Second Chance Father

“I can’t tell you anything patient-specific, but since he is at the children’s home, it’s common knowledge that he lost his family.”

“How?” The word came out thick and raspy. “How did he lose his family?”

She needed to get back to Willow’s Haven, but the concern in his masculine tone caused her to answer. “A car crash. Cody was the sole survivor.”

A shadow passed over his face, a look of sadness, or longing. Merely a flicker of emotion, but Elise saw it.

He turned his attention to the tree branches shifting overhead, and the thick cords of his neck pulsed as he swallowed. “He lost his family.”

Her background gave her a keen sense at reading people. This man had been hard to interpret at a distance, but now that he stood so close, she could tell from the tiny twitch beneath his eye that he worked hard to keep his emotions in check.

She suddenly wanted to know more about this mysterious stranger who lived in the woods. Glancing at his left hand, she saw no ring. And then she mentally stopped that train of thought. She lived in Birmingham and had a great practice there. This was a special case that would have her staying at Willow’s Haven for a time, and then she’d leave. Moving away from Cody. And away from the big, sensitive mountain man undeniably similar to the last guy who’d captured her heart. Then shattered it.

“I’m Jack.”

She’d been so absorbed in the painful memory that she had missed part of his conversation. But now that he’d offered his first name, she waited to see if he’d give her the last one too.

He didn’t.

Elise sighed. She needed to get back to the issue at hand, taking care of Cody, and not the fact that the last guy she’d given her heart to made her a widow at twenty-eight. “Well, Jack, if Cody comes this way again, can you make sure he gets back to Willow’s Haven?” She pointed to the right fork of the trail ahead of her. “Down that way.” It wasn’t a clear path, but it was manageable, obviously, since Cody found his way through the woods and to Jack’s cabin.

“There wasn’t an orphanage there when I bought my place.”

Elise was used to the misconception about the home. “Willow’s Haven isn’t an orphanage, even though some of the children have been orphaned. A children’s home differs in that it provides a safe sanctuary for children who are without a family, for any reason.”

And then she focused on what else he’d said. “Willow’s Haven has been open for a year now. When did you buy your place?”

“Nearly two years ago.” Another look passed over his face, and she read it clearly. Sadness. More specifically, grief.

What—or who—had this man lost?

“You’ve been living here for two years?” Why would anyone choose to live like this? “By yourself?” she added and then wished she’d kept that query silenced.

“No, I bought it two years ago, but I only recently moved in. I had to—” he paused “—take care of a few things first.”

And that made her wonder what things had taken two years to take care of. And what kind of job allowed him to live out here in the middle of nowhere, where only one cellular company managed to provide service, and even that was spotty at best. “But you’re planning to live here, long-term?”

He nodded and offered no additional information. “Do you want me to call you if I see the lad again?”

Normally she’d have thought of that from the get-go, but being this close to the guy rattled her senses. “That’d be great.” She didn’t have a card on her, hadn’t anticipated running into anyone when she headed into the woods after Cody. But she needn’t have worried about having a card.

He slid long fingers into his jeans pocket to withdraw his cell, then asked, “What’s your number?”

Alarms blared through her head, all initiated from years of warnings from her three older brothers, but even so, she recited her number and watched him key it into his phone. Probably the easiest set of digits the man had ever received.

She felt weird surrendering her contact information like that. But she didn’t give out her number to just any guy who asked. Besides, it wasn’t like he’d suggested they go out to dinner together. Or that he ever would.

“I’ll call you if I see him...” He let the word hang and then lifted the phone to show the empty contact field on the display. “But I still need your name.”

“Elise,” she said. “Elise Ramsey.”

He entered it into the appropriate box. “Got it.”

She took a step back and, bizarrely, found herself not quite ready to leave. But her patient was at Willow’s Haven, which meant she should get there too. “I’ve got to go see to Cody.” She walked away from the guy who’d taken her by complete surprise, both with his appearance in the forest and with the effect he had on her senses.

“I want to help him too.”

Elise tripped over a tree root, stumbled, but caught herself before falling completely, and then she pivoted to see the guy whose words had rocked her to the core.

He stood grounded to the spot, raising his brow as though waiting for her to tell him how he could help.

“That’s real nice of you.” She struggled to figure this man out. First he scared her to death, then he admitted that her patient had been to see him—twice. And now he asked to help said patient. “But I’m not sure what you could do.”

Oak leaves crunched beneath his feet as he took the few steps needed to lessen the gap between them. He stopped just shy of her three feet of personal space, which was good. The sky had darkened as late afternoon turned to early evening, and she still didn’t know a whole lot about the man. Except that he was big and rugged. Socially challenged. And even more attractive up close.

“He must be interested in my cabin, or in the furniture I’m building, or something. Maybe I can use that to break down his barrier and get him to talk.”

Elise homed in on the part he’d said that would potentially interest Cody. “I’d almost forgotten. His father was a carpenter. Is that your occupation too?”

“No. I worked in the film industry.” The slight shake of his head at the end of the sentence told Elise he wished he hadn’t told her that much. “You think he came around because he saw me building furniture?”

She decided to leave the film industry comment alone. She wasn’t here to get information about Jack; she needed to stay focused on her patient. “From what I’ve read about Cody’s history, his interests never aligned with his father’s occupation.” She would’ve left it at that, but he seemed to drink in every tidbit about the boy, so she explained, “Cody is an autistic savant.”

His head tilted. “Like Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man?”

Elise sighed. As much as that movie didn’t portray the vast scope of the savant syndrome, it did do much in alerting the general public to the specialized care needed by those individuals diagnosed with the disorder. “Cody is similar to that,” she said, “but his area of expertise is rather unique. Dustin Hoffman’s character specialized in math. Cody specializes in cars.”

“Cars?”

“Specifically the muscle cars of the sixties.”

Awareness coated his features, and the right corner of his mouth crooked up at the edge. “He’s had on a classic car shirt both times I’ve seen him.”

“And he’ll have another one on if you see him again. That’s all he’ll wear.” She heard a branch crack behind her and jerked around so fast that she lost her balance.

A large palm caught her left bicep and steadied her before she fell.

“You okay?” His face hovered near to hers. So close that she could see genuine concern in those uniquely colored green eyes.

Her personal space was officially invaded, big-time, resulting in her heart traipsing into a nice gallop. “I’m...fine.” She eased away from the warmth of his hand. “I should get back to Willow’s Haven, and to Cody.”

“I meant what I said, about helping him,” Jack stated firmly. “If his dad was a carpenter, then he can help me out with the furniture I’m building. Maybe that’ll let him cope with the loss somehow.”

Anything that would get Cody to ease out of his shell would be progress, but Elise doubted carpentry would do the trick, based on his prior caseworker’s files. “I’m not sure...”

“If that doesn’t work, I have another idea.” He gave her a moment to respond. When she didn’t, he added, “You should let me try. I know what he’s going through.”

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she withdrew it to see another text from Savvy.