Worth the Wait — Nancy Northcott

Note: Worth the Wait was originally published in Who's Your Daddy?! A DNA Anthology. Worth the Wait Arachnid agent Jim Dix Dixon specializes in takedowns of child traffickers. Though he denies it, his most recent raid has pushed him to the breaking point. His boss recognizes that and orders him to take a month off. At loose ends, Dix goes back home to the small eastern North Carolina town of Hayesboro. While he's home, he runs into Deputy Sheriff Tess Barnhardt. Years ago, he dated her sister, Tammie. There was always a spark between Dix and Tess, but decency and respect for his relationship with her sister forced them both to ignore it. Now, though, Tamie's gone, killed in a car accident years before, and Tess is raising Tammie's daughter, Molly. The spark is still there, so Tess and Dix cautiously explore it. As they grow closer, she notices the many ways Molly bears an uncanny resemblance to him. Tammie took the name of Molly's father to the grave, but now Tess wonders whether he was right under their noses all along.