Susan Mallery - Full-Time Father

When he turned toward her, she flushed and held her hands palm up in a gesture of surrender.

“Your late wife was mentioned in a couple of articles I read in the library, but I’d forgotten that you lost her. I’m sorry, Parker.”

Her words were an uncomfortable reminder that he was the sort of person people read about in magazines. He’d hated that part of his success. He preferred to remain out of the public eye. What else had Erin learned? What exactly did she want from him?

“Maybe it’s time we talked,” he said, motioning to the red-brown leather sofa across from the entertainment unit.

“This is going to be boring grown-up talk,” Kiki said quickly. “Christie, why don’t you come with me and I’ll show you the upstairs? There are a couple of secret rooms.”

“Really?” She glanced at her mother.

“Go ahead, honey,” Erin told her. “Be good and don’t touch anything.”

“Yes, Mommy.”

Kiki led the child out of the room. Parker waited until Erin was seated before taking a wing chair for himself. The lighting was such that he could see her face clearly, but knew he was in shadow. He hadn’t liked his time in the business world, but he’d learned from it.

“Let’s cut right to the heart of the matter, Ms. Ridgeway,” he said calmly. “I’m convinced Christie is my daughter. I assume you want to enter into negotiations about her support.”

Erin stared at him for several moments, then started to laugh. The bright sound filled the dark room, sweeping away the emotional dust. She placed her hands on her thighs and leaned toward him. Her mouth curved up slightly, her dimple playing hide-and-seek on her cheek.

“It’s Erin, Parker. We’d already agreed on that.” She studied him for a moment and the smile faded. “I had thought it might be nice to be rich, but I see I was mistaken. How many people come here looking only for money?”

“More than you can imagine.”

“I’m sorry. I know you don’t believe that, but I am. Christie and I are doing fine. We don’t want financial assistance. As far as that’s concerned, all I care about is a college trust fund for her.”

Her fingers were long and lean. They rested on her jeans. She’d pulled up the sleeves of her sweater. He could see her finely boned wrists and the inexpensive watch she wore. He raised his gaze past the tempting curve of her breasts-ignoring the faint stirring of interest that started deep inside-to the small gold hoops at her ears. She wasn’t flashy. If she really wasn’t interested in his money, then she was unlike any woman he’d met since Robin died.

“Frankly I’m more interested in what you can give Christie emotionally rather than financially,” she said.

He braced his arms on the chair. “What does that mean?”

“Christie needs a father in her life. If you want to take on that role, then it’s a real commitment. She would need regular contact with you. Before you agree to anything, you have to think this through. I’d rather know now if you’re not interested, because I don’t want her heart broken.”

“I would never hurt her,” he said quietly, then wondered why he spoke the lie. Of course he would hurt her. He hurt every woman who had ever cared about him. Eventually he let them down.

He pushed the past away and concentrated on Erin. “Assuming I want to be involved with Christie, what are you suggesting? You sound as if you have a plan.”

She nodded. “The distance is a problem. Also, Christie has friends and school. She can’t be taken away from that just because it’s convenient for you. My suggestion is that you fly down and visit her every third weekend. It will be easier for you to travel than for her. She’s too young to go on a plane by herself, and I can’t drive her up here for the weekend.”

“Agreed,” he said, wondering what on earth he was getting himself into. He was going to take Christie for a weekend? Down there? He wouldn’t even have Kiki to help, unless he brought her, but he doubted his housekeeper would be willing to give up her social life to travel with him.

“During the summer Christie can come up for two weeks at the beginning and two weeks at the end. Also, you can have the week after Christmas.”

Dates and times whirled through his head. “You’ve thought this through.”

“I figured I’d better. After all I’ve known about this longer than you have. If it’s agreeable, Christie and I will stay in town for the next couple of weeks so the two of you can get to know each other. I’ll be around to help you over the rough spots.” She smiled. “I know how hard it is to suddenly be responsible for a child, especially without warning.”

He didn’t know what to say. Erin’s plan was sensible, although there was something about it he didn’t like. However, he couldn’t come up with anything specific so he let it go. Of course he wanted to spend time with his daughter. He’d just found her and he wasn’t going to lose her again.

Then he realized what was wrong. Erin’s sensible plan placed limitations on his time and involvement. What if he wanted to be a full-time father instead of a part-time one? There wasn’t room in her equation for that.

