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literary allusions were lost upon the child.
    â€œOur illustrious wagon master.”
    Mollie was seized by a fit of giggles. “Daddy’s sure got you buffaloed, hasn’t he?”
    Danielle choked on melted chocolate.
    â€œD-daddy?” she sputtered.
    It was impossible. This darling little imp could not possibly be the devil’s spawn.
    â€œAh, there’s nothing to worry about. He’s just like melt in your mouth candies—hard on the outside but soft and sweet on the inside.”
    Both Mollie’s ancestry and her analogy seemed dubious, but looking at the girl more closely, Danielle recognized his eyes staring back at her.
    It was unnerving. Undeniably Cody Walker had passed this living legacy on to his daughter. Danielle could only assume that the girl had received her delightful disposition from her mother. Which made her wonder—where, by the way, was that long-suffering saint? If the poor woman had any sense at all she would take her husband’s flirtations more seriously. Rubbing the back of her hand over her mouth, Danielle told herself that had she known earlier that Cody was married, she would never have allowed him the liberties he had taken with her lips. Apparently the creep shared more with her ex-husband than stunning good looks.
    Swallowing the last bite of her candy bar, Danielle mumbled, “Your poor mother.”
    â€œHuh?” Mollie’s brow knitted in confusion.
    Danielle hastened to cover the remark. “I was wondering which one of the sponsors is your mother?”
    â€œMy mother’s dead.”
    Regretting her previous lack of charity, Danielle’s eyes misted over at the thought of this sweet child growing up without a mother’s love. This revelation put Cody Walker in an entirely different light. Earlier in the day she would have placed a substantial bet that their wagon master was a confirmed bachelor whose sense of responsibility reached no further than his libido. As a single parent herself, Danielle realized how difficult it was to raise a child all alone. She promised to try to be cordial to Cody in the future, if only for Mollie’s sake.
    â€œWant some help with supper?” the girl asked, her twinkling blue eyes registering an eagerness to please.
    Danielle smiled. How often had she nagged at Lynn to show such acts of simple consideration only to be met with a stony silence that implied those were unfair expectations from a bygone age? With some luck, maybe a little of Mollie’s country manners would rub off on her own citified daughter.
    â€œI’d appreciate it if you’d get Lynn and the other girls to help you gather up some firewood.”
    As Mollie scampered off to do as she was asked, Danielle set about preparing dinner, throwing herself into the task at hand with as much vigor as she could muster. She figured cooking over a campfire wouldn’t be all that different from her gas stove at home—except for controlling the heat, of course.
    Â 
    The girls were so hungry after their meager lunch and exhausting walk that they were willing to eat cooked shoe leather. Danielle’s quickly thrown together pot of pork and beans met with hearty appetites.
    She was just cutting into a fragrant pan of apple cobbler when who should come sniffing into camp like a lost, forlorn pup but Cody Walker himself. His dark hair had been combed into damp submission, and he was humbly holding his hat in hand. Catching a drift of, his masculine scent, Danielle felt her heart climb to her throat and lodge there permanently.
    â€œSomething sure smells good,” Cody exclaimed, wielding the compelling allure of his boyish smile upon the entire troop with practiced expertise.
    Eagerly succumbing to his charms, the girls fell all over themselves to make room around the fire for their handsome wagon master.
    Danielle was less receptive to the idea.
    â€œWon’t it hurt your reputation to be seen sharing a meal with