Broken Read Free

held it in a firm grip. “Nathan McAvoy, and this my daughter, Melody McAvoy.”
    “Ciera Treat. Nice to meet you both,” Ciera said. “I don’t want to get in the way of your fun.”
    “It’s settled,” he assured her smoothly and produced a business card.
    She took it. “You’re a plumber?”
    He chuckled. “Melly likes to collect the cards. I have no idea where she got this one, but here I’ll write the address and my number on the back.”
    “Wait, Nathan. Are you nuts? I could be some dangerous criminal. You don’t know me from Eve, and you have to think about your little girl. Come to think of it, I shouldn’t even have been talking to her without you by her side.” She waved a finger at him. “You shouldn’t have let her wander off.”
    Only after she had finished lecturing the man did she realize she should have kept her big mouth closed. He’d probably get pissed off and tell her about herself. When he said nothing, she assumed he was steaming up to it and thrust the card out to him. She raced with her cart toward the front of the store. Embarrassed and kicking herself, she darted into a line and kept her head low.
    “Damn, you’re an idiot,” she grumbled under her breath as she unloaded the cart into her car. A cute man invited her to his daughter’s birthday party, and she ran off like a scared child herself. That was after she had basically told him he sucked as a father. “Good job, Ciera.”
    When the last item was tucked into the car, she slammed the trunk and walked around to the side. The prospect of spending Sunday afternoon in her apartment alone stretched ahead of her. She’d eat too much cake and ice cream and fall asleep in front of the TV.
    Movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she turned her head. Nathan navigated a cart with Melly in his arms, hugging his neck and crying. That quick, tears wet Ciera’s eyes. She’d made Melly cry! Ciera couldn’t leave things like they were. If nothing else, she could give the little girl a gift. She wrenched the back door of her car open and sorted through the portfolio there. The bear design that she had put together for a client who canceled after all her hard work was there. Melly might like her daddy to hang it on her wall because the artwork was intended for a children’s book cover.
    Ciera covered the piece with tissue paper and slammed the door, then ran over to the father and daughter. Nathan turned cool but not hostile eyes on her, saying nothing. Ciera almost lost her nerve. Melly sniffed and raised her head from her daddy’s shoulder. “Um.” Ciera swallowed. “This is something I did a while ago. You might like it as a birthday present, Melly.”
    Nathan’s eyebrows shot up, and Ciera froze. Damn it. She didn’t know them, and she was giving his daughter a gift. Why the hell was she in the twilight zone? Ciera took a step backward. Nathan set Melly on her feet.
    “What do you say?” he asked her quickly.
    Ciera touched an open palm to her lips and extended it toward Ciera.
    “That means thank you.” Nathan tilted his head as if asking when she planned on handing the gift over. Ciera jerked forward and held it out. Eager hands tore the tissue paper. Ciera winced.
    “That was to protect, uh, never mind. I’ve got more.”
    Tiny chirps like a little bird erupted from the small girl. Her eyes were wide, and she whirled around to show her daddy. He stooped to her level and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. They signed with one hand to each other.
    After a few moments, Nathan looked at her, and this time the expression was warmer. “She happens to love bears and has several in her room. You couldn’t have given her a more perfect gift. Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome. I felt like sh—uh, poop—for making her cry.”
    He laughed. “You made up for it with Melly, Ciera, but what about me?”
    Tingles raced over her arms, raising goose bumps. “Say what now?”
    He signaled for Melly to