Page 19 of Heaven Leigh’s Little Halloween

He snorted. “You’re standing outside a kitchen. You smell lunch and probably chocolate, chiquita.” But as she continued to grin at him, he sighed. “Maybe a little chemistry too,” he admitted.

She squealed. “I knew it! I told her—”

Angel quickly pressed one finger to her lips. “Shush. I’ve known her for less than a week. So we’ll see what happens. Don’t be starting rumors just yet.” He used his firm voice.

Hayleigh let out a long sigh and he dropped his finger. “Okay, but you know information moves fast around here.”

“Just make sure you’re not helping it move.” He made shooing motions with his hands. “I’m sure you’re supposed to be some place right now.”

Her expression changed to one of panic. “Oh, crap on a cracker! I’m late for class.” With a squeak she hurried away, not quite breaking the rule about running.

She wasn’t wrong though, and information wasn’t the only thing that moved fast at Rawhide Ranch. Relationships did too, but he wasn’t someone who rushed the important things. If working with chocolate had taught him anything, it was that going slow and easy almost always worked out better in the long run.

So why was he wanting to throw that all out the window for this Little girl he barely knew? Why did he want to track her down and make sure she was okay?

Chapter 7

Everything had been going so well. It had been a lovely morning, working with chocolate, while Angel took the time to teach her new things. She felt challenged, and her creative spark, which had been banked for so long, was suddenly flaring brightly.

Heaven felt comfortable with him. There were long silences where they just worked together, and neither felt the need to talk… she liked that. For too much of her life she’d been forced to put on a show of being sociable. First by her parents, who needed all their perfect children to perform.

Then with the show, which had been her choice, and one she didn’t regret, but it had still worn on her at times. Since she’d come to the Ranch, she’d been happy to slip into the background, watching and listening. It felt safe and cozy being one of the crowd.

Angel made her want to talk, but there was no pressure to do so. It created a good working relationship. When he’d asked her to have lunch with him, something inside had pinged, and her heart seemed to skip a beat. Of course she’d said yes.

He’d sweet-talked one of the kitchen staff into packing them a lunch to-go. It didn’t take much, since it was a common request, but still, a picnic was a nice idea.

The weather in Montana could be unpredictable in October, but today it was unseasonably warm, almost hitting the seventies. The sun shone bright overhead, and Angel settled them under a tree, which she appreciated.

Her pale skin freckled up quick and burned almost as fast. She already had enough freckles on her face without adding another sprinkling of them. Angel’s skin, in contrast, was a lovely shade of light brown that probably managed the sun much better than hers.

They ate and talked. She was more interested in him than in her lunch, but he kept reminding her to eat, and that felt… nice. Heaven liked that he did little caring things like that, and she could see him as a Daddy.

She didn’t think either of them had expected the conversation to go so deep. It had gone that way suddenly and he’d taken her by surprise. While she said little about her own weird life, he’d been fairly open about his.

And about what he’d lost.

Angel seemed to have only two modes… intense concentration when he worked, and relaxed amusement when he wasn’t focused on something. He didn’t yell. He was never impatient, and he usually had a smile on his face.

She wouldn’t have expected to find out he was a widower and it had sent her spinning. Her own grief wrapped around her like a blanket every time she thought of Barbara. The older woman had been the only person to ever believe in her for who she was.

To her parents she was a prop and a useful tool. To the people who watched her show, she was entertainment, not quite on the level of a movie star, but still an icon. But to Barbara she’d been a friend and the daughter she’d never had.

It made her feel closer to Angel, knowing he’d suffered a major loss too. And it gave her hope that he’d been able to recover and move on… because some days she wasn’t sure she ever would.

But then he’d joked about her name and that broke apart the peace. He was far from the first person to make the connection of Heaven Leigh to Heavenly. She tried to limit the number of times it came up by specifying a different pronunciation for her second name. It helped some, but not always.

Her parents had named her that way on purpose. They wanted people to hear her name and immediately think she was sent from heaven. Heavenly was what her father called her when he pulled her on stage. Heavenly was what they called her when they bragged to their followers how perfect she was.

But they’d never believed she was perfect. It was just part of the show.

This is our daughter Heavenly. Hear how beautifully she sings? See how her hair is golden just like an angel from Heaven? We must be godly to have a daughter like this, so fill that collection plate, and you can be blessed too.

Sometimes she wished she had thrown the name away and started over with something else. It would have saved so many problems, but there was a stubborn part that didn’t want to give up pieces of herself, just because of how her parents had used her. And maybe there was still a rebellious streak that wanted to succeed with the name they’d saddled her with, in spite of them, in a way she knew they wouldn’t approve of.

Altering the pronunciation was something she knew they’d hate. It denied the purpose of the name.

Hearing Angel bring up the Heavenly thing hit her like a bucket of ice water. Those moments of sharing between them had opened her up a little, made her vulnerable. It affected her more than it normally would have, and she’d been overwhelmed with a deluge of painful memories that left her no choice but to run away.

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