“Oh?” She glanced at him, then away. Being with him like this, even with Sadie nearby, was a unique form of intimacy, one she’d never experienced before. The probing way his dark eyes looked at her, the shared whispers, the...trust? Yes, she sensed that he trusted her, and it filled her with purpose. “That sounds like an important position?”
He looked at his daughter again, his gaze warm but also determined. “Not as important as Sadie.”
That answer made her smile from the inside out. “No, of course not.”
“Now I freelance remotely with the firm, primarily with my longest-standing clients, who didn’t want to switch reps, but I’m mostly focusing on internet advertising. The hours are more flexible.”
“That’s wonderful. You should let the local paper know. They’d probably love to do a feature on you.”
“I might, thanks.” Tash stayed right with her, strolling along, making her überaware of him. That wouldn’t do. The man was a father, for crying out loud, and she was only there to create the perfect spaces for Sadie.
Tash hadn’t said it, but she knew he wanted her to feel settled in and happy.
Unfortunately, when she asked Sadie about her preferences, all she got was a shrug.
When Tash started to intercede, Autumn reached back to reassure him...and inadvertently touched his stomach. She snatched her hand away.
He caught her wrist, his strong fingers completely encompassing it. Screw the big bones—his bones were obviously bigger!
Voice low, he said, “She’s holding back, but I promise you, she’s excited.”
Did he think she’d lose her enthusiasm? Not likely. “Give me just a second with her, okay?” Without waiting for his reply, she moved to where Sadie sat on the ground. “Mind if I join you?”
Nose scrunching, Sadie squinted up at her. “Why?”
“I wanted to talk about my plans, see if they work for you.”
Another shrug didn’t deter Autumn. Mimicking Sadie’s pose, she sat yoga-style beside her. “So I was thinking of building something around that tree.” She pointed to the mature oak. “The branches are high enough that a tree fort would be really cool.”
Sadie looked up, her blue eyes rounding. “Tree fort?”
Now I’ve got you. Suppressing her smile, Autumn asked, “Do you like to climb?”
With a caution that Autumn now recognized, Sadie said, “Yeah, but...”
“Excellent.” Arranging a drawing pad on her lap, Autumn leaned closer so Sadie could see and started sketching. She drew a basic structure around the trunk of the tree with an extension to hold swings and a slide. “You’d go up this ladder to get to the platform, through a trapdoor and then to the deck. There’d be a railing around it to make it safe, of course. Your dad loves you too much to take a chance on you getting hurt.” She went on quickly, glossing over the fact that Tash was apparently a lot more cautious than her mom had been. “We could decorate the deck any way you want. More unicorns or—”
“I like pirates.”
“Oh, excellent!” Running with that small admission, Autumn said, “We could make it to look like the helm of a pirate ship.” Adding on to the sketch, she said, “We could put a ship’s wheel here, as if you’re sailing, and maybe a telescope so you could look out and see the squirrels and birds.” She nudged her with her shoulder. “I remember that you like looking at birds.”
Sadie chewed her lip. “It sounds nice.”
“It’ll be more than nice, I promise.”
“You’ll really build it?”
And there it was, the little girl’s worry. How many times had she been promised something, only to end up disappointed? “If your dad approves, I’ll draw it up and my sister, Ember, will do most of the building. She’s crazy-good with power tools.”
Because he’d been listening, Tash immediately joined them, lowering his muscular body to sit the same way so that they formed a small circle. “Let me see.” He took the sketch pad from Autumn and then whistled. “Man, I would have loved something like this when I was a kid.”
“It’ll be sturdy enough to support you, I promise.”
“And you?” Sadie asked, her excitement growing.
“Heck, yeah. I expect an invitation to your open house.”
Pleased with her drawing, Tash asked, “Could you put in some monkey bars?” He reached out to muss Sadie’s here. “She is a little monkey, you know.”
Sadie’s smile brightened, before she tempered it again.
Undeterred, Tash smoothed Sadie’s hair. “Which would you want her to start on first? Your bedroom, the playroom, or the swing set?”
Her big blue-eyed gaze flickered over her dad, then Autumn.
And they got another shrug.
“My suggestion,” Autumn said, “is the area out here. I think Ember could start next week if that works for you. In the meantime, I could be getting stuff together for the bedroom.”
It almost killed her when Sadie looked so hopeful.
Tash recognized the problem, too, because he asked, “How long do you think it’ll take you to get everything done?”
“I don’t need a playroom,” Sadie stated, stalling Autumn’s answer. “I mean...” She squirmed, drew a breath. “Dad should have an office, right?”
Gently, Tash said, “I don’t mind working in the living room.”
“But...” Again, she glanced at each of them, then seemed to shore up her determination. “If we’re staying here, you need an office.”
Oh, my, such a beautiful little spirit. Unable to resist, Autumn put an arm around Sadie and drew her in for a hug. “You are just the sweetest person I’ve ever met.” She even put a kiss to the top of Sadie’s head, then got back to business. “So an office. We could easily do that. And truthfully, Sadie is going to have an amazing bedroom. I have all kinds of ideas so that it’ll be perfect for playing and sleeping. It’s up to you, of course, but if you want—”
“I think Sadie is brilliant,” Tash said, pulling the girl into his lap. “Will you help me figure out what I’ll need in an office? Including your own section, so that when I’m really busy, you can still be in there with me?”
“But...you’ll have to work.”
“True,” he said, his tone grave. “But I like seeing you play sometimes. Maybe when it’s rainy and you can’t get out, or if you just feel like being close—the way I sometimes do. The office would face the backyard, so when you wanted to play, I could still see you, hear you...” He gave her a squeeze. “Hear you laughing.”