Читать книгу A Mum For Amy - Ann Evans - Страница 10

JOHN DENVER, rest his soul, had once recorded a song about some days being diamonds and some being stone. Will Stewart thought this was definitely a stone day.

Most definitely.

The week had started out well enough. His sister, Lisa, seemed in a great mood lately, having met a new guy in her college English class. Quarterly returns on his investments were up. Yesterday, Jacobson had taken him to lunch and actually used the word partner when talking about Will’s future at the firm. This morning he’d turned on the computer to find an e-mail from his stockbroker. And Amy, the one unpredictable component of his life, had managed to eat breakfast today without spilling a single drop on her clothes. Now there was a genuine miracle.

Then he’d made the mistake of stopping by the LaCrosse site, catching Teddy in the trailer as he spoke with his construction supervisor. Will should never have taken that offer of a cup of coffee, never stopped long enough to discuss how yesterday’s press conference had gone.

If he hadn’t, he might never have come face-to-face with Maggie Tillman.

A John Denver stone day for sure. And if things had gone downhill from that moment, they showed every indication of heading even further south right now.

He had to work hard not to stare at Maggie.

He couldn’t argue that over the years he’d grown more curious about her rather than less. He knew the basics of her life—still living in Key West, unmarried, working. When he chose to use them, he had connections enough to find out that sort of thing.

But was she happy? What kind of woman had she turned into? Did she ever think of him? You couldn’t get answers to those kinds of questions without digging a little deeper, and he had always refused to do that.

He mistrusted those rambling thoughts and was sometimes quite annoyed by them, as well. Old lovers weren’t supposed to stick around and blight your mental landscape. He had wanted the end of his relationship with Maggie to be like a heavy door closing behind him, firmly locked and impenetrable.

Instead, here she was again, popping back into his life with all the fire and fury that was pure Maggie. Aware of her sitting stiffly beside him as he listened to his daughter chatter, Will didn’t think for a minute she was done with arguing yet. Tenacious. Passionate. That had been Maggie, too, and she didn’t look like she’d changed much over the years. He needed to keep that fact uppermost in his mind.

He needed not to panic.

But, most of all, he had to find the quickest way possible to get Amy out of this trailer.

Amy’s words ran down to nothing as her interest was drawn to the stuffing peeking out of his chair arm. He loved her so much. Being a father was tough, time-consuming. But every moment he was with his daughter, Will felt as though he had trapped sunlight in his hands. How could you ever let anything mess with that?

He touched her cheek, drawing her gaze up. “So you liked the tour Aunt Lisa gave you?”

The child nodded. “It was kind of scary, though. My stomach felt funny when we went up in the elevator with no walls. Aunt Lisa says nobody ever fell out and got squished on the ground, but I said I bet it happens sometimes. I didn’t like that part.”

He smiled at her with tender amusement. His fault, probably, but Amy sometimes tended to be more fearful and cautious than the average seven-year-old. Lisa said he was overprotective, too restrictive with the child, but what was really wrong with that? The world was a tough place, and you had to look out for the people you loved.

The trailer door opened again, and this time it was his sister. They were going to have lunch today, but first, Will had wanted to talk to Teddy. Lisa had volunteered to keep Amy occupied while he was busy.

“Aunt Lisa shouldn’t have taken you up in the elevator,” he said.

Hearing Will’s admonition as she came in, Lisa grimaced at him. “Really, Will. Don’t you know that going up in an open elevator is the best part of visiting any construction site? Did you think she wanted to watch them pour concrete?”

As she approached, she removed the hard hat she wore so she could shake out her hair. His sister was going to be twenty-one in a few weeks, and Will couldn’t believe so much time had passed. She’d been ten when their parents had died. He could still clearly recall the fear that had clenched his gut when Ernie Becker, a family friend and the executor of the estate, had told him he was legally responsible for her. The same fear that had gripped him the day Amy had been placed into his arms.

Lisa, remembering her manners, gave Maggie a vague smile. “Hello. I’m sorry to interrupt.” Then she did a double take. “Oh, my gosh! Maggie. Is it you?”

Maggie turned farther in her chair. “Lisa?” Her eyes traveled up and down his sister. “I can’t believe it. Look how big you’ve grown!”

Lisa laughed. “Not too big, I hope. It’s so good to see you again. What have you been up to all these years? Where have you been?”

“I live in Key West now. But we must get together and catch up. I’d love to hear all about what you’ve been doing.”

Will felt Amy lean into him. She was always hesitant around strangers. The movement caught Maggie’s attention, and she smiled down at Amy. “And who are you?”

Nerve centers within Will had begun to register swift alarm when Amy had come into the trailer. Now they went into overdrive. He didn’t want Maggie interacting with her. The woman could be mad at him, come up here to fight whatever battle she chose for the sake of her business. But he didn’t want her within a hundred miles of his daughter.

