Free Renee Ryan by The Outlaw's Redemption

here. And here. And here. I sewed all the ribbons on myself.”
    “I’m thoroughly impressed.” The words were mild enough, but his eyes glistened with emotion, and not just any emotion. Love. The man was already bursting with love for his daughter.
    His hand slightly shaking, he took the bonnet and examined the hat from every angle, showing the sort of care one would a fragile piece of china.
    Sarah moved in closer, pressing against him as she pointed out various spots of interest.
    The moment was full of quiet gravity. Father and daughter, together, united at last, with only one of them understanding the unique blessing they’d been given.
    Never having known her own father, Annabeth could hardly look at the scene playing out in front of her. By all practical measures, it was too soon to tell if Hunter would make a good father. But deep in her heart, where pain and loss resided, Annabeth knew the fight was over before it had begun.
    Hunter would take very good care of Sarah.
    The back of Annabeth’s eyes stung and something painful lodged in her throat, sharp as a sliver. She was happy for her niece. So very happy. But she knew she wasn’t going to see Sarah grow up. Not on a daily basis.
    “Aunt Annabeth?” Sarah’s face took on a look of deep concern, identical to the one Hunter shot her way. “Why are you crying?”
    Unaware she’d allowed her emotions to get away from her, Annabeth lifted her hand to her cheek. And felt the wetness on her face.
    Horrified, she glanced at Hunter, praying he didn’t notice. But just as he had last night, in Mattie’s private suite of rooms, he looked at her with kindness in his eyes. And understanding and maybe a little pity.
    Oh, no. Annabeth would not allow him to feel sorry for her. She would not feel sorry for herself, either. This reunion between father and daughter was a good thing, a dream come true. A blessing from God above.
    Exasperated with herself, Annabeth let out a long-suffering sigh, turned her back on Hunter and focused on her niece. “I wasn’t crying, dear.” She laughed softly to make her point. But there was something broken in the sound so she rushed to fill the moment. “I simply had a piece of dust in my eye.”

Chapter Six
    H unter watched wordlessly as Annabeth swiped discreetly at her cheeks. The gesture was a valiant effort to erase all signs of emotion from her face, even if she didn’t succeed very well. At least she wasn’t trying to insinuate herself in his conversation with Sarah. He should feel triumphant over her lack of interference. Instead, he felt...
    Guilty.
    His gain was Annabeth’s loss. Somehow that didn’t seem fair, on any level.
    How was it possible Maria’s younger sister had grown into a beautiful, compassionate woman—no longer a girl who’d once ignited his curiosity, but a woman—confident and intelligent and devoted to her niece? Hunter was starting to like her, on a personal level.
    No good could come from that.
    He splayed his fingers and pushed them through his hair, anything to prevent himself from doing something foolish. Such as pulling Annabeth in his arms and soothing away her sadness.
    “Well,” Sarah said, chewing on her bottom lip, “if you’re sure you’re not upset...”
    “I’m fine. Truly.”
    Seemingly convinced, Sarah went back to pointing out various details on her bonnet for Hunter. “Notice how the different colored ribbons work together so nicely. My friend Molly says that’s because they have the same tone.”
    Hunter didn’t know much about colors or ribbons or similar tones. “Isn’t that...interesting.”
    “I know.” She chattered away on the subject, her young voice pitched two octaves higher than his own. She sounded similar to his younger sisters at that same age. He wondered if Sarah loved to sing as much as Fanny and Callie did.
    So many details still to discover about his daughter, her likes and dislikes, her favorite color, her food preferences, whether she enjoyed