Page 60 of My Three Hometown Hard Hats

“Hey, sweetheart,” I say without even thinking.

Maggie’s eyes pop wide at my nickname for her daughter.Shit.

Hadley glances from me to her mom. She points at Maggie. “Don’t you even say anything.”

Maggie mimes zipping her lips and throwing away the key, but the smirk she’s sporting and the twinkle in her eyes says plenty.At least she isn’t asking me about the bill anymore.

“Are you guys all done?” Hadley asks, turning to look back at me.

“Yeah.”

Her face falls a fraction. “I guess you guys won’t have a reason to hang around here anymore.”

“I think we might have one reason to.”Why the hell did I say that? In front of Maggie?

“You two are disgustingly adorable,” Maggie says, walking into the living room.

Hadley’s hand smacks into her forehead as I wrap my arms around her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said any of that,” I whisper into the top of her head.

“It’s alright. I’m pretty sure she knew what was going on before I even knew what was happening,” she says with a shrug.

I press a kiss to her forehead. “Do you have plans for the rest of the afternoon?”

“No.”

“Can I take you somewhere?”

She quirks a brow. “Sure,” she says questioningly. “Do I need to change?”

“You can wear whatever you want. Grab your camera, though.”

Her face lights up. “Okay, give me five. I’ll be right back.” She darts up the stairs to her room.

When I head for the door, I pass Maggie in the living room. “Send me that bill, Conrad,” she says.

I run my hand over my face. “We’ll see,” I tell her, trying to duck out the door.

“Conrad,” she calls, all joking aside. I turn around, expecting a berating about free labor. “Take care of her.”

Oh.“Always,” I tell her, feeling my heart squeeze in my chest.

“Where are we going?” Hadley asks as I drive up the dirt road heading out of town. Her grip on the door handle tightens as the road gets bumpier the further into the mountains we climb.

“You’re the one who grew up here. Shouldn’t you be the expert?” I crack a smile at the death glare she gives me. “Just a few more minutes. We’re almost there.”

Going around the last bend in the road, I pull the truck to a stop at an old mining encampment. The few buildings still standing are half caved in, and several pieces of mining machinery lay about, rusted from years in the elements.

Hadley climbs from the truck, glancing around. I reach in behind her, grabbing her camera. “Come on,” I say, sliding my hand into hers.

I carefully guide her around the buildings and onto the large mine dump jutting out of the hillside. As soon as the view is in sight, her breath catches in her throat.

Her once-tentative steps at my side are now rushed across the giant pile of discarded dirt from the mine. She stops a few feet from the end, staring off with wonder in her eyes.

I want to look at the overhead view of Aspen Springs with the gigantic mountains looming in the distance that has brought me so much solace over the years, but I can’t. I can’t take my eyes off her.

I keep watching her when she pulls her camera up, taking picture after picture for so long that the sun starts to lower in the sky toward the mountains. I keep watching when she turns to look at me with a brilliantly beautiful smile on her face.

“How did you find this place?” she asks.