Читать книгу Special Deliveries Collection - Kate Hardy - Страница 60

Maggie sat at her desk working on some bills for the furniture store while Amber did her homework at the kitchen table. Brady had brought in his laptop and sat next to Amber. Two minutes later, he’d answered a call on his cell phone and wandered out to the front porch.

“Alex Conrad puked in the hallway today. It was so gross.” Amber tipped back in her chair to look around the door frame at Maggie.

“That sounds unpleasant. All four on the floor.” Referring to the chair legs. Maggie looked at her watch again. Brady had been outside for the past thirty minutes. She’d begun to like the guy yesterday. He’d been attentive and helpful in the airport and the car ride to Tawnee Valley. He’d focused on Amber, answering her nonstop questions like a pro. Just when she thought he was going to give it a real go and leave the workaholic in New York, the New York Brady had shown up at her door jonesing for an internet connection.

She’d wanted to ask how it went with Sam, but he hadn’t spared her more than a couple of sentences since he’d arrived.

“There were chunks—”

“That’s enough, Amber Marie. Get back to your homework.” Maggie finished the last check and started putting things away. “Maybe after homework and dinner, we can go get some ice cream.”

“Yay!” Amber bent her head over the page of math problems.

Maggie carried the stamped envelopes out the front door. Brady stood on the far end of the porch, gesturing while he spoke intensely on the phone.

She walked to the mailbox and dropped the bills in. At least he was passionate about his work. What would it be like if he were that passionate about Amber? Would he even give a second thought to the phone when it rang? Would it have been better if Maggie had left it alone? If he’d never found out about Amber? It’s not as if he would visit Sam and accidentally run into Amber and her. Besides, half the town thought Amber was Sam’s. The other half thought she was Luke’s.

“Don’t let Peterson take over, Jules.” Brady turned, and Maggie could feel his frustration like a heat wave. “We’ve worked too hard to let him step in and take the credit.”

Maggie perched on the porch railing and crossed her arms, waiting for him to be finished with his conversation. She had a thing or two to talk to him about.

“Tell him no.” Brady lifted his gaze.

Her body buzzed with energy as he met her eyes. Irritating attraction. It kept popping up when all she wanted to be was mad. He held up one finger to indicate one minute. She resisted the urge to hold up a different finger with a very different meaning.

“Fine. Tell him we’re dating and that’s the reason you guys can’t go out.”

Maggie’s heart sank like a lead balloon crashing into her gut. Dating? It made sense. The Brady she’d known had rarely been without a girlfriend in school. He was smart, sexy and a good guy. She never would have guessed the Brady she’d known would be a cheater, but New York Brady was someone entirely different. If she hadn’t stopped them, they would have had sex in New York. Thank goodness she’d come to her senses. He’d changed, and she had to remember that.

A different rant was forming in her head, but he wasn’t here for Maggie. He was here for Amber. And right now, he was sucking at it.

“It’ll be okay. Run the preliminary numbers again and cross-reference the new numbers. Email me the spreadsheet and I’ll see what I can do.”

Maggie shored up her defensive wall as she prepared to launch her attack. The bubble of heat welling within had nothing to do with the fact that he was a two-timing—She stopped her thoughts and drew in a breath. For Amber.

Brady hit a button on his phone and walked toward her.

When he stopped within touching distance, he looked worried. “Is something wrong?”

“Yes.” She swallowed the hurt of finding out he was dating someone as hoity-toity as he was, and the fact her crush on him wasn’t affected by that fact. Mother first. “Amber is expecting you to pay attention to her. I’m expecting you to put away the phone for the few hours you get to spend with her.”

The worry fell off Brady’s face. A little anger crept into its place. “This isn’t exactly a cakewalk for me. I didn’t ask for any of this and it isn’t the best time to be away from the office. I have people relying on me.”

Like Jules? The words pressed on her tongue to get out, but she clamped her lips shut.

“I promised I would get to know Amber, and I will.” The muscle in his jaw ticked.

“Fine, but no more phone calls. You have all day to take them—you don’t need to take them here.” She kept her head up and ignored the heat his body stirred in her.

“I can’t control when other people need to consult with me.” He took a step forward. “That was part of the deal, too. I need to work while I’m here.”

