Father Of The Brat by Elizabeth Bevarly Read Free Book Online Page B

Rachel’s position. At least there was some hope for her and her father to build a solid, lasting, loving relationship. It wasn’t going to be easy, Maddy knew, but with her help, Rachel and Carver were probably going to be just fine. Eventually.
    “Hello, Rachel,” she called out in a voice that was the picture of politeness.
    “Hey,” Rachel replied without looking over.
    Carver arched a brow at Maddy in silent question, as if to say, You’re the one who’s supposed to know how to handle moody kids. What am I supposed to do with this one?
    With a reassuring smile for him, Maddy turned back to the girl. “Are you ready for our appointment? We should all be leaving soon if we’re going to make it on time.”
    When Rachel said nothing in response, Carver asked, “What appointment?”
    Maddy stared at him incredulously. Surely he hadn’t forgotten. “At school,” she reminded them. “Rachel startsschool today, and we have to meet with the principal to finish up the paperwork.”
    He looked startled. “I thought you were going to take care of that.”
    She shook her head. “No, we’re going to take care of that.”
    “But I have to work today.”
    Her mouth dropped open in disbelief. “Work? Aren’t you going to take some time off? I’d think with Rachel here—”
    “Her presence is irrelevant. I’ve got a job to do, Maddy. I can’t just take time off whenever I want to. I’m in the middle of a story right now.”
    “You’ve also just become a father. I don’t know if the Family Leave Act would come into play here, but surely your boss would give you a couple of days off to get acquainted with your newly discovered daughter.”
    “Yeah, he probably would,” Carver conceded. “But I’ve got people to interview and some legwork to do that won’t wait. She said she can take care of herself, and I believe her. Look at her. She’s a big girl. She’ll be fine.”
    Maddy did as he asked and saw a young girl who was sitting stock-still, pretending she was watching television when in fact she was hanging on every word the two of them uttered about her. It was bad enough that they had been talking about Rachel as if she weren’t there, without even using her name, as if she were some insignificant nobody. But Carver had also had to make that pointed reference to her presence being irrelevant. If that wasn’t enough to make a kid feel unwanted, nothing was.
    “Come here,” Maddy said as she gripped Carver’s arm with strong fingers and tugged hard. “We have to have a little chat. In private.”
    Without waiting for his response, she dragged him down the hall, to the room farthest removed from the living room. Belatedly, she realized it was his bedroom. Belatedly, she realized that he was only half dressed. And belatedly, she realized just how warm and solid the flesh beneath her fingertips felt. She tried to tamp down the errant images ofsexual opportunity that paraded into the forefront of her brain. Enough was enough, she told herself. Rachel was the one who was of Maddy’s utmost concern here. She had to stop all this ridiculous, adolescent fantasizing about Carver.
    “Ow, Maddy, let go. You’re hurting me.”
    He tried to tug his arm free of her grasp, but she only squeezed harder, telling herself the action was a result of her anger and nothing more. When she finally did release him, she spun around quickly with a barely suppressed, “Don’t tempt me.”
    “What?” Carver asked. “What did I do?”
    She lifted a hand to her forehead, sighed heavily and began, “Look. Your life is never again going to be what it was before Rachel entered the picture. Just accept that now and learn to live with it.”
    Carver negligently rubbed his arm and met her gaze. “Hey, just because Rachel is here doesn’t mean I have to-”
    “Yes, it does,” she insisted before he even finished his statement. “Whatever it was you were about to say, it’s going to have to change