[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Once again, he grasped her, but his touch was gentle, almost comforting this
time. I have never, ever hated you. Not for one single moment. He pulled her
to his chest, and she could feel his racing heart. I hated a lot of the things you
did, but never you. Never. I swear. He pulled away, and she was astonished to
see tears in his eyes. His voice grew raspy and broke as he continued. You were
my sweet, sweet little girl. My buddy. I missed you so much.
Like a long buried instinct, she slipped her arms around him and buried her
face in his chest. I missed you, too. Every day was& her voice trailed off into
a ragged whisper.
His arms tightened convulsively around her, and he tenderly stroked her back.
I tried my best to handle things, baby, but I screwed up. I screwed up a lot. I
just& didn t know what to do.
She nestled further into his embrace, relishing his protective care, reveling in
the sense-memory of the thousands of hugs he d given her so long ago. Neither
one spoke for several moments, but once the wave of feeling passed, they both
grew a little uncomfortable with the intimacy. Dan pulled away, but kept his
hands on her shoulders. Let s try to listen to each other for a change.
Okay. I promised Erin I d try to let you get to know me. That s not gonna
Page 324
The Lies That Bind
happen in an instant, but I m willing to try if you re willing to stop jumping all
over me.
I m more than willing. I m Goddamned eager. He flashed his most charming
grin, and she reflexively smiled back.
I m not going to go that far, but I promise I ll try. How s that?
Good enough for me. He wrapped her in a gentle, brief, emotion-filled hug.
I never knew how much I could miss someone who I saw all of the time. I used
to go to the park across the street from your school just to see you outside at
recess. I never stopped wanting you in my life, Katie. Never.
She cleared her throat and flicked a few tears from her lashes. That s true for
me, too. Maybe I didn t go about it in the most mature way, but the sentiment
was there.
Yeah. Having my phone ring all hours of the day and night to get you
delivered home in a squad car wasn t my idea of closeness.
I was a kid, she said testily. I m an adult now.
He smiled at her, letting himself take in the beautiful, mature woman who
gazed up at him with such intense, intelligent eyes. I can see that. Want to go
see what the Delancy women are up to?
No, they ll come out here when they re done. I haven t heard any raised voices,
which, in my opinion, is a bad thing.
He nodded. They could both use a little of our temper.
Yeah, she grinned wryly. That would make life much more interesting.
d
Inside the kitchen, Erin sat down and put her hands on the table. Katie and
I are going to take out a second mortgage on her house. I ll pay off the city and
move to Boston as soon as I possibly can.
Honey, don t rush into this. I know that s not what you want
I told you what I wanted to do, Mom, and you made it clear that you don t
want us here. Don t act like that didn t happen.
Gail shrank back, her mouth opening in surprise mixed with outrage. You
said you understood!
I do. She stared at her for a few seconds, her gaze failing to hide the
dark emotions that whirled inside her. I understand all too well what s most
important to you.
You are!
Erin s cold, strong voice reverberated through the room like a hammer hitting
stone. That s not true.
It is! You re the most important person in my life. Gail was crying hard now,
Page 325
Susan X Meagher
tears streaming down her reddening cheeks.
Erin s chin was set, and her expression was grimly determined. I know you
love me, Mom, but your peace of mind is worth more to you than mine is.
It s not!
Your actions say that I m right. That s all I have to go on.
Gail looked like she d taken a mortal blow. I d do anything not to hurt you.
That s not true, either. I m sure you wish it were, but it s not. You had to
know it would hurt me to try to manipulate us into spending our weekends in
Boston.
I wasn t manipulating
Yes, you were. You tried to make us believe that Dan didn t want us here.
What other word would you use for that? Her glare seemed to be powered by
an inner fire Gail had never seen.
I want what s best for you. That s always number one in my mind. And being
in Essex isn t best. You need to be in a big city where you can be yourself.
That s for me to decide. I could be perfectly happy here.
You know you d have to put up with a lot of whispering behind your back.
Why would you want that?
