Falling For The Cowboy Dad. Patricia Johns

record.”

      “Mr. Austin, I’m only here to help and provide support.” Her tone grew firmer, and a little less cheery.

      “Okay, then,” he said.

      “I look forward to seeing you both in two weeks.”

      Isabel moved toward the door and slipped back into her boots, and Billy stood there in silence.

      “In that stack, there is a brochure about nutrition and sleep schedules for young children. I hope those will be helpful,” she said.

      “Yeah, thanks.”

      Whatever she was trying to do, it wasn’t as reassuring as seemed to be her goal. With a wave, the social worker left the house and headed to a small sedan. Billy watched as the car pulled out of the drive and headed for the main road. He heard a shuffle behind him and turned toward his boss, mildly embarrassed.

      “I’m sorry about that, Mr. Ross,” he said.

      “It’s not a problem, Billy. You’re going to make a fine father. I have no doubt about it. They’ll see it and let you be.”

      Billy sincerely hoped that Mr. Ross was right. He actually did need help. He just didn’t trust getting that help from child-welfare services. It might not be completely logical, but he was afraid that if he showed any weakness, it might give them confirmation that he wasn’t a fit parent.

      And it was more than the fact that whatever that link was between a father and his daughter, Billy felt it. She was his, and he could see evidence of that in all sorts of little mannerisms. But he’d also seen his daughter struggle with her mother’s choice to leave her. There was no way he was going to let her feel that again. Poppy needed him, and he was going to be the best parent he could possibly be.

      Billy looked at his watch.

      “I’ve got to go pick up Poppy from school,” he said.

      “You bet,” Mr. Ross replied. “Thanks for your work today.”

      So maybe Billy hadn’t had much of an example of a good parent in his own life, but at the very least he could look at what his mother had done and take the opposite path. Poppy was going to come first—always. There’d be no competition between his daughter and his romantic life. He’d probably mess up a lot of things as he navigated the world of little girls, but he wouldn’t mess up that one!

      * * *

      “NATHANIEL, YOUR MOM is over there,” Grace said, pointing for the little boy’s benefit. “Do you see her?”

      “Mommy!” And Nathaniel was off, boots thunking against cement as he ran toward his waiting mother. Grace smiled and waved. Nathaniel was the last child to leave, except for Poppy, who stood next to Grace, her thin legs poking out of her winter boots, and her eyes wide with nervous tension. Grace reached out and smoothed a hand over Poppy’s hair. She wished she could shoulder some of that anxiety for the girl—but that wasn’t possible.

      “There’s your dad,” Grace said as she spotted Billy coming across the snow, toward them, feeling a flood of relief at the sight of him. Poppy needed her dad, and Grace was a poor substitute right now.

      “Oh, good...” Poppy breathed.

      Grace could hear the solace in that little sigh, and her heart nearly broke. This child had been bravery itself today, making new friends while eyeing the door with a forlorn look on her face.

      Grace waved Billy inside, a frigid wind whipping into the school and raising goose bumps on her arms under her blouse.

      “There you are, kiddo,” Billy said with a grin. “Sorry I’m a few minutes late. Somebody came by to talk to me, and she just wouldn’t leave.”

      A small smile turned up the corners of Poppy’s lips. “Why not?”

      “Some people, kiddo. Some people. Anyway, I’m here now.” Billy looked over at Grace with a hesitant smile. “How’d it go?”

      “Pretty well, I’d say,” Grace replied, trying not to react to those warm brown eyes of his. “I got Poppy reading some picture books, but she worked through the pile pretty quickly. I had her read to me for a little while, and I can’t find the top of her vocabulary yet. But at the same time, she’s four, so while she needs a challenge, it has to be...age appropriate.”

      After watching that child stare at the door with a lonesome look in her eyes, Grace knew exactly what Poppy needed—and it wasn’t anything a teacher could provide. Grace was on the outside of the circle.

      “If she can handle bigger books...” Billy said with a shrug.

      “She can handle the words and the paragraphs,” Grace replied. “But the emotional intensity might be a bit much. Older kids need more of an emotionally intense plot. Little kids need more reassurance that their world is safe and secure.”

      “Ah.” Billy picked up Poppy’s backpack and put it over his own shoulder. He was silent for a moment, and Grace looked down at his daughter.

      “You ready to go home, Poppy?” she asked.

      “Yeah,” Poppy said quietly, and she looked up at her father, looking deflated and tired.

      “The...uh...the woman who came by the ranch was from child welfare,” Billy said, and he met Grace’s gaze, his expression hollow and tired, too. He wanted to talk, she could tell.

      “Poppy, do you remember that book you liked about the bear family?” Grace said, turning to the little girl. “I wanted to show your dad. Could you run and find it? It’s in the pile somewhere...”

      “Okay...” Poppy looked up at her father.

      “Yeah, I’d like to see it,” he said with a nod. “Go ahead.”

      Poppy trundled back into the classroom, and Grace looked up at Billy. “Who called child welfare on you?”

      “It’s not that. Apparently they were involved a lot with Carol-Ann, so when she passed guardianship to me, they were already in the picture,” he replied. “Anyway, the child welfare lady is coming back in two weeks, and I want to have something to show her—something to prove I’m the right one for my daughter, as stupid as it is that I even have to defend that...but Poppy needs to learn stuff that I can’t teach her.”

      Billy was in over his head, and like he had done in the past, he was coming to her. There’d been a time when she would have done anything he asked...

      “I’m not sure what you’re worried about,” Grace replied. “She’s doing just fine. I mean, if anything, she’s miles ahead.”

      “And she’s bored,” he said.

      “You know what they say about reading to kids—” she began.

      “No, she’s really bored. She needs more than I can give her...intellectually. I don’t know what to show her next, and she’s constantly asking me to teach her something. Look, I can just feel it. She needs to learn stuff, and I’m at a loss here.”

      “I could recommend a tutor—” she started.

      “Why not you?” he asked, and he met her gaze pleadingly.

      “I’m not going to be here long-term,” she countered. “I’m very, very temporary.”

      “For the next couple of weeks, then,” he said. “I trust you, Gracie. If you could teach Poppy some extra stuff—satisfy that curiosity of hers—I think it would go a long way toward showing social services that they have nothing to worry about.”

      “You’re going to be fine,” she said, and she wished she sounded more certain. He would be...wouldn’t he? This was his daughter—his family situation didn’t include her. “I’ll definitely give her some extra challenge in the classroom, and I can send some books home that you could read with her.”

      Billy