Forever a Father Page 5

  What was going on with her? It wasn’t like it was a date. It was the continuation of an apology, though this would be the first time she’d ever been with Daniel around his family. Would he be different? He was always so serious at work.

  “Mommy, he’s knocking!”

  Keela sucked in a breath. Come to your senses. She rushed to the door and, trying not to seem too eager, opened it and peeked around the corner. “Hiya.”

  “Hey. You ready?”

  Not for what she saw standing before her. Sure, she’d seen him in the medical clinic’s uniform of khaki cargo pants and white polo shirt five days a week, and he’d worn a suit the other day for his pitch session at the college. But today he wore straight-legged jeans with a pale green, collared, long-sleeved shirt and a skinny dark green tie, looking very trendy. The button-down shirt was narrow cut and hugged his torso, giving her the impression he possessed something along the line of washboard abs. She forced her gaze upward to his still-smiling face, seeing something different in his eyes, too. Apparently, while she’d been checking him out, he’d done the same, and now her palms tingled.

  “I’d invite you in, but there’s not much to see.” The “cottage” was more like a bungalow, with tiny rooms, kitchen and bath, but it was their home.

  “Not a problem. You’re looking great, by the way,” he said, seeming on the verge of saying more. But Anna launched herself from behind.

  “Hi. Remember me?”

  “How could I forget?”

  “How old is your granddad?”

  “He’ll be eighty-five today.”

  “Wow, is he alive?”

  Daniel laughed. “Very much so. Are you ready to go meet him?”

  “Yay!”

  Even though Daniel played along with Anna and their quick conversation seemed to come easily, Keela sensed something behind his smile. Tension of some sort? Pain? It made her wonder what his story was about children.

  They arrived at The Drumcliffe Hotel in a few short minutes, Anna chattering the entire ride, relieving any guilt Keela harbored about not letting her see her father today. She felt a little sad, though, realizing how much her daughter enjoyed people. And since the divorce, what with Keela now working full-time and going to school before that, Anna didn’t get to go out that much.

  Mrs. Jenkins, an older neighbor lady, had offered to do childcare for practically a song on weekdays when they’d first moved in, which was a huge help, but Anna didn’t have anyone to play with. If Keela could afford it, she would’ve liked to put her in private preschool, but that was out of the question. She wouldn’t dare ask Ron for more money. At least in the fall she’d start kindergarten and would be around kids her age then. Life was far from perfect, but good enough, and today promised to be special. What more could Keela ask?

  Daniel pulled into a reserved parking space near one of the secluded suites. The two-story hotel sat on prime beachfront property and was the main tourist site in tiny Sandpiper Beach. Though she hadn’t visited since moving back to town, Keela remembered it well. It seemed a mystery why such a lovely place had trouble renting rooms. The problem was, she had heard, visitors chose to either continue up the road to Carmel or stop first in Pismo Beach, rather than venture into this sleepy little town. But they didn’t know what they were missing. Sure, the hotel seemed a bit dated, in need of some sprucing up, yet the potential was obvious. To Keela, anyway.

  A narrow walkway lined with manicured shrubs separated the hotel from the beach, and nearly all the second-story guest rooms had a magnificent sea view. So much potential. To the right of the hotel was a large grassy area with a putting green, surrounded by palm trees and bushes, and beyond that the dunes. In honor of the birthday and the many guests, they’d set up several round tables with built-in umbrellas. Groups of people milled about, wearing bright springtime colors that complimented the grass, light blue sky and teal-colored ocean backdrop. Keela would never get tired of the sound of the sea, or that special salted scent.

  She inhaled, remembering why she loved this town so much. Finding and moving to Sandpiper Beach had been the one good thing about getting her divorce, leaving Ron inland and moving to the coast.

  “There he is, Oh Danny Boy. How’s the form? Are y’well?” someone called out.

