Page 27 of One Kind Goal

“Yeah. We were in the supermarket and she spotted you on a magazine cover,” Carina said. “I think it’s the first time she recognized you in a picture. Then she asked me a bunch of questions about you, which I answered to the best of my ability. Next she wanted to see you.” She paused for a moment. “This doesn’t mean I’m relaxing my privacy principles, Sawyer. I just think . . . well, I think she deserves some time with her father, especially now that you’re out of the public eye for a bit.”

“Thank you, Carina. This means so much to me.” He glanced at Teddy, whose face looked shocked. Sawyer imagined his looked the same. “Can I pick her up in about an hour to take her to Vermont with me?”

Another pause filled the air and Sawyer feared Carina would change her mind about letting him see Nia.

“I’ll have her ready.” Carina disconnected, leaving Sawyer staring at his phone.

“She’s going to let you take her?” Teddy asked, his voice full of the disbelief Sawyer felt as well.

“Yeah . . .” He blinked several times. Only the cast on his arm convinced him that he wasn’t dreaming. He would never dream of a broken arm. “She said Nia asked to see me.”

“Awesome, man!” Teddy cuffed him lightly on the left shoulder. “Do you think Morgan will be cool with this?”

“I honestly don’t know, but I’m not going to give her the chance to not be.”

“So you’re just going to show up in Vermont with Nia?”

“Yup. I mean, who’s going to turn away a cute little four-year-old?”

“Not Morgan,” Teddy said. “I hope. For your sake and hers.”

“Either it works out and I get to spend this time off with two fabulous females,” Sawyer said, “or I get to spend it with my daughter. Both scenarios have the potential to be great.”

He seriously hoped the first scenario would be the one that unfolded though. Now that he pictured the three of them doing stuff together in Vermont, Sawyer couldn’t clear those images from his brain. He wanted Nia, of course, but he wanted Morgan too. Why couldn’t he have both, dammit?

“I need to pick up some kid-friendly snacks and stuff for this trip.” Sawyer walked to the driver’s side of his SUV.

“Give me a call when you get a chance,” Teddy said, sounding like a worried mother.

“Will do. Later, man.”

Sawyer gave Teddy a wave and got into his vehicle. Thirty minutes later, he had the back of the SUV stuffed with food and games and toys for Nia and he was on his way to Carina’s to pick up his daughter.

Pick up my daughter. The notion made him giddy inside. He’d been excited to see Morgan, but adding Nia to the mix amped him up even more. Of course, it changed the amount of sex he could have with Morgan, but he didn’t see why he couldn’t balance kid-appropriate fun with adult fun. That cottage had pretty thick wooden doors.

But it only had one bedroom. Shit.

“Call Pine River Cottages Mountain Resort,” he said and his SUV’s system dialed.

“Hello. Pine River Cottages Mountain Resort,” Isabel said. “How may I help you today?”

“Hi, Isabel. It’s Sawyer.”

“Oh, sorry to hear about your arm, but we’ve got your cottage all ready to go for you and Morgan. So happy we’ll be seeing you two again.”

“Actually, that’s why I’m calling. There’s going to be three of us instead.” He explained about Nia and the situation with Carina. “So do you have any cottages that have two bedrooms?”

“Of course. I’ll make that change right now.”

“Thanks.” He hesitated then said, “Don’t tell Morgan about Nia coming, okay? She knows I have a daughter, but not that she’ll be joining us.”

“And you don’t want to give her the chance to bail on your getaway?”

“No.”

“Got it,” Isabel said. “For the record, however, I’m only agreeing to keep mum because I believe Morgan can handle this.”

“I hope you’re right.”