Secret Baby of the Single Dad Next Door

On moving day I crash through my neighbor’s trellis and land against Jake Hartley, a soaked, shirtless widower whose scowl feels impossible to place.

He is a grumpy single dad who can fix nearly anything except himself, and his little boy has not spoken since losing his mother.

My daughter claims that boy as her closest friend, the children refuse to be separated, and Jake keeps finding repairs that bring him to my door.

Six years ago at the lake, I fell for a dock boy everyone called Hart—no last name, no number—and he never knew about the little girl that reckless summer left with me.

I never found him, so I cannot explain why Jake goes still whenever Lily laughs, or why he has known the truth for weeks and still says nothing.