Ruth Herne - Her Secret Daughter

He grimaced. “My bad.” He faced Josie. “She’s been going to the Lakeside Academy, where they move from preschool to kindergarten before they go to public school. It seemed smart with my job.”

“Except this year, I get to go to regular school and we just have to figure out where.” Addie turned earnest eyes his way. “And get a cow.”

“We’re not getting a cow, Addie-cakes. It won’t fit in the car. Or the apartment.” He grinned to show her he was kidding, but Addie had grown very serious about two things: school and settling down with a cow.

“When we get a big yard, a cow will fit.” She didn’t sass him. She didn’t act petulant. She uttered the sentence with a quiet common sense far beyond her years, and then she grabbed his hand. At that moment, her stomach gurgled and she laughed. “My tummy is so hungry now! Miss Josie, can I see your restaurant? How come there aren’t any people here? Did they all go home?”

Her innocent question made Jacob’s stomach lurch. He and Carrington Hotels were the reason her place was closed. He waited for her to throw him under the bus, but Josie surprised him.

“We’re moving my restaurant to another spot, and I need a little time to pack things up. It’s hard to cook and pack at the same time, right?”

“Oh, that’s right.” Addie lifted an empathetic look to Josie. “My dad is making you move.”

He started to protest, but Josie beat him to it. She bent low. “Well, he works for a company that needs more space. So the company is taking my space, and giving me money to move somewhere new. That’s why your dad is here, because he’s got some ideas about how to help me.” The quiet and up-front way she handled Addie was somewhat unexpected and allowed him to breathe easier.

“We can eat and talk.” Addie grasped his hand with hers. “Dad always says we should help other people, all the time. I mostly do that, but I don’t like helping Cayden when he’s mean.”

“Well, school’s almost over for the year,” Jacob said. “That will solve our Cayden problems.”

“I’m glad,” Addie said.

“I think some of this French toast will take our minds off snippy boys.” Josie led the way inside. “Give me five minutes in the kitchen, okay? Or you can follow me in there, but you have to sit on the bar stools.”

“You don’t mind?” Jacob asked, and when she lifted her eyes to his, he got a little lost in the depths, as if he and Josie Gallagher were connected in some way he didn’t understand.

The odd mix of colors seemed more gold today than green, but the shadow of gray rimming the pupil seemed lighter than it had yesterday. And when she smiled, the gray thinned even more. “I don’t mind a bit. I like for kids to see what goes on in a kitchen, although if it was still a working kitchen, we couldn’t do this often. It got crazy here on a regular basis.”

“I’ve heard that. And I hope you don’t mind, but I fact-checked your numbers, Josie.”

She accepted that as she heated the broad, flat griddle in the kitchen. “I figured Carrington did that before they drew up an offer, and it only makes sense for you to know the facts if we’re talking location. The thing is...”

She dipped thick slices of cinnamon swirl bread into a custardy mix and set them sizzling onto the hot griddle before checking a warming kettle of strawberry topping. “There are few available locations on the water, and most are unaffordable. I fell into this location because the former owner let things go and needed help. We worked out a deal and it ended up being a success for both of us, but as you’ve seen—”

She paused as she turned a pan of flat, deliciously scented sausage patties with a flick of her wrist, a neat trick. “There’s almost nothing available. I’m not sure what you’ve found, Jacob, but even with the Carrington money, it’s probably unaffordable. And that was reason enough for me to dread this whole thing because it’s not the starting over that concerns me.” She moved the sausage to a platter, then nestled fresh, hot French toast onto three warm plates. “I’ve got the clientele and the reputation. Folks will follow me. But if I can’t afford a lakeside place to own or rent, then it’s all been for nothing. And that’s what bites.” She crossed to where Addie was perched, avidly watching the action. And when she slipped a platter of mouthwatering food in front of his daughter, Addie’s eyes went wide.

“You’ve won her over.” He made the comment casually as she brought the third plate over, but when Josie looked his way, she wasn’t casual anymore. She looked intent. As if his words meant more than they did.

And then she sat down across from Addie and gave her an easy smile. “Well, that wasn’t too hard.”

Addie laughed and picked up a knife and fork. “Can I cut this by myself?”

Jacob nodded. “I expect, but if you need help, just let me know.”

“Okay! And I think we should pray about this nice food, shouldn’t we, Dad?” Addie leaned in and sniffed, then raised a brilliant smile his way. “We always pray at supper time, but why don’t people just pray all the time? Like breakfast, lunch and supper? Doesn’t that make the most sense of all?”

She reached out a hand to him on one side and Josie on the other. He did the same.

Soft hands, but not as smooth as someone who didn’t do physical work, or plunge their hands into dish soap all day.

But soft, still. Strong. And beautiful. Like the woman sitting next to him. “Father, we thank you for this food. We ask your blessings on it and on us, Lord, as we go through our days. Amen.”

“Amen.”

“See?” Addie beamed his way, then shared the grin with Josie. “That wasn’t even hard, was it? And now we made God’s heart happy, because we remembered to pray.”

“I won’t forget again,” he promised. He released her hand and Josie’s, but when he looked at the woman beside him, her gaze was locked on Addie.

She smiled, yes, but tears brightened her eyes, as if seeing his daughter and hearing her delightfully colloquial speech touched her deeply.

Addie had sensed her pain. As he lifted his napkin into his lap, Jacob sensed the same thing again. But when she turned his way, she’d erased the look of angst. She smiled, glanced at Addie and said, “I expect she keeps you on your toes, Jacob.”

“And then some.” He watched as Addie attacked her French toast, and when she cut it sufficiently to eat, he turned back toward Josie. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s made my life the best it’s ever been, and we’ve got a good thing going. At least until the whole issue of a cow came up.” He made a face at Addie and she laughed.

“This is the best French toast I ever had, Miss Josie! And we’ve got time to get the cow, Dad. It’s not even summer yet!”

Josie laughed. “She’s tenacious.”

“I’d go straight to stubborn, but tenacious sounds better. Inside those china-doll good looks is an independent spirit with a heart of gold. Although I’m not sure how the whole cow thing started.”

“With so many baby cows on the hills, Dad.” Addie paused chewing and pointed across the lake. “Not by the grape things, but with the farmers. And one farmer has a ton of little black cows. They’re the cutest things!”

“My cousin.” Josie followed the direction of Addie’s hand and met Jacob’s gaze. “Bryan Gallagher has a combination crop-and-animal farm at the south end of the lake. Angus cows and a big, busy farm stand near the road. We could go visit sometime if she’d like to see the cows up close.”

“Oh, can we, Dad? Can we? For real?”

Something made him long to say no, but how could he when Josie was making such a kind offer? Visiting cows wasn’t exactly a bad thing. “Josie and I will check our calendars. But I don’t see why we shouldn’t go visit the cows. And then maybe you can kind of adopt one and pretend it’s yours. What do you think, Josie?” He turned back to her. “Is your cousin open to bovine adoption?”