“Thank you. I accept.”
“But what if Lindy—?” Vanessa protested.
“Surely as long as she knows I’m not taking her away from you, she can manage to be in the same room with me!” Rick said sharply.
“I think he’s got a point, Vanessa. And I remember you saying she’d have to face her brother sometime.” Will smiled at Vanessa.
“Yes, but I’m not sure she’s ready.”
“You’ll have the afternoon to talk to her, dear,” her mother said. “Betty will be thrilled to organize a dinner. I’m glad you’ve decided to join us, Mr. Austin.”
“Make it Rick, please,” he said.
“Of course, and call me Vivian.”
“I think maybe we’d better all go to first names,” Will added. “Seems we’ll be seeing one another regularly for a while.”
Before he replied, Rick turned to Vanessa. “Are you okay with that, Miss Shaw?”
She narrowed her hazel eyes. “If you insist…Mr. Austin.”
VANESSA CREPT into Lindy’s room, afraid the girl was still asleep. But Lindy was sitting at a window seat with Betty, who had stayed with her following the fainting episode. The housekeeper exited quietly.
When she saw Vanessa, Lindy seemed to shrink back.
“Do I have to go with him?” she asked in a quavery voice.
“No. He’s agreed to let you stay here with me,” Vanessa said with a warm smile.
Lindy bounded up as if Vanessa had pressed a button. “He did?” she asked incredulously. “Really?”
“Really, sweetheart.”
“Oh, Vanessa, I’m so glad! I can’t believe—”
“Wait, there’s a catch. He’s coming to dinner tonight.”
A curtain fell over her smile, and panic rose in her eyes.
“It’ll be okay, honey. He’s not as bad as you said he was.”
Lindy was unconvinced. “You’re just saying that because he’s handsome! That’s what Mom always used to say.”
“No, I hardly noticed his appearance.” But she couldn’t lie to Lindy. Hadn’t noticed? How could anyone help but notice his dark good looks? She revised her response. “Well, not much,” she said honestly. “But he explained why he didn’t come to see you.”
“Because he didn’t care about me.”
“No. I’m afraid your mother was the reason.” Under the circumstances Vanessa thought it best that Lindy know the truth. It might help the teen come to terms with her brother. “It seems she—she tried to seduce him after your dad’s death.”
While they hadn’t talked much about her mother, Vanessa had realized Anita wasn’t much of a parent. But she was all Lindy had had.
Lindy’s eyes widened in surprise. Then she looked away. A moment later she turned back to Vanessa, sadness shadowing her face. “No wonder he avoided me.”
Vanessa took her hand. “Lindy, he expected the lawyer to see you each month and determine how you were doing. The man was supposed to let him know if something was wrong.”
Lindy stared at her, saying nothing.
“Obviously, your brother should’ve checked that the lawyer was doing his job properly, but Rick fired him today when he discovered the man had lied to him.”
Lindy still said nothing.
“So, will you be all right with Rick coming to dinner?”
“Yes, of course. It’s your house.”
Vanessa paused. Then she asked, “Would you rather go back to the condo instead of staying here?”
“No!” was Lindy’s sharp reply, reminding Vanessa a little of Rick Austin.
“Okay, then, let’s go have some lunch, and later we’ll go shopping!”
“What for?”
“New clothes for tonight. Your brother is going to pay for whatever you need.”
“He doesn’t mind?”
“No, honey. He thought your mother was buying you pretty clothes. Instead your mom spent all the money on herself.”
Lindy’s eyebrows rose. “He wanted me to have pretty clothes?”
“He did,” Vanessa assured her. Tears filled her eyes at Lindy’s look of awe, and she blinked to dam them. Forcing a smile, she pulled Lindy to her feet. “Come on, let’s go eat.”
LINDY WAS SO EXCITED, she didn’t eat much lunch. She’d seldom been shopping, other than an occasional foray into Wal-Mart with an extremely limited budget. Today, Vanessa took her to the best store in Highland Park.
Because of Lindy’s fair coloring, Vanessa steered her toward a bright blue dress, modest but fashionable. “Try this one, Lindy. I think it’ll look good with your blond hair.”
The dress had cap sleeves and a heart-shaped neckline. The snug waist showed off Lindy’s slight figure and made her look a little older than her fifteen years.
“Oh, I think that’s perfect,” Vanessa said. “What do you think?”
“It’s beautiful.” Lindy spoke softly, staring at herself in the mirror.
“Okay, try on this pink dress, and the black one, too, though I think you’re too young for black.”
“Should I wear black because my mother—”
“We don’t want to be disrespectful to your mother, but frankly, she wasn’t much of a mother.”
“She wanted to look young so she could find a new husband,” Lindy blurted out, suddenly sounding wise beyond her years. “That’s why she didn’t spend any money on me.”
“Whatever her reasons, you should never have been treated that way.” Vanessa smiled at her. “And I promise that will never happen again.” They resumed their shopping, ultimately purchasing the blue and the pink dresses, not the black.
Then Vanessa took Lindy to her favorite salon for a trim and style.
“I—I’ve never been to a beauty shop,” Lindy said nervously.
Vanessa’s heart broke, but she hid her sadness. “I’ll stay with you, honey. Don’t worry, they’ll make your hair look great. You’ll see.”
Vanessa also arranged for Lindy to have her nails done. The child was overwhelmed.
