The Coldwater Warm Hearts Club by Lexi Eddings Read Free Book Online Page A

them with the liquid the town was named for.
    â€œI hear you’re married now.” She could have kicked herself, but the words were out there in front of God and everybody. In for a penny, in for a pound. “When did that happen?”
    How did that happen? She knew it was selfish of her, but she’d always thought of Daniel as hers. That’s how it was supposed to be. It wasn’t rational, but while she’d lived and worked in Boston, she imagined everyone in Coldwater Cove frozen in place. She’d grown and changed, but she never imagined them doing the same. Daniel was still supposed to be pining for the girl who’d left him to follow her dream.
    â€œAnne and I got married about three years ago, but we’ve been separated for a bit.” He drummed the fingers of one hand on the countertop. “I shouldn’t be talking to you about this.”
    Lacy forced herself not to reach across the countertop and touch his hand to encourage him to trust her. If it had been anyone else, she would have, but if she so much as brushed Daniel’s skin, the sparks it would set off inside her might never quit firing. She settled for a verbal promise.
    â€œIt’s me, Daniel. I won’t tell a soul. You know I won’t. I don’t remember anyone named Anne in our class.”
    â€œShe didn’t grow up here.”
    â€œHow did you meet?”
    He loosed a long breath. It was obviously a relief to talk to someone about his marriage, even if it was the girl he used to love. “About a year after you left, Anne Littlefield moved to town. She lived with her dad in Tulsa until she graduated, but her mom and stepfather were here. So she moved in with them when she took the dispatcher job at the sheriff’s office.”
    Lacy could imagine their courtship. It would have gone in fits and starts because Daniel wasn’t smooth like Jake. He was the quiet one, but still waters run deep, her dad always said. At one time, Lacy had thought it would be worth a lifetime to figure out what was going on inside Daniel Scott.
    â€œWhen I promised ‘till death us do part,’ I meant it,” he said, “but about two months ago, Anne said she needed to take a break.”
    A pained expression passed over his face. Whoever this Anne Littlefield was, Lacy decided she must be crazy. With supreme effort, she swallowed back the smoldering question most likely to give her heartburn.
    Why is he still wearing the ring if she left him?
    She buried her nose in the cup and sipped her water.
    â€œIt’s not her fault,” Daniel said as if she’d asked. “Never think it is. I’m the one to blame for our problems.” Then a smile lifted one corner of his lips. “Let me show you a picture of my boy.”
    Lacy swallowed hard to avoid spewing the water out her nose. “Your boy?”
    â€œYeah. Anne and I may not agree on much right now, but we both know Carson is the best thing either of us has ever done.” Daniel pulled out his phone and showed her a shot of a sandy-haired, green-eyed toddler with the same serious expression as his dad.
    Talk about the road not taken. If she’d not left for New England, this child might have been hers. An ordinary life might not have been so bad. “He’s beautiful.”
    â€œHe’ll be a heartbreaker someday,” Daniel admitted. “He’s already full of the dickens.”
    â€œWhere is he now?”
    â€œHere in town with Anne. She’s staying with her folks. I see him as often as I can.”
    Lacy mulled that over for a bit. Other than fending off the well-meant smothering of her overprotective parents, she didn’t have any practical experience with the demands of a family. Managing marriage, kids, and a career would be a real juggling act. The fact that she only had a surly cat to care for suddenly seemed light duty in the relationship and responsibility department.
    Daniel put away