Beyond the Blueprint

AVA

“Bella! What’s this?” I called out to my five-year-old niece as I held a crumpled note in my hand that I’d just pulled out of her book bag.

The words “Be Mine Forever?” were written on it in neat handwriting along with a very well-drawn picture of a man and woman holding hands in front of a perfectly sketched house.

She entered the room and looked at me crouched on the floor.

Shrugging, she said, “Dakota gave it to me.”

“Who’s Dakota?” I asked.

“One of my classmates.”

“And he’s into drawing?” I asked, pressing further.

She shrugged again, that cute little one-shoulder shrug that only five-year-olds can pull off.

“I dunno, Auntie Ava.”

She turned on her heel and ran back to the living room to continue watching her TV show.

I sighed. I knew for a fact that little Dakota hadn’t drawn this. The handwriting was meticulous, and the detail on the house looked more like an artist had crafted it than a child.

I took the drawing, stuffed it into my back pocket, and finished packing her bag for school.

“Brush your teeth and then grab your coat, please. We’re leaving in ten minutes,” I called out to her.

I stood in the kitchen, slicing up bananas for her snack, waiting to hear the sink water turn on.

Bella greeted me five minutes later, grinning.

“I brushed my teeth, Auntie.”

I smiled back at her. “Ready?”

“Yep!”

The drive to Springvale Elementary School was only ten minutes long, but Bella talked the entire way from the back seat about how excited she was for her class’s Valentine’s Day party. They were celebrating it today, on the twelfth, because this year the holiday fell over the weekend.

“And Mommy really won’t be there?” she asked as I pulled up to her school, her big green eyes brimming with sadness.

“I’m sorry, Bella. Not this year. She knows how much you love this holiday, however, she promised she’ll be there for your next one. And remember, I’ll be here at lunch to help with the party.”

She nodded, looked out the window, and then turned back to me, smiling.

“Okay, Auntie.”

It always amazed me how quickly kids got over things. I wished that I had that much resilience when faced with life’s disappointments.

We pulled up to her school, and I stepped out of the driver’s side door to walk around and help Bella out of her car seat. Adjusting her hat and gloves, I kissed her cheeks hard.

“I had the best morning with you. I’m so proud of you. And I’m so glad you’re mine,” I said, looking into her eyes, and then pulled her in tight for a hard squeeze.

This phrase was our special goodbye and one I’d been repeating to her since she was a baby.

“That’s Dakota,” she said as she broke our embrace and pointed a couple of cars down in the drop-off line at a small boy with dark, shaggy brown hair who was speaking to an adult crouched next to him.

I turned back to Bella. “Okay, I’m going to go talk to his dad about his little gift. Have a wonderful day. I’ll see you at lunch.”

She nodded and sprinted off inside, eager to be with her friends.

“Excuse me,” I said as I walked toward the man still crouched next to Dakota.

He turned to look at me, smiling, and revealed light-brown eyes so golden they were almost amber. The most adorable dimples dotted his cheeks that were covered in a rough bit of stubble.

A gasp caught in my throat as I found myself unexpectedly taken aback by his striking attractiveness. There was something about him—he was a man.

Standing now, he towered over me, the muscles in his long-sleeved polo shirt bulging out of his chest and biceps. He smelled like fresh-cut wood and pine needles, and I was half tempted to ask him if he lived in a log cabin.

Fumbling for words, I finally spoke out, “Are you Dakota’s father?”

He smiled and nodded, reaching out his hand. “Yes, I’m Theo Garrison.”

I shook his hand, struck by the shock that went through my body at the touch of his rough, large palms against my much smaller hand.

Releasing it a little too quickly, I smiled down at Dakota to distract myself from the warm amber eyes that were still watching me.

Unfortunately, Dakota had the same captivating eyes, so looking at him did little to distract me from the inappropriate thoughts that were running through my mind about his father.

