"What are you going to do about Maddie?"
He drew a blank. "What can I do? I'll figure out how to keep her alive until I get the results back from Doc."
The sheriff's lips stretched into a thin line.
Alex considered his word choice. "What I mean is, I'll take care of her until I get the results back. She's in no danger if you're worried."
Sheriff Cooper steepled his hands and touched his lips. "I am worried about her safety and welfare. Handing a single man a five-year-old is like asking a waitress to diffuse a bomb. It's not really in your lane. Should I call child services and have them come? They could place her in a home until all of this is sorted out?"
The blonde's voice sounded loud and clear in his ear. Child services should be your last resort.
"No, I'll take care of her until everything gets straightened out. Is there anything I should be worried about as far as having her in my home? I'm listed on her birth certificate, and that makes me her father on paper, I suppose."
"You're covered. I don't imagine anyone would fault you for taking in a child that's legally yours. The only issue I see is if someone comes out of the woodwork to claim her, but the DNA test will at least tell you if there's a possibility of that happening."
"I guess I'm in a wait-and-see mode for now."
"Once everything settles down, let's get our girls together. Kellyn and Maddie are close in age, and I'm sure they would enjoy the company."
Who would have thought he'd be making playdates? "That sounds great. I'm sure Maddie would love that." Hell, he wasn't sure of anything. All he knew was he woke up this morning feeling damn good. There wasn't a naked woman on his lawn, or a pair of underwear shoved in his fence. Things were looking up until that damn bell above the door rang at the diner, and everything went to hell.
When Poppy came back, Alex held out his hand for Maddie to take. When she did, he folded his around hers until her tiny hand disappeared. He'd never been responsible for something so delicate, and yet, with all that she went through, Maddie had to be tough on the inside—like him. Hopefully, if she turned out to be his, that was something he passed on. Fierce inner fortitude would always help her during tough times.
Twenty minutes later, they had their cheeks swabbed and were on their way to his house. Buckling her into the back seat, he knew his first task was ordering her a booster seat, not because he thought about it, but because when Doc walked them out to the car, he told Alex she was too small to ride in a regular seat. Thank God for overnight shipping.
He pulled directly into the garage and helped Maddie out of the back seat. She held on to her teddy bear with one hand and took his hand with the other. His free hand grabbed her suitcase.
They walked inside and stopped in the kitchen. He wasn't sure what to call the place. To him, it was home, but to her, it was unknown. If she wasn't his, it would be a stopover. If she indeed was his daughter, he was unbelievably unprepared.
Looking at his house like it was his first time made him realize there was nothing but black, gray, and white. There wasn't a color in sight unless he counted the soda cans and beer bottles dotting the surfaces of the coffee table.
His place was hard edges and dark leather. Nothing was soft or feminine. Not one woman had graced his halls or his bed since he moved to Aspen Cove.
"Maddie, this is where I live." That sounded fine to his ears. "I'm a musician."
She cocked her head like a confused puppy. "What's a musian?"
He held back a chuckle. "Musician. Come with me, and I'll show you." He set her suitcase down and walked the hallway to his home studio. He wasn't only a drummer but a guitarist and keyboardist too. His studio had everything he needed. "I make music."
She moved with caution into the room.
He imagined it was all foreign to her, but then again, her mother was a groupie, and he wasn't sure what Maddie had been exposed to.
"Do you want to play something?"
She shook her head.
"Do you want me to play something?"
"Yeth, pwease."
He took his favorite guitar from the wall. It was the only gift his father had ever given him and was signed by all the members of Drive Shaft. Sitting on the stool, he played her an original. It was a soft lilting tune that had no lyrics yet.
Maddie sat on the floor below him, hugging her bear and looking up with the same eyes he saw each morning in the mirror. Having a child both horrified him and warmed him. It also pissed him off. He never wanted kids because he wasn't suited to have them. He didn't want to be the kind of father his dad was—absent. And yet, if Maddie was his daughter, that's just what he was, anyway. He was a father who never visited or called or sent birthday and Christmas presents. Not that it was his fault, but kids don't know that. All they know is that you were never around.
"Do you want to try it?"
Her full, tooth-missing smile said it all.
He moved to the ground beside her and placed the guitar in her lap. It was way too big an instrument for her, so he laid it flat. If she wanted to play the guitar, he'd happily buy her one suited to her size.
She plucked at the strings, making whatever music her soul produced. Inside each person was a symphony, the music of our life. Sometimes, the notes played sharp, and sometimes they were flat, but when your soul sang in tune, it was a beautiful experience.
Maddie had an ear for music,
