Ty looked from his daughter’s pleading eyes to the same shade of bright blue gazing at him from Jodi’s perfect face. God, that glow she had. It was mesmerizing. He’d spent the entire afternoon watching her interact with Katie, seeing that glow expand until it was practically wrapping around them all. And when he watched her next to the person he loved most in the world? He was fucked. Royally, truly fucked. He knew now what other men meant when they said they couldn’t deny their wives and children anything.

Yes, the combination of Jodi and Katie was about all the beauty, love, and perfection Ty could stand. He felt it coming on, a complete collapse of his backbone, total dissolution of any wishes he might have for himself. Nope. If Katie and Jodi wanted something, Ty was pretty sure he’d be caving and giving it to them.

He stifled the groan that threatened to erupt from his chest, and turned his gaze skyward for a moment. No, it didn’t matter. He could still see their sweet faces dancing in his mind.

“Lynn makes Sunday dinner at five,” he told Jodi. “If you come at four, you can have the grand tour of everything before we eat.”

Katie jumped up and down cheering, and Jodi gave him the most dazzling smile he’d seen from a woman in years. Maybe ever.

“You’re sure?” she asked, although it was pretty clear she didn’t really care, she was so happy for the invitation.

“Yeah,” he answered, swallowing the urge to lean forward and touch his lips to hers, feel her breath on his face, absorb some of her glow. “It’s good.” He took a deep breath, letting the sea air filter through him as he tried to stay focused, be detached, get through this awkwardness without being awkward.

“You remember how to get out there?” He turned his gaze back to her.

“Yeah,” she answered.

“Great. We’ll see you tomorrow at four, then. It’s time for us to go, Katie bug.”

Katie turned her big blue beauties up to Jodi. They were still holding hands, and Ty couldn’t help but think they did it so naturally, he’d have never guessed they hadn’t been bonded since Katie’s birth.

“Aunt Lynn will make steak,” Katie said, grinning. “But I promise not to tell you the cow’s name it came from, ’cause Daddy says that’s rude and might upset some people.”

Jodi choked with laughter. “Well, I do love steak, but yes, I’d probably rather not know the cow’s name.” Then she knelt down next to Katie. “May I give you a hug before I go?”

Katie nodded solemnly and put her hands around Jodi’s neck. He watched Jodi’s eyes drift shut and her hands tremble as she wrapped her own arms around Katie’s waist. They stayed like that for what seemed to grow into minutes, and then Jodi released her with a quick kiss to the forehead.

As they watched Jodi walk away, he saw Katie gently touch her fingers to the spot her mother had kissed. Her face had that same glow Jodi’s did, and Ty knew he’d just unleashed an entirely new future for his daughter.

Only time would tell if that was for the best or the worst.

* * *

“I heard it all went okay,” Cade said as he walked into the office where Ty was doing paperwork.

Ty leaned back in the big desk chair, shoving the contracts aside.

“It’s all she can talk about,” he said, referring to Katie. “Nonstop Mom.”

Cade leaned against the open doorway, arms crossed, scowl firmly in place. That scowl was much less prevalent since Nina came into his life, but Cade had spent a lot of years scowling before her. It came naturally to him now.

“And what kind of commitments have you made? Does she think she’s going to get regular visitation now?”

Ty tried to remember that his brother was acting out of love and years of taking care of everything and everyone. Cade sometimes forgot he didn’t have to bear that weight anymore. Ty and Vaughn were all grown up and plenty able to fend for themselves. Hell, Vaughn was married, about to start his own business. Ty had been a father for five years now, and a fully participating partner in the ranch for just as long.

“We aren’t anywhere near talking about anything beyond the next day,” Ty said patiently. “I’ve told Katie her mother can come over for dinner tomorrow night. That’s all.”

“Dinner.” Cade harrumphed like an honest-to-God old man. Ty pitied the baby Nina was carrying. Poor kid was going to have to listen that disapproving grunt his whole damn life.

“Yes. Dinner and a tour of Katie’s favorite things around the ranch—I think Dirk was one sight, the dog and pony were some others. Also her bedroom, of course.”

A horn sounded from outside in the parking circle, and Cade turned briefly to wave someone off.

“And you think that’s a good idea? Letting Jodi have access to the house and the family? What if she decides she wants to kidnap Katie? She’ll know exactly where Katie’s room is, how the house is organized—”

“For God’s sake,” Ty groaned. “She’s not going to try to kidnap her.”

“She could also be gathering information to take to court. Seeing if there are things that might make you look unfit—things that aren’t safe that Katie has access to, people that Jodi could argue shouldn’t have access to a five-year-old.”

Rolling his eyes, Ty stood and walked to his brother. He laid a hand on Cade’s shoulder. “I can’t say whether all this will end up in a court. I admit she may want to press for custody at some point, but I choose to believe if it happens, it’s not because she premeditated it from the beginning. I don’t think she’s coming to our house to find things wrong and use them against us. She’s just a woman who had a kid too young and is trying to do better now.”

Cade’s scowl softened, and he looked at Ty with concern. “You’re not still interested in her after all these years, are you?”

His heart skipped a beat as he gave his brother a firm shove. “What the fuck is the matter with you?” he snapped. “I barely know her. And I’m in the middle of trying to navigate her showing up in Katie’s life. You think I’d muddy the waters with sex?”

Cade straightened and shrugged. “You seem almost supportive of her being here like this. But there are about a thousand ways this could go wrong and do damage to Katie.”

