Читать книгу Special Deliveries Collection - Kate Hardy - Страница 59

Maggie washed the pizza dishes while Brady told Amber an English story with princes and princesses. He had looked anxiously at Maggie—for approval or strength, she wasn’t sure—but she’d smiled softly and nodded. He must have found what he needed as he started a tale of jousting.

This was everything she’d always hoped for in a reunion with her father, but she knew it wouldn’t have been the same. Her father had left her. He’d known about her from the beginning and one day got sick of being someone’s daddy. Maybe Brady would get sick of it, too, and she’d be left with a broken-hearted daughter. Maybe it was better to not tell Amber who he was. Let her think he was some stranger from Maggie’s past who happened into their lives.

“Are you doing okay?” Penny asked from the doorway.

“Yeah.” Maggie swiped at a strand of hair. “It’s weird, right? Brady being here? With her?”

Maggie couldn’t help the anxiety cascading through her system. She didn’t know whether to be happy or sad or worried that Amber had finally met her father.

“You didn’t tell me what happened in New York.” Penny grabbed a towel and began to dry the dishes.

“There isn’t anything to tell. He worked. I waited.” Except that one night when we almost wound up in his bed. Her knees went a little loose thinking about his lips on her neck.

“I don’t believe you, but I’ll let it go.” Penny took the next dish. “Is he staying here?”

“No, he’s staying with Sam.” Maggie glanced over her shoulder toward the living room where she could hear Amber laughing. “This is good.”

“I sure hope so. Do you want me to stick around?” Penny made comically shifty eyes toward the door. She’d been at Maggie’s house for a few days and probably had plans.

“No, we’ll be fine. It’s almost Amber’s bedtime. Brady has to get out to the farm.”

“Good, because I have a hot date.” Penny grinned and slipped on her jacket.

“I don’t think that your DVR counts as a date.”

“You haven’t seen Supernatural. Call me later.” Penny kissed Maggie on the cheek. “If he does anything wrong, you tell me and I’ll take care of him.”

“I’m sure you will.” Maggie dried her hands. She could handle Brady in Tawnee Valley.

After Penny left, Maggie finished cleaning before walking toward the voices in her living room. She leaned against the doorjamb, suddenly exhausted.

“Dragons roamed the streets, but Lady Jane was more than a match for them.” Brady’s voice had taken on a slight accent as he told the English story.

They sat facing each other, lost in their own little world. The same dark hair, the same blue eyes, the same slope of their noses. It would take a fool to realize they weren’t father and daughter. Amber leaned forward, straining to listen to every word that came out of Brady’s mouth.

Maggie remembered that feeling all too well. Even though he barely knew her in high school, she’d had the biggest crush on him. She’d spent hours doodling her name with his on her folders. It had been a silly, girlish crush.

When he’d left for college, she’d finally let herself believe it wasn’t going to happen. He wasn’t going to one day see her as anything more than a classmate of his brother’s. She’d moved on to Josh. They were together until the end of high school, but it became clear they were going in separate directions and were better friends than lovers. And graduation…a hot summer night spent tangled in Brady’s sheets, sheltered by his arms. No expectations. No regrets.

“There are no dragons in England nowadays. But the roads aren’t much better.” Brady looked up and caught her watching them. His eyes sparkled with happiness. Her heart stuttered. What she wouldn’t have given back then to have him look at her like this.

She held her breath. Surely he could hear the rapid beat of her heart from over there.

“Mommy, Brady says that the English call rain boots wellies. Isn’t that funny?” Amber’s blue eyes were filled with wonder and joy.

Watching the two of them together, Maggie didn’t regret bringing Brady into her home. Whether or not she’d regret it in two weeks, she had no way of knowing. After all, Brady hadn’t come clean about being Amber’s father. She needed to ask him about that. “It’s about time for bed. Why don’t you thank Brady for the stories and go shower?”

“Thank you,” Amber said dutifully. “Are you coming back?”

“Of course. I’ll be here for a couple of weeks.” Brady kept his attention focused on Amber.

Maggie exhaled. She’d known he was going to stay, but maybe he didn’t want to be with them every day. She couldn’t expect him to, especially with work, but it had been part of their bargain that she give him a chance. Well, that couldn’t happen if he wasn’t around.

