Page 23 of Rescued by the Single Dad

Brooke heaved a sigh. “I have no idea. I can’t hide forever. But for the moment, it’s the safest thing to do.”

“I’m glad you washed up on our beach and my dad found you.”

Brooke smiled. “Yeah, me, too.”

“My dad’s the brewmaster down at the brewery. He’s the one who comes up with all the different beer flavors and stuff. He says it’s a science but also a skill.”

“I’m sure it is.”

“I don’t really like the taste of beer.”

“Probably a good thing, considering you’re only ... eight?”

Talia craned her head around, a big grin on her face. She’d lost a couple of teeth recently as the new ones were still stubby and not as long as the rest. “Yeah. Yesterday was my birthday.”

Brooke gently guided Talia’s head back around so she could work on the second braid. “Well, happy belated birthday.”

Clint came into the living room from the kitchen. “We’re going to head down to the pub.” His gaze settled on Brooke, the blue of his irises practically glowing from the morning sun filtering in through the high south-facing windows. “Will you be okay here?”

“We’ll keep her company, Dad,” Talia said.

“See. I’ve got babysitters and everything.” Brooke flashed Clint a cheeky smile that made his nostrils flare and the sparkle in his eyes intensified. Her belly grew warm. So did her cheeks.

They held each other’s gaze for a long moment. A longer moment than was appropriate for two people who were pretty much strangers.

Bennett clearing his throat and approaching, pulled Clint and Brooke’s gazes away simultaneously.

Clint focused on Talia. “It’s hard to explain, but I need you girls to keep Brooke’s ...”

“Aliveness?” Talia offered.

He snorted. “Yes. I need you to keep Brooke’s aliveness a secret for now. Not even your friends at school can know. Or when you come down to the brewery, you can’t even mention Brooke to the staff. I need to be able to trust you with this. Got it?”

Talia nodded. “Got it. And we only have like a week left of school anyway, so ...” She lifted a shoulder.

Aya and Emerson nodded as well. “Got it, Uncle Clint,” they both said.

“Be good,” Bennett said, focusing his words on his daughters. “I’m taking a walkie talkie if you need anything.” He unclipped said walkie talkie from his back pocket, then pointed to another one identical to it on the kitchen counter. “Channel seven.”

“We know, Dad,” Emerson said impatiently. “We’ve been doing this for years.”

Bennett gave her a hard look for half a second, but the little girl didn’t recoil at all. She held his gaze. After only three heartbeats, Bennett’s expression softened, and he smiled. “I know you have. I trust you.”

Clint glanced once more at Brooke. “You can use the walkie talkie, too, if you need anything. And there is a landline phone, too.”

“Thanks.” She smiled and nodded. His smile grew, and that’s when she noticed the single dimple on the right side of his full lips. It was hidden beneath the scruff, but since this was a pretty big smile compared to the others she’d seen from him, now that dimple was out in full force.

And it was deadly.

Her belly fluttered, and a silly giggle bubbled in her throat.

Bennett and Clint’s eyes went wide.

Brooke’s cheeks got even hotter, and she averted her gaze quickly and shook her head. “We should be fine. Lots of hair to braid and apparently, we’re going to do mani-pedis next.”

“That’s right,” Aya chimed in.

She caught a glimpse of Clint’s nod out of the corner of her eye, but since she was actively avoiding looking at him now, she had to assume the nod was intended for her.

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