Maybe it would’ve been smart to break through that barrier while she’d had the chance. She couldn’t imagine being interested in anyone else; that she was interested in him came as a shock. Not because he wasn’t appealing. She just hadn’t met a man since she’d gotten together with Axel who could even remotely tempt her.

But Tobias was different. Not only was he sexy, he was also kind and easygoing and patient—all things that Axel typically was not, she noted grimly. Had Tobias not been so intent on keeping her at bay, she probably would’ve gone to bed with him last night.

“I’m glad you feel that way,” she said to Karoline.

She’d walked back to Tobias’s truck. She couldn’t see Uriah anymore, but she could hear him tinkering inside the garage. And when she looked the other way, down the drive, she could see a younger man standing on Uriah’s back porch.

That had to be Carl, didn’t it? She could see the family resemblance. If he’d required bail to be released from custody, Uriah must’ve arranged it while she and Tobias were having breakfast.

She glanced at Tobias’s door, which stood partway open from when she’d come outside. He wouldn’t be happy when he learned Carl was back.

Carl seemed about to chase down his father. Perhaps he wanted to talk about what he’d done. With one hand raised to block the sun, he squinted while looking toward the garage. But the moment he saw her, his expression turned sour. She got the impression he didn’t want her on the property—or maybe seeing her reminded him that Tobias was on the property, too, and that was what he didn’t like. Either way, he dropped his hand and stomped into his father’s house.

“Can I talk to the girls?” Harper asked her sister. She’d interrupted Karoline, who was going on about the shopping they’d done yesterday, but she was suddenly eager to get off the phone.

“Um, sure,” her sister said.

Karoline put Everly on first, and then Piper. They both gushed about all the fun they were having. They told Harper they loved and missed her, but Harper felt reassured when she disconnected that her choice to stay behind in Silver Springs wasn’t causing her children any distress.

“Everything okay?” Tobias asked.

Harper whirled around. She hadn’t realized he’d come to the stoop and was looking out at her. With a nod, she slid her phone into her pocket. “Yeah. Everything’s fine.”

“That’s good.” He held the door as she came in. “Do you want a shower before we go?”