“While in Tawnee Valley, yes, but while at my house with my daughter, no.” Maggie’s heart stuttered against her chest. She hadn’t spent the past eight years being brave to crumple under pressure now. She pulled her shoulders back and met his gaze with an uncompromising one.

Eight years ago she would have backed down. So in love with the idea of Brady Ward that she would have done anything he asked of her. But that girl had grown up and could face down anything and anybody. Having a baby out of wedlock wasn’t as big a deal now, but with a small town, it hadn’t been a cakewalk, as Brady put it.

She could almost feel the battle that waged between them. Will against will. She had the advantage. She had the power to stop him from seeing their daughter. His jaw was tight and he looked as if he was about to say something they might both regret.

She tipped her chin up another notch. “Promises or not. She is my daughter.”

“She is our daughter.” He straightened more, towering over her and inside she crumpled a little, but on the outside she remained a rock. “If I have to get a court-ordered DNA sample, I will. But since you don’t deny that she is mine, it shouldn’t come to that. As long as you don’t make unreasonable demands of me, I won’t make unreasonable demands of you.”

She bristled. “I didn’t have to tell you about her.”

“But you did.” They stood close enough to touch, but neither of them moved an inch. Neither willing to retreat. She wouldn’t give on this one. “If you want to work, stay at the farm.”

“Fine.” The soft-spoken word caught her off guard.

“What?” Was Brady Ward giving in to her demands? Her confusion made her anger dissipate.

“I’m not going to fight you on this.” Brady reached out and took her hand. His whole demeanor changed. The hard businessman shut down and the country boy reemerged. The charmer she’d been half in love with. “I’m here for a short time. If I can’t be here one hundred percent for Amber, I’ll stay out at the farm. Just don’t lose faith in me yet.”

Her pulse raced as he lightly held her hand in his. She hadn’t won the war, but she’d won this battle. Giddiness filled her. The warmth of his touch caused her breathing to become uneven. The steel look had left his blue eyes until they became warm and she felt herself softening. Swaying ever so much closer.

He has a girlfriend! Her mind had to shout to remind her. Reluctantly, she took her hand back, resisting the urge to rub the tingles away. Just another reason to keep her distance. It would help her remember that Brady was here only for Amber.

She nodded, not trusting her voice. Fortunately, Amber came rushing out the door at that moment, keeping both of them from making a fool out of her.

As they stood in line at the ice cream shop after dinner, Brady couldn’t understand why Maggie was still angry. Amber had kept up the conversation during dinner, but Maggie had been visibly upset. When Amber had asked Maggie if she was okay, Maggie had claimed to have a headache. But she’d given him a glance that made him believe he was the headache.

He had business to do. It wasn’t as if he could take off two weeks and not do his work, regardless of what his boss thought. And with the limitations of the internet out at the farm, he could only do so much there. But she didn’t seem to understand that.

Besides, Amber had been busy with homework. It wasn’t as though she needed his constant attention. Did Maggie expect him to help Amber with her homework? Because from what he’d seen so far, she didn’t need it.

“I want the mint chocolate chip in a waffle cone with chocolate sprinkles and chocolate sauce.” Amber bubbled over with excitement as she pointed her fingers against the cold glass.

“Keep your hands off the glass, please.” Maggie avoided looking at Brady.

If that’s the way she wanted it, fine with him. He would figure out how to bridge this gap between them eventually. Her eyes had softened after he’d given in and her lips had parted slightly. Temptation in the flesh. And then she’d gone cold and rigid. Obviously, even if she desired him, she didn’t want to. Maybe he was reading her wrong. But he hadn’t read her wrong in New York. She’d been as into him as he’d been into her. He mentally shook his head as he pulled out a twenty and handed it to the cashier before Maggie had a chance to dig in her purse.

That got a glare out of her, but he just smiled.

Right now he had to focus on getting to know Amber in the time he had left. As much as he desired Maggie, she needed someone who would be there for her. He wasn’t ready for a full-time family.

An elderly man in ripped khakis and a plaid shirt sidled up next to Brady. “You know it’s rude to not say hello to your elders.”

Brady looked over and recognized Paul Morgan, a friend of his dad’s. “When I see an elder, I’ll be sure to say hi.”

Paul took Brady’s offered hand in a hearty handshake. Paul chuckled and gestured toward Amber and Maggie getting the ice cream they’d chosen.

