Temporary Dad

Golf and baseball trophies.

Those goofy little clay ashtrays kids make in kindergarten.

Little brothers.

He sighed into the phone.

“Jed, the chief’s real sorry about your sister, but we need you down here. Want me to call Marcie and ask her to watch the triplets for you?”

Marcie was Craig’s wife.

And yeah, she could come sit with the babies, but that would be about the extent of it. Those two didn’t even own a dog or a guppy. What did she know about taking care of three newborns?

But Annie…

She’d know what to do.

The way she’d calmed his niece and nephews earlier that day—it’d been a bonafied miracle.

“Jed? Want me to tell Chief when you’ll be in?”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Will do,” Craig said. “Catch you later.”

Jed pressed the phone’s off button.

He hated asking for help.

After his parents had died, he’d looked after not only himself but his sister, who’d been ten. He was nineteen then, and he’d done a good job. Their folks’ life insurance hadn’t lasted long, and when it’d run dry, he’d finished college at the University of Tulsa, taking night classes. Worked his tail off during the day making sure Patti had everything a kid could want.

The bank took the house they’d lived in with their parents since after the fire, but he’d found them an apartment over the old town theater. The whole building had long since been condemned, but back then, they’d played dollar movies there on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

When Patti was still a sweet kid, he’d taken her to most of the shows. No R-rated ones, though—his mom wouldn’t have approved.

He’d come close a few times to having to sell the cabin in Colorado that’d been in their family for generations. Money had been crazy tight, but somehow, he’d made things work. That cabin was the only tangible reminder of their parents. A part of Jed felt that he owed it not just to Patti, but to his own future children to keep it in the family. No matter what the personal cost.

He’d single-handedly raised his sister. He’d gone over her homework, helped her study for tests. Gone looking for her when he suspected she was hanging with the wrong crowd. Grounded her when, sure enough, he’d caught her guzzling beer down by the river.

He’d even been there to rub her back when she’d thrown up those beers a few hours later in the apartment’s rust-stained toilet.

He’d covered college applications and tuition. Book and dorm costs.

Through all of that, he’d never asked for any help himself.

Never wanted it.

But now…

Somehow this was different.

Helping Patti study for a test? That he could do. Dragging her home from a party? Paying her student loans? He could do that, too. But figure out how to care for three babies while launching a full-fledged investigation into Patti’s whereabouts?

He groaned.

If this afternoon was any indication of the fun still ahead, his sister’s latest stunt just might do him in.

Jed sighed, resting his elbows on the kitchen counter. “Patti, where are you?”

Ten minutes later, propping his front door open with a bag of rock salt he’d found in the coat closet, Jed did the unthinkable—knocked on Annie Harnesberry’s door to ask for help.

“JED. HI.” Annie ran her fingers through the mess on her head. Ever since leaving her neighbor’s, she’d been hard at work on her guest bath, scraping the shoddily applied popcorn ceiling, making way for something grander. A nice, restful Scrabble game would’ve been more fun, but difficult with only one player. Hmm…Someday she’d have to see if her new neighbor liked to play.

“Looks like you’ve been busy.” He brushed a large chunk of ceiling from her hair.

Not sure whether to feel flustered or flattered by his unexpected touch, Annie fidgeted with the brass door-knob. “One of the reasons I chose this condo was its great bone structure. Redecorating is a hobby of mine.”

“Great. Maybe you could tackle my place when you’re finished. We could talk tile over pizza.”

“Maybe.” Though his tone had been teasing, something about the warmth in Jed’s eyes led Annie to wonder if he might be at least a little serious about wanting to see her again. Was that why he was there?

To ask her out?

Wow. She’d just made this big move designed to steer her clear of all men, yet here she was, faced with another one. Even worse, the old optimist in her, the one who so badly wanted to find that elusive pot of gold at the end of the dating rainbow, had almost said yes. After all, the guy was movie-star gorgeous.

Not that appearance mattered in the scheme of things. Look what had happened during her first go-around with a good-looking guy. Her ex-husband, Troy, had been gorgeous. He’d also turned out to be her worst nightmare.

“Do you like Scrabble?” she blurted, not sure why. Both Troy and Conner had hated the game that was her family’s passion.

“Love it,” Jed said. “Sometime, when my life calms down, we’ll have to play. I warn you, though, I’m pretty good.” He winked.

Her stomach fell three stories.

No. No matter how handsome her new neighbor happened to be, she wasn’t—couldn’t be—interested. Yes, she’d date again because she couldn’t bear the thought of ending up alone. But not yet. Her head and heart just weren’t ready.

“Well—” He shuffled his feet.

From across the breezeway, Annie noticed his propped-open front door, and beyond that, the corner of a blue bassinet. “Your sister’s still not back?”

“No. I’m really starting to freak out.”

“I don’t blame you,” she said, squelching the urge to comfort him with a hug. At work, she hugged parents and students and co-workers, but in this situation, a hug might imply a certain affection she shouldn’t want to share.

“The reason I’m here,” he said, shooting her a beautiful smile that did the funniest things to her breathing, “is that all hell’s breaking loose down at the station and they need me ASAP. So, anyway, I was wondering if you could hang out at my place for the next twenty-four hours? That’s the length of my shift—but I’m sure Patti’ll be back way before then.”

“You mean you want me to babysit?” Handsome Jed Hale wasn’t here to ask her on a date but to care for his sister’s triplets.

She should’ve been relieved, so why did Annie’s heart sink? Why didn’t men see her for her, but only for her knack with kids?