Country Romance - Carolyne Aarsen Page 0,25

her, and to her dismay that smile once again dove into her soul.

"Someone gave you good advice," he said, shoving his gloves in his pocket. His brown eyes held hers a moment longer than necessary, as if wondering who had.

For a beat, she couldn't look away.

"You must be feeling better," she said.

"Yeah. A bit. Get tired too quick, but at least I'm on the right side of everything. Thanks again for helping. I'm glad you're here."

She blinked at the kindness in his voice. At the sincerity. It created a yearning deep in her soul.

"You're welcome," she said, still unable to tear her gaze from his, not sure where to put these uncertain feelings. And he didn't seem eager to break the connection either.

"The kids seem to be having fun," he said.

"They get along well," Adele said. And she felt like smacking herself. It was as if she was trying to say something more.

"Kids are easygoing with the big things in life. They hit the bottom hard and then bounce back."

Adele wondered if he was referring to his wife's defection. Her mind slipped back to Mrs. Flikkema's comment about Theresa. She wanted to ask him more about her, but knew it wasn't her place.

Besides, things seemed to be shifting between them and she had to be certain to maintain proper boundaries. It would be hard enough to leave Dean behind; the last thing she needed was to leave another piece of her heart with Wyatt.

"How did things go in town?" he asked as he opened the door for her.

"I got the package away express post. I'll give the lab a call tomorrow to make sure they got it. And then I guess we'll wait and see."

She tried to keep her tone noncommittal and conversational. Tried not to think how much rested on that DNA test. Wyatt's future. Dean's and hers, if she was honest. If Dean wasn't Wyatt's child, Adele knew there was no way she was letting him be put into foster care. She loved the little boy too much.

But you can't take care of him.

Once again an unconscious prayer slipped into her mind. It was comprised of two words.

Please, Lord.

It was all she could manage right now.

At one time she and God had been close and her prayers had been longer than these panicked, half-formed requests she had been winging heavenward.

But life had beat her down, and so many prayers had gone unanswered that she didn't trust God much anymore.

"Well... That's good. We'll just have to wait and see then." Wyatt was chewing on his lower lip, and Adele wondered what was going through his mind. A lot hung in the balance for him.

"Daddy, Daddy," Maya called out, standing at the top of the snow pile. "Watch me go down on my pants," she yelled. She dropped to her seat and then slid down the hill, arms up, squealing with laughter.

Wyatt laughed at the sight, and Adele was surprised at the sound. And at the way his laughter transformed his face.

"Oh, baby girl, you are something else," he called. He walked over to her and grabbed her in a big tight hug. Maria slid down the hill to join them and was also pulled into his arms.

Dean stood to one side, watching the little group.

Adele's heart ached for him. She walked over to him and gave him a hug.

"Group hug, group hug," Maya called out, dancing from one boot to the other.

She ran over and grabbed Dean's hand, dragging him into the circle. Dean still held onto Adele's hand so she got pulled in as well. There was a flurry of arms and squeals and hugs and to her dismay, in the melee, Adele ended up right beside Wyatt.

"Daddy give a group hug," Maya demanded.

Wyatt and Adele's faces were inches apart, their eyes holding. A frisson of awareness shivered down Adele's spine. The moment lengthened and then Wyatt blinked, looking away.

"I should go back to the house," he said, his voice gruff.

Adele avoided his gaze.

"We want to play outside," Maya insisted, pulling away from her father and heading back to the hill.

That suited Adele just fine. Right about now she had to clear her head. She wasn't blind. She knew that something was building between her and Wyatt. She couldn't let it happen. She had to keep her focus on her plans.

She had to take care of herself.

No one else would.

Chapter Six

Wyatt closed the door behind him and leaned against it. What was he doing? He wanted to blame