set the cookie on her plate and lifted her blue eyes. “What were you afraid of?”
“Everything.” Brady took a deep breath.
“That’s silly.” Amber grabbed a napkin and wiped the chocolate from her lips. “How can you be afraid of everything? Are you afraid of cookies?”
“I wish this were simple, but I didn’t know about you until your mom came to New York. And then all I wanted to do was meet you, but I thought you wouldn’t like me.” Brady scrubbed his face with his hand.
“Why wouldn’t I like you?”
When she put it so simply, Brady was stumped. “I don’t know.”
“You’re my dad?” Amber was keeping her face blank.
Maggie slid her hand over his shoulder. He was amazed that the touch of her hand could make him feel more in control.
“Yes.” Brady waited as Amber thought about it.
“You and Mom were married?”
“No.” Brady shifted on the seat. This wasn’t headed in a pleasant direction, but being honest had always served him well in the past. He just wasn’t sure that Amber was old enough to understand what had happened between Maggie and Brady when they were young.
Amber sat back in the couch and pulled her feet under her. “But you guys dated? I thought you said you hadn’t dated Brady, Mom?”
Maggie’s fingers curled into his shoulder. “We knew each other in high school. We were friends.”
Friends? They’d barely spoken in high school. They’d had one passionate night. Amber had been the result of that. He needed to get Amber off this path.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away. I should have.” Brady leaned forward. Maggie’s hand slipped from his shoulder. He met Amber’s intense gaze. “Do you forgive me?”
Amber looked from Maggie to Brady and back again. Her nose wrinkled. “Are you going back to New York?”
“In a week.” Brady could feel the clamp on his stomach as he waited for her to come to her decision.
“Are you coming back?”
He could almost see the wheels turning in her head. “If you want me to.”
She scooted to the edge of her seat. “Am I going to go to New York?”
“I’d love to have you come stay with me.” Brady could feel the clamp loosen.
“Can Mom come, too?” Amber spared a glance at her mother.
“We haven’t worked out all those details yet,” Maggie interrupted.
No, they hadn’t. It was probably time they started to think about the future, but not tonight.
“Can I keep Flicker?” Amber had a devious glint in her eyes.
“Is that the only way you’ll forgive me?” Brady bit back his smile. Negotiations were supposed to be serious.
“You know the rules, Amber Marie.”
Brady wasn’t used to Maggie’s “mother” voice. It was amazing how much she’d changed in the years since he’d known her.
Amber crumpled her forehead and pouted. “No pets as long as my room looks like a tornado hit it. And I learn some responsi-bil-ity.”
“I’m sorry about keeping this from you.” Brady was eager to hear her words of forgiveness.
“Do I still call you Brady? Or should I call you Dad or Daddy?” Amber cocked an eyebrow, mimicking her mother perfectly.
“You can call me anything you want.” Brady’s heart stuttered and filled his chest.
“Dad.” Amber tested out the word. “Daddy. Brady.” Flicker barked somewhere in the background.
Amber stood and rounded the coffee table until she stood in front of Brady. They were eye to eye. Brady held his breath. His emotions too overwhelming to pick apart.
“I forgive you and like you just fine, Daddy.” Amber’s arms closed around Brady’s neck.
Brady returned Amber’s hug, feeling like the luckiest man alive.
Brady walked out into the night after helping put Amber to bed. His feet felt glued with each step. Thankfully, Penny had decided to keep Flicker.
What Brady needed was some time alone to think about what being someone’s daddy really meant. Did that mean seeing her for two weeks in the summer? Or trying to figure out how to watch a child during an entire semester of schooling in New York? Or spending the holidays in Tawnee Valley with Amber?
And Maggie.
He slid into his rental car and glanced at the two-story Victorian house. How many times had he driven down this street when he was young and never thought anything of this house? Now it housed one of the most important people in Brady’s life. His daughter.
His career had always come first, but he could make room in his life for Amber.
Work…He checked his pockets for his phone, but came up empty-handed. He’d been on it with Jules when Amber got hurt. Damn, he’d forgotten about Jules on the phone.
But what did he do with his phone? He must have left it inside somewhere. He pushed open the door and trudged back to the front door of Maggie’s house. Knocking softly so he wouldn’t wake Amber, he peeked in the window and saw Maggie crossing the kitchen. She probably couldn’t even hear him knocking.
He checked the door and found it unlocked.
“Maggie?” he said softly as he walked in.
It had taken both of them to get Amber to bed. Only Brady promising that he was leaving right away and coming back tomorrow had finally convinced her to go to sleep. He didn’t want to risk waking her. Besides, Maggie had seemed as worn-out as he felt.
He crossed the threshold into the kitchen and found Maggie sitting at the table with her head in her hands. He froze at the sight of her.
Her hair fell like silk around her face, softening her and making her seem ageless. Her eyes were closed and her fingers were massaging her temples in slow, steady circles. His fingers flexed and his heart sped. The heaviness lifted slightly.
She’d given him a daughter. A beautiful, intelligent daughter that she’d had to raise on her own because of Sam. He should have been here the entire time. Amber shouldn’t have had to learn about him like this, to wonder all this time if her father loved her.
“Maggie?”
