A Carolina Dance by Michelle Major

Author:Michelle Major
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2023-03-08T15:33:04+00:00

CHAPTER FIVE

THE FOLLOWING TWO weeks were the happiest Trinity had ever experienced. True to his word, Ash didn’t seem to care about the complexities in either of their lives. He was attentive and sweet, making her feel special even with the demands on his time in other areas.

She and Thomas became regular visitors to his new house, where they’d make dinner together while Michaela entertained the baby or did homework at the kitchen table. If Ash’s daughter thought it was odd that Trinity was spending so much time with her dad, she hid it well.

There were times when Trinity wondered if Michaela wasn’t in the matchmaking business along with May and Helena. It made Trinity laugh to witness how Michaela lauded Ash’s good points, right down to commenting how thick Ash’s hair remained, unlike many of her friends’ fathers’.

Trinity had laughed at the observation, but as she and Ash, who held Thomas in his arms, entered the elementary school gym on a bright Saturday morning to see Michaela’s science fair display, she couldn’t help but notice the girl had been right.

“You really do have good hair,” she told Ash, nudging him gently.

“I can’t take credit, but if that’s what does it for you...” He linked their fingers and lifted her hand to kiss her knuckles.

“Not here,” she admonished as she yanked her hand from his.

He paused outside the entrance to the gymnasium. “Why not here?”

“Ash.” She sighed. “People will talk.”

“Is that a problem for you? Because it isn’t for me.”

“I don’t want to rush into anything.” She took Thomas from him, cradling the baby close.

His jaw tightened. “There you are with the shield again.”

“Thomas is a baby, not a shield.”

Ash cocked an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“Let’s go see Michaela,” she said instead of answering, because she wasn’t sure and hated that doubt and fear held so much power over here.

He looked like he wanted to argue but nodded.

The gym was crowded with students, teachers and family members, but they found Michaela easily with her display of a trio of plants she’d spent the past month speaking to in three different ways.

Trinity’s heart rippled in her chest as she listened to the girl explain her experiment. She’d used positive words with one plant, neutral with the second and angry words with the third.

Was Trinity like that pathetic, mangled plant, ignored or spoken to harshly for so long that she’d wilted beyond measure? Maybe there was no hope that Ash could even bring her back to life.

The last thing she wanted to be was a burden—emotional or otherwise—to him or anyone.

She plastered a smile on her face as a small crowd formed around Michaela’s display. Like her father, the girl was a natural at relating to people.

At the end of her short presentation, the gathered group applauded, and Ash hugged his daughter. “And here I thought all I had to worry about was watering the houseplants to keep them alive.”

Michaela rolled her eyes at his dad humor, then hugged Trinity and kissed Thomas’s cheek.

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