Sheltered by the Millionaire(9)

Whit glanced at Evie. "Your mommy takes very good care of you. You're safe now, kiddo."

"But nobody takes care of Mommy. That's not fair."

Megan blinked back tears at the weight her little girl was carrying  around inside. He didn't seem to have a ready answer to that one.  Neither did Megan.

Evie hitched up her feet to sit cross-legged, picking at the Velcro of  her new tennis shoes. They hadn't been able to afford cowgirl boots, not  with new shoes to buy. "I'm not sure what I'll be next. Gotta look  through my costume box and see what'll scare the monsters."

"Where are these monsters?"

"They come out of the sky with the wind." Evie pointed ahead at the  windscreen and made swirly gestures with her spindly, little-girl arms.  "So I'm riding wif you in the plane. I'll get 'em before they scare  other kids."

Megan tipped her head back to hold in the tears. She had seen this  flight as a welcome distraction for her child. She hadn't considered  Evie might be afraid, and certainly not for this particular reason. But  it made perfect sense, and somehow Whit had gotten more information on  the fears in one simple conversation than Megan had been able to pry out  of her strong-willed child in the past month.

Evie wiggled her feet. "I got new shoes. They light up when I walk."

"Very nice."

"My princess sneakers got messed up in the tora-na-do." She pronounced the word much better these days than a month ago.

They'd all had lots of practice with the word.

Whit glanced at Evie for an instant, his brown eyes serious and compassionate. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

"They were my favorites. But we couldn't find ones just like 'em. I  think these lights are a good idea. I coulda used the lights the day the  tora-na-do made the school all dark."

Megan's stomach plummeted as surely as if the plane had lost serious  altitude. Was every choice her child made tied into that day now? Megan  had thought the shoe-shopping trip had been a fun day for Evie, and yet  the whole time her daughter had assessed every choice using survivalist  criteria. Megan blinked back tears and focused on listening to Evie.

"Mommy says lots of little girls lost their shoes too and we need to be glad we gots shoes."

"Your mother is a smart lady."

Was it her imagination or had he just glanced back at her out of the  corner of his eye? A shiver of awareness tingled up her spine.                       
       
           



       

"I know, and I wanna be good like Mommy so Santa will come visit my house."

His head tipped to the side inquisitively. "Santa will see what a very  good girl you've been today. I suspect you're always a good girl."

"Not as good as Mommy."

Megan frowned in surprise, her heart aching all over again for what her  daughter had been through and how little Evie had shared about that.  Until now. Somehow Whit had a way of reaching her that no one else had.  Megan was grateful, and nervous to think of him gaining more importance  in her life.

Whit waited a moment before answering, "Why do you think that about yourself, kiddo?"

Evie just shook her head, pigtails swishing and tiara landing in her  lap. "Let's talk about something else. Caitlyn and Bobby are my bestest  friends. Are you Mommy's new bestest friend?"





Four

As the sun set at the end of a chilly day, Whit cranked the heat inside  the rental car, an SUV that had been perfect for transporting the  twelve cats to their new foster families with the Colorado rescue group.  They'd just finished their last drop-off. Mission complete.

Megan had insisted on inspecting every home in spite of the long day  and the Colorado cold. But in the end, she was satisfied she'd found a  great new rescue to network with in the future.

Glancing at the rearview mirror, Whit watched Megan strapped her  daughter into the car seat, a task he'd learned she never allowed anyone  else to take over no matter how many stops they made. Evie had been  patient, excited even, over seeing her mom in action. And the couple of  times the kid had gotten bored, she'd been easily distracted by the snow  flurries-which had necessitated a side trip to pick up a warmer snow  suit and snow boots.

Evie had been hesitant about covering her costume and her trepidation  stabbed Whit clean through with sympathy for the little tyke. Finally,  he'd been able to persuade her even cowgirls needed cold weather gear  more appropriate for Colorado-which was a helluva lot colder than Texas.

Megan tucked into the passenger side as they idled outside a two-story  farmhouse belonging to an older widower inside who'd made a fuss over  his feline visitor. She rubbed her gloved hands together in front of the  heat vent and then swiped the snowflakes off her head.

"I miss Texas," she said between her chattering teeth. "If you ever  hear me complain during the winter, just remind me of this day."

That implied they would keep in contact after this weekend. He was  making progress in comparison to their previous standoff. Did this mean  she'd forgiven him for claiming the land she'd wanted for the shelter?  He wasn't going to push his luck by asking. He intended to ride the wave  of her good mood today and build some more positive memories.

Megan deserved to have some fun and recreation.

He'd seen firsthand how she carried a ton of worries around for one  person, between taking care of her daughter alone and spreading her  generous heart even thinner for these homeless animals. Who looked after  Megan? Who gave her a break from life's burdens?

He turned his heater vents in her direction as well. "You accomplished a lot in one day."

"It's a relief to have them settled, and so quickly." She reached back  to Evie and squeezed her daughter's hand. "Did you have fun?"

"I like the plane and the snow." She kicked her feet. "And my new boots that Mr. Whit bought me."

"Good, I'm glad, sweetie. We'll get a Happy Meal before going back to  the...hotel." She swallowed, her eyes darting nervously to Whit. "Thank  you again for arranging everything."

He put the SUV into drive and pulled out onto the tree-lined suburban  road, leaving the last foster home behind. "What about other rescues?  Did you find more places that can help out with some of the animals back  home?"

Her green eyes lit with excitement. "I have a line on a couple of  breed-specific rescues that might be able to take a few of our beagles  and our German Shepherd." She touched his arm lightly; it was the first  physical contact she'd initiated since that kiss. "But I can't keep  asking you to take off work to fly around the country."                       
       
           



       

"I have a private pilot and I'm guessing if you already know the  reputation of the rescue, then the animals can fly alone with him."  While the obvious answer would be to lock in their weekends with more of  these flights together, he also knew a more subtle approach would win  Megan over. Just as he'd told Evie, her mama was smart and Whit was  drawn to that part of Megan as well. So he opted for a smoother  approach. "This doesn't always have to be about us spending time  together. Not that I'm complaining. What? You look surprised."

He bit back a self-satisfied smile and steered out onto the rural mountain road into a smattering of five o'clock traffic.

She tipped her head to the side, the setting sun casting a warm glow  over her face. "You would pay your pilot to fly just one or two dogs at a  time?"

"Sure, although I've also got an idea for recruiting some of my friends  to help out." He accelerated past a slow-moving vehicle backing up  traffic. "A number of them own planes, short range, long range, and we  all like to pitch in and help. Sometimes we just need pointing in the  right direction."

"Even if you don't get to see me and make moves to follow up on...."  She glanced up at the rearview mirror and watched Evie playing with her  iPad. "Even if you know there won't be a replay of what happened a month  ago."

"I can separate work and personal, just as I can separate personal and  philanthropic. And," he ducked his head closer to hers, "I can also  blend them when the situation presents itself. Like today."

Evie kicked the back of her mother's seat. "Can I have my Happy Meal,  please? 'Cause if I have to wait much longer, I'm gonna starve and then  it would be a Sad Meal."

Whit choked on a laugh. God, this kid was a cute little imp.  "Absolutely, kiddo, we can get supper for you. And then after supper, I  have plans."

Megan sat up straighter. "Plans?"

Damn straight. He had an agenda full of fun for a woman who didn't get  much in the way of recreation. "Unless you have an objection, we'll have  dinner and ice skating before we turn in for the night."