so unexpected. Then he realized that she was comforting him. It shocked him, how much he liked it. His good arm curled around her shoulders, lightly, so that he didn’t make her uncomfortable.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. She knew that he was a man who’d love a child.
His chest rose and fell against her. His heartbeat was oddly fast and strong. “I couldn’t have forced her to have it,” he said. “And under the circumstances, I suppose it was the right thing to do.” He idly smoothed her long blond hair in its ponytail. “I didn’t even know I wanted a child until she told me that. I grieved for it. She said it wasn’t the first time she had it done, and it was like having an abscessed tooth pulled.”
She made a gruff sound in her throat.
He didn’t have to be told that she’d never have made that choice if it had been his child in her body. She’d have fought to keep it, even fought him to keep it. He was surprised at how well he knew her already. It had only been a few weeks since she’d shown up at his door, and it felt as if he’d known her forever.
They were both so lost in thought that they didn’t hear the truck drive up. They didn’t hear the perfunctory knock at the door, which suddenly opened to admit Parker. He stood in the doorway, grinning at the picture they made—the delicate little blond, still in her waitress’s uniform, and the taciturn wildlife officer, curled up together in a big easy chair.
“Oh!” Esther exclaimed, embarrassed, and started to get up.
“Stay put,” Butch told her, his arm tightening as he chuckled. “Parker’s family. And we’re engaged,” he reminded her.
She was still. She smiled shyly at Parker. “So we are,” she said, and tried to sound sophisticated. Which she wasn’t, despite her wealthy upbringing.
“What’s up?” Butch asked the other man.
“Are you guys doing anything special on Sunday?” Parker asked.
Butch and Esther looked at each other. “Nothing much,” Butch said.
“I don’t work Sundays,” Esther added.
“Why?” Butch wanted to know.
“Teddie wants to go ice skating. There’s a rink nearby and it’s open all year. You guys want to come along?”
Butch made a face. “Not sure I can get on skates.” He looked at Esther, who grimaced.
“I never learned how,” she confessed. “I’d fall and break something and what would my boss say?” she asked plaintively.
Parker just chuckled. “Okay. When we find something a little less reckless, we’ll invite you again. Rodeo maybe, later in the year.”
“I love rodeo!” Esther exclaimed.
“Me, too,” Butch seconded.
They were both beaming.
Parker just shook his head. “Hey, there, Two-Toes,” he said, greeting the wolf, who’d been out in the kitchen drinking water. He knelt down and ruffled the animal’s fur affectionately.
“He’s so sweet,” Esther remarked.
“He took to her right off,” Butch added with a warm smile at the pretty woman in his lap. “I always knew he was a great judge of character,” he added with a chuckle.
“I’ll say. He loves my girls, too,” Parker said, referring to his wife and stepdaughter. He stood up. “Well, I’ll be off.”
“Thanks for the invitation,” Esther said. “I’m sorry I’m such a stick-in-the-mud.”
“Not at all.” Parker returned at once. “Variety really is the spice of life. How boring if we all liked the same things all the time!”
“True,” Butch said. “See you.”
“Night, Sarge. Esther.” He went out, closing the door behind him.
Butch gave Esther a long, penetrating stare. “You lied.”
She went red as a beet. “You don’t know,” she retorted.
He laughed and hugged her close. “Yes, I do. You can skate like a fairy, can’t you? I’ll bet you float on the ice.”
“I took lessons from the time I was three,” she confessed. “Mama wanted me to be a contender, but I wasn’t crazy about being on the ice all the time. I quit when I was in my mid-teens. I don’t think she ever forgave me.” She pulled back. “See, that was what she wanted to be, a star on the ice in women’s single competition. She didn’t have the gift, but I did, and she pushed and kept pushing. Dad didn’t like the way she nagged me, but he died and I was left with her.” She sighed. “It was the only time she really cared about me, I think, when she was trying to use me to fulfill her own dreams.”
He smoothed over her back. “My dad was the same,” he confessed. “He wanted me to be