Erin took in and let out a long breath. When she spoke, her words were [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl aikidobyd.xlx.pl
Once again, he grasped her, but his touch was gentle, almost comforting this
time. I have never, ever hated you. Not for one single moment. He pulled her
to his chest, and she could feel his racing heart. I hated a lot of the things you
did, but never you. Never. I swear. He pulled away, and she was astonished to
see tears in his eyes. His voice grew raspy and broke as he continued. You were
my sweet, sweet little girl. My buddy. I missed you so much.
Like a long buried instinct, she slipped her arms around him and buried her
face in his chest. I missed you, too. Every day was& her voice trailed off into
a ragged whisper.
His arms tightened convulsively around her, and he tenderly stroked her back.
I tried my best to handle things, baby, but I screwed up. I screwed up a lot. I
just& didn t know what to do.
She nestled further into his embrace, relishing his protective care, reveling in
the sense-memory of the thousands of hugs he d given her so long ago. Neither
one spoke for several moments, but once the wave of feeling passed, they both
grew a little uncomfortable with the intimacy. Dan pulled away, but kept his
hands on her shoulders. Let s try to listen to each other for a change.
Okay. I promised Erin I d try to let you get to know me. That s not gonna
Page 324
The Lies That Bind
happen in an instant, but I m willing to try if you re willing to stop jumping all
over me.
I m more than willing. I m Goddamned eager. He flashed his most charming
grin, and she reflexively smiled back.
I m not going to go that far, but I promise I ll try. How s that?
Good enough for me. He wrapped her in a gentle, brief, emotion-filled hug.
I never knew how much I could miss someone who I saw all of the time. I used
to go to the park across the street from your school just to see you outside at
recess. I never stopped wanting you in my life, Katie. Never.
She cleared her throat and flicked a few tears from her lashes. That s true for
me, too. Maybe I didn t go about it in the most mature way, but the sentiment
was there.
Yeah. Having my phone ring all hours of the day and night to get you
delivered home in a squad car wasn t my idea of closeness.
I was a kid, she said testily. I m an adult now.
He smiled at her, letting himself take in the beautiful, mature woman who
gazed up at him with such intense, intelligent eyes. I can see that. Want to go
see what the Delancy women are up to?
No, they ll come out here when they re done. I haven t heard any raised voices,
which, in my opinion, is a bad thing.
He nodded. They could both use a little of our temper.
Yeah, she grinned wryly. That would make life much more interesting.
d
Inside the kitchen, Erin sat down and put her hands on the table. Katie and
I are going to take out a second mortgage on her house. I ll pay off the city and
move to Boston as soon as I possibly can.
Honey, don t rush into this. I know that s not what you want
I told you what I wanted to do, Mom, and you made it clear that you don t
want us here. Don t act like that didn t happen.
Gail shrank back, her mouth opening in surprise mixed with outrage. You
said you understood!
I do. She stared at her for a few seconds, her gaze failing to hide the
dark emotions that whirled inside her. I understand all too well what s most
important to you.
You are!
Erin s cold, strong voice reverberated through the room like a hammer hitting
stone. That s not true.
It is! You re the most important person in my life. Gail was crying hard now,
Page 325
Susan X Meagher
tears streaming down her reddening cheeks.
Erin s chin was set, and her expression was grimly determined. I know you
love me, Mom, but your peace of mind is worth more to you than mine is.
It s not!
Your actions say that I m right. That s all I have to go on.
Gail looked like she d taken a mortal blow. I d do anything not to hurt you.
That s not true, either. I m sure you wish it were, but it s not. You had to
know it would hurt me to try to manipulate us into spending our weekends in
Boston.
I wasn t manipulating
Yes, you were. You tried to make us believe that Dan didn t want us here.
What other word would you use for that? Her glare seemed to be powered by
an inner fire Gail had never seen.
I want what s best for you. That s always number one in my mind. And being
in Essex isn t best. You need to be in a big city where you can be yourself.
That s for me to decide. I could be perfectly happy here.
You know you d have to put up with a lot of whispering behind your back.
Why would you want that?
Erin took in and let out a long breath. When she spoke, her words were [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]