A Dad For Charlie

“No one’s railroading anyone, Paige. I’m a cop. I’m doing my job.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that before.” She may as well have fired lasers at him given that look in her eye before she walked away.

The odd statement rang in his ears as he grabbed a new beer and rejoined his friends.

“That looked intense,” Luke observed when Fletch twisted off the cap so hard he left marks on his fingers. “Everything okay?”

“Peachy.” Fletch shook his head, dismissing his soured mood, and plastered on a congratulatory smile for his boss, the groom. “We can talk about it later. Today’s about you and Holly.” And he had the battle scars to prove it.

“You said it, Fletch.” Burly Matt Knight slapped Luke on the back, but no amount of jostling, it seemed to Fletch, was going to erase that goofy smile off his friend’s face. “Life as you know it is officially over, my friend.”

“Life just got a million times better.” Luke toasted his bride as Simon, Holly’s nearly nine-year-old son by her first marriage, dived toward them and suctioned himself to Luke’s side. “What’s going on, bud?”

“When are we going to eat?” Simon whined. “I’m staaaarving and Jason said he’s making burgers for all us kids.”

“Two helpings of pancakes this morning and you’re hungry.” Luke laughed. “I might need to take a second job to keep the kitchen stocked. Fletch?”

“Yeah?” Fletch couldn’t shake the feeling he’d inadvertently turned over an information-laden rock where Paige’s past was concerned. What on earth had she meant with that parting comment? Why was she taking the situation with Jasper O’Neill so personally? “What did I miss?”

“I think it’s more what we missed,” Ozzy joked as he tugged at the snug cummerbund around his ample waist. “Did you have a nice talk with Paige?”

“You talked to my mom?” Charlie danced from where she’d been circling Simon over to Fletch. She grabbed his hand and twirled again. “Yay! I’ve been hoping you two would be friends. Spin me again, please, Deputy Fletch!”

“Again?” Who needed an upper-body workout when Charlie Cooper was around? The little girl looked like she belonged in his sister’s childhood music box. He let out a dramatic sigh and let her grab hold of his hand. Before he could follow through, Simon leaped toward her and grabbed hold of her arm.

“Come on, Charlie! Let’s go check out the buffet table.”

“Later, Deputy Fletch!” Charlie called and let her best friend pull her away.

“Don’t go far, please,” Luke called after them. “You’re not done with pictures.”

“I’ll keep an eye on them.” Ozzy followed them inside.

“Tell me that woman put us out of our misery and asked you out,” Matt said to Fletch, who couldn’t tear his gaze away from Paige. “Since you haven’t had the guts to ask her yourself.”

“Far from it.” If anyone else had accused him of using a troubled kid as a rung on the professional ladder, he’d have dismissed them in a heartbeat. But Paige Cooper? She’d only increased his fascination. What he knew about her could fill a bullet casing.

Clearly there was more beneath the surface than even he’d imagined.

“What you need, Deputy Bradley,” Luke said, “is a plan of action where romance is concerned. Standing around mooning over her isn’t getting you anywhere.”

“Sitting around mooning isn’t either.” Matt choked on his beer when Fletch slugged him. “Oh, come on, man. I’m surprised you aren’t doodling her name with little hearts or something.”

“I don’t doodle.” He must have it bad if both Matt and Luke were both calling him on his unrequited...love? Fletch tried to dislodge that thought before it solidified. No. That wasn’t possible. But whatever this...thing...was between them, Paige Cooper had just thrown down the gauntlet.

And Fletch was more than happy to pick it up.

CHAPTER THREE (#u760a3c9d-5538-5b04-9853-a5cde400e719)

STANDING ON THE bride’s right listening to the click, click, click of the digital camera, Paige wondered just how big a mistake she’d made diving into the O’Neill situation without thinking things through. Story of her life. It didn’t seem to matter her intentions, somehow she always ended up on the wrong end of things.

Only this time things included Deputy Fletcher Bradley.

What kind of luck did she have to have that he was in charge of the break-ins investigation? Of all people? Of all...

