Taryn Edwards could have happily smashed her head against the steering wheel.

Stuck in a traffic jam on forty west-bound from Memphis was the cherry on top of a shitty day. She angrily swiped at the tears that slid down her cheeks and cursed her ex-boyfriend for the millionth time that afternoon.

A split decision after a fight with her best friend and roommate, Emma, had her making the two hour drive from Little Rock to see Daniel. Once she’d hurriedly packed a bag, she set off for Memphis, where Daniel was away on business. When she arrived hours later, she made a pit stop to freshen up, so she’d look absolutely perfect for her man. Looking back on the scene, Taryn had remembered the surprise on his face but there was definitely no happiness that filled his eyes when he’d opened the door to his hotel room and found her standing there.

She’d overlooked the dread then but saw it clearly in her head now. God, I’m an idiot, she thought and looked up to see herself boxed in between two eighteen-wheelers. She could recall the promise of eternity as it filled her heart when Daniel had taken her hand and kissed it. She held her breath and before the word ‘yes’ could escape her lips, he had confessed his infidelity.

“Damn it!” She slammed an angry hand against the steering wheel as another tear fell.

She couldn’t say she was too distraught over losing Daniel. He’d never been the most attentive of significant others but the prospect of being alone and cheated on in the same day had her eyes glossing over again.

****

“Jamie, if you don’t sit still…” Dane Canton never finished the warning directed at his four year old daughter.

When the cadence of her tiny legs swinging and thumbing against the back of his seat ceased, he sighed in relief. He rolled his window down for the tenth time, craning his neck to see the cause of the traffic jam he’d been caught in for almost an hour.

“Shit,” He mumbled and let his head fall against the seat.

“Shit!” Jamie shouted in a happy falsetto, her brunette curls bouncing.

“Don’t say that word, baby. Daddy is an idiot with a bad mouth.”

“Idiot!”

He chuckled sadly and shook his head. “Yeah, that’s right.”

He had been an idiot to think Chanda would actually pick up Jamie and spend time with her. His ex-wife had never been reliable and he’d known the moment he’d asked her to marry him she wasn’t ready. Hell, he hadn’t even been ready. Before he’d found out about Jamie, he’d sensed that their relationship had turned a point. The night Chanda had confessed her pregnancy he’d been ready to end the relationship. For the next two years, they’d lived in a marriage of convenience.

I’d do it all over again, he thought. If it meant being around his little girl and protecting her from the coldness of her mother, he’d be happy to do it all over again.

“Daddy, I’m hungry.”

“Uh…” Dane began to rummage through his glove compartment and Jamie’s overnight bag, finding nothing of sustenance.  “We don’t have anything, baby.”

“But daddy…” Her soft whine was accompanied by a pout.

“Jamie Jam, wanna play a game with daddy?” He asked through the rearview mirror, hoping to distract her.

Her brown eyes lit up with excitement.

****

Taryn finally shut off her car. There was no use in draining her battery if there would be no time-limit to this horrible traffic. Other patrons had exited their cars and were lounging against their vehicles. Children had taken to playing games around the traffic, as if there weren’t a care in the world. Some adults began to pacing the road, attempting to catch a glimpse of the problem or sitting in their cars, anticipating the end of congestion.

Taryn tried to stretch but found the space she was confined too small to move. She needed to extend her legs anyway and her poor backside had gone numb fifteen minutes ago.

I’ll just take a second and get out, she thought as she unhooked her seatbelt and unlocked the door.

The April air cooled her chocolate-colored skin and blew her dark hair away from her face. She leaned against her car and closed her eyes, letting the breeze wash away all of the tears she’d shed since leaving Memphis.

A high pitched squeal of laughter brought Taryn back quickly. She turned to her left and watched a tiny child with long brown hair run into her legs and hold on.

“Whoa, munchkin.” Taryn half laughed and bent down to the child’s eye level.

“The floor monsters gonna get me!” She wrapped her arms around Taryn’s neck and clung.

“The floor monster?” Taryn looked down at the road inquisitively and then toward a man circling the blue Sedan behind hers, making strange sounds. “Does this floor monster have dark hair?”

She felt the child’s head bob up and down. “That’s just my daddy,” she whispered loudly. “Not really a floor monster, but we’re playing a game.”

“Oh, well I’ll protect you,” Taryn whispered back and stood with the girl in her arms. “Excuse me!” She called out.

****

“Rawr! I’m gonna get yo—” Dane’s head snapped up when a female voice called out.

He’d been chasing his daughter around the car but found her to be faster than he had thought. When he looked up an attractive black woman was making her way toward him holding onto Jamie. His heart stopped for a moment but when he discovered his child was laughing, he relaxed.

