A Dad For Charlie

“It does indeed.” Fletch had always loved the stained glass depicting a pair of brilliant monarch butterflies settling onto their eucalyptus branch. Almost as much as he liked the hand-carved door beneath it. His cell phone vibrated on his hip. He reached down, checked the message. Great. Another reported break-in. This time Everett White had called in to say his toolshed had been the target. Fletch mentally readjusted the next few hours of his day. “It’s one of my favorite houses, too, actually,” he admitted. “Is that what brings you back here? The window?”

“No. The For Sale sign.” The second she said it he heard the regret, saw the way she bit her lip and looked away from him, closing her eyes against the sun. “I just like to know it’s still available.”

So much for him thinking Butterfly Harbor was a pit stop for her and Charlie. “You thinking of buying?”

“No.” Her admission had the hope inflating inside him bursting like a bubble. “That would mean staying here permanently, and I’m not sure that’s in the cards for us.”

Paige confirming his suspicion only increased his disappointment. “But if you were to stay, this is the one you’d want.”

“Yes.” That she said it with a frown made him wonder if she’d thought about staying more than she was letting on.

“Because Charlie loves it?”

Ah, the frown vanished, replaced with that familiar heart-clenching smile of hers. “Because Charlie loves it. Speaking of Charlie, she said Luke gave her permission to walk Cash. I hope that’s okay with you. I don’t want her getting in the way of your...investigation.”

“Charlie is welcome at the station anytime,” Fletch told her. “If her mom doesn’t mind.”

“Even if I did I couldn’t stop her. She’s very fond of you, Deputy.” And didn’t Paige look positively thrilled at that idea.

“Fletch. And I’m pretty fond of her, too.”

“We aren’t staying,” Paige said, and he could tell by her expression she hadn’t meant to. “There will come a time we have to move on. So, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t let her get too attached to...Cash.”

Fletcher didn’t miss a beat. “Consider... Cash...forewarned. Unless he can convince you otherwise. If it helps, I don’t think you have a lot to worry about with this place being sold. The original owner’s family has a say over who buys it. They want the right tenant, someone who will appreciate it as is. They won’t sell it to just anyone.”

“Why would anyone want to change it?” The wonder in her voice brought another smile to his face. “She’s perfect.”

“Yes, she is.” But Fletch wasn’t looking at the house. He was looking at her.

And closely enough to see the rise of pink in her cheeks before she locked down her face in that detached expression of hers that seemed specifically reserved for him. She returned to her bike, climbed on and looked at him over her shoulder. “I’m on my way to Nina and Willa’s to look in on them. Is there anything you’d like me to ask them in particular?”

“Nice try.” He recognized her baiting technique and refused to bite. “But give them my best. I know where to find them. And you, if I have any questions.”

“I still think you’re looking for something that isn’t there.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Fletch could almost see the wall going up between them.

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