A Daddy for Her Daughter by Tina Beckett Page B

heart. But he’d also told her he had no intention of keeping his distance from her. With her hair pulled back from her face with a headband, snug jeans and a shoulder-baring tank top, he could barely keep his eyes off her. They kept taking little sips of the view and coming back for more. It went to his head as surely as a fifth of whiskey. Smooth to the senses. But like whiskey, it could trap him in its grip almost before he realized what was happening. Which was probably why the next words came out.
    â€œWhy don’t you let me take you out for your birthday? We can get something to eat.”
    Before she could reply, Roxy—who’d lifted Chloe onto her hip at some point—reached them.
    Maddy shook her head. “She’s too heavy to be carried like that.”
    Roxy put the girl down, wagging her finger at the child. “I told you you’d get me in trouble.”
    â€œI did not. You said you wanted to carry me. Said it was safer if you did.” She took a loud slurp of the icy liquid in her snow cone, her grin infectious.
    Roxy’s face colored, and she blinked as if her persona of carefree hipster had just been single-handedly obliterated. “Well, it’s true, you little stinker. Safer for me .” She tickled the girl’s ribs until she squealed.
    A man with a clipboard stopped in front of them, glancing at the tag at the kite on the ground and writing something down. “You folks ready for the big send-off?”
    â€œYippee!” Chloe punched her small fist into the air. “Are we ever! We’re going to win. Right, Kaleb?”
    Maddy frowned. “Dr. McBride, Chloe.”
    He started to say it was okay for her to call him by his first name, but there was a slight tightening of Maddy’s lips that warned him not to contradict her. She was right. Chloe was her daughter. Not his. He had no right to give his opinion one way or the other. About anything.
    Except maybe this kite, which the judge was waiting for them to launch.
    He started to take Chloe’s hand and then had second thoughts. Glancing at Maddy, he asked, “Can she help me?”
    Her teeth came down on her lower lip for a second before she gave a quick nod.
    Chloe gave a couple of sideways hops, clapping her hands. “Yes!”
    The judge gave a few last-minute instructions. Kaleb was allowed to take a running start to get the kite up, letting out the string as he went. But the kite had to stay in the air for five minutes, while the judge watched. If it passed the test, the kite was entered into the final drawing. Unfortunately, Roxy’s unicorn hadn’t made the cut. But he had high hopes for this one.
    Several bystanders came over to watch.
    Kaleb turned to Chloe. “You wait here for me. I’m going down the hill, and then I’ll run back toward you. When I get here, I’ll hand you the string and you can help me keep it up.”
    â€œAre you sure that’s wise?” Maddy still seemed a little agitated. He wasn’t sure if she was regretting letting Chloe help him or if she was worried about the kite falling from the sky prematurely. Maybe it had to do with that whole attachment thing she’d mentioned earlier.
    Well, since he wasn’t planning on being a permanent fixture in their lives, it didn’t really matter. There was no way Chloe could actually get attached to him since she wouldn’t be seeing much of him after today.
    Unless the kite won. But even then, he could give his ticket to them and let them choose someone else to go with them to the Space Needle. Probably not a hard prospect. Both Maddy and her sister were beautiful. Although the man in him recognized Roxy’s charm and good looks, she didn’t send his blood pressure skyrocketing as Maddy did. Probably not a good thing for him to admit.
    Ignoring those thoughts, he glanced at the woman herself. She crossed her fingers, gave the digits a quick kiss and held them up.