OK, so I know I already have two stories going, but this idea has been brewing for the last few weeks and I had no choice but to start writing it.

Divorced Gina Pietro moves back to the town where parents live with her son Nicky and their dog Lucy. Single dad Baron Corbin is raising his daughter Emma and is surrounded by gossip. The kids become friends quickly, despite their 2 year age difference, forcing Gina and Baron to cross paths more often than either one would like to. Can they put their emotional pasts behind them and learn to love and trust again? Only time will tell.

Gina Pietro put the last of the dinner dishes away and wiped down the kitchen counters before going to check on Nicky. Her 8 year old son was sound asleep in his bed, clutching his stuffed puppy. She kissed his forehead and quietly closed his door, leaning against it with a sigh. She did it, the first week was a little bumpy, but she did it. Nicky wasn't happy about leaving the city and starting at a new school and leaving his friends and his grandparents behind. On one hand she felt selfish, the move put her closer to work, closer to her friends and closer to her parents and further away from her ex-husband's parents. She benefited the most from the move, she knew that Nicky was young and he would make friends quickly, but the guilt still weighed on her. But in the long run, both of them would benefit from this change, Gina would have more time with Nicky, less meddling from her ex's family and more time to repair the relationships with her parents and sister. Her former mother in law didn't make things any easier, she called every night to grill her on the day's events. Her ex-husband called too, wanting to check on Nicky, he claimed, but he was really trying to keep tabs on her, make sure she wasn't too happy now that she finally reclaimed her independence and moved back home. She yawned and padded to her bedroom where her dog Lucy, a mixed breed with predominately black lab features, was snoring away in her brand new doggie bed, she scratched Lucy's ear and smiled again. They all said she would never find a place that allowed pets, and Lucy was such a big dog, no one would want a dog that big and a rental that had a fenced in yard that she would be allowed to use, never, never, never…. Every single thing they said she'd never be able to do, she did. It wasn't easy proving everyone wrong, but she'd been doing it all her life. She stripped down and took a long hot shower, dried off and climbed into bed, she was sound asleep the second her head hit the pillow. It was a long week and she was finally able to relax.

Emma was finally asleep on the couch, Baron Corbin felt a little guilty letting her fall asleep in front of the TV, but it was Friday night, and she really wanted to watch Frozen again. She was wearing her Elsa nightgown and cuddling her Elsa doll, resting her head on the pretty blue Elsa throw pillow, curled up under the fleece Elsa blanket he picked up at Target during his lunch break. So much Elsa…. He shook his head and wondered how long this obsession would last, who would the next princess be? He scooped up his 6 year old and carried her into her bedroom, he turned down the pink comforter and gently laid her in her bed. He kissed her goodnight and flipped her nightlight on as he left the room. He rolled his neck to ease the tension that built up over the week, Emma was his world and he loved her more than anything, but nights like these, he was overcome with loneliness and anxiety. Could he really raise a daughter by himself? Were Emma's mother's parents right? Would he screw her up? He shook his head, no, they weren't right, just because he had tattoos and long hair and built custom motorcycles for a living, that didn't mean he couldn't be a good father and he was a good father. Emma was healthy and smart and funny and loving and happy, she was a perfect little girl. The weather was still warm enough to be outside, maybe he would treat Emma to a picnic in the park tomorrow, it was one of her favorite things to do.

Gina was standing in the kitchen at her parents' house over a giant pot of marinara sauce stirring ever so slightly, just enough to keep the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pot. She wasn't sure if this would be a regular thing, but she had a ton of laundry to do and didn't feel like hauling it to the laundry mat and it had been forever since she had her mom's sauce, at least since Christmas time…

"You know, Gina, you can't let that scumbag get away with this forever. He's gonna have to cough up some money soon. He's nothing but a no-good lying sack of…"

"Mom!" Gina hurried to cut her mother off before the tirade of curses started. "Look, Mom, for the millionth time, you can't talk like that around Nicky. You cannot trash talk the kid's father."

Her mom looked around the kitchen pointedly, "I don't see Nicky in here… he's playing with Daddy."

"Yeah, he's playing Legos with Daddy in the living room, literally on the other side of this wall. He hears everything and you don't exactly speak softly," she said with one hand on her hip while the other gripped the handle of the wooden spoon.

Her mother rolled her eyes and set a pot of water to boil for the spaghetti, it burned a whole in her stomach, poor Gina was busting her rump to take care of Nicky and make sure that he maintained a relationship with both sides of his family, while that scumbag only showed up every other weekend to pick up her precious grandson and not a dime of child support in the year they'd been separated… Gina watched the play of emotions run across her mother's face, and waited quietly for what her next words would be. Her mother sighed dramatically before speaking again.

"Fine then, have you met any nice people in town yet?"

Gina took a deep breath, figures she would go there, she knew that when her mother said nice people she really meant eligible bachelors. "Oh yes, in the one week since I've moved into my apartment, gotten Nicky settled in school and in aftercare and still worked full time, set up doctor appointments for both him and me and found a vet for Lucy, I've already managed to fill my calendar with dates."

"Don't get fresh with me Regina," her mother said. "You've been all over town, there were plenty of chances for you to make friends. I hear the new vet is single…"

"Mom, right now, I only care about Nicky…" she paused as Lucy came galloping into the kitchen and sat at attention in front of the stove, letting out a small whimper as she stared at the sauce pot. Gina laughed, "And you too, Lucy. But it's not time to eat yet."

Her mother left the kitchen to set the table and Gina's mind drifted, there was one person, he was one of dads, or so she assumed, at Nicky's aftercare. They crossed paths twice during the week, he held the door for her Friday afternoon, smiled pleasantly and they wished each other a nice weekend… He was rather nice to look at, toned forearms, sleeve tattoo, mesmerizing eyes, a bad boy but one with a soft heart. She shook her head, she couldn't go there, no more men, it was just her and Nicky and Lucy and that was how it was going to stay.

Baron relaxed on the picnic blanket with his kid sister Blair, while his brother in law Colin ran around the park with Emma and their two girls Hayley and Alanna. The girls were all three years apart in age and they were practically inseparable. Baron shook his head and smiled as Colin pretended to fall to the ground as the three girls tackled him. Baron was dead wrong when he warned his sister to stay away from big bad Colin Cassady all those years ago, and for once in life, he was thrilled to admit how wrong he was. Blair, Colin and the girls were his haven, his safe place, especially in the last few years, at least he could count on Blair to be the woman in Emma's life when she reached puberty, not that Baron had any problems talking about that stuff, but he suspected his little girl would rather talk to another girl about certain things.

"So, did you see the new mom in town when you picked up Emma this week?" his sister asked slyly.

Baron grunted at his sister. Truth is, he noticed the woman on the first day of school, she was tiny compared to him, but at 6 ft. 8, most women were tiny compared to him. She was dressed in what he assumed was business casual, not that he knew for sure, working in a garage all he wore was jeans and tshirts and grease. Long black hair, curvy as hell…. "Well? Did that grunt mean yes or no?" his sister demanded.

"Yeah, I noticed someone new at aftercare," he said trying to not show any interest.

"I hear she's single, well, divorced to be exact, her mother told our mother's coworker's cousin that she was moving back here," Blair said.

"Gotta love the small town news bulletin," Baron said sarcastically.

"Baron…" his sister started to lecture him on how he needed to get out more and meet people and maybe even find love again when the chimes of the ice cream truck caught their attention. Baron scooped up Emma and his sister and Colin both grabbed one of their little ones as they raced across the park to see who could get there first. Emma giggled the whole way, cheering for ice cream and rainbow sprinkles.