Page 46 of Harmless Secrets

“I can keep an eye on her.”

She hesitated, not because she didn’t trust him, but because she wasn’t quite sure he knew what he was getting into.

“Are you sure?”

He nodded. “I’ve handled Alana and she’s a handful, so I am pretty sure I can handle Bridget.”

“Okay. Tell you what,” she said to Bridget. “Why don’t we go upstairs and you can get dressed? Then you can meet Devon back down here.”

“Okay.” She turned to look at Devon. “I’ll be right back.”

He stood and helped her down. As they walked away, Alicia knew he watched them. She could feel his gaze boring into her back. But, for the first time in a long time, she felt comforted by the attention. It had been a long time since she’d had someone watch her back.

Devon grabbed his fishing pole as he and Bridget walked out onto the lanai. Before moving to Hawaii, he had never really fished. Being the geek he was, he didn’t spend a lot of time outdoors. He’d found the pole at the house one day and spent time on the dock. He hadn’t caught a thing, but it had given him time to think out a problem with a new program he was working on.

“Are there a lot of fish in the water?” Bridget asked.

“Not sure. I don’t catch much.”

“Oh,” she said, sounding disappointed. “I hope Dee comes soon with my new bathing suit. I really like to swim.”

He nodded as they walked side by side down the dock. He helped her sit down, then took the spot next to her.

“Dee said she would be here soon, and I think there is a good chance Alana is coming with her.”

“Yay. I don’t get to spend much time with other girls.”

He would love to read Ali the riot act about that, but considering the situation, he understood her reasoning. She had been doing everything right to keep their daughter safe. He probably would have done something similar.

“So, what do you do to fish?”

He smiled down at her, then turned his attention to the pole. He set it in the water.

“This is it.”

Bridget said nothing for a few minutes. He had a few nibbles, but nothing really came up and took hold.

He looked at Bridget, who was scanning the area. She looked so much like her mother at that moment it was a bit uncanny.

“What are you doing?”

“Looking. I might not get to stay here long and I want to remember it all.”

That seemed a little mature for her age, but there was a good chance she had a near genius IQ. Plus, living with someone who was hyper conscious of her surroundings probably caused Bridget to be a little more observant.

“I’ll tell you what.”

“What?”

“You can come back here anytime you want. You and your mommy.”

The moment the words were out of his mouth, he realized how true they were. He did want a relationship, especially with his daughter. Her mother…he wasn’t sure of that yet.

“Really?” she asked.

“Sure, I have more than enough—oof.”

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.

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