Paige blew out a slow, controlled breath. She’d have to be blind not to notice how appealing the deputy was in his khaki uniform, but that was nothing compared with how he looked in all his formal best-man finery.

Her gaze flicked over to him, reason battling against flights of fancy. He was tall enough for her to look up to, and those sea-green eyes of his had all but twinkled as he’d spun her daughter like a top in front of the inn. The genuine smile on his lips accentuated the lean features of his handsome face beneath a cap of wavy doe-brown hair. Boy, she needed to get some things under control. Beginning with her daughter’s growing attachment to the Deputy and ending with Paige’s own...attraction. Never in her life had she ever dealt with a man she couldn’t seem to think straight around. If she was going to keep her promise to Willa and Nina, she’d have to interact with the good deputy in the coming days.

Wasn’t that just a great big piece of terrific?

She recognized that look in Fletch’s eyes when she mentioned Jasper O’Neill. She’d seen the expression on the face of the detective who had questioned her back in New York. The detective who had decided a kid was guilty simply because of his circumstances and history. The same young man whom Paige had gone out of her way to help.

Paige bit the inside of her cheek. Until now she’d thought Fletcher Bradley to be one of the most charming...and honorable men she’d ever met. Open, friendly, honest. Sticking her nose into a situation only to come up against him?

Paige clenched her fists around her bouquet.

Boy, she’d really stepped in it this time. She’d promised Willa and Nina. Following through meant dealing with Fletcher. Somehow she’d have to find a way to make that work and still stay under his speculative radar.

Did he have to sound so logical? She was an outsider. This really wasn’t any of her business. But if she could make the days just a little easier on Jasper’s mother and sister, how could she not jump into the fray? If Deputy Do-Gooder wasn’t going to be forthcoming with more information, clearly she’d have to find out on her own.

“Take a break, ladies,” the photographer called, motioning to his suddenly silent camera.

“Thank goodness.” Holly Campbell, now Saxon, sagged a bit in her tea-length antique lace wedding gown and massaged her cheeks with her fingers. “I can’t feel my face.” The miniature roses and tiny fabric butterflies woven through her shoulder-length brown hair made the diner owner look like a fairy-tale princess come to life; all that was missing were cartoon birds flying around her head.

The just-married couple gazed at each other in a way that made Paige’s stomach hurt.

She’d given up on happily-ever-after even before Charlie’s father died; her one shot at happiness, and of course Paige had somehow found a way to ensure it completely misfired.

As if her eyes had a mind of their own, she found herself glancing at Fletcher before she ducked her head.

She couldn’t let today be about lamenting the past or the choices she’d made. Today was about Holly and Luke’s future. Listening to the roar of the ocean over the other side of the expansive Pacific cliffs, feeling the barest hint of sea spraying mist on her face, Paige had to admit, the day had been perfect.

“I thought maybe you were hiding in the kitchen with Jason a while ago.” Maid of honor Abby swooped around the bride and wrapped an arm around Paige’s waist. On the short side with tumbling blond curls and a generous, radiant smile, the hotel manager was considered Butterfly Harbor’s personal pixie. “Imagine our surprise when we saw you up on the cliff with Deputy Studly.”

“You did not just call him that.” Paige couldn’t help but consider the moniker appropriate.

“Hey, what’s said between bridesmaids stays between bridesmaids, right, Holly?” Abby blinked wide-eyed innocent eyes at her.

“If you say so,” Holly said before she wandered over to Luke, who slipped his arms around his new wife with as little effort as it took for him to breathe.

“Jason said something about needing a taste tester,” Paige said against the rush of happy tears. “Just be careful you don’t accidentally cook anything while you’re in there.” Abby stuck her tongue out at Paige. Paige chuckled. “Even today you couldn’t drag him out of the kitchen, could you?”

“Jason’s still working on the whole public-interaction side of things. We’re lucky he came to the ceremony. But not to worry. I will acclimate him before our wedding day comes.” Abby leaned her head on Paige’s shoulder as they watched the bride and groom interact. “I’m so happy for her.”

“Me, too.”

“That could be you, you know.” Abby squeezed her arm. “All you have to do is give Fletch the all clear—”