Maggie loved the playground, and Caroline appreciated Grady’s willingness to indulge her child. Ever since that terrible night, Grady had given special attention to her daughter.

Caroline didn’t know what she would have done without Grady. That night had been a turning point for all of them. For her and Grady, and for Grady and Maggie.

The doorbell rang and Maggie screamed from inside her bedroom, “I’ll get it!” Caroline heard her race for the door.

The only person it could be was Grady. He’d followed them home from church, driving the old Ford pickup, which had been returned to him a few days before. Maggie had already changed out of her Sunday-school dress and into shorts. Caroline wore a sleeveless yellow cotton dress, with a wide straw hat and sandals, the same clothes she’d worn to the service. Grady sent her a purely masculine look of approval as Maggie dragged him by the hand into the kitchen.

“It’s Grady,” Maggie announced unnecessarily. “Can we go now?”

“Soon. I’ve got to load up the potato salad and fried chicken first.”

“Mommy makes the best potato salad in the world,” Maggie said. “She lets me peel the hard-boiled eggs and help her stir.”

“No wonder it’s so good,” he said and glanced from Maggie to Caroline.

The look, however brief, made Caroline wonder if he was speculating about who had fathered her child. Then again, she might be imagining it. Every time they were together, she became obsessed with her secret, with the need to tell Grady. She loved this man and she feared what would happen once he learned the truth.

“Go put on your running shoes,” Caroline instructed her daughter. Maggie dashed out of the room, eager to comply.

Grady watched Maggie go before turning his attention to her. “I didn’t embarrass you in church this morning, did I?”

“No,” she answered, wondering what he was talking about.

“I couldn’t keep my eyes off you.”

“I didn’t really notice…” She hated this tension, this constant fear that any look he gave her, any silence, meant he was wondering about Maggie’s father. Soon, she promised herself. She’d tell him soon. Perhaps even today.

Grady gripped her about the waist and they kissed, sweetly and unhurriedly. “I didn’t hear a word of Wade’s sermon,” he whispered into her hair, holding her close.

“Me, neither.” But not for the reasons he assumed.

“Wade stopped me on the way out the door,” Grady said, grinning, “and told me there’d be a test on the sermon next week. Not to worry, though, he was willing to share his notes.”

Caroline managed a smile. “I think Wade’s the best thing that’s happened to Promise Christian in a long time.”

“You’re the best thing that’s happened to me,” Grady whispered. “Ever.” He reluctantly let her go when Maggie tore into the kitchen.

The five-year-old was breathless with excitement. “I’m ready!” she cried.

Caroline added the potato salad and fried chicken to the cooler, and Grady carried it to his pickup. The three of them piled into the front and drove to the park.

Caroline noticed that Maggie was especially quiet on the short drive. She was concerned the child might be reacting to her tension. But Maggie’s spirits lifted the instant they arrived at the park. Grady lugged the picnic supplies to a vacant table, and while Caroline covered it with a plastic-coated tablecloth, Maggie insisted on showing Grady her favorite swing.

“Go on, you two,” Caroline said, waving them away. Once again she noticed—or thought she did—the way Grady studied Maggie. Briefly she wondered if he’d guessed.

Determined to ignore her worries, at least for the moment, Caroline spread a blanket on the grass in a shady area. When she’d finished, she slid the cooler beneath the table and out of the sun.

The sound of Maggie’s laughter drifted toward her, and Caroline looked up to discover her daughter on the swing set with Grady standing behind her.

“Higher!” Maggie shouted. “Push me higher!”

Grady did, until Caroline held her breath at the heights the swing reached. She pressed her hand to her mouth to keep from calling out a warning, knowing she could trust Grady with her daughter. She gasped once when the swing buckled, but Grady swiftly caught it and brought it back under control.

Eventually he stopped the swing and Maggie returned to earth. Squealing with delight, she still had energy left to run back to their picnic table.

“Did you see, Mommy?” Maggie cried. “Did you see how high Grady pushed me?”

Caroline nodded. “I saw.”

“I could touch the sky with my feet. Did you see? Did you see?”

“Yes, baby, I saw.”

The afternoon was lovely. After they ate, Maggie curled up on the blanket and quickly fell asleep.

Now, Caroline commanded herself. Tell him now. But she couldn’t make herself do it, couldn’t bear to see the look in his eyes when he learned the truth. Avoiding his gaze, she brushed the soft curls from her daughter’s brow.

“Any effects from her night away from home?” Grady asked. “Has she told you anything of what happened?”

“Not a word, but she woke up last night with a nightmare and wouldn’t tell me about it.”

“Poor thing.”

Caroline gazed down at her slumbering child, loving her with an intensity that went beyond anything she’d ever known, even the strong love she felt for Grady. “She’s back, safe and sound, and for that I’m grateful.”

“I am, too.”

Caroline leaned against Grady, letting him support her weight, his hands resting on her shoulders.

“Savannah reminded me that it’s Maggie’s birthday next week. I’d like to give her something special, but I need to ask you about it first. She seems quite taken with Moonbeam, so—”

“You’re giving her the colt?” Caroline could barely believe her ears. At the same time she realized that the mention of Maggie’s birthday created a natural opening to talk about her child’s father. To reveal his name.

No! she couldn’t tell him, Caroline thought in sudden panic.

“Of course we’ll keep Moonbeam at the ranch.”

While the offer was tempting, horses weren’t cheap to maintain.

“The gift includes room and board.” Grady answered her question even before she could ask it.

“That’s generous of you.”

“She’s going to be six, right?”

“Yes.”

His gaze softened as he studied the little girl. “You said once that you’d dated Cal.”

Caroline felt as though her lungs had frozen. This was as close as Grady had come to asking her outright about Maggie’s father.

“I did,” she said and looked away. He reached for her hand. “Now that Richard’s gone—”

“Do you mind if we don’t talk about my brother?” Grady said, interrupting her. “I want to escape him for a few hours if I can.”

“Of course, but—”

“I’d much rather concentrate on other things just now, like how good you feel in my arms.”

Caroline closed her eyes.

“It doesn’t matter, Caroline,” he whispered close to her ear.

“What doesn’t matter?”

“About Maggie. I already love her.”

“I know. It’s just that…” Caroline liked to think she would have continued if Maggie hadn’t chosen that precise moment to awake.

“Can we go swing again?” she asked Grady.

He grinned. “This time let’s bring your mother, too. All right?”

Maggie took Caroline’s hand and the three of them headed toward the swing set, the subject she was about to broach shelved once again.

The day ended far sooner than Caroline and Maggie would have wished. Grady dropped them off at seven and went to check in with Frank Hennessey. Caroline assumed it had to do with Richard, but she didn’t ask and he didn’t volunteer.

The light on her answering machine was flashing, and while she unpacked the picnic basket, she played it back.

“It’s Savannah. Give me a call when you get home.”