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Coop didn’t like getting caught. Was he that obvious? And so what if he was? “I’m looking at my daughter, bub.”

“If you say so.” Toby grinned and began whistling a tune.

Coop sent him a warning glare, before returning to his inspection.

“Hi, Daddy.” Cass came up beside him, hard hat sitting low on her forehead.

“Hi, Cass. Looks like you scored a big cookie.”

“Taylor said only if it was okay with you. And I told her it was.”

“Did you now?”

She nodded and took another big bite of her cookie. “It’s okay, right?”

He chuckled at his daughter. The cookie was three quarters of the way gone already. He put his hands on his hips. “And what if I said it wasn’t?”

“It’s my after-school treat, Daddy. You never say no to that.”

The kid was right. He didn’t deny her much. He cut her a lot of slack, as long as it was harmless. Out of guilt. Because she was motherless. It hurt in his gut every time he thought about it.

“And how was school today?”

“Pretty good. I beat Manny Lopez in a relay race.”

“I bet that was fun. Were you a good sport about it?”

“I guess so. I told him he was fast too.”

“That’s my girl. Is Grandpa Joe here?”

“Nope, he dropped me off after he spoke to Taylor.”

That brought his gaze back to Taylor, sitting at the patio table, speaking on her cell phone. She seemed animated, laughing with someone on the other end.

“And did all go well with the dress fitting?”

“Yes, but, uh, Taylor has something to ask you.”

“She does? Looks like she’s busy now.”

Cassie glanced over at the patio table too. “She’s talking to Blake Charles. I heard her say it was sweet of him to call.”

“Sweet, huh?” Something pinged inside, a flash of emotion he wasn’t used to feeling. Blake had had the biggest crush on Taylor in those final summers. He’d been a bit shy with Taylor and had never really gotten up the nerve to say much to her, but his big moony eyes told another story. They followed her around, dogging her every move. Coop had never really liked the guy. Now he owned and operated Charles Realty, a surprisingly successful business in the county. Taylor sure seemed to be enjoying herself talking to him, her laughter spilling over to irritate his ears.

Coop removed his hard hat and ran his hand through his hair. He took a kerchief out of his back pocket and wiped at his face a few times.

“Daddy, can I help?’

“If you want to clean up some of this siding, you know where the wheelbarrow is.”

“Clean up, again?” she droned.

“I’m afraid you’re too late to do anything else today.”

“It’s okay. I’ll do it.”

“Thatta girl.”