anger inside. He brought a puppy to her house. He chose work over Amber, but he thought he could buy them with a puppy. Footsteps stomped up the porch and the screen door banged.
“Maggie?” Brady called out with a tinge of worry in his voice.
“Mommy.” Amber’s voice was shaky and tear-filled.
Maggie had heard that tone enough to know Amber was hurt. Grabbing a kitchen towel, she dried her hands as she rushed to the entryway.
Brady stood there, cradling Amber to his chest. In one hand was the puppy’s leash and in the other, his blasted cell phone. She glared at him for a split second before checking over Amber. Scraped hands and knees.
“All right, let’s take this circus act to the bathroom,” Maggie said calmly. Her stomach wouldn’t settle until she had a chance to make sure nothing was broken, but being hysterical wouldn’t help anyone.
She reached into the medicine cabinet and got out the cleanser and antibacterial cream along with the Band-Aids. The bathroom was small on a normal day but with Brady holding Amber and a rambunctious puppy bounding all around, her nerves were on end.
“Put her down on the toilet.”
“She’s going to be fine. I had all sorts of cuts and scrapes growing up.” Brady sounded as if he was trying to reassure himself more than anyone else.
Maggie handed him paper towels. “Wet these. We need to clean the wound to see what type of damage has been done.”
“Of course.” Taking the paper towels, he went to the sink. He seemed startled to find the phone in his hand. Setting it on the edge of the sink, he turned on the water.
Maggie squatted before Amber. Amber’s tears had started to dry, but she sniffled slightly. The puppy sat in the corner near the tub and started whining.
“What hurts?”
“My hands and my knee.” Amber glanced over at Brady before returning her gaze to Maggie. “It’s not Flicker’s fault, Mommy. I was messing around.”
Right. Maggie pressed her lips together. “Why don’t we get you cleaned up?”
She had a feeling the fault lay with that phone, but she wouldn’t know until she had a chance to talk to Brady. Brady came over with the wet towels and she moved out of the way.
He knelt beside Amber and gently stroked the wet paper towel over her knee. Amber winced, biting her lip.
“When I was six, I was helping Dad out in the barn.” Brady moved to one of her hands. “There was an old stool out there that I liked to stand on.”
As Maggie stood, she took Brady’s phone. He was so engrossed in helping Amber that he didn’t notice. On the screen, it showed he was still connected with Jules. She cut off the call and slipped the phone in her pocket.
“Dad needed this special wrench from above his workbench.” Brady wiped delicately with the paper towel.
As he cleaned off the blood, Maggie could see that the fall had taken off some skin. Amber leaned forward to watch Brady. Her hair fell forward along her cheekbone. She seemed so fragile right now, even though Maggie had patched up worse in the past.
“I climbed on this stool and onto the workbench to get this special wrench.” Brady continued his story.
Just as enthralled with his story as Amber, Maggie handed him some cotton soaked with the cleanser.
“When I went to get off the workbench, one of the stool’s legs broke and I hit my head on the edge of the old, greasy workbench.” Brady held out his hand for the antibacterial and Band-Aids.
“Did it hurt?” Amber asked.
“Bunches.” Brady quickly applied the bandages. “I had to go to the hospital and get stitches and shots and everything. I still have a scar.”
He touched a spot above his eyebrow and even Maggie leaned forward to see.
“You had to get shots?” Amber’s voice was a combination of horror and admiration as she examined the scar. She reached out and traced the small, white line.
Brady nodded. “But you won’t need shots. All done. A little battered and bruised but no worse for wear.”
He held out a tissue. Amber blew her nose.
“Will you help me with my homework?” Amber gave him her best I’m-hurt smile. “And maybe we can finish our walk with Flicker?”
She avoided looking at Maggie.
“If your mom says it’s okay.” He looked at Maggie then.
Maggie got caught in his blue eyes. Creases of worry had formed on his forehead and around his eyes. He did care about Amber, even if work had distracted him.
“Sure, that sounds good.” Maggie watched both of their faces light up and felt warm and cold at the same time. Amber and Brady loved each other already. She could almost believe that he would always be there for Amber. That they would have each other for the rest of their lives. That Brady wouldn’t get tired of being a dad and walk away.
He wasn’t like her dad. She had to get that in her mind. But he did live in New York and would eventually leave both of them behind. She could only hope he would be good about staying in touch with Amber after he left.
As she watched them settle at the dining room table with the dog at their feet, chewing on a freshly unwrapped rawhide bone, Maggie couldn’t help feeling as though she was on the outside looking in.
“I’m going to go finish dinner.” She excused herself, but she could hear the two of them talking in the dining room. It felt right, as if this was how things were meant to be. That they could be a family. Which was ridiculous. Just because he seemed to care for Amber, didn’t mean that he wanted to be anything more with her. And even if he did, it wasn’t possible with his job and her life here. He would never leave New York.
It all came down to work with him. Brady had obviously taken a work call. During which, Amber must have fallen. Amber’s laughter pulled her attention back to the moment. Maggie could hear the low rumble of Brady’s voice, but not what he was saying. Amber hadn’t said anything about Brady’s involvement. Was she protecting him?
They had a little over a week left before Brady returned to New York. When he did, their life would go on as it had before, except Amber would know her father was out there. What if Brady wanted Amber to go to New York with him? For a few weeks in the summer? was Maggie ready for that?
She didn’t want him to walk out of their lives, but what would his involvement in their lives entail? Would Brady pop in and out of their lives whenever it was convenient for him? Would he be here for Christmas and Thanksgiving and Easter? Birthdays?
“I’m really sorry, Maggie.”
She set down the cutting knife and turned to face him. He had stopped in the doorway and leaned his shoulder against the jamb.
“What happened?” She didn’t raise her voice. It even came out without sounding accusatory. For emphasis, Maggie crossed her