Sighing, Ty leaned against the wall next to Cade. “I get that, and I’m still cautious, but I guess you could say I’m cautiously optimistic. If you’d seen Katie’s face today—”

“That might not last.”

“Right. And I told Jodi that. I said kids process this shit differently than the rest of us. And if she changes her mind, and doesn’t want stuff with her mother right now, then I’ll factor that in, but for now, it appears it’s very welcome on Katie’s part, and Jodi is being responsible and truly cares about doing the right thing.”

Finally, Cade gave Ty a hard slap on the back. “Okay. If you’re sure, then I’ll leave it alone. I trust you—doesn’t mean I have to trust her.”

“Just be at dinner tomorrow so you can talk to her and see,” Ty said.

“Oh, you can bet on it. I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

“Nina likes her, you know,” Ty added, giving side-eye to his brother.

Cade harrumphed yet again. “She likes everyone.”

Sure, thought Ty, but he kept it to himself and went back to the desk. “Well, I’d really appreciate it if you’d play nice tomorrow night. It’ll be confusing to Katie if the family’s not welcoming of her mother. She doesn’t have a judgmental bone in that little body. She’s not blaming Jodi for being gone, and she’s ready—at least so far—to welcome her. I’d like all of us to take her lead and do the same.”

“Fine,” Cade agreed. “You know I’d do anything for Katie.”

“Thank you,” Ty answered.

Ty’s phone chimed, and he glanced down to see Jodi’s name flash on the screen.

“I need to go meet a contractor at the new house,” Cade said. “You got the distributor contracts handled?”

“Yeah,” Ty said, distracted by the need to pick up that damn phone and pore over whatever message Jodi might have left.

“All right. See you later, then.”

Cade had hardly cleared the doorway when Ty was tapping open the text.

J: Thank you again for today. There aren’t words to explain what it meant to me.

Ty had that strange sensation he’d felt on the beach when he looked at Jodi and Katie standing together. A feeling like he’d been consumed, but he didn’t even fucking care.

T: You’re welcome. I can’t promise where it will lead, but it meant a lot to me too, being able to watch her find this missing part of herself.

Katie’s birth had been a strange and somber affair. The fact that Jodi had decided to leave and give Katie to Ty had weighed on everyone. Once she’d found out about the pregnancy and made it clear she wasn’t going to marry him, Jodi had shut Ty out of her life except for talk about the legal papers and prenatal appointments. Their budding relationship had ended abruptly, and Ty had spent the time leading to Katie’s birth simply trying to hang on, not sure from one day to the next what might happen. Would Jodi change her mind? Would she disappear with his unborn child? Would he be able to handle fatherhood?

No, Ty hadn’t been given the luxury of falling in love with his daughter at birth the way some men did. He’d had too many things and too many people to balance. Falling in love with Katie had been gradual, over weeks, months, years. He’d thought she was beautiful from day one, had been fiercely protective, and admirably committed. But he hadn’t realized Katie held his heart in the palm of her tiny hand until much later, and then it hadn’t been so much of a shock as a quiet acceptance. He’d simply logged it in his mind, and kept moving—one heart, in the possession of a small child.

But what he’d felt standing on the beach watching Katie and Jodi had been entirely different. Because, for a brief moment, he’d seen his heart split in two, both halves beating in blue eyes and blonde curls, soft smiles and warm lips. For a moment there, Ty had looked at his daughter and her mother and realized, between the two of them, they had the power to absolutely ruin him if they chose.

His phone chimed again, and he looked down at the screen, still slightly dazed by the memory.

J: Would it be okay if I called? I have a couple of things to ask about for tomorrow.

He stretched and looked at the clock on the wall of the office—nine p.m. Shit, he’d been sitting for three straight hours. No wonder he was so stiff. An image of Jodi’s smile as she watched Katie run toward them on the beach played through his head. God, he’d love to grab a beer, sit out on the deck of the Big Sur Inn in town and watch the waves for a bit. It had been a hell of a long day.

His gaze strayed to the phone. He couldn’t. Could he? He shouldn’t. Should he? No, he really shouldn’t. But she was the one who wanted to talk. Yeah, that didn’t mean in person, jackass. Still, though. He looked at the damned phone again, then stood and stuffed it in his back jeans pocket before turning off the lights and leaving the office to stride across the parking circle and into the main house.

“Katie,” he said as he walked into the family room where Katie and Lynn were watching Moana. “It’s time for you to get to bed.”

“Only fifteen more minutes left,” Lynn told him, smiling.

“Daddy, please let me finish it. I won’t ask for a snack or stories or anything before bed. I’ll brush my teeth super fast and hop right in.”

“Okay,” he said, “but I’m going to say good night right now as long as Lynn’s okay with putting you down.” He looked at Lynn, who nodded.

“Fine with me, since someone’s going to be such a good girl about it and go straight to bed.” She winked at Ty, then at Katie, who giggled.

“Thanks. I’m going to run into town for bit.” He kissed Katie, then grabbed the keys to his truck and headed out the door. When he got into the cab, he paused before starting the engine and tapped out a quick text.

T: I’m actually going to be at the Big Sur Inn bar in a few minutes. Why don’t you stop by and see me? We can talk there.

Jodi’s response came fast, almost as fast as his poor sorry excuse for a heart was racing.

J: Okay. I’ll see you there in half an hour.

So she would. And they’d talk, and he’d get a chance to clear his head, settle down, stop this rush of feelings that was threatening to overwhelm him. Because something messy had happened on the beach a few hours ago, and Ty was afraid his heart was right in the middle of it all.