LITMIR.BIZ

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for the test. “Let’s try.” She injected an over-the-top note of cheer into her voice. “Can Daddy put you in your big-girl seat, Maisie?”

      There was a long second where Callie held her breath. Probably Jake, too.

      “’Kay.”

      The relief on his face was poignant. Callie’s head insisted this was the best possible outcome. But her heart...?

      Maisie held her arms up to her father. And as if afraid he’d break her, he gingerly lifted his daughter.

      For a fraction of a heartbeat, he held her against himself, breathing in the little-girl fragrance of his daughter. The fresh-out-of-the-bath, baby-shampoo smell. A scent that, after today, Callie would never know again. Sudden tears blinded her, and she spilled some of the apple juice on the counter. After that split-second pause, just as gently, Jake deposited Maisie into the booster seat. Flustered, Callie carried the green sippy cup to Maisie.

      “Daddy wikes gween.” Maisie quirked her eyebrow. “Wight, Cawee?”

      Jake’s eyes cut to her.

      She flushed. “That’s right, Maisie. Your daddy’s favorite color is green.”

      “I’m surprised Tiffany remembered. Did she ever talk to you about me? Did she ever explain why—” His voice went hollow.

      “Only bits and pieces.” She moistened her bottom lip. If she wasn’t careful, she’d become like Tiff—a liar. “I’m sorry, Jake.”

      “You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about, Callie.” There was pain in his voice. In his eyes, too.

      But she was sorry. At the moment, sorry that she’d done the right thing in contacting Jake McAbee. There had to be something—anything—she could do or say to make him change his mind about taking Maisie away.

      She took hold of his arm. At the touch of his skin against hers, something sparked. A tingling sensation ran from her hand up to her elbow. She drew back.

      “Please, Jake,” she whispered. “Please don’t take Maisie from the only home she’s ever known.”

      His blue eyes flickered. “She and I will make a new home together.”

      Callie’s gut tightened. “I’m begging you to think of what’s best for Maisie, Jake.”

      His face went hard. “I am thinking of what’s best for Maisie.”

      At the sound of her name, Maisie looked up, the cup spout between her lips.

      “Being with her father is what’s best for Maisie,” he growled.

      Callie grabbed on to the spindles of the chair. “But where are you taking her, Jake?”

      His eyes narrowed. “A friend in Houston is hiring workers for an oil rig.”

      “Texas?” She’d been thinking, hoping, maybe he’d settle nearby. “What do you plan to do with her while you’re out on an oil rig for days at a time?”

      A muscle ticked in his cheek. “I’ll make sure she’s safe and cared for.” The look he gave Callie wasn’t friendly. “But I won’t let anyone ever keep me from my daughter again. She’s mine.”

      Despite common sense telling Callie she needed to let this go, she couldn’t. Not for Maisie’s sake. Not for her own.

      “Maisie isn’t a thing to be possessed, Jake. She doesn’t know you. If you leave now she’s going to be scared. You could damage your relationship with her for good.”

      He went completely still. This man was a soldier. He could be dangerous, especially to anyone he perceived as a threat. But she couldn’t stop now, not when Maisie’s well-being hung in the balance.

      “We could visit you in Houston over Christmas. Let Maisie learn to trust you—love you—in her own way and time. Please, I’m begging you to do the right thing.”

      Sucking in a breath, he crossed his arms over his well-muscled chest. “The right thing?”

      At the anger lacing their raised voices, Maisie let out a whimper.

      His jaw jutted. “How dare you lecture me on the right thing. How long have you known I was Maisie’s father?”

      She dropped her eyes, not able to meet his gaze. “Since Tiff filled out the birth certificate.”

      He loomed over Maisie, getting in Callie’s space. “And how hard did you try to convince Tiffany to do the right thing by me?” He was so close his breath fanned her face.

      She stood her ground, not giving an inch. Maisie’s future was at stake. And everyone’s happiness. Everyone, except Jake? She hardened her heart. She couldn’t let him take Maisie.

      “Tiff wouldn’t listen.”

      He gave a short bark of a laugh. More bitter disillusionment than mirth. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

      Maisie’s big blue eyes ping-ponged between them. “Cawee?” Her bottom lip trembled.

      “You’re already scaring her.” She placed her hand on Maisie’s shoulder and curled her lip. “What kind of father does that, Jake McAbee?”

      Something flashed across his face, something raw, evoking a reluctant compassion in her tender heart. But she mustn’t weaken. “I won’t let you take her.” She gritted her teeth.

      “You can’t stop me,” he growled. “I’m within my parental rights, and you know it.” In a swift, unexpected move, he lifted Maisie out of the booster seat.

      Maisie and Callie cried out at the same time.

      “I’ll figure everything out as I go.” Clasping the squirming child close, he strode toward the hall. “We’re leaving.”

      “No, Jake. Stop.” Callie ran after him. “Don’t leave this way. She won’t understand.”

      Maisie’s little arms grasped the air over his shoulder, stretching toward Callie. “Cawee! Cawee!”

      He flung open the door. Leaning against the porch railing, her father startled at the commotion.

      Callie’s chest heaved. “Dad, don’t let him take her.”

      Her father’s features sagged. “She’s his child, Callie. Not ours.”

      Jake rushed down the steps. Like a wild thing, Maisie thrashed in his arms.

      Callie plunged after them. But catching her around the waist, her father held Callie on the porch. “Don’t make this worse, honey.”

      She didn’t see how this could be much worse. She strained against her father’s grasp. “Maisie!”

      How had it come to this? How had this escalated so far out of control? God, where are You?

       Chapter Two

      Somehow Jake managed to wrangle his daughter into the car seat Nash had secured in the truck cab.

      “Cawee!” she shrieked. “Cawee!”

      He flinched but made sure the buckles clicked in place. Rounding the hood, he slid behind the wheel and cranked the engine. Nausea roiled in his stomach.

      This wasn’t the way he’d wanted things to go, but Callie’s words had touched a nerve. He would show them all. He would be the best dad Maisie never had. He wouldn’t desert her or belittle her like his father—

      Jake threw the truck into gear, glancing at the house in the rearview mirror. Seeing Nash Jackson’s arm draped around her, Callie weeping, almost broke Jake. He’d never wanted to hurt her. This was killing her. He was killing her.

      Tears

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