a betrayal to his brother than real assistance.
So now, at his leisure, Dade was free to suffer great guilt. He spent his days and nights eaten up with regret for plunging all his efforts and passions into building the company, rather than taking more personal care to curb his brother’s heedless behavior.
His masculine retreat of weathered wood, earth tones and simple furnishings held no peace for him. The wide-plank flooring was so solidly built, it made no revealing sounds as he paced.
“I should have made you come home, take a job with the firm,” Dade muttered, jerking a hand through his hair. “I should have made you be responsible for your actions.”
How could he have let his only family slip so negligently through his fingers? And how quickly, ruthlessly, it was done. On a rainy country road, Joel barreled drunkenly off a cliff to meet a fiery end. Such a tragic waste.
“I’m sorry, Joel.” Dade dropped wearily into a leather armchair. “I’m so sorry.”
In an ironic twist, Dade didn’t actually lose his entire family that night. Though he wouldn’t know it until half a year later—when Joel’s daughter was born.
He pictured the baby, napping downstairs, and frowned. The last thing Dade wanted was the responsibility of another man’s child, yet he couldn’t abandon little Christina. Taking her in was one more “fix” of Joel’s lamentable life, a huge one—a last one—but ultimately, Dade’s burden to bear.
His brother was gone, and it was obvious the striking blonde, in the hospital photograph, had no interest in the child. He had heard nothing from her. No demands for money or position. Over the past few months it had become clear that the woman had wanted nothing but to be rid of the child. To that end, she had schemed and plotted, devising exactly how best to force Dade into accountability, since he was the man she thought to be the father of her child.
Though she was wrong about his paternity, she was not wrong about his obligation.
His grief for all that had been lost was as bitter as his fury at himself. He had forfeited his self-absorbed independence with the shocking arrival of his brother’s child. Yet, it was no one’s fault but his own.
“I failed you, brother,” he muttered. His knuckles whitened as he clutched the chair arms. “In the name of all that’s holy, I will not fail your daughter.”
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
