Marta Perry - Hero Dad

“Thanks.” She stepped inside and paused next to him, as if not sure what to do next.

Her head barely made it to his shoulder. He hadn’t realized, when they’d talked at the station, how small she was. Her light blond hair and pale ivory skin made her look as delicate as a porcelain doll.

An illusion, no doubt. No woman who’d talked the chief into agreeing to this story could be all that delicate.

She glanced up at him, soft layers of hair flowing against the shoulders of the coral sweater she wore. And what was he doing, noticing what the woman was wearing, anyway? This was business, not social. Ryan’s ribbing had taken over his thoughts.

“Are you sure I’m not too early?”

The repeated question clarified things for him. Julie was putting on a good front, but nervousness lay behind it.

“Relax.” He grinned, taking her arm. “We don’t bite, honest.”

Her face eased in a smile that melted whatever ice Ryan seemed to think was there. Seth blinked. That smile could thaw a glacier. Maybe he’d have to readjust his view of Julie.

“My nerves are showing, huh?”

“Well, you’re gripping that camera bag as if you intend to attack someone with it.”

She let go of the bag, shaking her fingers. “I’m always a little stressed when I’m starting a new project.”

He nodded toward the bag. “Did you want to start taking pictures already?” He hoped not. Maybe, given a day or two, he’d get used to the idea of having a stranger recording their lives. Or maybe not.

“Not until your family is ready.” Her smile took on a tinge of embarrassment. “I’m afraid the camera is my security blanket. If I don’t have it with me, I always think I’ll miss the best shot of my career.”

“Somehow I doubt that dinner with the Flanagans will give you that.”

“I also brought along a few magazines that contain some of my photo essays. I thought seeing them might reassure you that I know what I’m doing.”

He must have been too obvious. “I’d love to see some of your work.”

“So would I.” His mother swept into the room and over to them, still moving as lightly as a girl in spite of having five grown children. Six, if you counted Brendan, the orphaned nephew she’d raised.

His mother grasped Julie’s hand warmly in both of hers. “I’m Siobhan Flanagan. Welcome to our home. Goodness, Seth, what are you doing keeping Ms. White standing here like this? She’ll think I didn’t raise you right.”

“Julie, please, not Ms. White,” she said.

The words were right, but there was something strained about Julie’s smile that told him nervousness had taken hold again. What was wrong with the woman? Nobody could be more warm and welcoming than Siobhan Flanagan.

“I’m sure she’s not going to blame my shortcomings on you, Mom.”

“You kids came by those all by yourselves, didn’t you?” His mother swatted him lightly. “I don’t know how I got through raising the lot of you.”

He grabbed her and kissed her cheek. “Go on, now. Which of us would you like to get rid of?”

He glanced toward Julie as he spoke, and her expression startled him. For pity’s sake, she looked as if she’d never seen horseplay before. If that was the case, she wouldn’t last around the family long enough to do that story of hers.

His mother seemed to notice something, as well. She freed herself from his grasp, probably intending to try and put Julie at ease. But whatever she might have said was lost in the thunder of running feet.

Davy charged in from the kitchen at the headlong run that was his preferred method of locomotion. “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy.” The yell was earsplitting. “I help Grammy make supper.”

“I’ll bet you did, Davy-boy.” He scooped his son up and tossed him in the air, then held him against his chest. “Davy, say hello to Ms. White.”

Davy stuck his finger in his mouth, afflicted with sudden shyness, then apparently decided she was okay and lunged toward her. Julie’s arms went out automatically to grasp him, and he threw his arms around her neck in a hug.

She looked a little stunned.

“Sorry about that. Davy’s a born hugger.”

“That’s all right.” Her voice was muffled as she returned his son’s embrace. She pulled back a little. “Hello, Davy. It’s nice to meet you.”

The words were conventional. Her expression wasn’t, and it rocked him back on his heels.

He took a breath, trying to adjust his impressions of her once again. Ryan wouldn’t call her an ice maiden if he saw the way she looked now. Julie had plenty of feelings.

The rest of that conversation flickered through his mind. No, he certainly wouldn’t be expressing any interest in Julie White. He wanted someone safe, and whatever he was reading in Julie’s sea-green eyes wasn’t safe at all.

Julie felt as if she’d taken a blow to the heart. She was too overwhelmed with feelings to think straight, and she could only hope none of them showed on her face.

She’d told herself, objectively, that her mission here was clear. She had to make sure Lisa’s child had the best, and then she’d step back out of his life again.

But she hadn’t thought about how it would feel to hold a living, breathing, sturdy little boy in her arms. A squirming little boy, she realized.

She set him down, thankful that the movement hid her face for a moment. When she stood again, she was composed.

“So this is your son. He’s adorable.”

He was. She didn’t want to stop looking at him. He had a mop of soft red curls that glinted gold where the light touched. His eyes were the same golden brown that Seth’s were, and he had a sprinkling of freckles across his cheeks.

“Yeah, we think he’s a pretty neat kid.” Seth’s words were casual, but love and pride blazed across his face.

This was something else she’d left out of her planning. She hadn’t imagined the power of the love Seth had for his child, and it left her groping for solid ground.

Davy ran across the room to his uncle. Ryan scooped him up and tossed him in the air, the boy’s head nearly touching the ceiling. She flinched at the sight; they ought to be more careful with Lisa’s child.

Davy might look like his father, but there was an indefinable something in his heart-shaped face that reminded her of Lisa. Her fingers itched to pull out her camera and start snapping.

“Did you say you had some articles to show us?” Siobhan Flanagan’s question brought her back to her senses.

She couldn’t start taking pictures of Davy. She couldn’t do anything that would alert the Flanagan family to her interest in him.

“Yes, of course.” She pulled several magazine issues from her satchel. “These should give you an idea of the type of piece I have in mind.”

“Come, sit down.” Siobhan took one of the magazines and handed another to Seth. Then she drew Julie down beside her on the well-worn sofa.

Julie began explaining the photo piece she’d done on women pilots, but she could only give it half of her attention. The other half was focused on Seth, who sat opposite them with an article she’d done on one of the grand old resort hotels of the Maryland shore. He frowned at something, and her throat tightened.

Ridiculous, to care what he thought of her work. They had no relationship, in spite of the fact that he’d been married to her sister. That was the way Lisa had wanted it. The way she wanted it.

He glanced at her. “I’ve seen this place, but your pictures make me think I’ve never really looked at it.”

She was irrationally pleased. “I hope that’s a compliment.”

“It is.”

He gave her that easy grin, and her breath caught. Seth might be the quieter of the Flanagans, but he packed a powerful masculine punch, all the same.