“Good girl.” Before he left, the doctor checked the chart and gave Mandy orders to eat all her dinner.

Cole moved closer, pulling her tighter against his chest, wanting to shield her from all the pain, all the uncertainty, but he didn’t know how. He was a mere mortal, a man who’d tried and failed. And he could never make up for all that Mandy had lost in her young life already.

But he could share Darci with her, maybe bring a little bit of sunshine into Mandy’s life. It would be impossible to keep them apart, but maybe if he said everything just right, he could keep them from being more than friends. Cole stroked his daughter’s hair. “I have something to tell you.”

She looked up, the total trust in her eyes twisting his insides a little tighter.

“I got married.” Her eyes brightened with excitement, and he hurried his words, trying to set things right, hoping there was a possibility her five-year-old mind would understand something he didn’t. “It’s only temporary, for just a year.”

“So I can have a mommy again?”

Cole felt the tears building behind his eyelids and squeezed his eyes closed against the pressure. “No, sweety. She won’t be your mommy. It’s a business arrangement, just something we did to save the company I own part of. Once the business is strong again, we’ll go our separate ways.”

“So you’re going to fire her?” Mandy’s forehead was wrinkled in confusion.

At her logic, Cole felt amusement squeeze through his pain. “Not exactly. We’re just staying together, kind of like playing house while we sort out the business side of things. Then it’ll be just you and me again.”

“But she can be my friend?”

“If you want her to, yes, she can be your friend.” Cole hoped his words were true, and he knew he’d have to find a chance to explain to Darci, to warn her what Mandy expected, what the little girl wanted. Then maybe Darci could help him protect his daughter against any more emotional traumas.

Mandy burrowed against his chest once more. “I’d like to have a mommy again.”

He hadn’t thought he could feel any deeper, but her words sliced through him, leaving a gaping hole he didn’t have a clue how to fill. “I know, Snugglebug. I know.” Images of Darci drifted through his mind, but he shoved them away, knowing he was dreaming the impossible. He didn’t dare take the chance.