Chapter 1

ONE

Ranger

"Dad, I told you that you don't have to go to the laundry mat. You can do your clothes here, after all, you're back in Bellehaven because of me."

My daughter is my favorite person in the world. However, I've been on my own for a long time, and I need time to myself. Believe it or not, I enjoy the laundromat because of that. "It's not that big of a deal. It's nice to use a couple of washers and dryers at the same time, that way I don't have to wait."

Her brown eyes roll heaven‐ward. "Don't lie to me. It's your peace and quiet. I know it's a lot around here with Karli, and since I've been laid up, it's been rough for her. She doesn't get out as much as she's used to. We're all learning."

That we are. I hadn't been back to Bellehaven full‐time for at least a decade before I got a tearful phone call from Brittany, my only daughter. She'd been in the emergency room where she'd been diagnosed with a broken leg, after falling at her home. I've been here now for almost a month, we've been through a surgery, and she'll start physical therapy soon. I've been taking care of her like I did when she was a kid, and while it's been nice being here with her, I know she's missing her independence. "I can take her out to Wal‐Mart. We can go grocery shopping. You and I both know how much she loves to do that. She thinks she's so big when she starts putting shit in the buggy."

"Yay, let's go!" Karli cheers.

"Dad ..." She rolls her bottom lip between her teeth. "You've done so much already."

"You're my kid," I remind her. "You've gone through a lot because you're mine. If I can do anything to help you, I will. I haven't done many things right in this life, but I somehow got you through high school, and have gotten to see you be an amazing mother to her." I dip my chin into my chest and give her a smile as I look over at Karli.

"Thanks, sometimes I need to hear it."

"I know ya do. K, you wanna go to the grocery store?" I ask my granddaughter.

Her eyes light up as if I've just offered her a large piece of chocolate when she knows she isn't allowed to have it. "Yessssss ... do I get to push?"

I roll my eyes, she always wants to push the buggy, so she can control how long we're there for. "Maybe. You know I have to hold you to do that." She's too short to stand and be able to actually push, but I do whatever she asks.

"Pweeaseee?"

"We'll talk about it when we get to the store." I turn to Brittany. "Did you make me a list?"

"Yeah, let me grab my card for you." She struggles to get up on her crutches, while I press down on her shoulder with my hand.

"Britt. I got this."

She deflates, crumbling into herself. "I hate that you're having to take care of so much. Please come stay in the house." She begs again.

"Believe it or not, I love my converted horse trailer. It's where I feel at home, Britt, and I can park it outside. Give us both some privacy and space. There's only one bedroom, and that's already crowded with the two of you," I remind her of the small house she was left with after the divorce. "All of this is fine. It's temporary." I lean down and tilt her chin up so that our eyes can meet. Ones that look just like mine stare back at me. "This isn't forever. I promise."

"I know." She swallows, holding back tears.

"What do you need before me and squirt go to the store?"

"Nothing, y'all have a good time."

I glance at her over Karli's head. "Both of us know there's only gonna be one good time had, and that's not by me."

She giggles. "For once I'm glad I can't walk. Going to the grocery with her is a nightmare."

"All of this ..." I turn my finger around in the air, encompassing what I've been doing for her. "You do not have to thank me for, or pay me back for. This?" I hold up the paper and tilt my head down to Karli. "I'm gonna need a stiff drink. So get the good sh.. stuff out for when I get home."

"Will do."

"C'mon, squirt. Let's go."

K talks my head off the entire ride to the grocery store from where she sits in the back of my quad cab truck. I make appropriate noises when I think she's waiting on an answer, and I assume I do so correctly when she claps her hands and kicks her feet.

Once we're at the store, and pushing our cart through the aisles, I'm thankful for my job as a Farrier. It's kept me in good shape, which means my back isn't killing me as I hold her, and somehow manage to push the cart with one hand. Karli's always been little, and while she can push it when there are no items in it, as we're filling it, it's getting harder.

"Can we get these?" She reaches out her fingers grabbing a pack of cookies.

Brittany doesn't allow junk in her house, but I understand how much these little moments mean to Karli. "We'll get them, but they'll need to stay in the trailer, okay?"

She nods.

"You can only have them when you come over to visit me, and in moderation. No eating the entire bag."

"Okay, Grandpa."

I never thought that at forty‐six I would be a grandfather, yet here we are. As we turn the corner, our cart smacks into someone else's. "Shit, I'm sorry."

"That's a bad word," Karli's sing‐song voice reminds me.

"I know." I grimace, but then look on with interest when I notice the person we've smacked into is the woman from the laundromat. "Hey, how are you?"

She smiles. It's bright, and full of happiness, not at all like the fear that was there while we waited for the cops. "I'm good, Ranger? Right?"

"Yeah. You look much better than you did. Have those boys been givin' you any trouble?" I suck at making small talk, but I've thought about this woman more often than I should've since that night a few weeks ago.

"Not since they took him away in the back of a police car, but that typically doesn't stop men like Wade for long. Thank you for being there and helping though. It occurred to me not long after I got home that I never introduced myself to you. I'm sure you got my name with as many times as I had to say it for the police report, but I'm Ava, and I'm really thankful you were there that night."

"Nice to meet you." I tip the cap of my baseball hat toward her.

"I'm Karli!" the center of attention in my arm pipes up.

Ava grins, bending down so that they're on eye‐level. If I'm not mistaken there's disappointment in her eyes, but she wrinkles her nose. "Nice to meet you, that's a cute name. You've got a really brave daddy."

Karli laughs. "He's not my daddy. He's my grandpa ..." she says it in a tone that screams, "duh".

Ava lifts back up, eyeing me. "Grandpa?"

Now I'm uncomfortable and blushing under the intensity of her gaze. "I had a daughter young, and she had this ball of energy." Karli is squirming, and I finally win the battle to put her in the seat of the buggy.

She folds her arms across her chest, mouth twisting in a pout. "I wanted to push."

"And you've done that. My arms need a break. They aren't that strong."

I don't miss the way Ava's eyes go to my biceps and forearms. A smirk settles on her bright red lips. "Oh, come on, Grandpa. You look plenty strong to carry her."

"He shoes horses," Karli volunteers. "He's reawwy strong."

I've got to get out of this mess I seem to have found myself in. "We've gotta go. My daughter broke her leg, and we've been dawdling for a long time now. I'll see you around, Ava."

"I hope so ..." her voice is wistful.

As Karli and I push on toward another aisle, Karli looks up at me. "She's pretty. I hope we see her again."

"Yeah, she is," I answer.

What I don't say is I will see her again, however I have to make that happen. I will, because that soft wistful tone? It's kryptonite for me, and my toxic trait is damsels in distress.

My hero complex wants nothing more than to get to know her better. As far as I'm concerned there's no better way to pass my time here in Bellehaven. However long that might be.