The Troublesome Angel by Valerie Hansen

when her parents were killed. Only with her, the pretense wasn’t one of wealth. It was one of happiness and stability.
    Stacy recalled all the times, years ago, whenshe’d cried herself to sleep because she’d felt so alone. And the times she’d fled from perfectly fine foster homes because they couldn’t offer her the permanence she sought. It wasn’t until she was nearly grown that she’d finally understood she could never go back, never again be the secure, happy child she’d once been.
    She felt a gentle, light touch on her arm and glanced up. Gray was looking at her with concern.
    “You okay?” he asked.
    Stacy mentally shook herself. “I’m fine. Why?”
    “Because you were a million miles away just now. And you looked pretty melancholy. What were you thinking about?”
    “The past,” she said quietly.
    He withdrew his hand and leaned back in his chair. “Ah, that. Would you like to talk about it?”
    “Not here. Not now.” And not with you, she added to herself. Casting a glance at Missy she changed the subject as she held out the plastic dish. “Okay, honey. You ate all your cone. Now you can give this to Lewis. Just hold on to it so he doesn’t push it all over the sidewalk when he tries to lick it.”
    The little girl looked down, then wailed, “Ugh! He slobbered all over my new shoes.”
    Stacy stifled a giggle. “That’s because he’s hungry and he knows you’re going to give him a treat. He’s a good dog. He’s been waiting very patiently while we all ate but he can’t help drooling a little.”
    “That’s okay. I can fix him.” Missy was matter-of-fact. Taking her napkin, she carefully wiped the dog’s chin, talking to him, nose to nose, as she blotted his muzzle. “It’s not your fault, Lewis. I’ll take care of you.”
    Amused, Gray watched the child’s interaction with the unflappable dog. No wonder Stacy valued him so much. He was more than a rescuer, he was a healer. His presence, alone, had brought Missy out of her shell and enabled her to think of something other than her own loss. He wondered how long it had taken Stacy Lucas to do the same when she was left all alone like Missy.
    The sudden urge to take Stacy in his arms and protect her until all the old pain was banished caught him by surprise. Naturally, doing anything like that was out of the question. Still, it did give him a warm feeling to think of repaying her heartfelt kindness with a dose of the same. There was too little love in the world as it was. He didn’t like to admit to being such a softy, but he already loved his future niece as if she’d been a part of his family from birth.
    Gray smiled to himself and leaned sideways to watch what was going on under the table. Missy was trying to hold the slippery dish still while Lewis’s wide tongue sloshed half-melted ice cream over the rim and onto her hands. Instead of complaining about the mess, she was laughing and reassuring the dog that she could give them both a bath if need be. Maybe getting her a puppy was a good idea after all. Of course, if he did such a thingwithout permission, the rest of the family would threaten to disown him….
    His thoughts crystalized. Froze. Disown him, indeed. Now there was an interesting memory.
    He snorted with contempt. A scene like the one he’d had with his father when he’d turned down the offered junior vice presidency was something he never wanted to experience again. Nathan’s angry response, however, had answered a lot of the questions Gray had been afraid to ask. It had also explained why he’d always felt like an outsider, even though he knew of no valid reason for the alienation he sensed at the time.
    A gentle touch on his forearm brought his thoughts back to the present.
    “Now, it’s my turn to ask you,” Stacy said. “Want to talk about it?”
    Gray tensed, withdrew. “I don’t know what you mean.”
    “Okay. Have it your way. I was just trying to be nice. You looked like you’d just lost your