Dreaming Of You by Marie Higgins

up when she laughed with the kids, and the pleasant expression on her face melted his heart that much more.
    “Mr. Hunter? Is something wrong?”
    He snapped out of his thoughts. “No, but I’ve just recently met your sister.”
    “Oh, really?”
    He glanced at Stacey and grinned. “Yes. I don’t know if she told you, but I was the one who rescued her the other night when her jeep died in the middle of a rainstorm.”
    The woman’s eyes widened. “Yes, Katie did tell me that a man helped her. You even had her jeep towed away.” She reached out and touched his arm. “That was very thoughtful of you, Mr. Hunter.”
    “I’d actually met her before then, so it was a pleasure to talk with her again.” He switched his attention back to the kids. “So she goes by Katie and not Katelyn?”
    Stacey chuckled. “Funny story… When Katie was two or three years old and just starting to talk, she couldn’t pronounce Katelyn. She would say ‘Katie-win’. Then the rest of us picked up on it and started calling her Katie.” She shrugged. “The name kind of stuck after that.”
    “That’s funny.”
    From around the building, Mrs. Hanley’s name was called. “Will you excuse me?” she asked.
    “Sure.”
    Stacey smiled, then turned and hurried around the building. Obviously, the family resemblance was in the smile. As with Katelyn, when Stacey smiled, it lit up her whole face and created a sparkle in her eyes.
    Sisters! He chuckled as he looked back at the group of kids playing with Katelyn. What a strange coincidence. Or was fate somehow sticking her nose into his life again?
    The longer he watched her play with the children, the more he relaxed and the wider his smile grew. And the prettier she became.
    He’d never seen her at ease like this or smiling as much, and when she laughed, his heart skipped. She needed to smile more. It literally took his breath way. Suddenly, he wanted to make her smile and laugh all the time.
    Katelyn changed the bunny to a bear, and her hands clawed through the air as she growled. She even went as far as trying to snarl. Shane laughed over her failing attempts. She crouched over and her hair fell around her face.
    All at once, the children turned, and still acting like bears, charged at Katelyn. When they attacked her, she laughed and fell to the ground as they proceeded to tickle her. He laughed out loud, but thankfully, nobody heard.
    Happiness glowed on Cori and Casey’s face. It thrilled him to know they were getting a woman’s special loving treatment here.
    After a few minutes of laughter ringing through the yard, Katelyn finally stood and ushered the children inside. Cori and Casey each grabbed hold of her legs, hugging tightly.
    “Miss Palmer? I love you,” Cori said then Casey chimed in with his sentiments.
    Shane’s chest constricted with an ache he hadn’t felt before. His breathing caught in his throat and his eyes misted. Yet he wanted to shout with joy at the same time. The feeling confused him.
    “I love you, too, Cori.” Katelyn hugged his daughter. “And I love you, Casey.” She hugged his son, and by his children’s lit up eyes and smiling faces, Shane could see what the gesture meant to them.
    He backed away from the bushes and walked to his truck. He didn’t know if he wanted his son and daughter to love Katelyn. Although the memory of her kiss had been branded on his lips, he didn’t think he could trust her, and he didn’t want his children getting hurt. What if she turned out to be as untrustworthy and unfeeling as their aunt?
    He glanced at his watch. There was still a few more minutes before school was out. He climbed in the truck and gripped the steering wheel. He needed to clear Katelyn out of his head and think straight. Yet lately, Katelyn had been occupying his thoughts way too much, and he rather liked the diversion from his stress.
     

Chapter Eight
     
    “Let’s brush off your jacket,” Katelyn told Cori as she opened the back door onto