Apprentice Father by Irene Hannon Page A

it.” She tipped her chin up to look at him, her eyes anxious. “Sorry about this. I know my limits, and I try not to take foolish chances, but once in a while I forget. In most cases, I live to regret it. Like today. It doesn’t mean I can’t take good care of the children.”
    â€œI know that.” At the conviction in his voice, the tension in her face eased. Good. He didn’t want her worrying about his confidence in her.
    Next, he addressed the children, who were still too subdued and quiet. “Why don’t we all go out to lunch?”
    â€œCould we get hamburgers?” Emily asked, brightening.
    â€œAnd French fries?” Josh added.
    â€œSure.” He turned to Cate’s grandfather. “You’re welcome to join us, too, sir.”
    The older man, who had been watching the exchange with interest, shook his head. “Make it Pop. Everyone else does. AndI’ll take a rain check on the burger. The garden club meeting starts in an hour and I have to swing by the house and pick up a few things.” He bent down to the children, hands on knees. “We’re not going to give up on this kite. On the next windy day, we have a date.”
    Emily and Josh sent Cate an uncertain, but hopeful, glance.
    â€œThat sounds good,” she agreed with a smile. “And next trip, I’ll stay on the sidelines. I promise.” She aimed her final remark at Clay.
    â€œMaybe I’ll come, too,” he said.
    â€œOur daddy never did anything like that with us.” There was a hint of melancholy in Emily’s tone.
    Clay dropped down to balance beside them on the balls of his feet. “That’s too bad. He missed a lot of fun.” Squeezing her hand and ruffling Josh’s hair, he rose. “Okay, let’s see about that lunch.”
    As they walked toward the parking area, Clay realized Cate’s limp was more pronounced than usual. But he knew she was making a valiant effort to hide it for the sake of the children, trying to reassure them everything was okay.
    He understood her motivation. He felt the same need to protect the kids. While it was a new feeling for him, he found it surprisingly appealing.
    Even more surprising, however, was the protective feeling he felt about Cate. That, too, was appealing. But scary. Very scary.
    Suddenly she stumbled, lurching against him, and his arm shot out to steady her. She murmured a soft thank-you and tried to move away, but he slipped his arm around her shoulders again.
    â€œRelax and lean on me,” he said close to her ear. “There’s no sense putting any extra strain on your leg.”
    For an instant, she stiffened. But in the end she complied—leading Clay to assume she was hurting more than she’d let on.Cate didn’t strike him as the kind of woman who leaned on people very often.
    There was no opportunity to analyze her response, however, because all at once Clay felt small fingers slipping into his other hand. Josh looked up at him, one finger in his mouth as he trotted beside his uncle, ready to jerk his hand free if his overture met with a negative reaction.
    A wave of tenderness washed over Clay, and he tried to blink away the hot tears welling in his eyes. Mere weeks ago this little boy had been too traumatized to speak, isolating himself from everyone but Emily. While much work remained to be done, Clay knew Josh’s reaching out, testing the waters, was a sign of great progress. That the healing had started. And with the help of the woman beside him, it would continue.
    Once in the parking lot, Pop lifted a hand in farewell. “We’ll get that kite up yet,” he promised the children.
    As Pop slid into his car, Clay looked at Cate. And tried not to drown in those green pools she called eyes. “Why don’t we take my truck to lunch?”
    Cate moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue, drawing his attention to them. Once more, his mouth went