Susan Mallery - Lip Service

Could he help someone in crisis? Did he want to? His first instinct was to call Skye and talk to her about it. Not that he would. She had enough going on.

Joss was right-someone had his back. Who had Skye’s? Who would protect her from Garth’s next move? Except it wasn’t a difficult question and he already knew the answer.

He would.

THAT NIGHT, after Erin was in bed, Skye went to see Jed in his study. Her father was laying low these days. No parties had been planned, which after the last one wasn’t much of a surprise. But he also hadn’t been coming to dinner or showing up at breakfast. He was either at the office or in his study at home.

She knocked on the partially open door. Jed barely looked up.

“What?” he asked.

“I need to talk to you.”

“This isn’t a good time.”

“T.J. was working for Garth.”

Jed straightened in his chair and motioned for her to come in. “Where’d you hear that nonsense?”

“I know it’s true. He was just one part of Garth’s assault plan. He came between me and Izzy, which was his goal. Divide and conquer.”

“You think Garth has a plan?”

“I’m sure he does. He’s working all of us. You, me, Lexi. Even Cruz has had some trouble. No one is safe.” Except Izzy, who was on the rig. “I’m sure T.J. isn’t the first spy he’s had.” She didn’t mention that Garth had approached Mitch. There was no point in distracting Jed.

“We need to have a family meeting,” she continued. “We need to come up with a plan of our own to stop him.”

Jed dismissed her with a flick of his fingers. “This isn’t your fight.”

“He’s made it mine. Somehow he got into the computer system at the foundation. He’s uploaded a second set of books that are completely false. But until I can prove that, we’re under scrutiny from the government. We’re at risk of losing our nonprofit status.”

“No one cares about that,” Jed said flatly. “You want to compare your silly foundation with the charges I’m fighting? I never understood why you’re wasting your time with all that.”

“Feeding hungry children? You consider that a waste? Oh, wait. Let me guess. These kids aren’t worth saving. Is that it?”

“You should put your resources into something that matters.”

“This matters to me.”

“Then you’re a fool. But fine. Keep your foundation. I’ll find someone else for you to marry. You need a husband and more kids. That will keep you busy.”

His total dismissal of who and what she was shouldn’t have been a surprise, yet it was.

“You don’t own me,” she said quietly. “You’re not picking out my next husband.”

“Of course I am. Don’t forget who you’re talking to, little girl. This is my house. Glory’s Gate is what you want and to win it, you have to play by my rules. Lexi played and lost the business. The same thing can happen to you.”

She didn’t know this man, she thought sadly. He was her father and she didn’t understand anything about him. She didn’t think he was deliberately cruel, but he was a bully.

“Does it occur to you that most fathers don’t have to play the fear card with their children? Why do you think you have to buy us?”

Jed stood. “Be careful, Skye. You don’t want to push me.”

“I will if I have to,” she said, and left.

On her way upstairs, she thought about how powerful her father was. He could be as ruthless as Garth. This might very well be a battle to the death and she had no idea who would win.

MITCH KNEW he’d made a serious mistake by agreeing to come to Erin’s school and talk to the kids. He didn’t have anything to say and he didn’t want to scare them with his prosthesis. But Erin had insisted and apparently he couldn’t tell her no. So he found himself walking down the halls of Titanville Elementary, looking for the right classroom.

What he spotted instead was a group of adults talking quietly in a hallway. He joined them, figuring this had to be the right place. A pretty blond woman with a name badge that read Hi, I’m Monica came up to him.

“Hi. I’m one of the teacher’s aids.”

“You must be Monica.”

The woman frowned. “Have we met?”

He pointed to the badge.

“Oh, right. I forgot I was wearing it. Yes, that’s me. My son is in this class. You are here with?”

“Erin Titan.”

Monica’s blue eyes brightened. “Erin’s hero. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

If he’d been sure of his balance, he would have shifted uncomfortably. “I’m not a hero.”

“Former SEAL?”

“Yeah.”

“Wounded in action?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Saved countless lives and you don’t want to talk about it.”

He shrugged. “Maybe.”

“You have fulfilled the hero description. I’m sorry, but you’re stuck with the title now. Come on. I’ll show you where to wait.” She led him to where the other adults stood and made a few introductions. Then she put her hand on his arm. “If you need anything, just let me know.”

