Page 57 of Snowed In With the Mountain Man
JJ arched a brow at Levi, who had a harried air about him—not uncommon for the single father.
Levi rested his hands on his hips, giving his daughter a sideways glare. “She wants to go off with her friends, but I won’t let her,” he explained to Ethan and JJ.
“Everyone else is allowed to go off on their own,” she complained.
“Yeah, well, if everyone else jumped off a cliff, would you?” he retorted.
Ethan shot JJ a wince. It was no secret that Levi had been struggling to raise three kids on his own after his wife died a few years back. But at times like this, JJ wondered how much the kids were struggling too.
Everyone knew Levi was strict—maybe it came with the territory, being sheriff and all—but as a child of strict parents, JJ found himself watching a disgruntled Mikayla with sympathy.
He felt even more sympathy when he looked back to Levi. He didn’t seem angry. Not even frustrated. Just… lost. Tired.
JJ clapped a hand on his shoulder. “What if I was to take Mikayla around, see if maybe we can find some of her friends while you go check out your boys’ artwork?”
Mikayla’s eyes widened with hope, and Levi shot him a wary look. “You don’t mind?”
“Nah, I’m getting tired of just standing around,” JJ said. “I could use a stretch of my legs.”
Mikayla beamed at him, and he shot her a wink in return.
“All right,” Levi said slowly. “If you don’t mind… Thanks, JJ.”
“Not at all.” He and Mikayla were already starting to join the crowd heading toward the cafeteria.
“So, where are these friends of yours hanging out?” he asked.
She was all smiles now as she craned her neck to look for them. “Tamara and Lindsay were going to check out the music in the auditorium.” She looked up at him with wide eyes. “Can we go?”
“I don’t see why not.” He earned himself another beaming grin.
“Thanks, JJ,” she said. “If it was up to my dad, I’d be on a leash all day and all night.”
He chuckled. “Now, I’d say that might be a bit of an exaggeration.”
She arched one brow, and the cynical look made her look ten years older than she was.
“He only wants to keep you safe. But,” he added slowly, “my parents were strict as well, so I get where you’re coming from.”
“You do?”
He nodded. He rarely talked about his family, and he wasn’t about to start now. But apparently what he’d said was enough. “I’m glad somebody understands,” she sighed.
Mikayla found her friends right away, and JJ gave them some space, staying close enough to make sure she didn’t wander off but not so close that she couldn’t have some privacy with her friends.
He was content to stand on the sidelines and babysit, but after about ten minutes, he was distracted by the sight of Dahlia. She was standing next to Dex and Rose, watching one of the young musicians.
A little smile curved her lips, and when Rose whispered something to her, that little smile grew into something so beautiful it stole his breath.
He waited for her to notice him. But when she did, his insides gave another jolt of disappointment. She spotted him, all right—but she looked away just as quickly.
For the next twenty minutes he couldn’t shake the feeling that Dahlia was looking everywhere but at him.
“My friends are heading out.” Mikayla joined him by the wall. “Want to go find my dad and brothers?”
He nodded. “Sure.”
As he walked away, he couldn’t say for certain, but he was pretty sure Dahlia was pointedly ignoring him.