  For an instant, at the sound of the familiar brogue, Keela thought she was back in Ennis. She nearly laughed aloud when she glanced up to see an old fellow speed-walking across the lawn in bright green knickers with high socks, a yellow-and-green argyle-patterned sweater vest and a newsboy cap jauntily sitting atop his thinning crop of white hair. Why did men enjoy dressing in strange costumes for a game of golf? Using his putter as a cane as he approached, Daniel’s grandfather was certainly a vision from the past.

  “Get ready,” Daniel said out of the corner of his mouth to Keela. “Grandda! Happy birthday to ya.”

  Now even Daniel had a touch of the Irish to him. Keela’s smile doubled as a home-sweet-home feeling circled around her like a hug.

  “Is this the lovely lass from Éire?”

  “Yes,” Daniel said. “This is Keela.” He glanced at her with a sweet and proud grin that she’d never seen before, and momentarily, she felt off balance.

  “’Tis a pleasure, Keela!” The elderly man grabbed her into a bear hug, and laughing, she hugged him back. He smelled like Guinness and her own grandfather’s spicy men’s cologne, and a pang of nostalgia threatened to make her eyes tear up, though she fought it.

  “So nice to meet you, too, Mr. Delaney.” She saw the familiar twinkle she’d noticed in Daniel’s eyes earlier, and the same brackets around his grinning mouth. There was no doubt they were family.

  “Call me Padraig, please.” He stood there leaning on his golf club, taking her in and seeming to appreciate what he saw. Then his gaze shifted to her side. “And who might this little elf be?”

  “My daughter, Anna.”

  “Hello, lassie.” He bent over, took Anna’s hand and shook it. She giggled. “What age are ya?”

  “Five.” Up went the splayed-fingered hand.

  “Almost,” Keela added.

  “Almost five. Are we gonna have cake and ice cream?”

  He blurted a laugh. “Oh, you bet. We Delaneys know how to throw a birthday party, now, don’t we? Why don’t you let me show you the cake?” With her hand firmly in his, they set off toward a big table on the hotel patio that held a huge cake and a punch bowl. A large, built-in barbecue was going full blast behind the table, the mouthwatering aromas of grilled tri-tip and chicken competing for her attention.

  “He’s full of life, isn’t he?” Keela couldn’t help her grin.

  “Oh, he’s full of it, all right,” Daniel said, following his grandfather toward the table and a group of people gathered there. The redheaded woman, she assumed, was his mother.

  Keela’s smile continued to stretch wide, threatening cheek cramps, as her boss dutifully introduced her first to his father, Sean. She’d gathered from the way he spoke about his dad at work that he respected him and considered him to be his business mentor. The man stood a great deal taller than his son and had a prominent chiseled nose. Where Daniel had an oblong chin, Sean’s was squared. Plus Daniel’s eyes were green, his father’s deep blue, serious and calm like the sea. Her smile leveled out as she summed him up to be a man content around his family. And she also decided Daniel had taken after his mother in the height department.

  “This is my mother, Maureen.” He gestured toward the lady with ginger-colored bobbed hair and emerald-green eyes—so that was where Daniel got them.

  Maureen took Keela into a light, welcoming hug, then quickly released her. “So glad you could come.”

  “I’m happy to be here.”

  “I hope my son has been treating you right.”

  “Oh, he’s a great boss.”

  Maureen tossed her s
on a proud glance tinged with motherly concern, but he’d already started a conversation with his dad, no doubt retelling how he’d sealed the deal with the 4Cs.

  “I’ve got a question for you,” Maureen said. “Does your physical therapy certificate include massage therapy, by any chance?”

  “In a roundabout way, yes. My job description includes mostly PT treatments, which includes massage, but it just so happens that back home I was a certified massage therapist. That’s what I did before I returned to school after Anna was born.”

  “Great. We should talk over lunch.”

  That piqued Keela’s interest but also set off a burst of disappointment—was that why Daniel had invited her today? Just when she was about to ask more, Padraig scooted Anna forward. “And this is the lovely Miss Anna, Keela’s daughter.”

  Maureen dropped to a knee to greet Anna eye to eye, the gesture planting warmth in the center of Keela’s chest, pushing aside the prior disappointment. No wonder Daniel was such a good guy—he’d come from a wonderful family.