“You should stay with us. You could use Nana’s room. Mommy cleaned it real nice and changed it into a guest bedroom. My nana went to heaven. She won’t mind.” Amber’s expressions changed rapidly during her speech. She hadn’t learned how to hide her emotions. With everything she’d been through, Maggie was grateful Amber hadn’t grown up too fast.

Brady’s mouth dropped open as if he wasn’t sure what to say. “I’m going to stay with my brother for now.”

“Okay.” Amber raced over and hugged him around the waist. His hands went out to the side and he gave Maggie a look that said, “What do I do?” Before he could do anything, it was over.

Maggie smiled and got her own tackle hug before Amber raced upstairs, yelling over her shoulder, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Brady.”

Brady sank into the chair and rubbed his face.

“How are you holding up?” Maggie stayed where she was in the doorway. Afraid that if she got too much closer she’d want to touch him, and touching him might lead to things best not explored. Her fingers tingled. She knew exactly how tight his muscles were. As well-defined as his younger self.

“Tired.” Brady laced his fingers together and hung his head. “This is going to be exhausting.”

“She’s usually not this wound up.” Maggie stepped toward him, wanting to reassure him without scaring him off.

“It’s not Amber.” He lifted his gaze to hers.

For a moment she thought he was going to say it was her. That she was making him exhausted.

“It’s this town.” She let out a sigh of relief.

He pushed himself to his feet and stalked over to the window. “I’d forgotten how soul crushing it is. It wasn’t just my parents’ deaths that made me want to run, but people like Penny. Everyone thought they were involved in everyone else’s business.”

Maggie bristled. “It’s a community. We care for each other. Penny is protective of Amber and there isn’t anything wrong with that. She was there for us.”

“It’s good to have someone look out for you, but this place is like a virus. Everything spreads quickly and not a thing can stop it.” Brady turned back to her, and she could see the anger in his eyes.

“It’s a good thing you don’t have to live here.” Maggie crossed her arms as her spine stiffened. “What time are you coming over tomorrow?”

“I don’t mean you or Amber.” His tone softened. “I just…”

“You don’t want to be in Tawnee Valley. Completely understandable after you’ve spent the past eight years alone over in England.” Damn him for making her care about him even an inch.

“I kept busy and kept my nose out of other people’s business.” Brady walked over to her until they were close enough to touch. “I don’t need to be watched like a hawk or told when I’m out of line by anyone but you, Maggie. Amber is your responsibility and I won’t begrudge that, but she’s not this town’s child and they have no say in what we do.”

Her anger softened a little with his words. With him this close, it was like standing next to a live wire. She wanted to grab his shirt and kiss him. Finish what they’d started a few days ago. She breathed deeply and ended up filling her lungs with the scent of him—sandalwood and that underlying scent that was uniquely Brady.

He stepped closer, almost hesitantly, as if to give her the chance to push him away. The angry words faded into the background, just noise that hadn’t mattered. Eight years dropped away in an instant and she felt eighteen again, at a crossroads that didn’t have a good ending, no matter which way she looked. Her mother’s diagnosis had meant staying home and helping her. There had been no other family to turn to, and they couldn’t have afforded a nurse with the level of treatment her mother had needed.

For one night, she had wanted to feel free, uncaged. She’d wanted Brady. They had gone upstairs to his room with no backward glances. Every touch had been torture and pleasure, both of them knowing that when the morning came, it would be time to return to their lives as if nothing had happened between them.

“Maggie?” Her name tumbled from his lips and he leaned toward her, daring her to close the last bit of distance like she had in New York.

Her body swayed toward him as if it couldn’t resist his pull.

“Mommy, I forgot a towel,” Amber yelled over the noise of the shower.

Maggie tried to find something more in Brady’s eyes, but the shutters fell and he stepped back.

“I’ll be right up.” Maggie didn’t move. They weren’t kids anymore. Both had responsibilities elsewhere, and their paths were only joined by one thing—Amber. That’s all they had between them.

Brady cleared his throat. “What time does school let out?”

“Three.” Maggie was glad the word came out without being breathless.

