“Here you go darling. I boxed up supper for you and your dad. Chicken soup. We made it special today, knowing that your dad is doing poorly.”

“Oh Cassie! Thank you.” Star pushed back her desk chair. She stood, stretching the kinks out of her muscles. She’d definitely been sitting for far too long. “You didn’t have to do that.” She took the package with the two containers, plastic bowls and plastic spoons from Cassie and set it on the edge of her desk. “I’m glad to see you back by the way. I’m sorry, I meant to tell you that all day, I just got so busy in here. I was getting worried about you.”

“I know, I know. I never miss more than a couple days and I’ve been laid up for almost four. The pain just didn’t want to go away. I sometimes wonder if this is it. If I’m going to feel this way for the rest of my life and not be able to do a darn thing about being so twisted up.” She held up her wrist, which was far more swollen than normal. “But enough about me. Tell me about your dad. I heard that he has pneumonia.”

Star sighed. “Yes. He came down with it two days ago. I didn’t want to mention it but I had to tell Jed since I had to take a day and meet with dad’s doctors.”

Cassie’s gentle eyes shone with sympathy. “You poor thing. You’re always here, working yourself to the bone. You should be with your dad if he needs you.”

“Thanks.” Star ran a hand through her hair. She tucked the wayward strands behind her ear. “This is going to sound so horrible but I’ve known this was coming for a few years now. I’m scared of it, of him not being there. I don’t know what he feels most of the time. He can’t tell me. I don’t even know if he knows. I feel like he’s trapped in his body. His mind is a million miles away. He doesn’t know who I am. He sometimes thinks I’m his mother. Sometimes his wife. I just- I don’t know if he’s happy. I just want him to know he’s loved. If he could just tell me that he knows that… it’s all I want.” Star’s throat burned with unshed tears. She swallowed hard and blinked rapidly to clear the gathering flood of water out of her eyes.

“I could never take that the wrong way. You want to know if the end is a mercy or not, if he’s suffering terribly or not. I understand that. I think it’s a question anyone would ask themselves. It’s hard to be the one in charge of everything. Of this kitchen and of trying to make sure your father has everything he needs. You’re too young for all this responsibility, Star. Shouldn’t you be out living life, making mistakes and racking up regrets like every young person?”

Star offered a shaky smile. “I sometimes wonder. Maybe I’m the one person in the world that was just fine with skipping all that. This is always what I wanted to do with my life. I made my mother a promise.”

“She wouldn’t want you to sacrifice your happiness, I’m sure.”

“I am happy, Cassie. Sorry, sometimes I just get overwhelmed with all of this. I am happy though, most days.”

“Of course. You know best how to live your life.” Cassie opened her arms and Star stepped into the warm embrace. Cassie was surprisingly strong for a woman with joints that were so painfully twisted. Her arms were motherly and caring and eased the burden Star felt. She stepped back and took a deep breath.

“I just- it would make things easier if I knew everything was taken care of. My father gave me power of attorney a long time ago, when his mind was fading but I have no idea what that means. I don’t know that his affairs are in order if the worst should happen. With him getting sick like this… I don’t even know where to start. The worst part is, I know he has money and assets. I feel wrong about just taking them. I want him to tell me what he wants done with it, but he can’t.”

The sound of a deep throat clearing from out in the hallway brought both women’s attention to the office doorway.

Lukas Millar stepped into the entrance. He glanced around like he was walking into a hostile battlefield.

“Can I help you?” Star asked icily. The small satisfaction she’d felt in putting Lukas on dish duty had faded days ago when he’d proved adept at the task. He’d done it without complaining. She almost felt bad about stacking all those dirty dishes in the sink and only because he could have hurt someone by breaking those glasses.

“I just came by for you to sign off on this week’s hours. I couldn’t help overhearing what you were saying about working out your legal issues. It can be confusing, dealing with that. Lawyers can be expensive. Maybe I can help.”

I wouldn’t take your help if you were the last person on earth. Star’s eyes flew to Cassie’s face, expecting to see scorn there but instead she was shocked and amazed to find the older woman clearly intrigued. Cassie shrugged.

“Might as well hear what he has to say. If the advice is free it beats paying some lawyer five hundred dollars an hour for some long-winded statements.”

Star picked up a handful of her thick hair. She wound it into a bun at the top of her head before she let it unwind and cascade down her back. She had a nervous habit of playing with her hair and she knew it. “Alright,” she finally ground out. “But I don’t have time to listen to this tonight. Or any night. Or any day.” She sighed. “My father is sick. He could go at any time. I don’t feel prepared to deal with any of this. I have no idea what state his affairs are in. I know it’s my job to know but I just- it seemed like he was always going to be there. He has dementia. He can’t tell me what he wants or doesn’t want. I don’t know what to do.”

To her surprise, Millar nodded in understanding. She almost believed that the empathy on his face was genuine before she realized that he was a damn good actor.

“I’ve actually had a couple cases like this before. I think I can help you. I can meet you somewhere, after work if you like.”