“Excuse me,” she said as she stepped closer. “Have you seen a floor monster? This little girl seems to be afraid one is going to get her.”

Dane smiled and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I don’t recall any floor monsters; just us dads here.”

“Oh, well this little one seems to think that you could be disguised as one.”

Dane shrugged. “Nope.” He poked his daughter in the side lightly.

Jamie squirmed in the woman’s arms and laughed as her father’s touched tickled. His daughter continued to hold on to the stranger. He’d never seen Jamie cling to someone so easily, not even Chanda could keep Jamie from kicking out of her hold.

Dane took a moment to survey the woman. Beautiful caramel skin glowed under the setting afternoon sun. Her ebony colored hair blew in the breeze and slapped against the curve of her neck. Her top half was covered by the grey

University of Arkansas hoodie that concealed her. Her simple dark jeans clung to shapely legs and hips, making Dane recall the last time he’d been with a woman.

Too long, he thought and gave Jamie another soft poke.

“C’mon Jamie Jam give…” He trailed off, hoping she’d fill in the blank.

“Taryn,” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes and it was then he noticed they were slightly red from having cried, he guessed. This made him ache slightly and that puzzled him.

“Give Taryn some space.” He reached for his daughter and she finally let go, giggling. Once he put Jamie down he held out his hand to Taryn.

“I’m Dane.” He stroked the top of Jamie’s head with his free hand. “And this is Jamie."

“Hi, Tarry-Anne!”

Taryn laughed and ignored the mispronunciation. “Good to meet you two.”

When their hands met, it was as if a thousand sparks had gone off between their palms. Both felt it and pulled away quickly, but didn’t acknowledge the quick jolt of heat they’d experienced.

“This, uh, traffic jam is ridiculous, huh?”

Taryn cleared her throat before she spoke. “Yeah, we’re about sixty miles outside of Little Rock. At least that’s what the GPS is telling me.” Taryn gave a short laugh. “I just can’t believe we’ve been stuck here for almost an hour. What do you think it is?”

Still a little shaken by the electricity he’d felt, Dane thought for a moment then shrugged. “Could be—” He looked down when he felt a tugging on his shirt.

Jamie looked up at her father with sad brown eyes and her bottom lip poked out.

“Hungry,” she whined.

“Oh, she hasn’t eaten?” Taryn looked at Dane, surprised.

Embarrassed, Dane ran a hand through his unruly hair. “Well, we hadn’t exactly planned on getting caught in traffic.”

“I have a breakfast bar in my bag, if that’s alright.”

“That’d be great.” Dane smiled as she turned back to her car to retrieve her bag. Dane got a great view of her round backside.

Damn, he thought. It’d been way too long since he’d been with a woman. He shook the inappropriate thoughts away as she handed Jamie the snack.

“What do you say?” He asked his daughter as she began to tear into the packaging.

“Thank you!”

“Go sit in the car and eat it, Jamie Jam.”

****

The corners of Taryn’s lips quirked upward as she watched the little girl in the rear passenger side of the shiny Sedan. She’d been hopping in her seat for the past fifteen minutes singing an off-key, a cappella version of “The Wheels on the Bus”. The open doors made Taryn, Dane, and the rest of traffic her unwilling but amused audience.

“She’s a cutie.”

Dane shook his head but grinned. “She has my singing voice.”

“You look like you could carry a tune.”

He burst into hysterics. Taryn had become accustomed to the rich sound of his laughter in the twenty minutes they’d spent getting to know each other. She discovered that he had very dry wit and an off the wall sense of humor. She definitely liked that.

“What parts of her mother does she have?”

She could have kicked herself. As soon as the question was asked, Dane’s smile fell and his eyes became hard. She began to apologize for the out of line questioning but Dane spoke first.

“Her looks. She’s as beautiful as her mother,” Dane said wistfully.

Not having anticipated the reaction, Taryn’s eyes dropped toward the pavement. She hadn’t seen a ring on his finger but that didn’t mean he wasn’t involved with anyone, let alone the mother of his child. She suddenly became ashamed of herself and shifted farther away from him.

“She must be gorgeous.” Taryn tried not to sound disappointed but she couldn’t stop soft fluttering in her stomach since she’d begun talking to the man and his daughter. “Your wife, I mean...or girlfriend?”

She knew she was beginning to sound like an idiot and ordered herself to stop being so jittery.

“Wife, uh, ex-wife,” Dane hurriedly, trying to rectify his slip. “I’m not married. Jamie’s mom is…”

Taryn waved his explanation away. “I’m intruding. It’s not my business. ”

“I’d like it to be.” The words slipped out before he could catch himself.