“Tell Amber good-night for me.” He brushed past her and headed to the front door.

She sighed and let out a little shiver before turning to go upstairs.

“Good night, Maggie,” he said softly as the door shut.

Brady stood on the front porch of his childhood home. A whole host of memories had swarmed in to greet him. From toddler to teenager, he’d spent many days on this porch, dreaming of a future far away. He’d loved his parents and wanted to make them proud, but farming had never been his passion.

He’d made sure to be the best at anything he tried. To be better at school and sports than his two brothers. It hadn’t mattered. Sam was his father’s favorite and Luke had been their mother’s favorite. Not that Brady had been neglected. He’d been loved. He’d just been different. Never quite fit in.

As he was getting ready to knock, the door swung open.

“Brady.” Sam moved out of the way to let him through.

So many emotions played through Brady’s mind. Guilt, hurt, past resentment. Nothing compared to the anger for keeping Brady’s daughter a secret.

“Sam.” Brady rolled his suitcase into the dining room and shrugged off his laptop bag. Nothing had changed in the house. Sam had kept it exactly as Mom had left it. Everything had aged, though. What was once a cream-colored paint had yellowed. From here he could see that the kitchen vinyl was worn from years of boots treading across its surface. The place was clean but far from spotless.

“I made up your bed.” Sam moved farther into the house, going through the doorway that led to the kitchen.

Brady closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was as if he had only been gone for the school year and not eight years. He should have decked Sam when he answered the door, but nothing would come from a confrontation. Sam wasn’t going to change.

From the kitchen came the sounds of a chair rubbing against the floor and a newspaper rustling. If Brady weren’t emotionally drained from meeting Amber and dealing with Maggie, he might have gone in there and started in on Sam for his lies. Instead, Brady lifted his suitcase and climbed the stairs to his old room. The doorknob was still loose in the casing and made a metallic rattle when he opened it.

Exactly as he left it with the exception of the quilt. Brady had taken the quilt his mother had made for him when he left. Even though he’d felt compelled to leave everything behind and start a new life, he couldn’t let go of such a simple thing as a blanket.

The double bed barely fit in the small room and left little room for the dresser. When he was fourteen, Mom had found the old bed frame at an auction.

As always, if Mom had wanted something done, the three of them would move heaven and earth for her. They’d managed to get the bed up the narrow stairs with a few bruises and a lot of cussing. Brady ran his hand over the smooth wood footboard. Now he barely spoke to his brothers. Luke kept in touch when he could. He had always been the mediator between Brady and Sam. But their lives were all so different and without Mom and Dad to draw them together…

Pushing the thoughts from his head, he quickly unpacked his suitcase and tucked it away under the bed. He hadn’t worked at all today but since it was Sunday, it probably didn’t matter.

He would have to find somewhere else to work. Sam had to have a computer hidden somewhere in this house, which meant there might be a decent desk and chair for him to work on.

Shouldering his laptop bag, Brady made his way downstairs. Anywhere he went in town, he would run into people from his past and his parents’ past. Interruptions would eat into his work time.

He walked through the farmhouse, trying to ignore the memories floating on the edge of his mind and to concentrate on finding somewhere to work. The main difference in the living room was the fancy flat-screen TV and stereo components. Gone was the old tube TV console and rabbit ears. Their father had always complained that if you had time to sit, you had time to work. There were always chores to be done.

Obviously, Sam didn’t feel the same way.

The little room had a meager office with an old dial-up modem hooked to the modern computer. Brady wondered if he could even get a signal for his wireless router this far down in the valley.

The metal folding chair and particle-board desk wouldn’t be ideal for working long hours. Back in the dining room, Brady set his laptop on the table and stretched out his shoulders. He could hear the rustle of a newspaper from the kitchen.

If he told Sam off for keeping Amber from him, what good would it do? Sam had never listened to anyone but their father. In his mind, Sam had probably justified it with some bullshit he’d decided on when Brady had left.

No. Sam was one demon Brady wasn’t ready to face yet. And given the silence from the kitchen, Sam wasn’t ready, either. Maybe they never would be. Two weeks and Brady would be gone again. Nothing was going to change that. And nothing would change between them.