Читать книгу A Father's Promise - Marta Perry - Страница 9

“Well? Get what you wanted?” Joe Phillips leaned on the registration desk in the ramshackle old house that was part home, part fishing lodge, his elderly face as weathered as the frame building. He’d come with the lodge when Daniel bought it and had long ago decided that fact gave him the right to know everything that Daniel did. He was the closest thing to family Daniel had, and it was good to have someone who was concerned about what happened to him and Sarah.

Daniel glanced at his daughter, watched as she put her doll to sleep in its cradle in the corner, apparently none the worse for her adventure.

“Not yet.” He took the glass of lemonade the other man held out to him. “But I will.”

Joe wrinkled his nose at that. “Don’t always get what we want. Not in this life.”

He stared down at the registration book, as if fascinated by the story it had to tell. Daniel knew what he was seeing only too well—there were eight rooms in the old lodge, but only three of them were occupied at the moment.

“I will this time.” Daniel drained the glass. The tangy liquid rinsed the salt taste from his lips. “I’ll get Leigh Christopher to watch Sarah, and we’ll get the construction finished. By the time the new bridge opens, we’ll be ready for the tourists.” He set down the glass and reached across the counter to straighten the bow tie Joe insisted on wearing when he worked. “We’re going to be rich, old man.” He glanced at Sarah. “Rich enough, anyway.”

Joe readjusted the tie to his satisfaction. “Don’t see how you can make the lady teach Sarah if she says no. Woman’s made up her mind. It’s like telling the tide not to come in.”

Daniel smiled, feeling confident for the first time in a long time. “This was meant to be.”

“Then why didn’t she say yes right away? Sounds like she knows her own mind.”

“Maybe I came on a little too strong today.” Daniel shrugged. “I’ll go over there tonight, apologize, ask her to help me out, just for a couple of days.”

Sarah was putting the doll to bed again, an endless repetition of the same action…patting it, snuggling it, loving it. He’d given up trying to figure out what it meant, but it broke his heart all the same.

“Once she’s been around Sarah for a couple of days, she’ll see how much Sarah needs her. She won’t be able to let her down.”

The way I did. The way Ashley did. The way everybody in her short life has done.

The only thing, the only person he or Sarah could rely on, was him. Not other people, not God. He should have learned that lesson by now.

He frowned out the window at the skeleton of the addition he was building to the inn. Sarah’s future. That was her security, and this time he wouldn’t let her down.

As for Leigh Christopher—something about that generous smile and tender touch told him she wanted to agree. So what was holding her back?

He puzzled at it, trying to imagine a scenario to explain the woman’s actions. Finally he shook his head.

It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter what her reason was, because he wouldn’t give up until she said yes.

“We’re home,” Leigh called. She shook out the sandy beach towels and spread them on the gray deck rail. Josh and Jamie’s cedar shingle house nestled under the live oaks at the edge of the salt marsh, and the deck overlooked its constant changes as the tide pushed up the creek into the marsh, then receded.

“Home and hungry, I’ll bet.” Jamie held the kitchen screen door wide, welcoming her children with hugs. She wrinkled her nose at Meggie’s salty, sandy bathing suit. “You two get out of your swimsuits and wash up. And don’t forget to rinse out those suits. Supper will be on the table in a little while.”

Of course it would. Leigh looked at her sister, her affection mixed with both awe and amusement. Jamie had worked a full day at her accounting business and she’d still managed to beat them home and have supper cooking when they came through the door. High achiever had always been Jamie’s middle name.

“We found a losted little girl,” Meggie informed her mother. “And she couldn’t hear, so I spelled my name like Aunt Leigh showed me.”

“Lost,” Mark corrected his little sister for the tenth or eleventh time. “She was lost and she was deaf. So Aunt Leigh talked to her and then she found her daddy. We helped.”

“And her daddy wanted Aunt Leigh to come work for him, but she wouldn’t.” Meggie turned that direct blue gaze on Leigh. “Why wouldn’t you, Aunt Leigh? You could bring her here and we’d play.”

“Because I have other plans, pumpkin.” Leigh gave her talkative niece a hug.

“But it would be fun,” Meggie protested.

Leigh ruffled her hair. “Didn’t I hear Mommy say something about getting washed up? Hurry, and maybe we’ll have time for a game.”

“Chutes and Ladders!” Meggie shouted. “I’ll get it.”

“Wash first,” Jamie said.

“We will, Mommy.” Mark raced Meggie down the hall.

Jamie turned to Leigh, her blue gaze just as direct and inquiring as Meggie’s. Only, she was a lot harder to deflect than Meggie. Leigh’s heart sank. Jamie would not understand this decision.