“Good family you got there.”

Brady hesitated. He almost said they’re not mine, but that wasn’t exactly true. Amber was his daughter, but Maggie wasn’t his wife or his in any way. And at the rate they were going, they wouldn’t even be friends by the end of the week.

Brady nodded, not knowing what else to do.

“You been over to see Sam?” Paul asked.

Brady looked at his feet before returning Paul’s gaze. How much did he know about the blowup between the brothers? “I’m staying out at the old farm.”

“Good that you two let bygones go. Sam’s done a great job tending the farm. His livestock is the best in the county. And the way he took over raising you and Luke, that shows real courage. Shame your parents aren’t around to see how well you boys grew up.”

Even as the familiar burn of jealousy engulfed him from all the praise for Sam, Brady couldn’t help but think of how disappointed his parents would be that he and his brothers weren’t close like when they were young. His mother had always mended the fences between him and Sam when they fought, but she wasn’t here now. Brady wasn’t sure their relationship could be mended after what Sam did to Maggie.

“Looks like I should get back to…” Brady gestured to Maggie and Amber, not knowing what to call them. “It was good seeing you.”

“You should stop for a visit while you’re in town,” Paul said.

Brady shook Paul’s hand before heading over to the table Maggie and Amber had found.

Paul had a neighboring farm to the Wards’. Brady hadn’t even asked how Paul’s wife was doing. Or his farm or crops. Mom would have scolded him for not showing common courtesy.

“Don’t you want ice cream?” Amber’s nose was coated with a skim layer of green ice cream. She looked at him with those adoring eyes and he melted inside. He did have one thing Sam didn’t.

He patted his stomach as he sat. “I’m stuffed from that dinner your mom prepared. She must be the best cook in the tri-county area.”

He glanced over at Maggie, but she didn’t seem amused by his declaration.

He missed her smiles. And their absence made him try even harder to get one. Apparently, it was going to take more than complimenting her cooking.

“How was school today?” Brady asked.

“Alex puked all over the hallway. It was disgusting.” Amber drew out the last word and made the requisite face to go along with it.

“That’s what you remember from school?” Brady shook his head and tried to keep a straight face. He’d been expecting something about the math homework she’d had or the spelling test she’d mentioned earlier. Not some kid puking in the hall.

She took a bite of her cone. “It was the most exciting thing that happened all day. It almost splattered all over Jessica and Maddy. Everyone jumped out of the way while the janitor went and got kitty litter.”

Brady smiled. “I suppose that would be exciting.”

Amber continued to eat her green ice cream as if they’d been discussing art rather than vomit. From what Brady remembered of grade school, it probably would have been the highlight of his day, too.

He turned to Maggie to see how she was reacting. “How was your day today?”

Maybe she would answer a direct question.

“Fine.” Maggie kept her gaze out the window past him.

“Anyone puke?” Brady winked at Amber, who giggled.

“Nope.”

Nothing. He sighed internally. As he scanned the ice cream shop, people had a familiar look about them. But he’d been away for so long, he couldn’t tell who they were.

He’d almost forgotten what it was like to be in a small town. To be recognized by who your parents were, where you’d gone to school and even whose pigtail you’d pulled when you were seven, and not by what you’d accomplished since then.

The other people in the ice cream store pretended not to be looking at them, but Brady wasn’t fooled. They knew he was Brady Ward and he was with Maggie Brown and her daughter. If people hadn’t put two and two together before, their being together would leave little doubt.

It bothered him that people would see that Maggie wasn’t talking to him.

But it bothered him more that Maggie wouldn’t meet his eyes. he didn’t like that she wouldn’t talk to him, except for in clipped words. And he didn’t like the pressed thinness of her lush lips.

“Maggie?” he said.

She faced him with a questioning look in her eyes. None of the spunk that had drawn him to her years ago reflected in them.

What could he say to make her happy? To bring back that little smile she’d give him when he said just the right thing.

“I might be late tomorrow.” Dumb, dumb man. That wasn’t what he’d meant to say, but darn it all, he wasn’t used to being around women in a nonwork environment. He wasn’t used to someone counting on him outside of work projects.

Her eyes grew frostier, and she nodded briskly. He flinched internally.

“Amber, you need to go wash.” She went back to ignoring him as Amber raced off to the bathroom.

