Page 39 of Kissing Her Rescuer

Dewey set Carrie away from him. “Give me a moment, Princess.”

“Okay,” she paused. “Daddy.”

Both their grins were instant and identical. God, she'd never noticed that before. The cheeks. The way their lips curled. He met Eliza's eyes, hesitated only a half-second before leaning over and giving her a kiss on the cheek. His aftershave or cologne had long worn off, but he smelled like Dewey, and she wanted him to come back for a better kiss, but he left.

Did her dad figure it out? Probably. Any adult could assume what they'd meant by that.

A raised shout, her dad's, drifted into the kitchen.

“Honey, let's go outside and get your boots on, so you're ready when they get done talking. You can ask me any questions you have about Dewey.”

Carrie skipped ahead to the door, turning the handle and looking up at her mom. “Do I have to see Zach again?”

“No.” After it was final, Eliza hoped she'd never had to see, hear, talk to him again either.

“Talk to him on the phone?”

“No. Anything else?”

Carrie's unfazed attitude made the entire transition easier. “Nope.” She pushed open the door and left. If only her dad would take it that well.

Dewey letHugh say his piece. He wouldn't be too happy about the situation if Carrie ended up in a similar position as Eliza.

They walked back into the kitchen, now empty. Dewey had grown up running through this kitchen, waving to Mrs. Campbell as he and Cameron grabbed a cookie or two she always had set out on the table.

Strange how everything had come full circle. Now his daughter ate her cereal at that table. Mrs. Campbell would be pleased. He had to believe that.

“I don't suspect you could be a worse father than Zach.”

Dewey paused at the sink, leaning on the counter and staring out the window at Eliza and Carrie doing cartwheels in the backyard. Hugh would have to get used to the idea, and both he and Eliza needed to stop comparing him to Zach.

At a full head taller than Hugh, Dewey kept his posture relaxed despite the irritation at being measured by Zach's standard.

“It wouldn't take much to be better than Zach, but I plan to be a good dad, Hugh. I love Carrie. And I never stopped caring for your daughter. Right now, she's refusing to take any support from me for herself or for Carrie.”

Hugh huffed. “Stubborn like her mama.”

“And her daddy.” Dewey waited for that to sink in. “And even if Eliza won't take anything I have to give, everything I have is Carrie's, whether Eliza wants it or not. Whatever Carrie needs, I'll be there to give it to her. You've known me my whole life, you know how I was raised. You can't possibly think I'd want any less for my own daughter.”

Hugh studied him a moment. “I still disapprove of how this situation came about, but I can't regret my granddaughter. I will hold you to your word.”

“Please do.”

“And I won't shy away from speaking my mind.”

He'd assumed that anyway. “Of course.”

A small, rare smile replaced his usual scowl. “Good luck. Raising a girl is a unique wonder of the universe. And I'm so damn happy Zach is out of the picture for good I could hug you.”

Slowly, with his face as serious as possible, Dewey opened his arms wide.

Hugh huffed and held out his hand. “It was an expression.”

With a half-laugh, Dewey shook Hugh's hand. “I’ll give your granddaughter the hugs instead.”

He opened the back door, ready to take his daughter out to fish. But they had to make a stop first.

“Princess, grab your gear and let’s get in the car. We have to give someone a big surprise.” He didn't address the questions in Eliza's eyes. The conversation with her dad was between the two of them. “You're welcome to come along. If you want to record my mom's reaction to the news, I'm sure we could post it on the Internet, and it would go viral.”

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