“Think I’ll take a shower before the game,” she murmured.

Jamie raised an eyebrow. “A deaf little girl. That must be Daniel Gregory’s child.”

“Now, how did you—That’s right, he said he knew you and Josh.” Leigh took a step toward the door, hoping to escape a discussion.

Jamie moved in front of her. “Come on, tell all.”

“It was nothing, Jamie.” Leigh suspected her sibling wouldn’t be convinced.

Jamie gave her a big-sisterly look. “Right. Now, tell it fast, before the monsters get back and drag you into that game you rashly promised.” She cast an affectionate glance toward the hall.

Leigh shrugged. Trying to evade her sister had always been worse than useless, whether she was playing tag or keeping a secret.

“You already heard it from the town criers. We found her, we restored her to her father, end of story.”

“Aren’t you leaving something out? How about the part where he asked you to work for him?”

“He’s looking for someone to take care of Sarah. I told him I wasn’t interested.”

Jamie gave Leigh her accountant look, as if Leigh were a doubtful number in a column of figures. “Not interested? Leigh, it’s a chance to work with a deaf child again. How could you not be interested?”

“I’m not going to do that any more, Jamie. Remember?”

Jamie’s mouth set stubbornly. “Well, it would certainly be a lot better than waitressing all summer while you look for a new job.”

“Jamie…” Familiar frustration welled in Leigh. She loved her sister dearly, but this disagreement was getting old. “Just leave it alone, okay?”

Her sister’s blue eyes looked as stubborn as Mark’s.

“I know it’s been difficult, but you’ve got to put it behind you.”

“I can’t.” The lump in Leigh’s throat was big enough to choke a horse.

“If you’d just try harder…”

Leigh shook her head. Jamie loved her, but she didn’t understand. “Please don’t bug me about this. I’m sorry for Daniel and Sarah, but I can’t get involved. I can’t do it.”

“So you’re going to throw away your training and go into some other field entirely.”

“Lots of people change jobs. It’s practically a national sport.”

“Not for someone like you. You have a precious, God-given gift. You can’t turn your back on it.”

A God-given gift. Was that really what Jamie thought her abilities with deaf children were? If so, it had turned into something closer to a curse.

“I have to do this my own way.” She tried to smile. “This time, big sister, you can’t make it all better, no matter how much you want to.”

Jamie studied her, looking as if she considered a whole series of arguments. But finally she nodded. She patted Leigh as if she were one of the children.

“All right. I won’t bug you about it any more now.”

Leigh started to turn away, but Jamie caught her hand.

“Just…pray about it, Leigh. Will you?”

Leigh closed her eyes briefly. Sometimes it seemed she’d prayed about nothing else in months.

“I will. I have.” She opened her eyes and smiled at her sister. “Now I’d better get showered. I have a shift at the restaurant tonight.”

Leigh took the narrow lane slowly as she came home from the restaurant. The island didn’t boast streetlights, and even longtime residents sometimes had trouble spotting their destinations in the dark, screened as they were by the lush, invasive vegetation. Live oaks lined the road, their veils of Spanish moss dancing in the soft Southern breeze, soothing her frazzled nerves.

No doubt about it; that encounter with Sarah had touched her heart. Too vulnerable for your own good. That was what her supervisor had said at their last meeting, and the words still stung. Yes, Sarah had found her vulnerable spot.

As for Daniel, the confrontation with him had raised a dragon she thought she’d already slain. Her decision had been made, she reminded herself. Daniel Gregory, with his proud eyes and his charming smile, couldn’t change that.

She pulled into the driveway, its layer of shells crunching under her tires. A strange vehicle sat next to Jamie’s elderly Toyota. She stared at the darkblue pickup for a moment, certainty pooling in her mind. Daniel Gregory had come. The man wouldn’t take no for an answer.

For a brief, cowardly moment she considered pulling right back out of the driveway. Then she got out, closed the car door and started toward the deck. Polite but firm; that was the line she had to take. Surely this time she could convince him that she meant what she said.

She crossed the deck and swung open the kitchen door on a homey scene. Josh, Jamie and Daniel sat around the scrubbed oak table, coffee mugs cradled in their hands. One of Jamie’s carrot cakes, half-demolished, sat between them. The three of them looked up as she came through the door, and for an instant they seemed allied against her.

Ridiculous. But the suspicion lingered, giving an edge to her smile.

“This looks cozy.” She let the screen door close behind her. “Mr. Gregory, I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”

“‘Daniel.’” He half rose, then sat down again, his chocolate eyes assessing her.