She shook her head. “No. I have to be with my father in the evenings and I certainly don’t want to discuss it here. I just don’t have time to deal with any of this right now. I just want my dad to be okay.” To her horror, huge tears formed and she couldn’t blink them away. The stress of not just the past few days but the past few years felt like it had compounded into a massive weight that was crushing her.

“I understand. If you would like- I can- uh- meet with you and your father this evening. Or another evening if you prefer.” Millar was clearly uncomfortable with her raw emotions.

“Here child.” Cassie passed her a tissue out of her pocket. It was rumpled and worn but it was clean.

Star took it and dabbed at her eyes. She was completely humiliated. Crying in front of Cassie was one thing. Crying in front of Lukas Millar was quite another.

The man was handsome as sin and it was completely unnerving. Short blonde hair, a dirty blonde beard, strong lips, a straight nose, high cheekbones, ice blue eyes and a sharp jawline could easily have set him up for a career as a male model. No, if anything it was his body that would have done that. His shoulders were broad and powerful. His chest was just as broad but tapered to a narrow, athletic waist and long, denim clad legs. She could clearly see the outline of muscle in his tight black t-shirt.

Star shook her head. She’d done her best to make sure she hadn’t had time to even be fully aware of his presence until that moment. She’d actually done her very best to avoid him altogether. She knew from Annie just how dangerous his charms really were.

Lukas was standing not more than a few feet away. His powerful frame took up most of her small office doorway. He was more handsome than any man had the right to be. Even if she hadn’t known what kind of man he truly was, she would have steered clear of him. Good looking men were generally assholes. Though Star had looked up Lukas before he even started at the kitchen, his online photos didn’t do him justice. She really hated to admit just how handsome he truly was in person.

She’d expected the sexual aura he fairly radiated. She expected his bad attitude, his roguish, bad boy fake charm. She knew how he’d played Annie. What she hadn’t ever thought to see was kindness and compassion in his eyes. She felt totally undone by his concern; thrown off kilter.

“I don’t know…” she stammered. “That seems like a bad idea.”

“I promise I would be discreet. We could have the conversation with your father. It might be helpful and put your mind at ease. You can talk to him and I can offer advice.”

“You don’t know what it’s like trying to speak with my father,” Star snapped. “Why do you think I have power of attorney?”

Lukas shrugged, undaunted by her biting tone. “All the same, I think it would help you to include him in the conversation. If he doesn’t want to talk, then you can sit with him and we can chat. Even if he doesn’t understand everything, or maybe nothing more than a few words, I’m sure it will give him peace to know that you’re well looked after. Maybe it will give you some peace as well, if he can give you some direction.”

For some odd reason, Star flushed. Her face heated and her heart pounded painfully. Looked after by who?

“That sounds reasonable. At least it takes care of something you’re dreading doing and you’ll get to see your dad.” Cassie wasn’t helping anything. She didn’t truly know what a snake Millar was.

“Alright, alright.” Star finally gave in. “You can come with me. Tonight only. After that I’m getting the advice of a real lawyer.”

“I am a real lawyer,” Lukas stated dryly. He raised a blonde brow in question.

“I mean one who still has a job. I need documents signed, I would wager. I just want to cut down on how much I have to pay someone.”

“I could still do them for you,” Lukas quipped. Again, his tone was dry and humorless. “At the very least I could recommend someone who is adept but doesn’t cost a fortune. They might even take you as a Pro Bono client given the work you do.”

“Really? Oh that’s just great!” Cassie cooed, clearly thrilled. She seemed to have forgotten all about the fact that Millar was supposed to be the enemy.

Star sighed long and hard. Cassie might as well just throw her a shovel for the hole Star was digging herself into. Trusting Lukas was no better than trusting a viper not to strike your heel the minute you turned.

“Why would you offer to help me?” Star finally asked. For some reason it was important. She would only let Millar do this if he truly was genuine.

Lukas actually looked blank for a second. She figured it wasn’t something he was used to; being completed disarmed. He gave himself a mental shake and that strange look was gone. His face was a carefully composed blank mask once again.

“I don’t honestly know. Maybe after all this kitchen work, dishes and cleaning bathrooms, I want to do something I’m actually good at again.”

Star nearly choked. She couldn’t stop the wicked smile that sprung to her lips. “Funny, I’ve heard quite the opposite. Jed reports that you’re excellent at everything, especially scrubbing toilets.”

“You had best go,” Cassie encouraged. “Before your soup is ice cold.”

“They’ll reheat it for me at the home.”

“Go anyway. Put your mind at rest. I can close up here.”

“Are you sure?” The kitchen wasn’t open past seven at night. Though Star trusted the neighborhood, she didn’t want to take any chances with the safety of her volunteers. If anything would ever happen, it was likely going to happen at night.

“I’m sure.” Cassie smiled gently. “Go on honey.” She shot Millar a winning smile. “You be sure to take care of her for me now.” She patted him gently on the shoulder as she left the room.

Star smothered a sharp retort. It was confirmed. Somehow Lukas Millar had turned a harsh critic around in under five minutes. He’d already won Jed over as well. Star knew she was going to be the last holdout. The only problem with fighting a battle by yourself was that it was so very lonely.