Not wanting to get the cute boy in trouble, I decided to play coy. “I think you may have accidentally dropped this into Bella’s bag, Dakota,” I said to him as I reached into my pocket and pulled out the drawing.

Theo turned to look at what I’d revealed and crouched down next to his son with me. His knee gently brushed against mine.

“Dakota, remember what I told you about going in my room and taking things?”

Dakota sighed and looked at the ground. “Sorry, Dad. It’s just you told me that you’d given it to Mom when you were younger and had a crush on her, so I wanted to give it to my crush for Valentine’s Day.”

My heart swooned at the little boy’s sweet words.

Theo ruffled his hair and planted a kiss on his head. “Have a good day, Dakota. I love you,” he said as his son danced off inside.

“Sorry about that. I’ve been having trouble with him taking things he isn’t supposed to and giving them to the kids in his class.” He smiled again, revealing those two adorable dimples, and I felt myself swoon.

He’s probably married. Get it together, Ava.

“So, you must be the illustrious aunt of Bella?” He grinned widely.

“Yep, that’s me,” I responded, wondering how he’d heard of me.

“I often volunteer with Dakota’s class and have overheard Bella talk about you. She seems to really adore the aunt who lets her stay up late watching The ~Bachelor~ and ~Holiday Baking Championship~.”

I blushed, embarrassed.

Remember to tell Bella NOT to talk about what we do when she has sleepovers at my house.

“Don’t worry, I prerecord The Bachelor so we can fast forward through any inappropriate parts, and the baking shows are for research. I own a bakery,” I explained, feeling a sudden urge to uphold a certain image in front of this perfect stranger.

He laughed. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell your sister.”

“Well, thank you again for bringing this back to me,” he said after a pause of a few seconds.

I nodded as I turned to leave.

“Will I see you later today at the kids’ Valentine’s Day party?” he asked, calling out from behind me.

I turned around to find him still standing there, wearing that irresistibly smoldering smile unique to him.

“Yes, I’m covering for my sister.”

His grin grew wider at my response. I couldn’t help the butterflies that seemed to be stuck inside my core, as if his smile could be about being excited to see me later.

“I’m glad it’s you and not Cheyenne. She’s never been a big fan of mine,” he said vaguely and turned away toward his SUV.

I raised my eyebrows, wondering why my sister didn’t like him, though knowing Cheyenne, it could have been for a thousand different misplaced reasons.

Curiosity got the best of me, and as soon as I slipped back into the driver’s side of my gray 4Runner, I dialed up Cheyenne. She would be just waking up to start her shift on the West Coast.

She answered the phone with “Hey, sis! Did Bella get to school okay?”

“She did, though a little boy in her class took something from his dad and gave it to her. I had to return it this morning.”

She sighed on the other end of the call. “Was it Dakota again?”

I chuckled, recognizing this as a recurring event.

“He’s been crushing on her since they started school together this past fall,” she said.

“So, what’s the deal with the tall, dark, handsome, and broody dad?” I inquired, referring to Theo. “He mentioned that you don’t like him.”

She laughed. “It’s not that I don’t like him. I just don’t…get him. We attend a lot of the kids’ holiday events together, and while most parents mingle, he tends to keep to himself or only interact with the kids. It just doesn’t seem like he’s interested in getting to know any of us,” she responded casually.

“Does his wife help out too?” I asked. “Or is she also a traveling nurse, missing school events and holidays like you?”

Although she rarely traveled now, a few times a year, her hospital offered three times her pay for short two- to three-week assignments in another state. Those were the times I got to watch Bella.

As a single mom, it made financial sense for Cheyenne to take those longer traveling stints, ensuring more time off to spend with Bella in the summer. Plus, I was always eager to have extra time with my loveable niece.

“Oh no, Ava. Theo’s wife… She… Shit, I’m getting a call from work. Gotta go. Talk soon. Bye.”

She what? Damn you, Cheyenne.

Suddenly, I felt a powerful desire to learn everything I could about this mysterious man with amber eyes.