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Instantly the feathers on its head fanned forward as the bird lifted one foot and pointed it at him.
    â€œStranger! Stranger!” it screeched, then flew straight at Nate.
    Caught off guard, Nate whipped back to avoid the dive-bombing bird. Too late he realized that a disoriented Bogie had sprung into action, rushing in behind him—very effectively cutting his feet right out from under him.
    â€™Bout summed up his day, Nate thought as his feet sailed out from under him and he hit the floor like a pile of rocks.
    And there he lay. A green bird circling overhead, a fat, wrinkled pooch bumping into him with its odd plastic helmet, and a laughing boy and his emerald-eyed mother standing over him.
    â€œAre you okay?” Pollyanna blinked big eyes at him.
    Nate wasn’t sure if it was because he’d smacked his head on the hardwood floor, but he just stared up at her like an idiot. She really did have the most dazzling eyes.
    And a cute, tiny dimple beside her lips.
    â€œPepper gotcha! Pepper gotcha good.” Gil giggled, doubling over.
    Nate sat up and rubbed the back of his head.
    â€œGil, be nice,” Pollyanna scolded, but Nate saw the corners of her lips twitch.
    â€œIt’s all right.” He grinned at Gil, then up at Pollyanna. “It’s my due for coming into your house uninvited. Besides, boys are born with an odd sense of humor.”
    That made her smile. Not just smile, the woman’s eyes lit up and twinkled like a thousand stars. “Yes. They are,” she said, her gaze settling on Gil like a caress.
    That look shot longing through Nate as sharp as a hunter’s arrow.
    â€œHe is truly a carbon copy of his daddy,” she said, her gaze returning to Nate. “Never knew what Marc was going to come out with next. Here, let me help you up.”
    She reached for Nate’s arm. Her touch was soft and sent a shock wave through him that knocked the breath out of him. This woman had loved well. Pollyanna McDonald was the kind of woman who loved with everything in her. Death, and space and time couldn’t diminish it. At least, that was the impression he got of her.
    They had that in common. In a way the idea made him sad for her.
    The less you loved, the less you hurt.
    â€œGil, go find Pepper and put him in his cage. He’s too excited to be zooming around the house right now,” she said, still tugging on Nate’s arm.
    Bogie bumped into him with his lamp shade, trying unsuccessfully to lick Nate’s face. The whiff of awful doggie breath shook the cobwebs out of Nate’s head and made him thankful the dog couldn’t get any closer. Pollyanna was tugging on him pretty hard, so he helped her out by standing up. He didn’t want her pulling a back muscle.
    â€œCome, sit here,” she demanded, sweeping him into the kitchen and pushing him onto a bar stool. “Are you sure you’re okay? I invite you to dinner and my circus tries to do you in.” Her face was now a work of anxiety.
    His pride was injured, but it would only hurt it more to mention it. “I’m fine. Were you racing turtles?” He glanced at the two turtles eating a strip of candy.
    â€œWe sure were. Sylvie and Bo love to race for candy. And as you saw, Pepper is their cheerleader. Those two will really turn on the juice for a cherry Twizzler.” She grimaced comically.
    And Nate laughed.
    It happened so unexpectedly, that he froze.
    Â 
    The look that washed over Nate after he laughed was so stricken, so lost, that Polly knew instinctively what had happened. Her first impression of Nate had been that of a man still floundering from the loss of his wife. She understood this all too well.
    â€œIs that the first time?” she asked, knowing the answer before he spoke it.
    His brows dipped. “The first time?”
    â€œThat you’ve laughed since your wife died?” She knew it had been three years since his wife died.
    â€œPretty