By the time he got back to the house, both Tara and Ashley were dressed and groomed. His daughter looked happy as a clam playing in the living room with her toys. They ate breakfast in the kitchen and waited for the electrician to get the wiring back on track.
A few hours and another perimeter check later, Clint finally felt secure enough to take a break, finding Tara setting up another one of those photo shoot displays for one of her social media posts. He both was and wasn’t surprised to see that Ashley was helping her by drawing pictures of rainbows for the background of Tara’s shot. Ashley drew rainbows on anything and everything—they were her absolute favorite. But Tara was a surprisingly good sport to incorporate them in her photo shoot.
He stood off to the side, silent, just taking it all in. The two of them seemed to get along really well, which was nice for Clint to see. He worried, among other things, about his poor daughter missing that all-important mother-daughter bond as she grew up. Clint did the very best he could to fill that role for her, but he wasn’t a woman.
So maybe, in a way, this was actually good—them staying here—if it meant Ashley got quality time with Tara.
“It’s ready!” his daughter declared and Tara nodded toward the large rainbow background Ashley had made.
“Looks great, kiddo,” Tara said, straightening, then gesturing for Ashley to join her off to the side. “All right, let’s get some pics, then.”
Twenty minutes later, the two of them were hunched over Tara’s laptop going over the pictures to choose the best one to post.
“I like that one,” Ashley said, pointing to one onscreen.
“That one is nice,” Tara said. “But this one is better. See how the composition forms a triangle here that draws your eye in toward the center?”
Clint chuckled and shook his head. As inquisitive as Ashley was, learning about the secrets of photography had to be a huge thrill for her. He was also amazed at how patient and perceptive Tara was with his daughter, never seeming to be overwhelmed by the little girl’s constant questions or concerns, explaining things to her calmly and clearly without talking down to her. It was great to see, honestly, and made his heart tug with gratitude.
He wandered over to see what they were working on and noticed the braids in Ashley’s hair. As a Navy man, he knew just about every type of knot in existence, thanks to the Naval Academy, but he’d never seen the design in Ashley’s braids. Clearing his throat, Clint took a seat at the other end of the sofa and said, “Wow, nice job on her hair. Much better than the usual plain pigtails I put it in.”
“Thanks.” Tara grinned at him over the top of her computer, her beaming smile making his heart do an odd little jig. “They’re called bubble braids. All the rage on social media these days. I’ve been wanting to try them out but needed a willing subject.”
“That’s me!” Ashley said, pointing at herself before running over to climb onto Clint’s lap.
“Woohoo!” Tara cheered and did a fist pump. “Our post went viral, Ashley!”
“Really?” His daughter frowned and glanced from Tara to Clint. “Is that good, Daddy?”
“I’m no expert, but I think so,” he said, grinning back at Tara. “Isn’t it?”
“It is!” She turned the computer around so they could see it too. “Almost three hundred likes in less than ten minutes. And the commenters love your rainbows, Ashley!”
“Yay!” She clapped, then hugged Clint around the neck. “They love my rainbows, Daddy!”
“They do.” He squeezed her tight, so much love swelling inside him, more than he’d ever expected to find in this lifetime, filling him. It was so good to see his daughter happy again, especially after her remarks last night about wanting to go home. “And I love you, sweetpea.”
Ashley giggled.
“This is perfect,” Tara continued, turning her laptop back to face her and typing furiously. “Just what I need for my event at the end of this week.”
Clint’s smile quickly turned to a frown. They’d just talked about her needing to stay home, out of public view. He didn’t want to get into that right now, with Ashley so happy, but as soon as he got a chance, he was going to talk Tara out of going to that event and any oth
ers until this mess was over.
Now wasn’t the time, though, so he changed subjects. “You’re really into this social media stuff, huh?”
“I am.” Tara glanced up at him over the top of her computer, then focused on her typing once more.
“Why’s that?”
She frowned. “You mean, why do I like it?”
“Yeah.”
She shrugged, as if she felt that the answer was obvious. “Well, if you want to have a voice in the world these days, you have to be online. It’s where you can reach the most people and have the biggest impact.”
He nodded. Made sense, even if he avoided the Internet like the plague, except for work. It was a necessary evil that had no place in his private life. The less people poked into his personal business, the better. “And you want to have an impact?”