  She felt warm fingers lightly circle her upper arm. Daniel. His touch made her skin tingle. “Let me introduce you to my brothers.”

  Two strapping men stood nearby, drinking sodas and chatting, and Daniel led her toward them while Anna happily talked with Maureen and Padraig Delaney as if she’d known them all her short life.

  “Mark, this is the best physical therapy assistant in Sandpiper Beach, Keela O’Mara.”

  “Is my brother treating you right?” The intense blue-eyed man attempted a smile as he shook her hand, but Keela got the impression that particular expression didn’t come easy for him. He was a couple of inches taller than Daniel and wore his dark hair similarly, straight back from his forehead, though longer and with waves, but his two-day growth of beard made for a completely different look. Mysterious and sexy. She’d never thought of Daniel as sexy, but seeing him today had definitely put him in a new light. Now, having met their father, she understood where the Delaney appeal came from.

  “I love my job. Thanks. And nice to meet you.”

  “Same here.” He was obviously a man of few words, the strong silent type, she guessed, but regardless, she liked him right off.

  “And this guy’s my baby brother, Conor.” Daniel mock-punched the tallest of the three brothers in the stomach, and Conor pretended to feel pain.

  A thought popped into her head: What was it like to be the oldest yet the shortest? Maybe that was why Daniel worked so hard to prove himself all the time.

  “Hello. I hear you’re a deputy sheriff,” she said, completely able to see him in uniform, what with his height, straight shoulders and light brown, military-length hair. Handsome with a strong jaw and chin like his father’s, plus a pair of shockingly blue-green eyes, Conor could star in movies.

  “I am. Nice to meet you.”

  “I thought you had to work today,” Daniel said.

  “I start at three.”

  For having Irish in their blood, neither Mark nor Conor seemed to have inherited the gift for gab. And they kept passing her sideways glances, the protective kind families sometimes give. More fingers wrapped around her arm. These were icy and knobby and belonged to the birthday boy himself, and feeling herself the center of attention, Keela grinned.

  * * *

  Daniel watched his family as they met and assessed his assistant. It wasn’t hard to tell they all liked what they saw. Who wouldn’t? But they also surreptitiously watched him, reading more into his bringing a woman around than his need to apologize. Especially a woman with a child. Were they worried? He’d once given them a hell of a lot to worry about. Kathryn had taken his heart and slammed it on the mat, nearly finishing him, and he still winced, remembering. Like he didn’t mean squat to her, when he’d given her his whole heart. He’d limped around in a trance for months when he’d first moved home, the woman and baby he’d dreamed about and intended to spend the rest of his life with having vanished. His family knew he was still in deep healing mode, so he’d cut them some slack if they worried about him today.

  He’d proposed to Kathryn the day she’d told him she was pregnant, but she’d sworn she would never get married because she “had” to. In his love-blind state, he’d rationalized they could get married after their baby was born. Ceremony or no ceremony, they would soon be a family. Maybe then she’d see how deeply he loved her and love him back. He wanted to give her a ring, but she’d begged him to hold off, reasoning they’d need the money for medical expenses during the pregnancy. He’d gone along with all her reasons, refusing to see the truth, even while sensing and fearing she wasn’t the least bit invested in him. What a blind fool he’d been.

  He’d gone inward, Daniel realized, and everyone seemed to notice.

  “Would you like to see our pub, Keela?” Grandda had grabbed her arm, looking eager to show her around, to get her away from the ball of gloom Daniel had just become.

  “I’d love to.”

  Grandda laughed with delight and led Keela away. How effortlessly she’d fit in with his family. Daniel’s chest flooded with adrenaline, an anxious thought quickly following. What the hell did he think he was doing, bringing a woman back into his life? A woman with a child.

