It was another ten minutes before she pulled up to the small, modest two-story house. The main attraction had been a huge backyard, perfect for children to play in. Sari loved having the space. It still broke Daniela’s heart that she couldn’t give Sari any siblings herself, but she was so grateful to have Sari in her life now that she refused to be upset.
As she parked the truck, she turned to look at him. “My sister’s name is Davida,” she said, “and she’ll probably leave right away.”
He looked at her oddly.
She shrugged. “You need to know that a lot of people here don’t have a very good attitude toward you.”
He stared at her in surprise.
She nodded and then gave a bit of explanation. “You’ve got to remember that Angel was here before you. She doesn’t have anything nice to say about you.”
“Interesting, on Angel’s part,” he bit off. “I met her one night, and, yes, we had a one-night stand, but two tangoed that night. She never told me about Sari until after the adoption was final.” He glared at her. “So, if anybody should be having nothing nice to say, it should be me about Angel.”
Daniela didn’t answer that but opened the truck door, hopped out and waited for him to join her. He did, his bag in hand, as she walked to the front door.
Sure enough, even before Daniela could open it, Davida had the front door open. She looked at Daniela, then her gaze swung to the six foot, two inch silent male at her sister’s side. She took a step back, defensive instincts coming up as she glared at the stranger. “Is this him?” she asked Daniela, her tone hostile.
Daniela sighed. “Yes. This is Weston. But you might want to know a little tidbit here. He didn’t know about Sari’s existence until after the adoption was final.”
Davida turned to look back at the stranger, shock in her gaze. Then, as if not wanting to let go of her anger and resentment, she said, “According to him, you mean?”
“Yes. According to me,” he said, standing on the front step. “It’d be interesting to have Angel here, so she could tell a different story with me standing in front of her.”
Davida frowned, then glanced back at Daniela. “I haven’t seen Angel since you adopted Sari.”
“No, thank goodness, neither have I,” Daniela said.
Stepping back a little farther, Davida ignored that. “Sari’s sleeping.”
“Perfect,” Daniela said. “I’m glad I’m here for when she wakes up.”
With that, Davida grabbed her jacket and purse. “I’ll talk to you later.” With a hard look at Weston, Davida disappeared out the front door.
Chapter 2
Daniela turned to look at Weston. “I’m sorry. Like I said, some feelings run deep.”
“So do mine,” he said in a milder tone. He dropped his bag on the floor, shifted from his coat, placing it on a hook next to the doorway. He looked down at his big boots and sighed. “I guess these need to come off too.”
“Yes, please.” She slipped off her shoes, parking them to the side. As soon as he had unlaced his boots, placing them next to hers, she asked, “Coffee?”
He stood and gave her a brief smile. “Thank you, that sounds great.” He looked around with interest.
She realized he was looking to see what kind of a home she was providing for his daughter. She shrugged self-consciously. “It’s not very high-end,” she said for lack of other words, “but the reason I rented this house was the big backyard for kids. It’s very much a family home.”
“Nothing wrong with family homes,” he said. “It’s obviously the preference, if you’ve got kids.”
She led the way to the kitchen, a huge old country-style room with big counters and wide open with glass doors leading out to the backyard. He walked to the glass doors and stared out.
“City lots. They’re not very big.” She hated the note of apology in her voice, as if she should have provided Sari with something so much more.
He turned to look at her and smiled. “It’s perfect,” he said. “I’m sure she is quite comfortable here.”
Daniela could feel some of her tension easing until another thought hit her. She didn’t know if he had a leg to stand on legally, but she suspected, from hearing his story, he might. And she could feel the fear cloying at the back of her throat at the thought of losing Sari. Daniela kept herself busy, bustling around to put on coffee. “Grab a chair if you want to sit.”
He shook his head. “I’ve been sitting for a while now, so standing is good for a bit.”
She could feel that intense gaze on her as she worked. She was hyperaware of everything he did. And the trouble was, he didn’t do anything except stare at her. Finally she hit the Start button on the coffeepot, then turned and faced him. “Do you need anything to eat?”
He shook his head.
She frowned. “When Sari wakes up, she’ll need a snack.”
“That makes sense,” he admitted.
She stopped, trying to regain her sense of balance. “Do you have any experience with children?”
His eyebrows shot up. “Are you asking if I left any other abandoned children around the world?”
She glared at him. “No. For all I know, you’re married and have kids of your own now.”
“Well, I consider Sari my own,” he said, calmly crossing his arms over his chest.
She took a deep calming breath. “Look. I feel like we got off on the wrong foot.”
“Again.” His eyebrows rose ever-so-slightly, but he stared at her steadily.
“I was hoping you and Sari would have a relationship of some kind. She misses Charlie very much.”
“What happened to Charlie?”
“Charlie—” she started and then stopped.
He waited, not giving an inch.
She took a deep breath. “Charlie got in his truck one day and drove off a cliff.” She could feel the stillness come over Weston.
“Suicide?”
She reached a hand
