Tempting Perfection

“Yeah, wow.”

“How many bedrooms does this house have?”

I laughed. “Ten.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “That’s a lot of places to play hide and seek.”

“It sure is, pumpkin.”

Chloe’s life was about to change drastically. We had lived in a nice house in Oregon, but it was nothing like this. It was more your typical middle-class, twenty-three-hundred-square-foot house. I worked for an investment firm right out of college. The only good part of that job was working from home, which allowed me to care for Chloe since Kim was pretty much gone every single day. Sometimes for days at a time on what she called her “spa trips.”

I lightly pressed the gas and we made our way up to the front of the house. I parked and got out. Chloe jumped out of the car, unbuckling her dolls from the back seat.

“We’re at our new home! Look how beautiful it is!” Chloe said while showing her dolls the house.

My chest ached as I smiled. I’d heard her so many times telling her dolls how much she would always love them and be the best mommy. Unlike her own mother, who hardly ever sat down and played with Chloe.

I shut the car door and took everything in. Nothing had changed in the ten years since I’d been gone. The house still had fresh flowers hanging from pots across the front porch. The four, black rocking chairs still sat in what appeared to be the same spots. My stomach dropped as a memory hit me of Paxton sitting on my lap as we talked about our future.

Chloe pulled my hand. “Daddy, why do you look so sad?”

I squatted down and placed my hand on the side of her face. “I’m not sad, pumpkin.”

She shook her head. “Your eyes are sad.”

I let out a soft breath. This little girl had a window into my soul, always had. For as long as I could remember, when I was feeling down, she would tell me my eyes looked sad. Never could hide anything from this one. “I love you, Chloe Lynn. All I want is for us both to be happy.”

She smiled, then frowned, her little eyes growing wet with tears. “Mommy won’t be coming to live with us, will she?”

Swallowing hard, I fought to take a breath. This was my karma. The pain I had to suffer for the action I took ten years ago. I shook my head and pulled her in for a hug. “No, baby. Mommy is no longer a part of our lives, and I promise she will never hurt you. Never.”

Chloe patted my back, as if she was trying to console me at the same time. When she pulled away, her grin was back, along with the light in her eyes.

“Maybe we can find me a new mommy!”

My eyes widened. My daughter had longed for a mother to love her and I had tried my best to make up for the lack of love from Kim. It was beginning to hit me how much Chloe had longed for the connection I wasn’t able to give her. “Um… well… let’s not worry about that right now.”

She grinned and nodded. “Okay. We’ll wait a week.”

I was about to reply when two loud screams came from the front porch. Chloe turned and let out a little scream of her own.

Yep. My daughter is a Parker woman. They like to scream.

“Grammy! Aunt Meli!” She took off running and I was spared the new mommy ordeal—at least for a week.

My sister, Amelia, dropped to her knees and caught Chloe as she barreled into her.

My mother made a beeline str

aight to me. Her brown hair was pulled up, leaving me a clear view of her gray eyes, which danced with happiness. The bits of red that ran through her hair seemed to glow in the sun. “Steed, darling, I’m so happy to have you home.”

Holding out my arms, I held my mother tightly. “It’s good to be home, Mom.”

“Your things came two days ago. I hope you don’t mind, but Amelia and I took to placing everything in the house. If you don’t like it, you and your brothers can change it up.”

“I’m sure it’s fine.”

She pinched her brows together. “Steed, I know the house is fully furnished and that’s why you didn’t have any furniture, but there’s no bedroom set for Chloe. Of course, you’re more than welcome to keep the furniture that’s in the house, but I thought you might want something a little more kid-friendly.”