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her that I was her father,” Alder told her. “By then, she was already set in her belief that Cain and Sarah were her parents. She didn’t really understand and I had no right to make things any more difficult for her.
    “With Sarah’s blessing, I took things slowly and tried to get more involved in her life. Eventually, she did get attached to me. We actually became pretty close.”
    “Then how come you didn’t bring her here to the valley?”
    “Hale and I had to leave. I probably could have brought Snow with me, but to her, I was always ‘Uncle Alder’. Yesterday was the first time she’s actually called me ‘Dad.’ Cain and Sarah raised her like their own. I couldn’t have taken her away from them, no matter how much I wanted to.”
    Taylor nodded in understanding. “But, she’s here now.”
    He cast her a measuring look. “She says she wants to live with me.”
    “What about Cain and Sarah?”
    “They don’t know she’s here and she won’t tell me why she left.”
    Taylor considered the situation for a moment, and then said, “You should let her stay.”
    His brows rose. “You’d be okay with that?”
    In all honesty, gaining a stepdaughter was just about the last thing she wanted right now. But she couldn’t put him in that position.
    “Look, my hormones are crazy right now. Everything’s making me cry. I’m not even sure if I’m overreacting to this whole situation or not.” She offered him a weak smile. “It sounds like this may be the first time you get to be a father to your daughter. You can’t let me or anyone else come between the two of you right now.”
    It’ll be okay , she told herself. I’ll be fine .

CHAPTER NINE
     
    The following afternoon, Taylor was happy to hear a soft knock at her door. Not just because it meant Lark had finally learned some manners, but also because Taylor was lonely.
    Alder had napped in the cabin with her that morning, but he’d been gone when she’d gotten up for the day. She had hazy memories of him kissing her goodbye, but they only served to make her feel glummer.
    While she was more tired than usual, Taylor noted that she didn’t feel nearly as nauseous today as she had yesterday. She fixed her hair as best she could and made her way to the door.
    To her surprise, it wasn’t Lark, but Snow who was waiting on the porch. Snow smiled as she greeted Taylor. Her smile was so much like Alder’s that it made Taylor’s chest hurt.
    “Hale said you were sick,” said Snow. She held up a handful of familiar-looking herbs. “I thought I’d stop by and bring you some mint. My mom always boils it for me when I’m not feeling well. Even just smelling it makes me feel better.”
    Taylor gave her a genuine smile. As inconvenient as Snow was, and as much as she wished Snow hadn’t showed up, Taylor couldn’t bring herself to these things apparent. She had been in Snow’s position too many times in her life.
    “Thank you very much,” she said, taking the herbs. When Snow continued to stand on the porch, Taylor added, “Did you want to come in?”
    “Sure, okay!”
    Snow eagerly pushed past her and into the cabin.
    “Be careful not to sit in the chair,” Taylor warned.
    She lingered on the porch, noticing the large, black wolf that was sitting on her lawn. His amber eyes were focused intently on her quail coop.
    “Uh, Caim?” Taylor said, unsure if she was recalling his name correctly. “Did you want to come in as well? I have some clothes you could probably wear.”
    The wolf ignored her.
    “Don’t worry about him,” Snow said from inside. “He’s in one of his moods.”
    Taylor nodded, but kept the door open as she followed Snow inside. The girl was already pouring water into a pot for boiling. Taylor leaned in the doorway, observing Snow’s movements. Aside from her dark features, Snow was exactly what Taylor would imagine a daughter of Alder might look like.
    As Snow set the pot on the metal grate, Taylor came over to crouch