Lone Star Legacy: Relentless Pursuit. Sara Orwig

how she’ll act with Caroline. Mom isn’t the soul of tact with small children.”

      “Keep them apart. That’ll suit our mother,” Zach replied.

      “Yep, it will.”

      “Just another reminder why none of us wants to ever get married. Adam’s wife, our mother… Delaney men are not meant to marry,” Zach stated. He offered his hand to shake Will’s. “See you soon.”

      “Sure, Zach.”

      The brothers parted for their cars. Will climbed into his and headed to his office, his thoughts on Ava and the evening.

      Will had told Ava he would be in town all week and home by five each day. To her surprise, he arrived at half past four—while she and Caroline were in the pool. Had she complicated her own life by asking him to be home with Caroline more than he had been in the past?

      He changed to swim trunks and returned to join them. The minute he swam close, Ava treaded water. “Since you’re here, I think I’ll turn her over to you so you two can do a little bonding. I’ll get dressed and see you over dinner.”

      “So no hope of talking you into staying with us awhile?” he asked while Caroline splashed at the far end of the pool.

      “Not unless you really need me to be here. I would like to get dressed.”

      “Go ahead. I’m here now,” he said, causing her to speculate if he thought she meant she was tired of being with Caroline.

      “I think it will be good for her to get your undivided attention for a while. This is a chance for the two of you to have a stronger bond.”

      “Sure, sure. I’d like to have a stronger bond with you.”

      “No, you wouldn’t really. You aren’t interested in any strong bond, any more than I am. We both have other plans for our futures.”

      “I didn’t mean a marriage bond.”

      She laughed. “I know you didn’t. You’ve made that clear. I must not have made it clear how I feel.”

      “Yes, you have, but you’re shutting yourself away from excitement and real living.”

      “And you’re willing to provide it all.”

      “You’ve made your point. I’ll make mine later. Come back out and join us. She’ll like having you around.”

      She smiled at him and swam away to climb out, looking back over her shoulder when she picked up her towel to find him in the same spot, still watching her. She wrapped her towel around her, picked up her T-shirt and headed inside. At the door, she glanced back again to see him playing with Caroline.

      Dinner was relaxed, with Caroline saying nothing, yet she was eating better than Ava had seen her eat before. The small brown bear Ava had given her was on a nearby chair.

      “Caroline, I want to show you something,” Will said. He got up and left the table to return with a folder in his hand. “We thought you might like to have a puppy.”

      Caroline’s eyes opened wide as she gazed at him.

      “I brought some pictures of different breeds of dogs. Look at these,” Will said, spreading them on the table. “See if you like one in particular.”

      “Caroline, they’re so cute,” Ava said, looking at the pictures.

      Will told her the various breeds and mixes, pointing to each of six pictures. “Do you see one you like better than the others?”

      Caroline sat quietly studying the pictures, picking up first one picture and then another. She turned a picture over and in a moment she turned the second over to place on top of it. Will sat patiently waiting, as quiet as his niece.

      “Will, they are adorable puppies,” Ava said, looking at two that were so cute she couldn’t imagine Caroline wouldn’t pick one of them.

      Will nodded. “What puppy isn’t cute?”

      Caroline picked up one picture, studying it intently. She held it out to Will. “I want this one,” she said softly.

      He flicked a glance at Ava and she could see his joy that Caroline had spoken to him.

      “Then I will get you a puppy like that one,” he said, putting down the picture, which Caroline picked up and studied. “Caroline, the puppy is a bichon. That’s what kind it is and why it looks like it does. The little papillon has that name because papillon is French for butterfly, and that puppy has butterfly-shaped ears. Its ears make one think of a butterfly. Tomorrow I will take you and Miss Ava with me and we will get doggie things—we’ll need a feeding bowl and some puppy food, some toys for the puppy and a bed. Do you want to go?”

      “Yes,” she answered.

      Will picked her up and hugged her, closing his eyes a moment. Ava glanced away, realizing it was an emotional moment for him.

      “All right, sweetie, we’ll go tomorrow afternoon. I’ll take off about three o’clock and come get both of you and we’ll go to a local breeder. We’ll have to get a collar and a leash.”

      He got another faint smile and he hugged her again lightly before setting her down. “We’ll get a little crate for the puppy to sleep in and we’ll have to find a place in your room to put it. The first few nights it might cry.”

      She looked up at him while he talked. He took her hand and they walked to the sofa where he sat. She held the picture and turned to run back and get her brown teddy bear before climbing up beside Will.

      “You like the idea of a puppy, don’t you?”

      She nodded her head, looking intently at the picture she held.

      “We’ll have fun with it. But puppies do have sharp teeth. They bite things because they want to chew. They have baby teeth and like to chew. They don’t mean to hurt.”

      Ava followed them and sat nearby, listening to the conversation and hearing the excitement in Will’s voice. Caroline had an eager expression as she sat quietly listening.

      “Miss Ava had a dog when she was a little girl, didn’t you?” Will said, pulling her into the conversation.

      Ava nodded and talked about her dog, and then Will told about the family dog they had when he and Caroline’s dad were growing up.

      Finally, he stood, picking up Caroline, who still clutched the picture and her bear. “We’re off to bed now. Miss Ava has read you stories today, so it’s my turn.”

      Ava stood. “Good night, Caroline.” She patted the child’s shoulder and impulsively brushed her cheek with a kiss. “We’ll play some more games tomorrow and talk about puppies.”

      As soon as they left the room, she began to clear the table. Edwina would be in to clean in the morning, but Ava saw no reason to leave a mess. She filled the dishwasher and had everything tidy and still no sign of Will. She went to the library and discovered lower shelves that held some children’s books. Some were tattered and worn, some the vintage of her own childhood books. Curious, she pulled out one on dinosaurs and opened it to see Will’s name printed neatly inside the cover and “six years” written below his name. She smiled looking at the book, imagining Will poring over it as a six-year-old. Ava replaced the book and looked through a couple more. She was surprised the books weren’t in Caroline’s room.

      She heard his footsteps and turned to see him striding toward her. He picked her up and spun around with her.

      “Hey!” she exclaimed, laughing as he set her on her feet.

      “Did you see the response I got tonight? You caused that, Ava. It’s a miracle. She talked to me and I got a little smile from her.”

      “I’m thrilled and happy for you and for Caroline, but Will, it’s just baby steps. It’s a tiny, slight progress.”

      “It’s