Finding Glory. Sara Arden

local talent.” He shrugged. “I see everyone takes these things seriously around here.” He eyed Emma.

      “If we did it wrong, maybe you should show us how it’s done?” Gina cast a sly grin at Emma.

      Emma’s gaze cut to Gray so fast, Reed was sure he actually saw it slice the air. “You wouldn’t dare.”

      “Oh, I more than dare. Especially since you think I wouldn’t.” He pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and stuffed it in the jar. “That’s the best reason to dare.”

      “Damn,” Emma whimpered.

      “You got that right.” Gray grabbed her and bent her over the back of his arm and kissed her.

      Gina lifted her chin and nodded at Reed. “That’s what she gets for calling you light work.”

      Reed laughed. “Oh, really? Well, compared to that, I guess I am light work. He’s got a lot more game than I ever did.”

      “It’s for a good cause, anyway.” Gina shrugged. “Sorry Amanda Jane put you on the spot like that. I’ll talk to her if you want.”

      “No, it’s okay. I think it’s probably pretty normal. We’re her caregivers. Wanting to see us that way is searching for a kind of stability, I imagine.” Reed remembered having those same wants as a child with every new man his mother brought home. After a while, he’d gotten numb to those wants and eventually, started dreading each new encounter because it was always the beginning of the end.

      Gina’s expression changed from light and open to concerned as she spread out the blanket and arranged the bags and basket just so. “Do you think she feels like her life is unstable?”

      If he were more of a bastard, he could use this moment to pounce, to give himself the upper hand for further negotiations. But he didn’t want Gina to feel unsure of her choices. He knew that she’d done the best she could. Once he got past his own issues, he could see that.

      “No. An unstable child wouldn’t ask for what they want like she does. She expects all of her needs to be met because they have been. You’ve done a great job, Gina.”

      He didn’t expect her to melt into him the way she did, for her arms to lock around his waist and for her to bury her face in his neck. Reed embraced her carefully and tried not to think about how good she felt wrapped in his arms.

      How good this whole day was turning out to be, despite having murdered Bostwick the garden gnome.

      “I’m sorry, I just...I’ve tried so hard. I wanted her to have better than we did.”

      “And she does. You’re a good mother.”

      She broke away from him and everything in him wanted to reach out and pull her back against him. “But I’m not her mother.”

      “You are in all ways that matter. You’ve been a good father, too. You’ve been everything. But you’re not alone now.”

      Gina’s eyes fluttered closed. “You know, when I took her after Crystal died, I told them they couldn’t just give me a child. What was wrong with child services that they could just hand this child over to me?”

      “I would’ve felt the same way, but I would’ve been right in my case. She’s happy, healthy, smart and kind. What more can you do?”

      “I guess keep doing what I’ve been doing.” She looked away from him to scan the ball pit and then back at him. “So this is really happening, right? We’re getting married?”

      “Yeah. If you say yes.”

      “I think there are some things we need to talk about that weren’t addressed in the agreement.” She took a deep breath. “Are you dating?”

      That was the last question he expected from her. “What?”

      “Dating. Seeing someone. Hittin’ and quittin’...” She used their old high school slang for one-night stands.

      “Uh, no, Gina. None of that.”

      “Me, either. I don’t want a string of people in and out of her life.”

      Her answer unknotted something tight in his chest. “I don’t really date at all. So that’s not a problem.”

      “Why not?” She cocked her head to the side and looked up at him.

      Her eyes were so clear, like the cloudless sky, and her bow mouth was pursed waiting for his answer. The distance between them began to disappear slowly but surely as he leaned in, perhaps to tell her a secret.

      He hadn’t intended to kiss her, but he found himself leaning forward, anyway.

      “Daddy! Come play with me,” Amanda Jane yelled.

      Her voice startled Reed out of whatever spell had drifted over him and he launched himself to his feet and went to go play with his daughter.