“Well, sleeping on that couch like you were all night certainly doesn’t help. I’m glad you came out here with me though, I want to talk to you.” He stared off in the distance and squinted his eyes. “I’ve known Sophia and Kacie for about ten years now. Sophia and I have grown to be great friends, and Kacie … well, she’s like a daughter to me, Brody.” He looked me square in the eye and I focused right back on his. “I don’t know how much she’s told you about her past, but when that little prick left her four years ago, it devastated her.”

Kacie hadn’t filled me in on many details yet, so part of me felt like I was betraying her by listening. The other part of me didn’t dare interrupt him because I wanted every bit of information I could get about her.

He continued, “When she called her mom from Minneapolis and told us that he was gone, we immediately went into worker-bee mode. Painting rooms, putting together cribs, buying stuffed animals … all so they would feel at home when they got here. When they did finally arrive a few days later, they weren’t ten feet in the door when Kacie set the girls down and collapsed in her mom’s arms. She didn’t leave her bed that whole first week.” Fred took his glasses off and used his pointer finger and thumb to rub his eyes. I wasn’t sure if he was tired also, or if he was getting choked up reliving this. “Sophia would make her food and take it in to her. An hour later she would go get it and bring back an untouched plate along with a small trash bag full of tissues. She was crushed, heartbroken.” He let out a heavy sigh.

I put my hand up before he started talking again. “Wait, I don’t get it. If he was such an asshole, wouldn’t she be happy he was gone?”

He looked down at the bottom of the boat, kicking at loose paint with his worn out leather boots. “I’m sure she didn’t tell you anything about her dad either?”

She hadn’t said one word about him. I just shook my head, not sure I wanted to hear any more about what she’d gone through.

“I can’t say too much about that, I wasn’t around when he was. All I really know is that he was Kacie’s hero. She followed him around like a shadow her whole life, a real daddy’s girl. Then one day, he up and left Sophia and Kacie when Kacie was ten. Divorced Sophia and left her for another woman, never really kept in touch with Kacie either. When Kacie found out she was pregnant, she was hellbent on keeping her family together and giving the girls all that she didn’t have. Then when Zach left, she felt like she was not only reliving everything with her dad again, but she’d somehow failed Lucy and Piper too.”

We both sat in silence for a minute, staring at our feet, taking it all in.

“Anyway, the reason I’m telling you all this is because I made a promise to myself during that time that I would never allow someone to hurt Kacie like that again. She’s an amazing girl, as you’ve seen. She’s smart, she’s beautiful, and she’s an outstanding mom. Those girls are her life and she protects them fiercely. Sophia and I both agree though, she does deserve more—she deserves to be happy.” He looked up from his boots and stared at me again, his eyes softer now. “I haven’t seen her look at a man like she’s looking at you … ever. Not even Zach. In all honesty, Brody, it scares the hell out of me.”

“Let me stop you for a second, Fred. I don’t know what you’ve heard or read about me, but I’m not a bad man. I’m not a love ‘em and leave ‘em man. I’m not a playboy. I’ve never been in a serious relationship, though I’m not sure that’s a good thing.” He let out a nervous laugh as I continued. “What I do know is that I like Kacie. I like her a lot. Am I in love with her? No, I just met her a week ago, but there’s something about her that just gets to me. Something that keeps me wanting to spend more and more time with her and I’d like to explore that.”

Our eyes were locked and a faint smirk teased the corners of his mouth as I kept going.

“I know that what I do for a living is hard for some people to grasp. It’s not typical, and it’s not always an ideal situation, but I’m really hoping that it won’t interfere with Kacie and me. I also hope no one will interfere.”

His eyebrows shot up in surprise, but his smile remained.

Crap, I hadn’t meant for that last part to come out as aggressive as it did.

“I like you, Brody. I don’t know why yet, but I like you. Please be gentle with her. She acts like a tough, stubborn little shit, but she’s fragile.” He extended his hand out to me and I grasped it with my right hand then clapped his with my left.

“You have my word, Fred. No games.”

The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled and nodded once at me. “Good, cause this lake is pretty deep out there in the middle, and I have a lot of old weights from my military days just laying around, looking for a new purpose.”

“You look like hell.” I stared wide-eyed at Brody as he closed the back door and dragged himself across the family room, collapsing on the kitchen table.

“I feel like it,” he responded as his head fell onto his folded forearms.

“Have you been out with Fred all morning?” I walked over and stood across the table from him.

He lifted his head and rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, since about six. We probably would have stayed longer, but it started pouring on us.”

I looked out the over-sized family room windows at the rain, bummed that the girls and I would be stuck inside for the day.

“Did you catch anything?”

He laughed, seemingly amused by my question.

“What?” I asked defensively.

“Nothing,” he said, shaking his head, a slight grin still apparent on his face. “Yeah, we caught a few bass and we talked … a lot.”

Panic flared in me. “Uh-oh, what does that mean?”

He looked at me without saying anything, and his eyes danced around my face. When he stared at me like that, he made me feel like I was under a microscope. Instead of metal clips holding me down, it was his two piercing green eyes.

“It means that Fred really cares about you. You’re a lucky girl.” He took my hand, gently kissing the top of it. My skin tingled where he’d kissed it, even after he pulled his lips away.

“Mom, what’s for breakfast?”

I pulled my hand back quickly when Lucy came in the room. Looking at Brody, I was relieved when he smiled and winked at me, not at all offended that I hadn’t wanted her to see his affection for me.

“I don’t know. What should we make today?” I scooped up Lucy and sat her on the island, eye to eye with me.

Her father’s brown eyes looked up toward the ceiling as she contemplated what she wanted to eat. “Chocolate chip pancakes!” she answered excitedly.

“Coming right up.” She wiggled to get down, but I caught her knee before she was able to get away. “Uh … pay the toll.”

She giggled and gave me a big smooch before hopping off the island and disappearing back down the hall.

I grabbed the pancake mix and chocolate chips out of the cabinet and tossed them on the island, glancing over at Brody who was still sitting at the table with his elbows bent, hands clasped together, staring at me.

“What are you looking at?”