Guardian by Catherine Mann Read Free Book Online

they’d been tangled up together on the ground, his body revved by the feel of her soft curvesagainst him. The fire had been stirred all the more by the cheap thrill of touching her afterward, when she’d been disoriented. And how pathetic was that?
    A flash of awareness sparkled in her eyes for an unmistakable moment before she turned to Madison, giving David a full view of her back,
her narrow waist, the curve of her hips
. “I understand my son wandered down this way.”
    If she thought she could brush him off, she could think again. David frowned. “I thought they were at your house.”
    “He’s not here?” Sophie paled under her tan.
    All too well David understood the wayward nature of parental imagination. Worst-case scenarios could script themselves with little real provocation. She didn’t need more stress after their afternoon.
    Madison fidgeted with her bracelets. “They were working together on a science project for the fair. They know not to walk along the water by themselves, so they must be on the sidewalk.”
    The sound of youthful squeals carried on the gritty desert wind before the children came into view.
    Sophie sagged, then stiffened. “David, I don’t want Brice to know about my concussion.”
    Madison gasped. “Concussion? What happened?”
    “I just fell, nothing big as far as I’m concerned. But since Lowell’s death, Brice is afraid something’s going to happen to me.”
    “Oh, honey.” Madison leaned closer. “Have you taken him to see a psychiatrist? I can give you the name of a really good family counselor I saw after my second divorce.”
    “Thanks, I’ll let you know. Right now, I just want to get my son home.”
    “Of course.” Madison backed off. “He’s your kid.”
    “Yes. He is.”
    Sophie’s full lips curved into the first uncomplicated smile he’d ever seen from her. Maternal pride illuminated her face with the timeless beauty of a mother’s love for her child. She was so damn gorgeous, he felt like he’d been blindsided by a missile strike.
    The roaring need to see her smile for him drowned out anything else.
    Then she turned away to greet her son, leaving David more unsettled than ever.
    Two bedraggled children raced into sight. Sophie walked up the driveway to meet them. Wind lifted her golden hair, exposing the vulnerable curve of her neck. She hooked an arm along her child’s shoulders just over his backpack. A silky curtain of hair slid forward and blocked her face as she listened to Brice.
    David had the answer to his question regarding Sophie’s parenting. Her ease with her son was evident.
    He would have been better off not knowing.
    Madison elbowed him in the side. “Just base business, huh?”
    Haley Rose catapulted forward, saving David from responding to a question he wasn’t sure he could answer.
    “Hi, Dad!” She flung aside her backpack and locked her arms around his waist.
    “Hey there, runt. Missed you today.” He tugged her trailing dark braid.
    David patted her back and felt the same kick of love he’d experienced the first time she curled her tiny fingers around his.
    He’d thought his daughter was happy. But now as he watched her with Sophie’s son, he couldn’t help but thinkhow his daughter was aching to replace the half brother she’d lost. Leslie couldn’t be bothered to get her kids together, and her first husband thought a clean break was better and to hell with how many times Haley Rose cried herself to sleep.
    “Ouch, Dad. You’re squeezing too tight.” Haley Rose wriggled out of his hug.
    “Sorry, kiddo. Did you get much work done on your project?”
    Haley Rose snatched up her backpack and hitched it over her shoulder. “Me and Brice made a bunch of notes. Can he and his mom stay for supper so we can show you?”
    He looked fast at Sophie and found awareness quickly replaced by panic in her eyes that said,
No way in hell.
He couldn’t agree more. And he hoped Sophie fully grasped how important it was not to