“I’m Amy,” the child said shyly.

“My daughter,” Will added, though he supposed it was quite obvious.

“You’re such a pretty girl.” Maggie reached out to touch one of Amy’s dangling curls. “Your hair’s like mine. Just wavy enough to be a challenge. I’ll bet your mommy has her hands full trying to get it to behave.”

Amy wiggled against Will. “Aunt Lisa does my hair every morning.”

“Does she?”

Maggie’s eyes seemed glued to Amy’s face, and Will felt a sudden tightness in his chest and a vague feeling of vulnerability. His fingers clumsily straightened the collar on his daughter’s blouse. Then, fighting off panic, he stood and set the child away from him, guiding her toward Lisa. “Ladies, I hate to interrupt,” he said in his calmest tone. “But Mr. LaCrosse and I still have business to discuss. Lisa, will you and Amy meet me at the restaurant at noon?”

Lisa agreed immediately and offered Maggie a quick goodbye. Much to Will’s displeasure and chagrin, they made promises to be in touch. He suddenly wished that Lisa had not turned out to be such a good-natured, friendly young woman.

He watched them leave, and felt enough relief to melt his bones. No disaster in the making here. No danger.

He leaned against a beat-up file cabinet. Teddy was looking at him curiously, but Will managed something like a smile. “So. Where were we?” He turned toward Maggie. “Ah yes, I believe you were in the middle of an accusation.”

A dangerous light kindled in Maggie’s eyes again. Good, he thought. He wanted her mad and concentrating on him. Angry enough to keep her distance. So much safer that way.

She tapped the edge of the file she carried, and he saw her bite her lip, possibly trying to make up her mind as to the best approach. “Teddy, I’m sorry,” she said at last. “I’m not trying to be difficult. I just want to be sure that the reasons you’re going to sign with Coastal are legitimate. Not based unfairly on the history Will and I share.”

Will opened his mouth to object, but Teddy cut him off with a raised hand. “Hold on, Willy-boy. Let her finish.”

In a voice full of quiet, precise anger, Maggie said, “Eight years ago, Will and I…had a relationship. It ended badly and we haven’t spoken since. Now I discover that you’re going with Coastal Communities. I can’t help but think that—on some level—the decision was made in their favor due to circumstances that are unrelated to my ability to carry out the job.”

Teddy’s eyes were guarded, but not hostile. “I would be very foolish to ignore the opinion of my chief architect.”

Will spoke up. “I advised him against you for specific reasons that have nothing to do with our past. We’ve already talked about your lack of experience and that of your construction team. Frankly, knowing you as I do, I was also concerned about maturity. My firm can’t afford to take chances—”

Maggie had gone rigid. Will knew he’d struck a nerve.

“How dare you talk to me about maturity?” she flashed out. “How mature is it to judge me after an eight-year gap? I was nineteen when we were together. You don’t know me at all now. I’ve worked hard to develop Sapphire Seas into a respected operation I can be proud of.” She swung a glance back to Teddy. “I’m not asking for a handout.”

“Good, because you won’t get one,” Teddy replied.

As though sensing some small window of opportunity, Maggie leaned forward again. “If you’ll reconsider, I can promise you results that will knock your socks off. I’m not talking about a few pretty aquarium backdrops, Teddy. I’m talking about living works of art. If you’re not one hundred percent satisfied…” She opened her folder on the desk, turned it upside down so he could see it and jabbed a finger at the bottom of the page where a column of figures ended. “I’ll eat my costs. Every one of them.”

Will barely disguised a sharp breath. He knew Teddy, and saving money always got him to sit up and take notice. Damage control was in order. He said quickly, “That’s a ridiculous promise to make, and even suggesting it shows—”

“I like it,” Teddy said.

Maggie blinked and then smiled, clearly thinking she’d won. “I’ll even—”

Teddy held up a hand again. “Stop. Remember the salesman’s creed. Once you get your yes, stop talking. You’ve made your point and caught my interest.” He lifted a brow at Will, who managed to stifle any hint of emotion. “I don’t know if what Maggie says is true or not, but as long as we’ve done business together, I’ve never known you to be unethical.” He grinned. “But I’ve also never seen you this agitated, and that makes me curious as hell. So I’m asking you to reconsider your advice. Make sure your motives are legit. I’ll abide by your decision, but I liked Maggie’s designs a lot, and I want her to have a fair shot at this. Will you agree?”

The moment stretched interminable and a few seconds beyond. Finally, Will made a sound full of disgust. “This is a foolish waste of time. I’ll admit it occurred to me that working with Maggie would be difficult given our history. But I advised you to go with Coastal for the right reasons. I don’t reach conclusions based on personal prejudices.”

Teddy laughed and gave him a smile that was wide and full of sly humor. “Son, take my word for it. Whatever happens in the bedroom always messes with what goes on in the brain.”