“Daniel just dropped by,” Jamie said, the words a little rushed. The faintest flush tinged her cheeks. “Would you like some cake?”

“I ate at the restaurant.”

Actually, she’d managed to choke down only half a greasy hamburger, but Jamie didn’t need to know that. It was clear her big sister had been meddling again, and Leigh wasn’t about to encourage her.

“At least have a cup of coffee with us,” Jamie pressed, shooting a sideways glance at Daniel.

Her sister wasn’t being very subtle. “No, thanks. It’ll keep me awake, and I’m beat.” She stifled a yawn. “In fact, I think I’ll go to bed.” If Jamie had invited Daniel Gregory here to change her mind, Jamie could entertain him herself.

“Leigh, don’t. I…” Jamie sputtered, glancing at her husband for help, but Josh appeared to be considering sliding under the table. Poor Josh. His fair skin blushed too easily.

“Don’t go.” Daniel’s quiet words dropped into the fray, sending out circles of silence around them. He gave her a slow smile that packed enough heat to raise the room temperature. “I want to talk to you.”

“If Jamie called you…” Leigh began, but the sentence faded away. This wasn’t a sisterly squabble anymore. This was between her and Daniel.

“It doesn’t matter. I was coming over anyway.” That mesmerizing look would stop a rampaging gator.

“Please, Leigh.” Jamie found her voice again. “I didn’t mean to interfere, but if you’ll just listen to Daniel…”

“She might if we gave her a chance.” Josh took Jamie firmly by the arm, urging her from the chair, and sent an apologetic glance toward Leigh. “Why don’t the two of you go out on the deck.” He piloted Jamie toward the living room. “You can have a little privacy there.”

Daniel waited until they were out of the room, then held the kitchen door for her. He lifted one dark eyebrow. “Please?”

Leigh knew when she’d been outmaneuvered. There was nothing for it now but to listen to what the man had to say. Then she could tell him no in the most sympathetic way possible. She nodded stiffly and walked past him onto the deck.

Daniel followed her, letting the screen door swing closed. It shut the two of them into the quiet dark together.

She half expected him to plunge into speech, but he didn’t. He crossed the deck, leaned his elbows on the railing and looked out across the salt marsh that stretched beyond the house to the tidal creek.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Unwillingly, she joined him, trying to frame the words she’d use to tell him no.

The nearly full moon sent pale light streaming across the patchwork of water, sand and grass. Impossible to tell where the dividing line was between solid ground and liquid mud. Sounds reached them, a rustle, a splash, the cry of some night creature. Leigh shivered.

“Beautiful and dangerous,” she murmured.

“Yes.” He turned toward her, and the light from the kitchen window struck his face. It showed her one side—strong bones, stubborn jaw, well-shaped mouth—and left the other in shadow. “Look, I…there’s something I want to say to you.”

Leigh braced herself for the demand she knew was coming. She couldn’t…couldn’t…say yes.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “And thank you.”

She blinked. “What?” Where was the offer she’d steeled herself to turn down?

“Thank you,” he said again. His smile flashed, setting her skin tingling. The man’s smile should come with a warning label. “For finding Sarah today, for being so good with her when she must have been scared to death. Thank you, Leigh.”

The quiet words seemed to resonate, to carry more meaning than they should.

“It was…I mean, anyone would have done the same.”

His jaw tightened. “I wasn’t there for her. You were.”

Now the pain beneath the words slid into view, like a creature surfacing in the marsh, and she didn’t know how to respond. She suspected he wasn’t a man who let his private pain be seen easily.

“We can’t always be there for the people we love.” Her mind flashed uneasily to Tommy, to her own failure, then shied away. “No matter how much we want to.”

“No matter how much.” He repeated her words. The shadows of the salt marsh moved fitfully as a cloud crossed the moon. “I guess that’s my only excuse for putting you on the spot this afternoon. Pushing you to help with Sarah in front of your niece and nephew. I shouldn’t have done that.”

She could smile at it now. “They were pretty tough to get away from. It’s okay.”

“Now I’ve done it again.” He gestured toward the house, his expression rueful. “Involved your family. I didn’t mean to.”

“I’m sure you didn’t. Jamie called you, didn’t she?” A small flame of anger warmed the words.

“Don’t blame her.” His lips twitched slightly. “Elder sisters and brothers are what they are. Believe me, I know.”

“You have one?”

“I was one. The eldest, I mean.”

Something darkened in his eyes at that, and she sensed inquires about his family wouldn’t be welcome.

“I was coming to see you. Her call didn’t change anything.”

She wanted to argue, to say that Jamie had no right butting into her affairs, but that would probably make her sound about ten years old.

