A few minutes later Scott was back holding a big bowl of popcorn. “All right, you two. I’ll put a movie on for you. Peyton’s going to have a little dinner with me.”

“Can we play some more?” Will asked.

“Maybe after our dinner and your movie. Come on, up on the couch.” He reached out a hand to Peyton to pull her to her feet, then he settled the kids with their treat and started the movie. They settled in just that fast. Scott pulled her into the kitchen where her wine sat on the table. “Sit down, Peyton. Tell me about your weekend while I warm some of this.”

“Can I help?”

“Relax. Talk to me.”

“Where’s the sitter?”

“Date night with Charles, the love of her life. How’s your family?”

While Scott busied himself around the stove and microwave, she talked to him and enjoyed her wine. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been served so efficiently, as if she were an honored guest. Plates and utensils appeared, he added a little wine to her glass, and they were serving up plates and bowls. Conversation turned to the food as Peyton explained what they were eating. He had a hundred questions about the farm and the extended family who were involved in vineyards, restaurants, more farming and ranching.

He glanced into the living room and smiled at her. “You’re off the hook for more Candy Land or War.”

“They’re out cold,” she said.

“I knew that would happen. We were busy today. I love the way they sleep—Will sprawls just like I do, Jenny curls into a little ball.”

He went to fetch the popcorn bowl before it landed on the floor, then whisked away the dishes. She started to get up to help, and he said, “Sit tight, we’re not doing dishes. I just want to save the leftovers. We’re going to finish our wine and enjoy the quiet.”

“You’re awfully good at this,” she said.

“Practice.” He came back to the table.

“You’ve been on your own for a while now,” she said.

“I’ve had help. I’ve had the grandmas, sitters, day care, nannies. And Gabriella for the past two years. I don’t know what we’ll do without her. I’m on the hunt—there has to be someone out there.”

“You must miss your wife so much.”

“It’s a process,” he said. “At first I was in so much pain and shock I couldn’t move. Then I was angry. Angry that she’d leave me with such impossible responsibility. For a couple of years, I just pedaled as fast as I could, afraid to lift my head or I’d miss something important. And then I realized that I wasn’t the only person in the world who had this kind of life. Mostly women had been in my shoes. I saw a lot of single mothers and their children in the ER, young women struggling to make ends meet, some of them working two jobs just to squeak by. In fact, my mother had that life—my father died when I was ten and my sister was fourteen, leaving my mom on her own with a couple of kids. I decided I’d better live the life I had or I was going to be sorry. I had to let go of that anger at being abandoned and show a little gratitude for what I had. That’s when I broke my mother’s heart by looking for Thunder Point and a small clinic where I could work and raise my kids.”

“I don’t think that’s the way most widowers or divorced fathers do it,” she said, thinking of Ted. “Most men who find themselves single fathers just install a new mother or at least a babysitter.”

“Well, so did I,” he said. “Gabby’s parents were friends of mine, and when the kids were babies, she was a babysitter. She wanted to be a full-time sitter and go to school, so we struck a deal. If she’d work for me full-time, I’d pay her well and cover her tuition. The bonus for me was that she loves the kids. She came with me to Oregon and met Charles here, so I think she’d tell you it was worth it. Any day now she’s going to tell me that Charles is going back to Washington with her.”

Hiring a devoted sitter wasn’t what Peyton had been getting at. Handsome young doctors like Scott shouldn’t have much trouble finding a woman who would live for the chance to be his partner, help raise his kids.... “So, no pretty young nurses lobbying to be the next Mrs. Grant?”

He laughed uncomfortably. “I haven’t dated much. I’ve been out with a few women but not with that in mind. At some point I realized if I didn’t have a social life of some kind, I was going to remain that miserable, unhappy character who moped around resenting two perfect children who wanted only to make me happy. I was turning mean.”

“I can’t imagine you mean,” she said, most sincerely.

He shrugged. “People are all mean in their own way, Peyton. Some will lose their temper and lash out, others just let themselves be negative and moody. I became inattentive and self-absorbed. I had to get out of that cycle. I’ve done my best. Once I got to Oregon, I made it a point to socialize more.”

She impulsively reached for his hand. “It must be impossible to forget your wife.”

“Forget? Forget the mother of my children? The best friend of my youth? Is that required? Because if it’s required that I forget or pretend she wasn’t one of the most important parts of my life, I guess I’ll be alone forever. Of course I won’t forget her. She was amazing, and she’d want me to have a full, happy life. She’d want me to laugh and live fully and find love again.” Peyton pulled her hand away, and Scott reached for it, pulled it back and held it again. “Let me tell you what I think is happening here. We like each other. We’re attracted to each other. You’re probably more nervous about that than I am because you just came out of a painful breakup, but pretty soon you’ll decide it’s going to be all right because you know I don’t treat people the way he treated you.”

“I haven’t told you that much about—”

“You didn’t have to, you said enough. Look at the time, Peyton,” he said.

She glanced at her watch and was startled.

“You got here three hours ago. You played with the kids, ate a big meal with me, had a glass and a half of wine, talked to me for hours. It’s going to be okay, Peyton. I’m not going to use you or take advantage of you. And if this conversation were happening at a nice restaurant I’d be asking you if we could go someplace where we could be alone. But because I have two little kids who wander into my bed in the night and a babysitter who will be walking in the door anytime now, I can’t seduce you. I want to, but I can’t.”

“Look,” she said, trying to pull back her hand, but not trying too hard. “Was I clear? I fell for my boss. He used the workplace where he had all the power to—”

“I’m not going to do that, either. That might be my clinic, but it belongs to the town. And it belongs to Devon. I’m not going to use that venue to try to fumble together a love life for myself. I know the situation isn’t ideal, but I am going to figure out when I can take you out. Besides, I have no power.”

Is he kidding? she wondered. But of course, he didn’t realize it! He thought brute strength or big bucks or notoriety made power. And so did Ted; those were his priorities. What Scott didn’t know was that honesty and integrity held the greater power, far greater than the awards and citations and certifications that could be framed and hung on the wall. Love for your children was a powerful force; kindness and sincerity held more power than money. And how about loyalty and fidelity? She was very fond of those things. It didn’t hurt that he put a kick-ass physique and eyes that seemed to listen and an electrifying smile with it all....