When You Least Expect Read Online Free

Dani,” he said, unable to stop the smile at her enthusiastic greeting, and as he spoke, he walked toward them. “How are you today, pretty girl?” he asked when he reached them, his eyes drifting to Ariel as he spoke.
    “Good! We went to the park today, and then we came over here,” Dani said.
    “That was very nice of you,” he said, smiling down at the girl and then returning his gaze to her mother. “Thank you, Ariel, but there was no need to go to the trouble.”
    “No trouble at all,” she said, seeming a little more settled than she had moments ago.
    “Well, how much do I owe you?”
    “No charge,” she said, waving her hand. “I patched the tire, so it’s fine. And the pull you were feeling was a branch that had gotten wedged over the axle. I got it out, so it should be working perfectly now.”
    “You’ve exceeded my mechanical knowledge, but you promised I was in good hands, so that all sounds good. I appreciate it,” he replied, his voice dropping a bit.
    “No problem. It seemed neighborly,” she said, her smile now bright.
    He nodded, and then they stood staring at each other awkwardly, Dani running in little circles while still clinging to her mother’s hand.
    “Well—”
    “Would—”
    They both laughed out loud at the simultaneous conversation and then with a smile that made her positively luminescent, Ariel continued. “We don’t want to keep you. Have a nice day.”
    “Mommy,” Dani whispered and then she glanced up at Matt, to which they both again laughed.
    “I’ll give you ladies some privacy,” he said and then quickly jogged up the steps to wait on the porch.
    Matt kept his gaze averted but could barely keep from laughing as he listened to the conversation.
    “I gotta go,” Dani said in a whisper so loud they probably heard it in Charlotte.
    Ariel, much better at lowering her voice, murmured something to her daughter.
    “I can try, but I really gotta go,” Dani said, voice urgent.
    Ariel whispered something else and then called out, “Matt, I’m sorry to intrude, but may we use your bathroom?”
    He turned then, again struck by Ariel’s beautiful smile and how adorably bashful Dani looked.
    “Of course,” he said, tilting his head toward the front door. “Right this way.”
    They ambled up the porch, and Matt showed them to the guest bathroom, one that he’d added during his remodel. Ariel thanked him again and then Matt headed toward the kitchen to wait. It had only been a few minutes, but that time with Ariel and Dani had totally distracted him, taken away thoughts of the past, of pain, and left only the easy excitement of being around Ariel and her daughter and talking about car repair.
    A wondrous thing, but one that left him confused. This simple little visit, less than two minutes of chatter shouldn’t have had the power to affect him so deeply, especially not today, but it had, and as he waited for them to return, he searched his mind for an answer, one that did not seem to be forthcoming. He helped people sort through their thoughts and emotions daily, but figuring out his own was proving elusive.
    “What do you say?” Ariel whispered as she and Dani approached the kitchen, her soft voice breaking into his thoughts.
    “Thank you, Dr. Matt!” the little girl called, voice ringing loud in a house that had been quiet, almost tomblike for more years than Matt cared to recall. It had sounded right though, that childish voice in the house—had given it a brief spark of life that had been missing for far too long.
    “Do you ladies have plans?” Matt asked, surprising himself as he spoke.
    “Nothing exciting,” Ariel said. The words were nonchalant, but Matt thought he saw an ember of excitement in her eyes.
    “Would you like to stay over for an early dinner?” he asked, trying to maintain his own cool but feeling hopeful and excited.
    “We wouldn’t want to be a bother,” Ariel said. She moved a few steps closer but her voice didn’t change, and