“What? My business?”

Silence engulfed them. They avoided eye contact at all cost, fearing what they’d see would be either of their undoing. When Jamie came running up, they both sighed with relief. A distraction was welcomed, though somewhat unwanted.

“Daddy, cars are moving!”

Both looked up and noticed they were the only souls still loitering outside of their vehicles. Taryn pushed off her car and pulled open the driver’s side door.

“Well…” She gave Dane a quick glance, willing him to ask for her number or to stop off and get something to eat with them. Or an offering of his own number. Anything that would help preserve their moment together.

But he remained silent.

“Nice to meet you, Dane,” she sighed and tried to muster up as much enthusiasm as she kneeled to Jamie’s level. “And you too, Jamie.”

“Buh- bye, Tarry-Anne!”

Taryn waved, not able to find the words.

Her engine roared to life as the car in front of her began to move. When she inched forward, her eyes were focused on her rearview mirror where Dane seemed to be watching her. She finally looked away and took off.

****

Three Months Later

Dane wheeled his cart down a long aisle and read off the various brands of cereal.

“Daddy, I want these!”

He looked down at the colorful box Jamie held up; it might as well have said Heart-Attack-E-O’s on the front.

“No, Jamie Jam.”

Her pout came quickly, as he’d anticipated.

“Not today, baby cakes. I’m not in the mood for funny faces.”

Jamie immediately turned off the faux pout and gave her father an inquisitive look. “Daddy, are you worried ‘bout mommy’s boo boos?”

“No, baby. I’m okay and so is mommy,” he reassured. “Your mommy and I are…just—”

He wasn’t quite sure how to describe what he and Chanda were. He’d decided to let her stay with them after she’d come to him one night battered and bruised from a run in with another loser she’d recently hooked up with. He’d been glad his daughter hadn’t had visitation that weekend. If the bastard had laid a finger on his little girl…Dane ordered himself to calm down.

“We’re okey dokey, artichokey,” he said and poked her in the chest, causing Jamie to giggle.

As he began to round the corner in search of paper towels, he ran smack into another cart.

“Excuse me,” the two patrons said simultaneously.

When their eyes met, recognition set in immediately. “Taryn?”

“Dane?”

Pleasure flooded her face, though it took her a moment to find her voice.

“Hi, how are you?” Her smile was wide and Dane noticed that it definitely reached her eyes this time. The pleasure of knowing he had brought about this reaction in her made all of his previous issues vanish.

“I’m doing great. How’ve you been? I mean, since the—” Dane’s babbling was cut short by Jamie’s high pitched squeal.

“Tarry-Anne!”

Her tiny legs quickly carried her in Taryn’s direction, and when she reached the older woman she was snatched up into a tight embrace. Anyone looking upon the two would have thought the little girl had known Taryn all her life.

“Hi, Jamie! How are you darlin’?”

“Me and daddy are shopping!” She said proudly as Taryn set her down again.

“I’m shopping. She’s being a silly goose.” Dane ruffled his daughter’s hair but kept his eyes on Taryn.

She hadn’t changed much in the three months since their first meeting but her eyes looked more open and alive now. In her grey pencil skirt and maroon button-down, he was able to see the womanly form he’d been restricted from viewing months before. Her hair was pulled back in neat up-do, though he could still imagine the wisps of silky dark hair flowing in the breeze. He longed to pull the pins from her bun and touch the strains.

A tug at his pants leg pulled him from his reverie. “Daddy, are you hungry?”

A frown marred his brow as his eyes flicked down to his child. “No, baby. Are you hungry?”

Jamie shook her head animatedly. “No. But you’re looking at Tarry-Anne like Cookie Monster looks at his cookies before he gobbles them up!”

At that moment, Dane would have been happy if the earth had opened up and swallowed him whole. He knew his face was a deep shade of red as he gazed at his daughter, who had completely forgotten her previous assertion and was attempting to read cereal boxes.

Urging himself to look up at Taryn had been a task that was easier said than done. But finally, he regained some of his pride and lifted his gaze.

“Jamie has been watching too much—”

“Would you like to go to dinner with me?”

The surprise on Dane’s face quickly melted into a satisfied smile. “Yes. I would.” He laughed nervously and tapped on the handle of his shopping cart to distract himself.

“Great.” Taryn sighed with relief and returned his smile.

As they walked down the supermarket aisle side-by-side, the promise of something great settled in the air. Both had no idea what the future would bring them, but the anticipation of what could bloom had them sharing an optimistic look as they rounded the corner, with Jamie in tow.