LITMIR.BIZ

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one hand through his hair, he took a breath, glanced around at the full parking lot and then looked back at her. “I don’t know what you want from me.”

      “Nothing,” she said and now she sounded almost tired. “I’ve already said that. Now I have to go.”

      He slapped one hand against the car door and held it shut. Bending down, he looked directly into her blue eyes and said, “You’ve known about the baby—”

      “Mia—”

      “—Mia,” he corrected, “for nearly two years. I’ve known for—” he checked his watch. “Ten minutes. Maybe you could cut me a break here, huh? It’s not every day a man finds out he’s a father while sitting in a twenty-four-hour diner that smells of corned beef hash.”

      An all-too-brief smile curved her mouth then disappeared again in a heartbeat.

      Jackson’s mind was racing. He’d just received the biggest news of his life. How the hell was he supposed to react?

      “Fine,” she said and he could see that the effort to be reasonable was costing her. “You need time. Take all the time you want. Take eternity if you need to.” Her gaze bored into his. “While you get used to the idea, Mia and I will go back to our lives.”

      “Just like that?”

      She jerked him a nod and the silver stars in her ears winked at him, reflecting off the parking lot lights. “Just like that. You needed to know, now you do. That’s all.”

      He looked through the car windows at the back of the car seat. He couldn’t see Mia’s face, but he didn’t have to. The image was burned into his memory. He doubted he would ever forget his first look at her.

      Something momentous had just happened to him and damned if he could make sense of it standing in a crowded parking lot. So he’d let Casey go. Let her take his daughter away.

      For now.

      She’d find out soon enough that he wasn’t a man to be dismissed whenever she felt it was time.

      “All right. Take Mia home.” Easing off the car, Jackson stepped aside and allowed her to open the door. He noticed the wary suspicion in her eyes, but didn’t care to say anything that might ease it. Let her worry a bit. She’d put him through the wringer in a matter of a few minutes. Worrying about it now was the least she could do.

      She tossed her purse onto the front passenger seat, curled her fingers over the top of the car door and looked at him. In the dim light, her deep blue eyes were shadowed. A trick of the night? Or something else?

      “I guess this is goodbye,” she said and mustered up a smile that only managed to tip one corner of her mouth. “I don’t suppose we’ll be seeing each other again, so have a nice life, Jackson.”

      He watched her leave, memorized her license plate number and was already making plans as he headed to his car.

      “It went great,” Casey lied as she moved around her kitchen, entangling herself in the phone cord as she went. She really had to get a cordless for this room. Opening the refrigerator door, she pulled out a bottle of chardonnay then went for a wineglass. “He saw Mia, we talked, then we came home and he went…wherever men like him go.”

      Mia was sound asleep in her room, the house was quiet and Casey was still a bundle of nerves. Seeing Jackson again had been way too hard. She hadn’t expected the sexual tug to be as strong as before. And then, watching his face as he looked at Mia and realized the truth had really sucker punched her. He’d looked stunned, of course. But there was an undercurrent, too. A look of a man glimpsing something he’d never expected to find. Like he’d stumbled across a treasure—just before his eyes went cold and calculating again.

      And that worried her a little.

      After all, as Dani had pointed out, the King family was a powerful force in California. What if he decided to take Mia from Casey? Then what? No, she told herself instantly. He’d signed a form when he donated his sperm, giving up all rights to a baby. Though with his family’s power, he could probably negate that form. He wasn’t interested in having a child.

      Instead, he’d actually thought Casey had come to him for money!

      Was that really how he looked at the world around him? Everything solved by a checkbook or a thick wallet? Did he really believe that she would use her daughter to make money? What kind of horrible people did he know, anyway?

      “Uh-huh,” Dani said. “Your voice sounds filled with all kinds of good feelings and happy butterflies.”

      “Okay,” she admitted, “no happy butterflies. Should have known I couldn’t put one past you.” Casey poured the sunlight-colored wine into a glass, recorked the bottle and only then noticed the label. Kings Vineyard. Perfect. Even when he wasn’t here, she was reminded of Jackson. Not that she needed reminding.

      She could almost feel him right now, as she stood, safe in her tiny kitchen. The man’s inherent strength and presence was something that lingered. At least, it did in her case.

      “It wasn’t great and it wasn’t easy. He was stunned and not in a happy way.” Casey nodded firmly, forced herself to put a good spin on the night by adding, “But it ended well. I came home with Mia and Jackson went away.”

      “Permanently?” Dani asked.

      “I hope so,” Casey admitted. “He said he needed time to adjust. I told him we don’t want anything from him, but I’m not sure he heard me. Either way though, the point is, mission accomplished. I told him, it’s over now, and I can go back to my life. Put this all behind me.”

      “And you really think it’s going to be that easy?” Dani paused, half covered the phone receiver and said, “Mikey, don’t run the choo-choo train on your sister’s head. That’s a good boy.”

      Casey grinned. Trust Dani and her wild bunch to keep things in perspective. “Having trouble?”

      “Nice subject change,” Dani told her with a laugh. “And the answer is yes. I love my husband, don’t get me wrong, but when Mike’s in charge, the kids pretty much rule the house. When it’s my turn, I spend most of my time in damage control.”

      Dani’s husband Mike, a Darby police officer, worked nights and Dani worked days. That way, there was always a parent around for the kids. A tired parent, but at least the children were cared for by family. Of course, Dani insisted it had been so long since she’d had sex, she only had a vague recollection of it.

      Casey’s memories on the other hand, were clear and vivid. Which was just part of the problem.

      “I don’t know how you take care of Mia all alone,” Dani said, switching the subject back to Casey. “I mean, Mike and I have separate shifts, but we always know there’s somebody to back us up. To turn to. To whine to.”

      Casey smiled a little wistfully. She’d known going in, that she and her child would be alone. And that was okay with her most of the time. If she sometimes envied Dani’s relationship with her husband, she figured that was only normal.

      “I’ve never known it any other way,” she admitted, putting the wine bottle back in the fridge and picking up her glass for a sip. “When I decided to get pregnant, I knew I’d be doing it alone. Sure, there’s nobody to help out, but I don’t have to share her with anyone either.”

      “You don’t just share the bad stuff, Casey,” Dani said. “It’s nice to have someone to turn to and say, ‘Hey, did you just see that? Isn’t our kid brilliant?’”

      Casey lifted her chin. “I have you to call and brag to. Besides, Mia and I get along great.”

      “I love you and Mia like crazy, you know that. And nobody’s saying you’re not doing great on your own.”

      “But? I hear a but in there somewhere.”

      “Okay, but,”

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