Maybe over the years, he’d let his work consume him until work was all he had. There wasn’t a separation between the relaxed him and the work him. It was how he protected himself. He couldn’t let that go for a couple of weeks to “hang out.” He needed to work, it had kept away the pain that he’d felt when his mother had passed so soon after his father. The anger and rage that had engulfed him; that had forced his hand and made him flee not a hundred miles away, but across an ocean.

In London, no one had asked him about his parents. No one had offered sympathy for his loss, because they hadn’t known. Here, it was in their eyes and words, even if they never said it out loud.

As they walked home in the ebbing twilight, Amber rambled on about this and that. Brady couldn’t get out of his head. It didn’t help that Maggie continued her silent treatment. The street was lined with trees and though he hadn’t walked this particular street much as a kid, it was familiar. Like every other street in Tawnee Valley. The past seemed to press in on him and force his hand in the present. He had nothing to give to anyone. What made him think Amber even wanted him for a father?

He had run away from the responsibility of being part of a family. He had run out on Sam and Luke—his own brothers. Even though Sam had been controlling, he could have used some guidance.

As they reached the porch steps, Amber spun around. “Do you want to see the scrapbook Nana and I put together?”

“Sure.” Brady didn’t know if Maggie wanted him to hang around any later, but he didn’t want to leave. He wanted to be part of this family, part of whatever they were creating here. Tonight he didn’t want to run.

Amber bounded into the house. The screen door slammed behind her. Maggie climbed a couple of steps before stopping. Brady barely kept himself from running into her.

“I need to know if you are in this.” Maggie didn’t turn to meet his gaze. The light from inside the house lit her profile, but he couldn’t make out her expression.

“I wouldn’t have come all this way if I weren’t.” He wasn’t sure what she was referring to, but he could only assume this was a continuation of their earlier argument about work.

“Either you tell Amber you are her father or you don’t, but I need to know what you are going to do. I can’t keep lying to her.” Finally, she turned to face him. On the steps she was the same height as him. In her eyes was the fierce protectiveness of a mother trying to keep her child from harm.

“I’ve done a lot of things since I left Tawnee Valley.” Brady cleared his throat. “I’ve made a lot of deals and created thousands of jobs.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and looked down her nose at him. Not impressed with his resume.

“But…” What could he say to convince her? Years of negotiating multimillion-dollar deals failed him.

“But what, Brady?”

He searched her eyes, trying to figure out what technique would work. Trying to assess the risks versus the rewards of each scenario, but this wasn’t work. This was a little girl. His little girl.

“I’m good at what I do, but—” he shrugged and gave up trying to hide “—I suck at the emotional stuff.”

Her face softened slightly, but her body remained tense.

He took a deep breath as if he were about to jump into a pool. “I don’t know how to be a daddy.”

She dropped her arms. “She needs to know you care about her. No one’s asking you to be her daddy.”

“But I want to be.”

“You do?” Skepticism lingered in her expression.

He closed the distance between them. “I’ve missed so much already. I don’t want to miss any more. Amber is an amazing kid.” He paused. “Our kid.”

“I haven’t made my mind up about you yet.”

He could tell that he was winning here. Even as he felt more exposed than he had ever felt. “What if she doesn’t like me? What if her fantasy of her dad is built up so high in her mind that only Superman could fulfill her dreams?”

Maggie’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “All a little girl wants from her father is for him to be there for her.”

“Was your father there for you?” he asked, pushing gently for more information. There was something there. He’d sensed it before.

She shook her head, and a tear escaped down her cheek.

He smoothed it away with his thumb. “I’ll do my best to not disappoint either of you.”

That small smile crept onto her lips and he wanted to shout his victory. Her smooth skin beneath his thumb sent electricity down his spine. His body tensed at the sudden flood of desire pumping through his veins.

“I know you won’t.” She placed her hand over his on her cheek.

Trust. Had he ever known anyone quite like Maggie Brown? From a starry-eyed girl to a sultry teenager to this glorious woman standing before him, Maggie would never cease to amaze him.

He kissed her. He’d only meant to kiss her briefly. He wasn’t even sure why. He wanted to, so he did. He could taste the vanilla ice cream. Her lips were incredibly soft beneath his. His only thought was he didn’t want to stop kissing her.