In His Eyes

The twirled strand of hair fell into a ringlet when she lowered her hand. “So then who is the ‘we’ you mentioned?”

He pulled his gaze from the twist of hair. “My daughter. Caitlin. She’s six.”

Ellene’s pulse skipped. “A daughter.” Disbelief and sadness vied within her. She looked at Co

He shrugged as if not knowing how to respond. “It’s been difficult raising her alone for the past couple of years.”

“I’m sure it has,” she said, trying to make sense of the sweep of emotion that overtook her. She could have married, too. She could’ve had a child and not just a career. The choice had been hers.

The waitress saved her from further conversation. Her salad arrived, and Co

Co

Ellene couldn’t deal with all the details spilling from him. She pushed the greens around in her bowl, longing to get away and sort her emotions. She wanted to be distant and businesslike, but he’d dropped a surprise into the mix. A six-year-old daughter. A little girl without a mother.

Ellene remembered one of her friends losing her mother when they were both children. How did a child deal with the loss? How had Co

She jerked her mind back to their business. “When do you want me to see the cabin?”

“What’s good for you?”

Not this, she thought. Ellene felt Co

She tilted the notebook away from Co

Ellene felt Co

Today she saw only confusion.

“How about next week? Thursday or Friday?” she asked.

A frown sprang to his face. “Is this Saturday bad for you?”

“Saturday?”

“Caitlin goes to elementary school during the week. I’d rather not take her out of classes.”

She hadn’t thought. “Saturday’s fine, Co

He nodded as she forced her attention back to her lunch. But who felt like eating?

Chapter Two

Saturday, Ellene pulled into the Champion Auto Ferry parking lot and got in line with nothing to do but watch the ferry maneuver across Lake St. Clair from Harsens Island to the mainland. The wintry March sun struck the gray snow piled along the bank, but the feeble rays didn’t penetrate the cold outside her car. Enormous ice floes jammed against each other and struck the nose of the boat as it moved to shore.

She rolled down her window to pay the five-dollar toll while a bitter wind swept inside her car and sent a chill down her back. The outer cold seemed no more icy than her internal struggle.

Today she’d face Co

Ellene focused ahead of her, past the sun’s rays glinting off the hood of her car. Why couldn’t she let the su

As the ferry boat propelled into the cha

When they reached the other side, Ellene glanced at Co

She veered the car down South Cha

She slowed, her heart beating overtime. Questions barraged her. Why was she so nervous? Why couldn’t she put the past behind her as her father had suggested? Why couldn’t she accept the blame—or some of it—for their breakup? But she couldn’t. She wanted nothing to do with Co

Still, she had to admit, before she’d met him for lunch, she’d often thought about an older Co

Co

Her grip tightened on the steering wheel when she saw the log cabin. She pulled into the driveway, sending up a prayer that God would give her guidance and soften her attitude.

She sat a moment, thinking of her feelings—pride, hurt, dismay. Co

Co

That day, Ellene had realized that few men could be trusted. She didn’t need a man. Today she was determined to work for her father and make him proud.

As she headed up the driveway, the side door opened. Co

She couldn’t help but grin back at his stupid question. “You could have waited until May for this.”

“Not really. I want to get settled here during the summer when Caitlin is out of school.”

Caitlin. The name whacked her in the chest. As she stepped inside, she gave the room a quick scan, expecting the child to be there. But she wasn’t in sight, and the fact aroused Ellene’s curiosity.

She covered her discomfort by surveying the open space of the great room, dining and kitchen all in one. “I’d forgotten how nice this is,” she said, admiring the expansive room. “You have lots of space to work with. I like it.”

“I like it, too, but it’s the—”

“I hate it here!”

The child’s shout pierced their subdued conversation, followed by the sound of a crash above their heads as if she’d thrown something across the room.

“Sorry,” Co

“You never let me do anything,” Caitlin bellowed down the staircase.

Ellene flinched at the child’s frustration.

Co