Ollie’s paws tapped loudly across the hardwood floor as they headed down the hallway toward the main room where Jack stopped to drop the bags and looked around. There were a few changes to the room since his last visit but, for the most part, everything was nearly the same.
Almost absentmindedly, he noted the light was on above the stove in the kitchen as well as an upstairs hall light. But Emily had mentioned that she would get word to their groundskeepers that guests were arriving today; it was his guess the lights were probably on for their late arrival.
Oliver stopped beside him, suddenly rigid as he sniffed the air.
“It’s okay, boy,” Lily said and patted his head. “Let’s go find our room.”
“Wait,” Jack said, untangling her backpack from the bags on the floor. “Take this with you and make sure you plug your phone in so it’s charged. I’ll be up in a few minutes to tuck you in.”
“Dad. I think I can put myself to bed. I’m not five.”
“I’m sure you can.” He paused. They had been here enough times for her to remember where everything was. Particularly the large kids’ room Emily had specially designed to be both a bedroom—complete with four double beds built into a two-level loft style corner of the room—and an entertainment area on the other side, decked out with beanbag chairs, a massive television, video game consoles, and an air hockey table. And that was just the last time they’d been here. “All right. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Night,” she said a little more brightly and raced up the stairs, Ollie on her heels.
He had to relax. She was growing up and it was perfectly normal for her to want to do things for herself. After grabbing the red reusable Target bag filled with their leftover road trip snacks, he crossed the great room and entered the kitchen, where he set the bag on the counter.
Odd. There was an opened bottle of wine sitting on the kitchen counter, next to a stack of papers. Walking over to them, he glanced down at what looked like a partially completed application. The header said it was for a small business loan. He scanned its contents, stopping when he read the applicant’s name.
Who is Daisy Soren—
At that moment, the French doors that led onto the deck swung open and a dark-haired woman, who probably would barely reach the top of his chin, walked in carrying an empty wine glass.
That explained the wine, at least.
Ordinarily, Jack might have taken a more aggressive, almost defensive stance at the prospect of a strange person entering a home where he and his daughter were staying. But from the woman’s appearance, he doubted she was a threat. Far from it.
Not with the dark, almost black hair piled haphazardly on top of her head, a few pieces loose and framing a softly contoured face that was bright and flushed and altogether lovely. And especially not in that bulky blue bathrobe she had tightened around a slim waist or the fuzzy socks pulled nearly to her knees.
Her dark brown eyes locked with his and widened.
If Jack had been surprised to find a strange woman walking into the house, he could only imagine the shock she was experiencing.
The wine glass she’d been holding dropped to the floor, shattering into a million pieces, and she raised her hand to her mouth as if to hold off a scream.
This was going to be complicated.
Chapter Two
After finally getting the three kids asleep in the massive king-size bed in the master suite, Daisy had sunk wearily into the giant tub located in the adjoining bathroom. For the time being, she’d let the stress of car repairs, her dwindling bank account, and her ex-husband’s broken promises take a much-needed break in the recesses of her mind.
Instead, she’d focused on just being here.
In this beautiful home situated on a gorgeous lake, with three wonderful kids and a doting aunt to share it with.
A trick that had worked, so that when she finally rose from the tub, her fingers pruney and shriveled from the water, she’d felt surprisingly renewed. Rather than waste the moment trying to find sleep squished between her kids’ knees and elbows on the bed, she’d opened the bottle of wine Payton had left out for her and pulled out the bank loan application she’d been sitting on for more than a month.
Daisy didn’t know how long she’d been working when she was struck by how quiet and still the house was and, realizing the rain finally had stopped, she’d decided to take a break and stepped outside onto the deck to appreciate the beauty of Lake Tahoe, the open sky above her.
She might not have planned this vacation, but she was coming around to thinking this trip might be what she’d needed—no, they all had needed—after all.
It was in this relaxed state of mind that Daisy finally stepped back inside the house, ready to turn in.
At least until her gaze rested on the tall, strange man who bore an uncanny resemblance to the state’s lieutenant governor standing in the kitchen. If that hadn’t sent her heart racing, the sound of shattering glass a second later nearly had her heart bolting from her chest.
Every instinct called for her to scream at the top of her lungs and retreat back into the shadows of the deck. Only, upstairs the kids and her aunt were resting and safe—for now. And she meant to keep them that way.
Which meant she needed to get this guy out of the house.