Roxann Delaney - Bachelor Dad - A Single Dad Romance

“I think it’s about to start,” Libby said, as the teams began to line up on the field for the kickoff and she settled next to Sophie.

“That’s Kirby MacGregor, Mac and Nikki’s boy, who’s doing the kicking,” Garrett explained.

“He’s one of Noah’s friends,” she said, without taking her eyes off the field. “He didn’t mention they weren’t on the same team.”

Garrett chuckled softly. “Friendly adversaries for the duration of the game?”

“That’s probably it,” Libby answered, hoping she could relax a little.

“There are teams in some of the other towns around here, so it isn’t as if they don’t have the chance to play teams with players they don’t know. But I heard there were enough boys interested to make up two teams. That makes it nice. More of them actually get a chance to play.”

Libby nodded and straightened as the football on the little stand connected with Kirby’s foot and went sailing through the air. Boys of all sizes scattered on the field, and before long, she’d become so engrossed in the game, she forgot about Garrett.

“You must know more about football than you let on,” he said, jerking her attention from the game.

“I attended a few football games when I was young.” She hoped her answer wasn’t so vague that he’d start asking questions, and she shouted, “Go, blue,” as one of the players on Noah’s team ran down the length of the field. Not only was she excited when the boy scored a touchdown, but she was relieved that the attention was taken off what school she’d attended. The less she had to make up, the better.

Within minutes, the game ended and the bleachers were spilling over with excited fans and players. “I guess your first game was about as good as it can get,” Garrett remarked to Noah when the boy joined them.

“No kidding!” Noah replied, laughing. He looked at Libby, his expression hopeful. “Would it be okay if I stay and ride some of the rides? I have enough money for a couple.”

“Maybe I can give you a little more,” she answered, “but I’ll have to pick you up before I go to work.”

Garrett put his hand on Noah’s shoulder, but spoke to Libby. “I’ll take care of his tickets, if he’ll ride a couple of rides with Sophie. She dragged me to the Ferris wheel earlier, but I told her we needed to wait until after Noah’s game.”

Libby looked at Noah, who glanced at Kirby before answering. “Yeah, sure,” he said with a shrug.

“What time do you have to be at work?” Garrett asked.

“In about four hours.”

“Why don’t you stick around for a while?” Garrett suggested. “Unless you have something you need to do, that is. It’s almost noon. We can grab a bite at one of the food booths.”

Not sure that spending more time with Garrett than she had already was a good idea, Libby glanced at Sophie. The silent begging in the girl’s eyes was enough to make her give Garrett’s suggestion another chance. When she looked quickly at Noah to see what he might think, he nodded. There wouldn’t be any begging off.

“Sure,” she answered, unable to say no to all of them. “I have some time, and we all need to eat, right?”

“Right,” Garrett answered, smiling. “Let’s hit the rides first.”

Libby nodded, though her heart skipped a beat. All it took was looking up into Garrett’s soft gray eyes, and she knew she was heading for trouble. And she’d already had enough of that for a lifetime.

“NO, REALLY, I DON’t want to ride,” Libby protested.

But Garrett didn’t like the idea of leaving her out of the fun. “You can go with Noah and I’ll go with Sophie. Or you can go with both of them, and I’ll wait here.”

She took a step back, away from the line at the Ferris wheel, her chin at a defiant angle. “Absolutely not.”

He didn’t want to pressure her any more. He’d railroaded her into coming with him and Sophie, and he felt bad about it. But it wasn’t for him. It was for his daughter. Considering that even after almost a week he still felt completely at a loss at what to do or say, he needed someone to just be around. Noah and Libby were the perfect ones.

“Okay, you don’t have to ride,” he said. “Noah, come with me. Let’s get you a ride bracelet.” He turned to Libby. “Do you mind watching Sophie for a minute?”

Her face softened and she looked down at Sophie with a smile. “Of course not, but you don’t need to—”

Garrett stopped listening as he put his arm around Noah’s shoulders and led him to the ticket booth. He wasn’t willing to argue with Libby or make up excuses as to why he should pay for Noah’s rides. He had the money, she didn’t. And she was helping him by just spending time with them.

“Mom’s not comfortable when people do things for her,” Noah said, while Garrett handed over the money to the woman in the booth.

“Then she’ll just have to not be comfortable,” Garrett replied. “Put your hand up there so the lady can put the bracelet on you.”

When they were finished, they started back toward the Ferris wheel. Noah held up his arm. “I’ll pay you back for this.”

Garrett stopped dead in his tracks. “You’re just like your mom, aren’t you?”

At first, it appeared that Noah was going to argue. Instead, he ducked his head, shuffled the toe of one shoe in the grass and then looked up with an embarrassed grin. “Like mother, like son.”

“Do me a favor, will you?” Garrett asked. Noah nodded. “Forget about it. I’m doing this for Sophie, not for you or your mom. And you can tell your mom that later, if you think it will help.”

Noah nodded. “It might.”

Feeling a little better, but still determined not to let these two people think he was helping, he started for the Ferris wheel. He liked Libby. He wasn’t going to deny that. But with a four-year-old daughter now in his life, he sure didn’t need to even think about having a woman in it, too. He had enough to handle.

“Everything okay?” he asked Libby when he and Noah joined her and Sophie.

“Just fine,” Libby answered. “You got the bracelet?” she asked Noah. When he nodded, she looked up at Garrett, stubborn determination in the set of her jaw.

“Forget it, Libby,” he said, before she could utter a sound. “Please.”

“It’s okay, Mom,” Noah said quickly. “I already told him I’d pay him back.”

Libby visibly relaxed. “All right, then.”

Garrett bit his lower lip to keep from smiling. “Okay, so let’s get this ride thing organized. Are the three of us going to fit okay?”

Noah looked at Sophie, and then at Garrett. “I think so, but … Mom?”

“You’ll all fit. Looks like it’s your turn on the next stop.”

The four of them watched as the wheel rotated down toward them, slowing to a halt. Two high school girls climbed out of the seat, and Garrett turned to take Sophie’s hand. The three of them climbed into the roomy seat, Sophie in the middle, between them.

When the safety bar clicked, Libby waved and announced, “I think I’ll go scout out some lunch possibilities.”

The operator stepped away and pulled a lever. The wheel began to move. Beside him, Garrett felt Sophie stiffen. “It’s okay,” he told her. Her eyes were as big as dinner plates, and he took her small hand in his. “We’ll stop going backward when we get up to the top. See the ball field where Noah was playing earlier?”

“Don’t be scared,” Noah said. “Take a deep breath and close your eyes, if you are. When you get used to it, then you can open them.”

Garrett watched as she did as Noah instructed. After they stopped several times to let off old riders and take on new ones, and then made two complete circles, she’d relaxed. When she finally opened her eyes, there was a slight smile playing on her lips.