Their Surprise Daddy. Ruth Logan Herne

in a whisper. “I just miss her, is all.”

      Cruz’s eyes got misty.

      Sadie saved the moment by slipping two plates of pancakes and scrambled eggs in front of the kids, then refilling the grown-ups’ mugs. “Rory, you sure I can’t get you somethin’, darlin’?”

      Rory shook her head. “I’m fine, Sadie, thanks.”

      “All right, sweetie.”

      Sweetie. Darlin’. Sweet things... Cruz couldn’t remember the last time someone called him sweetie in New York. Probably never. Because why would they?

      And yet it seemed real nice to hear those words here.

      Lily knelt up on the booth’s seat to get a better vantage point on her food. Her first attempt at the eggs had them sliding to the floor quickly. Cruz handed her his spoon. “Try this. Eggs are slippery.”

      “They are!” She accepted the spoon and didn’t seem to mind that he’d stirred his coffee with it. “And they jiggle. Jell-O jiggles, too. I like jiggly food.”

      Rory laughed.

      Cruz lifted his eyes to hers. “Jiggly food is funny?”

      “My sister won’t eat food that jiggles. She says it’s unnerving. I’m happy to see Lily has no such qualms.”

      “Did they sleep well?”

      “As well as any of us could with a crazy day behind us and a new normal awaiting. I expect tonight will be better. Drew called and told me he offered you the carriage house apartment.”

      “I’ll find a hotel as soon as I can, so I’m not inconveniencing anyone.” Cruz sipped his coffee. “No reason to make difficult circumstances more so.”

      “Why stay somewhere else when you can stay there for free?” She looked puzzled, as if the idea of spending money worried her. So maybe she did like breakfast and couldn’t afford it, but sacrificed for the two kids.

      Now he felt like a complete moron.

      “I need internet access and there’s no air-conditioning.”

      She sat back and looked distressed. “The window unit.”

      “Excuse me?”

      “Drew took it out last fall and stored it downstairs over the winter, and then they moved into their new house before it got hot. I forgot all about that, and I’m sure he did, too. Oh, Cruz.” She leaned forward, and looked honestly concerned. “You must have roasted.”

      “I may have discovered a new scientific melting point.”

      She laughed again, and when she did, the kids smiled. Her laugh made him feel like smiling, too, and that felt good and odd because the rigors of Manhattan didn’t often inspire laid-back conversation and smiles. “Listen, it would be silly of you to waste money on a hotel when I expect you’d like to get to know these guys better, right?”

      He knew less than nothing about children which meant he’d be of little help. “I guess.”

      “I’ll have our house Wi-Fi upgraded so you can access it in the apartment. They should probably be able to do that today. The air-conditioning unit cools off the whole place. Can you install it in the living room window or do you need help?”

      How hard could it be? “I expect I can manage it.”

      “If it’s too tricky or awkward, wait till I get home with these guys later. I’ll be glad to jump in.”

      “Miss Wory, can I have more syrup?” Javier asked.

      Cruz waited for her to say no. Every young mother he knew measured out anything sweet in minute doses, as if sugar had become the root of all evil.

      “Of course you can!” Rory helped Javier with the little glass carafe, then reached for a second one. “Try this triple-berry syrup, too, Javi, on just a little corner here. Or you can dip a piece.”

      “I wuv dipping!”

      “Me, too.” She picked up a tiny piece of his pancake, dipped it in the dark purple syrup and popped it into her mouth. “Perfection.” She smiled at Lily, then Javier.

      “Are you walking straight to school from here?” Cruz asked.

      She nodded. “The White Church, actually, on Maple Avenue. They volunteered to house us in their basement this year.”

      “Basement?” School in a basement didn’t sound like much fun.

      She scrunched up her nose when she frowned. “We’re an itinerant program, which means we get shuffled from place to place every summer. Whatever church or school has extra space is where we’re assigned, so we’ve learned to bloom where we’re planted.”

      “That’s a little rough.”

      She shrugged. “It’s not ideal, but we manage to make do. When I’m planning, I make sure we’ve got so much to do, say and learn that the location becomes a nonproblem. I wasn’t able to get any prep work done yesterday, so we’re walking over early today. That way I can get things ready.”

      “You do the morning sessions?”

      She nodded. “Another teacher steps in to take the afternoon ones. That way we can cover for one another as needed.”

      “What will the kids do in the afternoon?”

      “Hang with me, I expect. Unless you have a better idea?”

      He knew what he should say. He should offer to take the kids off her hands for the afternoon.

      His phone signaled an incoming text, then another, and that made his decision easy. He had work. So did she. But hers was geared toward little kids. His wasn’t. He stood, determined to claim what time he could. “You can never get enough learning, can you?”

      His answer disappointed her, but she didn’t seem surprised, which meant she expected him to be self-centered. Like mother, like son?

      He bit back remorse because he recognized the pattern quite well, thank you.

      “Enjoy your day,” she told him. “We’ll see you this afternoon. And if you need help with that AC unit, I’ll be home midday. Also, if you need Wi-Fi, you can hole up in one of the empty corners of Kate & Company, my mother’s event-planning business on The Square.”

      He remembered the name well. Her mother’s business had used his parents’ classic villa and vineyard for many events when he was younger. “Your mom wouldn’t mind?”

      “She’s retired, my sisters are handling the business and there’s an extra office on the first level. It’s small, but it’s cool and connected.”

      Cool and connected.

      The phrase sounded almost insulting, as if a good working environment was a bad thing.

      He slipped his laptop into its leather case. His objective in Grace Haven was to get his mother out of legal jeopardy and arrange care for Elina’s children. It was the least he could do to repay Elina’s friendship.

      After that he’d return back to life as he knew it. The life he’d been thrust into years ago, because being good was never good enough for Rosa Maldonado. Not when being the best dangled like the perfect cluster of Champagne grapes, just out of reach. He paid for his coffee, and her bill, too, then offered the kids a quick wave as he strode out the door.

      He wasn’t sure why he was leaving, when he’d intended to hang out in there, drinking what had turned out to be really solid coffee and using their Wi-Fi. He walked back down the street, turned toward Creighton Landing and decided to install the AC unit sooner rather than later. Then he’d approach Drew’s wife at Kate & Company about leasing office space while he was here. Rory Gallagher hadn’t mentioned a price tag on her offer, but Cruz understood that nothing was free in the corporate world, and if he paid his way,