Mercy opened it with a smile on her face and a cup of coffee in her hand. "Good morning, Alex." She stepped aside.
He entered a living room filled with the scent of pancakes and bacon, and his stomach growled. As a bachelor, he kept little sustenance in the house, but soda and Pringles didn't hold him over for long.
"You hungry?" She waved him forward. "You can join Maddie in the kitchen for a plate of cakes and bacon."
She led him through the living room to a small kitchen where white curtains framed the windows and looked out into another garden filled with what looked like vegetables.
"I could use a bite to eat." He took a seat next to Maddie, who didn't take her eyes off her plate. Then again, who wouldn't stare at several tiny pancakes with smiling faces made from chocolate chips?
Maddie looked content or at least put together with her hair in a fancy braid down her back. The kind of twist that started at the crown and laid flat all the way to the end.
"Two or three?"
At the sound of the question, he turned his head toward the stove where Mercy held up a spatula with a pancake hanging over the edge.
"Probably three. I imagine I'll need fuel for our shopping trip."
Light laughter filled the air, sounding like soft music coming from Mercy.
"You're probably right. I'll give you extra bacon too." She plated several pancakes and slices of bacon and set it in front of him. "Coffee?"
"Yes, please."
"Good manners are important," Maddie said with her mouth half-full.
"Yes, they are, and that means no talking with a full mouth, young lady." Mercy patted her back before taking the seat across from him and pushing his coffee forward. "Cream and sugar are right there."
He picked up the tiny cow pitcher and laughed. "Where did you get this?"
"It came with the house. I was digging in the garden one day, and it popped out of the ground. It was too sweet to toss away, so I cleaned it up, and it's been holding my moo juice ever since."
Maddie giggled. "Moo juice. That's funny."
He took his first bite and hummed. Most of his meals were taken at Maisey's, which was as close to home cooking as he got, but this meal was different. He was sitting with a little girl that very well might be his daughter, and that would mean family meals like this could be a regular thing.
He eyed Mercy, who somehow looked softer and sweeter today. Maybe it was because they weren't arguing, which was all they'd done since they had met.
He picked up a piece of bacon and took a bite. It was perfectly crispy, the way he liked it. He could get used to this. That realization scared the hell out of him. He was not a family man, but a musician who traveled the world.
"Doesn't Maddie look pretty today?"
"She does." He glanced at Mercy, who dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt that fell off her shoulder. Would her skin be as soft as it looked?
"Time to go." He had to get out of there, or before he knew it, he'd be planning birthday parties and kitchen remodels. He gobbled down the last few bites, drank the coffee, and stood.
"Pwait in the sink, mister." Maddie pointed to where suds rose above the rim.
"Bossy thing, aren't you?"
She climbed down from her chair and put her plate in the sink.
"Go wash your hands and meet us by the door."
Sending Maddie away could only mean he was in for a stern talking to.
"What did I do now?" He asked as soon as they were alone.
Her smile threw him off-kilter. No one beamed like that before they scolded someone.
"Nothing. I wanted to say thank you for understanding that she has needs that aren't met."
He moved a step closer to her. Close enough to smell the floral perfume she wore. It was soft and smelled like garden roses. He knew the scent well because they grew wild at his childhood home.
"Thank you for helping."
She nodded toward a stack of envelopes several inches high. "It's a pleasure as well as a necessity."
"Took on more than you could afford?"
"You have no idea."
Maddie raced back and pushed him out of the way to hug Mercy. "Wets go."
"Yes," Mercy said with a giggle in her voice. "Wets go."
Alex put one hand on Maddie's head and the other at the small of Mercy's back. "What are we waiting for?" He led them through the living room, and in the short distance, the heat from touching them coursed through his veins to his heart. He swore he heard the ice inside him crack.
They walked down the path to his car, where he helped Maddie into her booster seat.
"When did you get that?" Mercy asked.
"I ordered it, and it came last night." He buckled Maddie in and reached over the seat to the passenger side to grab the bear. "Someone is missing you." He moved the bear like a puppet. "Maddie, I love you." He felt silly making a voice for the bear, but she liked it and hugged her stuffed animal close to her heart. Was that a gift from her mom?
"You're earning points today, Alex. You're two for two."
He opened the passenger door so Mercy could enter. "It's early yet, and I'm sure I'll mess it up somewhere."
She buckled up and turned toward him. "No doubt. You're a man, and it's inevitable."
And the Mercy Meyer with the sharp tongue was back. He rounded the corner and took a seat behind the wheel.
"Where do we go to get what we need?"
"Copper Creek will do."
He hadn't been there long enough to know his way around, so he plugged the town into his GPS, and they were off.
"Tell me about yourself, Mercy."
She turned as far as the seat belt allowed. "It's a bit late to want my resume now, isn't it? I mean, you left your kid with me overnight. I could have been a
