Angel's Blessing

A good deed might just lead Angel into a lifetime of rewards.
It’s been one year since Angel Walker divorced her intolerable husband, James, and one year since Jake Jordan lost his dear wife, Rosaline to a car accident. Now — twelve years since Angel and Jake last saw each other — Angel is returning to Nova Scotia to help out her aunt who’s just taken a fall. But running the Bed and Breakfast turns out to be an easier challenge than dealing with widower Jake and his adorable daughter Rachael. Living up to the saintly Rosaline takes courage. But it takes more courage still to accept that Jake is nothing like James.
Once bitten twice shy, Jake discovers Angel doesn’t trust easily. He’ll have to be careful with this one, if he doesn’t want her to slip away. But when Angel finally believes in Jake, she discovers she could have been wrong, and Jake might be using her, making him an even lower person than her ex.
An almost tragedy brings conflicts to a head and long overdue explanations to the forefront.
Sequel: Angel's Retreat.

Excerpt:

Jake looked back at his daughter, sitting straight in her seat belt. It amazed him the difference in her personality the last few weeks. She had returned to her old, bubbly self, the daughter he hadn’t seen for over a year. And she had come out of her shell as quickly as she had drawn into it, the day he had to tell her about her mother. And he knew he could squarely place the change to the day she had met Angel.

“Is Angel really going to paint me today, Daddy?” He heard the anticipation in her voice.

He smiled. “Not today. She’s going to draw you first.”

Rachael giggled. “Will she draw Mr. Bunny too?” He glanced back and saw her arms firmly wrapped around the soft, grey and white rabbit with long pink ears.

“I suppose if you want bunny in the picture, Angel won’t mind.”

“Do you think she can draw a bunny, Daddy?”

Jake laughed. “Of course she can. If she can draw you, she can draw a bunny.”

He wanted to tell her about Angel and himself, but he was unsure of how to do it. He decided to wait until they were engaged and in that way he could explain things better. Tomorrow, when he went to Halifax, besides picking up Angel’s art supplies, he intended to pick out an engagement ring also.

“I want Mr. Bunny in the picture because he’s my best friend.”

“Is Angel your friend too?”

“Of course she is, Daddy.” There was a dismissive quality in her voice as if he should have already known that. “Is she your friend, Daddy?”

It was a perfect opportunity for him to tell her about Angel, but he was cautious. “Angel and I are very good friends, yes.”

“Like you and Mommy?”

Her question was unexpected and unsettling. Jake cleared his throat thinking quickly. This was going to be harder to explain than he had originally thought.

“Would you like that?”

“What?”

“Would you like it if Angel could be your new mommy?” He stared straight ahead, not daring to look back at his daughter. If she said no, what would he do then?