Before he could mention it, Christie burst into the room followed by Kiki. The girl had an armful of flowers cut from the garden.

Erin looked at her. “Those are beautiful.”

“Kiki said I could pick them for you.” She crossed the room and placed the flowers in her mother’s lap. “They smell nice, too.”

“Thank you.” Erin’s smile included the housekeeper as well.

“You know what else?” Christie asked, dancing from foot to foot.

“No. What?”

“Well, you said we would stay in town for a while so I could get to know my daddy.” Christie smiled winningly. “But we don’t have to stay so far away. We could stay right here. I found the perfectest room all for myself.”

Erin stared at her daughter, sure she must have misunderstood what she was saying. One look at Parker’s stunned expression told her she had not. Christie wanted to stay here-with her father.

It wasn’t possible, of course. The complications. The awkwardness alone boggled the mind. Besides, Erin had a feeling she was going to need some breathing room away from Parker. For some reason her hormones had decided to start line-dancing whenever he was in the vicinity.

She caught a quick movement out of the corner of her eye. Kiki was inching toward the door.

“It’s all the way at the top of the house,” Christie said, her voice bright with excitement. She was completely oblivious to any tension in the room. “I can see the ocean and the whole sky. There’s a rocking horse and playhouse and a big bed to sleep in all by myself.” Her smile was winning. “Across the hall is a grown-up room just for you. There’s a window with a seat. There’s even a little wooden box by the bed,” Christie went on, grinning widely. “You know, for a puppy.”

Erin dropped her head to her chest and fought back a groan. When had everything gotten so out of hand?

“Kiki,” Parker said sternly. “What have you been telling Christie?”

The housekeeper had almost made it to the hallway. At the question, she paused, then slowly walked back into the room. “I didn’t say anything.”

Parker raised his eyebrows and waited.

“Well, I didn’t,” Kiki said defiantly. “Christie mentioned that she and her mother were planning on staying in town for a couple of weeks. This place is large enough to house a regiment. It seems silly for them to be paying a hotel bill when all this space is available.”

“So you thought you’d tell her that?”

“It may have slipped out,” she confessed. “But you must admit having them stay here isn’t a bad idea.”

Parker glanced at Erin and shook his head. “She’s been with me too long to fire, but sometimes she tries my patience.”

“Don’t talk about me as if I weren’t in the room,” Kiki said.

“Would you rather I said what I was thinking?”

Kiki sighed. “Not really.”

Erin looked at Parker and was pleased that he didn’t seem truly annoyed by the conversation. At least he had a sense of humor. The real question was did he have a solution? Kiki and Christie stared at her with matching hopeful expressions. She didn’t know what to say. For one thing, Parker hadn’t invited them. For another, it wasn’t a good idea. She could feel it in her bones, and in her stomach.

“I don’t think-” she began.

“If Christie stays here, Parker has a better chance to get to know his daughter,” Kiki interrupted. “After all, he has a lot of time to make up for.”

That one hurt, Erin thought, as the blow fell squarely below her belt.

“Kiki, I appreciate what you’re doing,” Parker said. “But it isn’t necessary.”

Erin touched the cool leather of the sofa and wondered what she should do. While she was still trying to figure that out, Christie cut to the heart of the matter. She crossed the study and stood directly in front of her father.

After placing one small hand on his knee she said, “Daddy, do you want Mommy and me to stay with you?”

Erin rose to her feet. “Christie, that’s enough. You can’t put your father on the spot like that. This morning he didn’t even know about us. We’re here to get to know each other and that’s what we’re going to do. We don’t have to live in the same house to become acquainted.”

Christie turned toward her. Her lower lip trembled slightly. “But, Mommy, we’re ‘posed to live together. Mommy and Daddy and me. You read that to me. ‘member?”

Unfortunately, Erin did ’member. She’d checked out a couple of books on different kinds of families from the library. She’d thought they would help Christie understand that she wasn’t the only one being raised by a single parent. Some of the chapters had talked about extended families. A new mommy or daddy joined the family, then he or she came to live with them. It was perfectly normal. Common even. Only it wasn’t going to happen this time. She and Parker might be Mommy and Daddy, but they weren’t going to live together.