never seen the design in Ashley’s braids. Clearing his throat, Clint took a seat at the other end of the sofa and said, “Wow, nice job on her hair. Much better than the usual plain pigtails I put it in.”
“Thanks.” Tara grinned at him over the top of her computer, her beaming smile making his heart do an odd little jig. “They’re called bubble braids. All the rage on social media these days. I’ve been wanting to try them out but needed a willing subject.”
“That’s me!” Ashley said, pointing at herself before running over to climb onto Clint’s lap.
“Woohoo!” Tara cheered and did a fist pump. “Our post went viral, Ashley!”
“Really?” His daughter frowned and glanced from Tara to Clint. “Is that good, Daddy?”
“I’m no expert, but I think so,” he said, grinning back at Tara. “Isn’t it?”
“It is!” She turned the computer around so they could see it too. “Almost three hundred likes in less than ten minutes. And the commenters love your rainbows, Ashley!”
“Yay!” She clapped, then hugged Clint around the neck. “They love my rainbows, Daddy!”
“They do.” He squeezed her tight, so much love swelling inside him, more than he’d ever expected to find in this lifetime, filling him. It was so good to see his daughter happy again, especially after her remarks last night about wanting to go home. “And I love you, sweetpea.”
Ashley giggled.
“This is perfect,” Tara continued, turning her laptop back to face her and typing furiously. “Just what I need for my event at the end of this week.”
Clint’s smile quickly turned to a frown. They’d just talked about her needing to stay home, out of public view. He didn’t want to get into that right now, with Ashley so happy, but as soon as he got a chance, he was going to talk Tara out of going to that event and any others until this mess was over.
Now wasn’t the time, though, so he changed subjects. “You’re really into this social media stuff, huh?”
“I am.” Tara glanced up at him over the top of her computer, then focused on her typing once more.
“Why’s that?”
She frowned. “You mean, why do I like it?”
“Yeah.”
She shrugged, as if she felt that the answer was obvious. “Well, if you want to have a voice in the world these days, you have to be online. It’s where you can reach the most people and have the biggest impact.”
He nodded. Made sense, even if he avoided the Internet like the plague, except for work. It was a necessary evil that had no place in his private life. The less people poked into his personal business, the better. “And you want to have an impact?”
“Of course,” she said, hitting a few more keys before shutting her laptop. “It’s where I can get my message out about climate change to people around the world. Life is all about making a difference, making things better for others.”
“And what about for yourself?” he asked, watching her over the top of Ashley’s head.
Tara stared at him a moment, then got up and headed for the hall, saying over her shoulder. “That is for me—that’s what makes me feel like I’m accomplishing something with my life.”
Ashley scooted off his lap to head back into the living room to play, leaving Clint alone at the kitchen table to stare after Tara. From the hint of hurt in her response, he’d touched a nerve there with his question, and it troubled him more than he cared to admit.
What troubled him even more, though, was how normal and nice all this together time was starting to feel. Though not nearly as nice as Tara’s kisses and caresses. It was like he’d walked into a totally different world when he’d moved into this house. Even Ashley seemed to be flourishing.
But Clint had to keep reminding himself that all this was just pretend. That soon enough, he’d catch whoever was after Tara, and his house would be fixed, and then life would go back to the way it had been and everything would be fine.
No matter how un-fine that thought made him feel inside.
9
Tara wasn’t stupid. Clint obviously wasn’t happy about her choices regarding the upcoming event, but she had bigger things to worry about. She’d gotten an email this morning from the chairman of the board that things were “moving along briskly” in their search for the permanent director, which meant that if she was going to have any chance of proving she was the woman for the