” he said, feigning a wince. “Double standard?”

      “Always,” she said.

      He looked at her again. “You look really nice.”

      “So you said.” She dipped her head, looking embarrassed by his compliment.

      “I’ve never seen you with your hair down.”

      She smoothed a hand self-consciously over the shiny, dark brown hair that framed her heart-shaped face. “The inspector kind of frowns on that during business hours.”

      “Oh, yeah. I guess I can see that. Well, it looks great.” The truth was, he preferred her hair curly and a little wild. But she would have looked good bald, so he wasn’t lying. “You look great. Really great.”

      “Okay, okay, I get the picture.”

      “What? You don’t like a compliment?” This woman was a puzzle. His sisters ate up stuff like that.

      “Sorry. No, I like a compliment fine. Thank you.” She tapped her niece’s shoulder. “Portia, what do you tell Mr. Link? He said you look nice.”

      She smiled up at him. “I know. Big Daddy says I’m bee-yu-ti-ful.”

      “Portia Beth!” Laughing, Shayla shook her head. “We’re working on manners.”

      “That means please and thank-yous,” the little girl told him.

      “That’s right.” Shayla gave her a stern look. “Now would you please tell Mr. Link thank you for the compliment?”

      “Thank you.” Portia suddenly turned shy.

      “You’re welcome.” He opened the passenger-side door of his truck, tipped back the seat, and put down the built-in booster. “Hop in, young lady.” He lifted her into the back. She couldn’t have weighed twenty-five pounds.

      She scrambled into the booster. He stepped back and let Shayla buckle her in. She waited for Link to put the seat back in place before climbing into the passenger seat. “Wow, it’s roomy in here.”

      “I’ve had four rug rats back there at a time. My nieces and nephews,” he explained. “Not sure that was even legal, but we did get ’em all buckled into car seats. Even if a couple of them had to share a seatbelt.”

      She gave him a look that made him regret bringing that up. Added to him almost running over Portia, Shayla was going to think he was an accident waiting to happen.

      “How many do you have?”

      “Six nieces, two nephews. So far.”

      “Wow. That’s a houseful. Or a truck full.”

      “You all in?” When he was sure she was clear of the door, he closed it and jogged around to the driver’s side.

      “Everybody ready?” He caught Portia’s eyes in the rearview mirror and wriggled his eyebrows at her. She giggled but quickly looked away.

      “Ready.” Shayla shifted in her seat to angle toward him. Probably to make sure he didn’t run over somebody.

      Checking the street, he pulled out and drove slowly through town toward the highway.

      “So. You like living in Langhorne?”

      Shayla shrugged. “It’s okay, I guess.”

      “You guys moved here because of the bakery?”

      Another shrug. “I guess you could say that. Sort of . . .”

      “What do you mean?”

      “My dad wanted to get us out of Cape Girardeau. Get my brother into a smaller school. So my parents bought the bakery.”

      “Oh, so did you go to high school in Langhorne?” He didn’t remember her.

      “No. It was after I’d graduated.” She eyed him as though trying to decide if she wanted to continue. “Are you just making small talk, or are you asking because you really want to know?”

      He laughed, even though he sensed she wasn’t exactly making a joke. “A little of both, I guess. I really want to know. But yes, I’m making small talk. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do on a first date?”

      “How would I know?”

      “Don’t tell me you’ve never been on a date before.”

      “I won’t tell you that because it wouldn’t be true. But . . . it’s been a long time. I’m talking a really long time.”

      “I find that hard to believe.”

      She glanced behind them to the backseat. “It may come as a surprise to you, but not every guy is thrilled about having a five-year-old along on dates.”

      “Yeah, I guess I can see that.”

      “So you’re not thrilled either.” It wasn’t a question.

      He grinned. “Maybe thrilled isn’t the exact word I’d use, but I don’t mind. Not at all. She’s a sweetie.”

      “You’re a good man, Link Whitman.”

      “Well, let me back up a little.”

      She tilted her head, looking extremely cute.

      “I reserve the right to have you to myself once in a while. One of these days.”

      “You’re assuming I’d say yes to a second date.” Her topaz eyes flashed. “Let’s get through this one first.”

      He laughed out loud. “Point taken. Let’s concentrate on making this one something you’d like to repeat.”

      “Yes, let’s.”

      Link couldn’t quite read her smug expression. But he had to admit that her air of mystery was one of the things he liked most about her.

      Chapter 6

      6

      Shayla helped Portia out of the truck and held her hand as