When she didn’t respond he turned back to the rail, where he leaned on his elbows. She seemed to have little choice but to do the same.

For a few moments they stood in silence, looking out at the moonlit marsh. Maybe he was concentrating on the view. She was too aware of the lean strength of his arm brushing hers, of the warmth that radiated from him.

“So,” he said finally, interrupting a chorus of frogs, “you like your job?”

The smell of grease from her clothes and hair made it impossible to say anything but the truth. “Not especially. But it’s only temporary. So I have some money coming in while I look for something else.”

She was digging herself into a hole. She waited for him to ask why she was looking for a job and wondered what she’d say when he did. But he didn’t.

“Guess that’s kind of where I am, too. Caught in a situation I don’t like.”

She glanced at him, but the strong lines of his face didn’t give anything away. “You mean Sarah?”

He braced both hands against the rail. “I don’t regret anything about having my daughter.”

“No, I didn’t mean…”

“It’s this way.” He turned toward her with sudden energy, as if he’d made a decision. “You know about the new bridge they’re building?”

The abrupt change of subject left her floundering. “Bridge?”

“Bridge from Athena Island,” he said, naming the vacation mecca from which ferries ran to tiny St. Joseph’s. “They’ve talked about building one for years, but now it’s really going to happen. When it does, I have to be ready for it.”

“Ready?” She felt like a parrot.

“I own beachfront property,” he said, a hint of impatience in his voice. “Right now I just have a lodge—rent a few rooms to fishermen, the occasional tourist.”

“But when the bridge is built…” She was finally beginning to catch up.

“The bridge will bring tourists, and tourists want beachfront rooms. That’s what I’m doing. Building an addition that will double the number of rooms I have.”

Somehow that was the last thing she’d expected. She’d assumed, if she’d thought about it at all, that Daniel was probably a fisherman, like Josh. He had a rugged look she associated with working outdoors.

“So,” she said, trying to adjust her image of him, “you’re going to be the Donald Trump of St. Joseph’s Island.”

“Nothing like that.” He made an impatient gesture. “Just a small place. But enough to provide for Sarah. That’s why I’m doing it. I have to provide for Sarah, and that takes money.”

She remembered his words on the beach. “You want the money to send Sarah to school.”

“I need the money.” He leaned toward her, turning the full force of his personality on her. It was like standing in a hurricane. “I’m all Sarah’s got, and I will provide for her. That’s why I need you.”

She couldn’t turn away from the passion in his voice. “I…”

“I’m doing most of the work myself.” He swept on, not giving her a chance to respond. “Only way I can afford to do it. That means I work all day, every day. I have to have someone I trust to take care of Sarah.”

“What makes you think you can trust me? You don’t even know me!” No, it wasn’t a hurricane she felt; it was an undertow. And it was pulling her under no matter how she struggled.

“I saw you with Sarah.”

He stopped, as if that were all he needed to say. This strong, self-reliant, proud man stood looking at her with…not a demand. She could have handled a demand. A plea. He wanted—needed—her help, and he wasn’t a person who asked for help easily. The pressure that had been building from the moment she walked into the kitchen broke over her.

She had to answer him, had to say something. Despairing, she knew what it was.

“I’ll help.” She held up her hand before he could say anything. “I’ll help out, but only for a few days. Just until you can find someone reliable.” What was she letting herself in for? “I mean it…just a few days, no longer.”

Daniel clasped both her hands in his, and his warmth set her skin sizzling.

“You won’t regret it, Leigh. I promise.”

She already regretted it, but there was no point in telling him that. “I’ll be there first thing in the morning. Josh can tell me how to find you.”

“Right.” His fingers tightened around hers, then he released her. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

He turned away quickly, as if afraid to press his luck. “In the morning, then.”

In a moment he was in his truck and backing out the drive, leaving Leigh wondering just what kind of idiot she was.

You were going to tell him no, she reminded herself. You weren’t going to get involved. A moment of panic swept over her. How was she going to bear it? To get to know Sarah, to be teaching again, even for a few days—it would hurt so much to give it up.

Just a few days. Daniel couldn’t talk her into doing more, though he’d proved to be a master at getting what he wanted. He’d disarmed her with his apology, drawn her into his dreams for Sarah, put her in a position from which she couldn’t say no.

He was an impossible man to say no to. He was the last man in the world she had any right being attracted to. That had to stop.

A few days, that was all. A breeze whispered over the marsh, bending the grasses, lifting the hair on her arms. She shivered. If Daniel thought she’d change her mind, he’d underestimated her. Daniel and Sarah were going to be a minor detour in the course she’d laid out for herself; that was all.