Real Men Don't Quit by Coleen Kwan Page B

stomach.
    “Thanks, but I’ll take a rain check on that,” he said.
    “Okay.” A slight frown creased her forehead. Did she seem a little disappointed? “Guess I’d better be going. My ride will be here any moment.”
    “How late will you be?” The words left his mouth before he knew it.
    A teasing smile replaced her frown. “Are you giving me a curfew?”
    Damn runaway mouth . “Do you need one?”
    “Don’t worry. I promised Chloe I’d be home by midnight or I’d turn into a pumpkin.” She paused, her smile fading. “And I keep my promises to Chloe. I’ll be home on time, and I won’t have more than a couple of drinks. Scout’s honor,” she added, all earnestness.
    Guilt ballooned in him. She didn’t need to justify herself to him. She was a hard-working single mother, and she deserved to have a night out once in a while.
    “I’m sure Chloe is in good hands,” he said. “You go out and enjoy yourself.”
    “Thanks. Good night.”
    Luke stood on his porch and watched her saunter off. He sighed. That skimpy skirt and leather boots would be lingering in his mind all night long.

Chapter Five
    Tyler muttered a curse as her saw blade broke in the middle of an intricate cut. Sighing, she removed the damaged blade from the saw frame. It was her own fault; she hadn’t been concentrating on the task. Freeing the square of sterling silver she’d been piercing, she examined her progress and sighed again. She wasn’t making much headway with her jewelry, not after the late night she’d had.
    The door to her workshop flew open and Chloe marched in, scowling, red cheeks puffed out. “I need you!”
    Tyler pushed a strand of hair back from her aching temple. “What is it, baby?” Her daughter had taken off her dress and was clothed in only her underwear. Her hair was a riot of tangles, and her cheeks were smeared with dirt. “Where are your clothes?”
    “Don’t want no clothes. I want you to read me a story.”
    Tyler cast a glance at her workbench, where several pieces of sheet metal were waiting to be saw pierced. “I’m busy now. I’ll read you a story later.”
    “No!” Chloe stamped her foot. “Now.”
    Irritation spurted up in Tyler. “I told you I’d be busy this afternoon,” she said sternly. “I’m sorry, but I can’t play with you now.”
    Two fierce blue eyes glared at her. “You’re a bad mumma. I don’t like you.”
    Tyler gasped, the hurt forcing her to her feet. “How can you say that?”
    Her daughter blinked at her sharp tone, then, bursting into tears, she fled from the workshop. Nausea rushed over Tyler. She dropped the saw frame and ran after her daughter. The living room looked like it had been hit by a tornado of all Chloe’s possessions. Tripping over the clutter, Tyler poked her head behind couches and under tables, but her daughter was nowhere to be found.
    Her heart clenched tighter. “Chloe!”
    She ran into Chloe’s bedroom, where she spotted her curled up in bed, facing the wall. Relieved and angry with herself, Tyler bent and placed a hand on her daughter’s heaving back. “I’m sorry, darling. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
    “Y-you don’t l-love me,” Chloe hiccupped through her tears.
    Tyler’s chest ached even more. “That’s not true. You’re my whole life, baby.”
    Chloe burst into fresh sobs, her wails bouncing off the thin walls. Tyler tried to gather her up, but the girl burrowed deeper into her pillows and cried even louder. Just then a loud knock sounded at the front door. Tyler glanced at her daughter, but Chloe was still in the throes of her tantrum and probably needed to be alone for a while.
    “I’m just going to answer the door, and I’ll be right back, okay?” She kissed her daughter’s tangled mess of hair, then rose to open the front door.
    As soon as she did, she wished she hadn’t. A nosy neighbor she could have dealt with, but the woman who stood on her threshold was far more formidable.
    Gretchen Stafford’s