Her smile was sincere, her eyes wide with invitation. He might have been out of the dating game for a while, but he recognized interest when it slapped him in the face.

He watched Monica walk away, his gaze slipping to her butt, then down her legs.

She was appealing, he thought, belatedly realizing she hadn’t been wearing a wedding band. He should probably take her up on her not-so-subtle come-on. They could go out. Get to know each other. Have sex.

All of which should have sounded really good…and it didn’t. He didn’t want blue eyes, he wanted green. A fiery redhead, not a blonde and the only fatherless kid he wanted in his life was Erin.

He swore silently. It had been nine years. Why couldn’t he get Skye out of his head? Why did she have to be the one who got to him?

The door to the classroom opened and Erin came out. She shrieked when she saw him.

“You’re here! You came.”

“Of course I came.”

She waved him into the room where they stood in back while a woman talked about how she rescued horses. A few minutes later, she finished and the kids applauded. Then Erin led him to the front of the room.

“This is Mitch Cassidy,” she said proudly. “He owns the ranch next door and he’s a real hero. He was a SEAL and fought in the war and protected our country and saved lots of lives.” She started to go to her seat, then stopped.

“Oh. He lost part of his leg and now he has a metal one and it’s really cool.”

Several of the kids leaned forward eagerly.

“Can we see it?” one boy asked.

The teacher, a tall middle-aged woman, hesitated. “I’m sure our guest doesn’t want to-”

“I don’t mind,” Mitch said, surprising himself and possibly the teacher. He drew up his jeans pant leg.

Several of the boys oohed while one girl covered her eyes.

“What happened?” a boy asked.

“I got in the way of an explosion. You don’t want to do that. The explosion always wins.”

“Did it hurt?”

“Before. Not now.”

“Does your fake leg come off?”

“How do you stand in the shower?”

“Can you run faster or slower?”

The teacher raised both her hands. “Okay. One question at a time.” She smiled at Mitch. “Unless you’d prefer to give your prepared talk.”

“Not really,” Mitch said. He had a few notes on what it was like to be a SEAL, but everything he’d written down had sounded stupid. Answering questions seemed easier.

“My leg comes off,” he said. “I don’t sleep with it. I don’t run as fast as I used to, but I’m getting better. I can ride and walk and do pretty much anything you can do.”

“What’s it like being a hero?” one girl asked.

Skye slipped into the back of the room. Mitch looked good standing up in front of the class. Maybe too good. Looking at him made it tough to think.

She watched the emotions chase across his face and knew he was debating the whole “hero” part of the question. He accepted that Erin called him that but wouldn’t think it of himself.

“I was doing a job,” he said. “Taking care of my responsibilities. That’s what people do-the right thing. Sometimes that meant being in danger.” He settled on the corner of the teacher’s desk. “Danger is a funny thing. It shows up when you don’t expect it, so you don’t have time to think. You act on instinct.”

Several of the kids frowned, as if confused.

He saw it, too. “You just act. You don’t have time for a plan. So you have to know what you’re going to do before the danger shows up. Can anyone here tell me when you practice for danger?”

There was silence. The students got wide-eyed and looked at one another. Mitch casually pointed to the fire alarm on the wall.

“Fire drills!” one boy yelled.

“Right. You know how to leave the classroom and where to go in the yard.”

“Did you have to practice?” a girl asked.

“Yes. All the time.”

“So you could save people?”

“That’s why I was there.”

He talked about riding on navy ships and airplanes, about jumping from thousands of feet in the sky. He had them enthralled for nearly half an hour.

“I hate to interrupt,” their teacher said, “but we have other special people here to speak. Thank you so much for coming.”

Mitch waved at the kids. He paused by Erin’s desk and spoke to her, then started for the door. Skye knew the exact moment he spotted her.

“What are you doing here?” he asked as he followed her into the hallway.

“I wanted to hear you speak.”

“Why?”

“I thought it would be interesting.”

They walked outside the building and stood in the parking lot.

She found herself oddly nervous. Had he always been so tall? Or maybe it was something else. Maybe it was Lexi and Dana’s ridiculous claims that she was in love with him.

“Erin really appreciates that you did this,” she said, staring at his chest. She couldn’t seem to look into his eyes. “She was so excited that you were coming to her class.”