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seat.”
    Noel had nowhere to pull up the extra seat except beside Jody, and he was okay with that. Jody didn’t look him in the eye again while Gertie went over everything. Noel got that. Jody had almost broken down in front of them, had shared more than he’d wanted to. Jody had to deal with Gertie, but Noel wasn’t the person who ran the daycare or who had the say over whether or not Prissy got taken in. Noel was just a watcher, and Jody might even resent him for having heard those things about Jody’s family, not to mention seeing him almost lose it.
    Yet when the business was done and Prissy’s schedule set up, Jody gave him a shy smile and looked him in the eyes for just a second. It wasn’t much, but it was something, and it made Noel’s entire day. The rush of excitement that went through him reminded him of the way he felt at the beginning of every new relationship.
    Which told him he was already in serious trouble.

Chapter Four
    “Here, I got it.” Frankie took the brush from Jody and Prissy quit fussing while Frankie did her hair.
    “Why don’t you like it when I fix your hair, Prissy?” Jody asked her. Navigating the parenting thing was difficult. Jody had to constantly remind himself not to get his feelings hurt. Prissy was just a baby girl and she wasn’t mean. She was scared and adjusting, just like he was.
    “Hurts when you do it,” Prissy said, turning those blue eyes his way. “You pull.”
    “Gotta do it like this.” Frankie took a chunk of hair into one hand and held it close to the roots. “You hold it here kinda tight, then brush out the rest real gentle-like, and there’s less tugging on the hair.”
    “I tried that. I’ll keep trying ‘til I get it right.” Jody was going to learn to be the best parent he could be. He heard Ramsey and Barney come out of their room and tried to look inconspicuous. Since he’d mouthed off about Ramsey being bitchy, and got in trouble for it, Jody didn’t know how to act around Ramsey or Barney. He was ashamed of himself, that much he would admit. At least in his own mind. Approaching either of the other two men intimidated the crap out of him, though, so he tended to avoid them at all cost.
    Barney stopped to tell Prissy she was looking beautiful and the little girl lit up like a spotlight had been shone on her. “Tank you,” Prissy said, “I look like Mama.”
    There was a definite pang to Jody’s heart. Prissy still cried every day for her mama, but from what Melissa had told him, Elena, Prissy’s mom, had barely had time for her.
    That fit with Jody’s memory of Elena. She’d been a wild child ever since he’d known her. Always partying and chasing after him and other boys. The chasing part wasn’t a big deal in hindsight, though in small town Texas it had sure labelled Elena as a slut. Boys could do whatever they wanted but girls—
    “You want me to go with you to drop her off at daycare?” Frankie asked, bouncing Prissy on his knees. “The first time can be hard. I remember crying, and Mom crying when she took me. It was awful.”
    Jody glared at Frankie. “Thanks. Thanks a lot. That’s not going to make this whole thing any harder to do.” He stood and held his arms out for Prissy, relieved when she came to him without hesitation. “And no. I have to do this.”
    Plus, maybe he’d get to see that guy, Noel. Yesterday Jody had been so embarrassed about rambling on in front of Noel. He’d overshared, done the TMI thing. Today he was regretting that. He still wanted to see the man. Noel was city-pretty, as Jody thought of it. Slick and smooth-skinned, with a tan that was probably not real, and hair cut and styled in a way no country barber could match. Stylish clothes and a sinfully sexy body, Noel didn’t fit in the little town boxes people tended to be assigned to. He probably wouldn’t even stay in Ashville for long.
    Wouldn’t be a bad thing if he did, though, ‘specially now that Frankie’s cut me off. Course,