Family Camp (Daddy Dearest, #1)(4)

“Stay here, Max. I’ll be right back”

Max let out an eager bark of disagreement, which Travis ignored, getting out of the SUV.

As he walked toward the Civic, the driver got out. A familiar nervous spark burst through Travis’s belly. The guy was attractive. He swiped a hand through short, sandy-brown hair in a nervous gesture and regarded Travis warily.

He was not what Travis expected from the driver of an older Honda Civic with kids. He was preppy-looking, wearing khaki shorts, leather loafers, and a white T-shirt under a blue, short-sleeved, button-down chambray shirt. He was in good shape, not muscle-bound, but lean and with visible veins on those tan arms. The hair on his nicely furry legs had bleached blond from the sun. He looked a bit sweaty and wilted, like he’d had a long day. Poindexter-style chunky black glasses set off his narrow face. He was, in a word, hot. Not the showy type that would draw your eye in a crowded club, but the quieter sort you might run across in a library or coffee shop and think—Oh, hello there!

Travis gave him a friendly smile. “Hey. You got a problem?”

The guy’s wary look remained. “Hey. Oh, nothing a million dollars and a magic wand couldn’t fix,” he said with a wry laugh.

Travis raised an eyebrow and bent down at the waist to look inside the car. He’d been hearing a wail, and it wasn’t hard to spot the banshee. A little girl, maybe four or five, was in a child seat on the opposite side of the car. She waved dolls around in both fists, mouth wide open.

“Yeah, I can see that. You’re totally fine,” Travis said dryly.

A self-deprecating smile broke over the guy’s face. “Well, ‘fine’ might be pushing it.”

“Seriously, man. How can I help? My name’s Travis, by the way.” He held out a hand. He half-expected the guy to recognize him, but there was no spark of knowing in those eyes.

“Geo.” The guy hesitated, then took Travis’s hand and shook it.

There was a zing at the contact and Travis’s eyebrows shot up of their own accord.

Geo dropped his hand quickly and crossed his arms over his chest. “We’re, um, having a meltdown over a missing doll. Annnd I’ve run out of gas. So two for two.”

“Shit. What god did you piss off today?”

Geo barked a laugh. “All of them apparently.”

The window behind the driver’s seat rolled down and a boy of about twelve with light mocha skin and a mass of curly black hair stuck his head out. “He lost her dog doll,” he said, pointing at Geo.

“Dog doll?” Travis asked.

“Yeah. She has this whole family, and there was a dog.” The boy shrugged. “Kinda dumb, but you know how kids are.”

“Jayden, don’t make fun of your sister’s toys,” Geo said in a patient tone. “Those dolls mean a lot to her.”

Jayden grimaced. “Like I care. She ain’t my sister. And you ain’t my dad. So whatevs.”

Geo blinked at the boy’s casual cruelty and visibly slumped. And as the little girl continued to scream, and the boy rolled up his window with attitude, Travis felt a wave of sympathy for the guy.

“Does the little girl like dogs, then? Real ones?”

Geo refocused on him. “Huh? Oh. Yeah. Yeah, Lucy is crazy about dogs.” He smiled wanly. “Maybe we’ll get one. Someday. Um… I think she left her dog doll at a rest stop. So I was just gonna…” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the driver’s seat. “Call Highway Patrol. My triple-A’s expired so—”

“I’ve got a gas can with me. I can give you five gallons. That ought to get you to Big Bear.”

Geo’s eyes went wide. “Really? Oh my God!”

The relief on his face was comical. The guy was rather comical. Anyone who could have a wisp of humor in a situation like this got a gold star in Travis’s book. “Yeah. Really. Do you mind if I talk to your little girl first, though? I think I might be able to help there too.”

Geo’s smile faded. “I just… I’m fostering them. In case you thought I was kidnapping them, from what Jayden said. And are secretly dialing the police in your pocket?” Geo glanced at Travis’s jeans. “Not that I was looking at your, uh, pockets.”

Travis bit back a smile.

Geo waved a hand at the back seat. “But it takes Lucy a long time to warm up to people, so I’m not sure…”

“Let me try. I’m pretty good with kids. And I have a secret weapon.” He pointed at his SUV. He didn’t mean to get pushy, but another minute of that screaming would send him round the bend.

Geo regarded the SUV. His eyes got wide and he gave a hesitant nod.

Travis walked around the car and abruptly opened the door next to the little girl. He plopped down into a squat. “Excuse me, miss?”

The little girl was so surprised, she stopped screaming for a moment, her mouth hanging open as big brown eyes stared at him. Her elfin face shone with tears. She looked Indian or Middle Eastern in heritage, with a dark complexion and hair thick and straight and black as any he’d ever seen.

“I heard a rumor that you like dogs. That can’t be true, can it?” Travis tilted his head curiously.

The little girl hitched in a breath but didn’t start screaming again. She closed her mouth and clutched her dolls close to her chest.