saying what would get him in the most trouble. Hoping she’d take whatever explanation he gave. He even dared to give her that sheepish smile that had turned her into mush in high school. Too bad for him it wasn’t high school anymore.
“And?” Maggie tried not to tap her foot. He sighed. “I let Amber hold the leash.”
“By herself?”
“Flicker was doing great.” The tips of Brady’s ears burned red, and she guessed there was more to the story.
“You let her handle an animal that weighs as much as she does?” Maggie couldn’t keep her hands from flying as she spoke. “Did you think about what would happen if the dog ran out in the street?”
“But he didn’t.” Brady’s face lost its placating look as he went on the defense.
“And where were you?” She stepped closer and poked him in the chest. “Where was the great Brady Ward to the rescue? If your hands were free, you could have easily caught her before she hit the ground.”
“On an important phone call.” He straightened from his leaning position. In high school she would have backed down immediately, but now she didn’t feel an ounce of intimidation.
“More important than watching Amber?” The fear when they’d come in had merged with her anger at Brady for bringing the dog in the first place until all she could see was red. “You can’t apologize and think that makes it okay. We talked about this. No work when you are with Amber. What part of that didn’t you understand?”
“The part where I have to sacrifice everything because of something my brother did.” Brady’s eyes flashed. She should have retreated, but she couldn’t. “Work isn’t just money to me. It’s my life. It’s all I have.”
“Not anymore.” She poked him in the chest with each syllable for emphasis.
“Do you think I don’t know that? That I sleep well at night? That I don’t think of a million ways to make this work out best for everyone? News flash. I’m not Superman.”
“And who asked you to be? I didn’t go to New York to drag your ass back here. I thought you needed to know. You were the one who volunteered to come. You insisted you needed to know her.”
He captured her hand against his chest before she could poke him again. “You were the one who insisted now or never. Were you hoping I’d say never?”
She sputtered, “No, of course not.”
“You didn’t feel at all threatened by the fact that Amber is as much mine as she is yours?” The words were softly spoken but hit her hard in the gut.
His hand held her close to him. The air around them was thick with tension. What was she supposed to say? Yes, she’d gotten used to having Amber all to herself. Would she deny her daughter her father just to keep things the way they were, which was way more comfortable than how she felt right now with Brady so close?
She should back down, but this was too important. “So why don’t you go in there and tell her? Fess up. Stop being such a coward.”
“And how do you propose I do that? Just come out and say it? Or should I be like you and wait until she’s comfortable before striking?” he said.
“I didn’t know you didn’t know. Sam—”
“Sending a letter wasn’t the only way to reach me and you know it.” Brady’s blue eyes burned. His breath was hot on her face. “You could have tried other ways.”
She pressed her lips together and tilted her chin. Refusing to let him inside her head. To make her doubt her decisions all those years ago. Those questions she’d had when Sam had dropped off the money with no note from Brady. As she examined it over the years, she would wonder, but the older Amber got, the harder it was to admit maybe she’d made a mistake in trusting Sam.
“Admit it, Maggie. You were afraid I’d want something to do with Amber. That I would want to be her father.”
Somewhere deep inside she found the strength to step away from Brady. She wasn’t backing down, just getting breathing room.
“Why would I be afraid of that?”
He narrowed his eyes. “It doesn’t matter. I’m Amber’s father and that isn’t going to change.”
“You’re my dad?” Amber’s voice sent chills through Maggie’s body.
They both turned in time to see the hurt in Amber’s eyes before she spun around and ran out the front door.
Brady cursed. This wasn’t the way he had wanted Amber to find out.
Maggie was already at the front door, ready to go after her. Brady reached her in three strides.
“I’ll go,” he said.
“You don’t even know where to look.”
Flicker bounced between the two of them obviously excited to be going back outside. Brady grabbed his leash.
“Fine. We’ll go together. Where would she go?” Brady opened the door and let Maggie go first.
“I saw her go right before she disappeared behind the bushes. There’s the park, the school playground, Amber’s friend Mary’s house, Penny’s. There are a million places she could have gone to.” Frustration tinged her voice.
He linked his fingers with hers. “We’ll find her.”
Her chest rose and fell as she took a deep breath. Her fingers remained entwined with his.
Before they left, the phone rang. Amber had shown up at Penny’s. Brady’s heart started again, grateful for once that Tawnee Valley was a small town. Maggie squeezed his hand.
When they arrived, Penny simply held open the door. “She’s in the living room.”
As Penny took the leash from Brady’s hand and led Flicker away, Brady followed Maggie into the living room. The yellow walls peeked out in the spaces between the framed pictures on the wall. There were some from high school, some from when Amber was a baby and even some from now. On the blue sofa, Amber sat with a mug of milk and a plate with a few cookies.
“Amber Marie, you can’t run out the door like that.” Maggie looked as though she was going to scold her more, but Brady tugged her hand. She turned to look at him. In her hazel eyes, the relief over finding Amber only barely covered the fear that had been there before.
“I’ve got this one.” Brady squeezed her hand one more time before letting go. He sat in the floral chair facing the couch.
Amber hadn’t made eye contact with either of them. She continued to dunk and eat her cookies as if they weren’t there.
Brady struggled to find the words that would put this to right. “We didn’t mean for you to find out like that.”
Maggie moved behind his chair. Her presence offered him the comfort and support to continue.
How could he make this right?