  Little fingers tugged at his. He looked down, to find Anna smiling up at him. The smile may as well have been a dagger. But she didn’t deserve his reaction. He forced himself to look at her. She had wildly wavy brown hair along with those dark eyes she must have inherited from her father, yet the smile clearly belonged to her mother, and the combination made her one cute kid. The vision hit like a wrecking ball to what was left of his heart. Emma, sweet, sweet Emma, had never stood a chance, yet from the start he’d let himself imagine being her father years down the line, her wearing little girlie dresses just like Anna’s ruffled brown-and-peach-colored combo today.

  It had been nearly unbearable to spend time with Anna the other day, so he’d kept her busy and himself distracted. Now the sight of her, the feel of her tiny, warm hand, tightened his chest to the point of nearly being unable to suck in a breath. He searched around for an exit strategy. But with Keela heading off with his grandfather, this one needed supervision.

  He didn’t want the job by any means, even thought about pawning her off on Conor, but he’d invited her, and a kid couldn’t understand a grown man’s grief. Plus she’d apparently been ignored by her own father enough already. The last thing Daniel wanted to do was play a part in a lifetime of insecurity. She was an innocent and clueless child, just like Emma had been. So he needed to man up and stuff all his loss deep down, where it belonged, for an afternoon at a birthday party. He’d deal with the fallout later.

  His eyes frantically darted around the hotel yard, soon finding what he looked for.

  “Want to meet my dog?” What the hell, he’d give it a try. Maybe Daisy would distract Anna enough to keep her from holding his hand again.

  “Our dog,” his brothers chimed simultaneously.

  “Our dog, Daisy.” He couldn’t exactly contradict them, since he’d gotten the puppy for therapy, a last attempt to rejoin the human race. That was before he realized how much time and energy his medical clinic would take. It didn’t seem fair to the poor, sweet Labrador retriever puppy to be left alone for such long periods of time. So he’d asked Mark, who seemed to need a companion while working through his PTSD last year, to watch her during the days. And Conor, who took pride in staying in shape, ran their girl on the beach every single morning. When Mark and Conor weren’t about, his mother let Daisy follow her around the hotel as a petting dog, a novelty that the guests seemed to love. Especially when she wore a glittery kerchief. Even Grandda had been known to let the dog accompany him on his strolls down Main Street. So, in the case of Daniel’s pet, it seemed to take a village to raise her.

  “A dog? Yes!” It didn’t take much to excite Anna.

  “Well, let
’s go, then.”

  * * *

  A couple hours later, birthday toasts had been made, lunch had been eaten and cake had been served. And Daniel had survived more time with Anna. Though barely. Keela had been whisked away yet again, this time by his mother. He wondered what Keela might think of his mom’s forthcoming offer. Conor had left for work, but thankfully, Padraig Delaney was currently teaching Anna how to use a Hula-Hoop. Daniel was grateful for the break. Eighty-five to almost five, no big deal, they got along like best friends.

  Sitting on a bench near the patio on the grass, Daniel tried to focus on the positive in his life—he’d landed the deal with the college. The weather was holding, and after the huge lunch, he needed a walk by the beach. So he took off.

  “Where’re you going?” Keela called out from nowhere.

  “Thought I’d walk to the dunes. Want to come?”

  “Love to. Let me get Anna.”

  All his positivity plummeted to the grass as she loped toward her daughter, surprising her, grabbing her under the arms and swinging her around in a circle, to Anna’s delight.

  They seemed so happy, and Daniel couldn’t deny they had something special going on. He suspected the divorce had been rough on both of them, and their bond had tightened as a result. He, on the other hand, had been left with a longing so deep for what they had, it had eaten him from the inside out, leaving an empty shell. What losing Emma hadn’t ripped away from him, Kathryn’s leaving without a glance back had demolished.

  Daisy came galloping up. Adopting her had been his futile attempt to begin to feel again. He ruffled her ears, welcoming the contagious calm she always brought. Since Anna was coming, he decided to bring the dog along for the walk, too.

  Once Keela and Anna caught up, he pointed in the direction he’d decided to take across the dunes toward the cliffs and tide pools. Give a man a task and he would carry it out. This he could do—lead the excursion. Anna ran ahead with Daisy, and he and Keela found themselves alone for the first time all afternoon.