LITMIR.BIZ

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frowned and Lindy answered with a sigh, “Not really. Our mom was...I don’t know, timid. She was quiet and reserved, from what I remember. We were

      really young when she died. Lora might remember something different about her, but for us she always seemed sad.”

      “Why?”

      “Well, our dad left and it was hard for her to take. It really threw her for a loop. I don’t think she ever recovered from it.”

      “Oh,” Carys said. Her father would’ve never left her mom. At least, she didn’t think he would. He worked too much to spend time looking for anyone else, at the very least. “I’m sorry.”

      “Ancient history, kiddo,” Lindy said brightly, though Carys heard the fake happiness in Lindy’s tone. Lilah must’ve caught it, too, for she sent her sister a quick look. But Lindy had moved on, saying, “It sounds like even though your time with your mom was cut short, at least you had some quality time with her, right? You have great memories to hold on to.”

      Carys nodded but it was hard to be grateful when there was so much she still needed her mom to be around for. “She’ll never see me get married. Or go to college,” Carys said quietly. “I won’t have anyone to call when I need, you know, advice about stuff. I mean, it’s not like I can ask my dad about girl stuff. When I asked my dad if I could get a training bra he turned six different shades of red and then said I didn’t need one yet. How does he know? My friend Yasmine said if you don’t get a bra right when your boobs start growing, they’ll sag like an old lady’s. I don’t want old lady boobs!”

      Lindy didn’t even try to hold back her laughter and let loose with a huge guffaw. “Old lady boobs! Ha! I remember thinking that, too.” After a few more chuckles, Lindy said, “Listen, hon, your boobs are going to be fine. But if you really want a training bra, I think I could take you out shopping for one, though it might give your dad a heart attack if he knew. But take it from me, bras are a pain. Which is why I rarely wear one.”

      “And why your boobs are going to hang down to your knees by the time you’re thirty,” Lora said, surprising them all when she announced her presence behind them.

      “They will not.” Lindy sniffed as if offended. “For those of us who weren’t cursed with porn star cans, we don’t have to worry about gravity as much, so there.”

      “Lucky you,” Lora remarked drily. “Hey, while you ladies are out here enjoying the sunset, Celly’s been busy making dinner. If you’re hungry, dinner will be served in the formal dining room.”

      “Ohh, the formal dining room,” Lindy said in a pseudo-British accent that made Carys giggle. “So fancy these days! In my apartment, I have a formal dining recliner that also serves as a guest bed for when friends crash for the night.”

      Lora grimaced and rolled her eyes while Lilah laughed, too. “Sounds divine. Dinner is ready in five.”

      “You hungry?” Lindy asked Carys. “Cuz there’s always room for one more in the Bell household.”

      Carys nodded eagerly even though that smoothie had filled her up. She wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to hang with Lindy and her crazy family. It was far more interesting than anything happening back at her place, where her dad would spend all night on the phone or on his laptop doing whatever it was he did aside from pay attention to her. “I’m starved,” Carys said, grinning. And it didn’t even matter what was on the menu.

      * * *

      GABE SCRUBBED HIS face and tossed his phone, tired and frustrated by the turn of events. A simple phone call had turned into a major time-suck and now it was much too late to take Carys to the beach. Likely, she’d already returned and was now hiding out in her room, like an angry little chinchilla just waiting for the right opportunity to snap his fingers off.

      Even worse, though, was he had a feeling she’d given up on him way before he’d given her the chance to believe he’d keep his word.

      But damn it, it wasn’t so easy to just drop everything when you were the boss. Livelihoods were balanced on his ability to make profitable decisions for the company. He wished he could make Carys understand. Ahhh, hell. Justifications, that’s all they were. He’d let her down—again.

      Time to face the music.

      He went to her room and knocked. “Carys, honey? You hungry? Want to grab a bite? You name the place.”

      No answer.

      He sighed. Not this again. The silent treatment was getting old. He tried again. “Carys, come on. You know I can’t always control how long a business call lasts. Trust me, if I’d had my choices, I’d rather have spent the time with my feet in the sand with you.” More silence. He frowned and cautiously opened the door, only to find it empty. He swore under his breath. Now what? He returned to the living room and grabbed his phone from the sofa where he’d tossed it. He dialed her phone. With a spike of alarm, he heard the muffled music of her ringtone sound from somewhere in her room. Damn. She didn’t have her phone. Don’t panic. She was probably...with Lindy.

      Somehow, intuitively, he knew his daughter had sought out the company of the one person he’d rather she steered clear of.

      “Carys...if you’re with that woman I’m going to tan your little hide,” he muttered, though it was an idle threat. It was likely why she was such a holy terror. He and Charlotte had never spanked Carys; it hadn’t been their parenting style. And now, with hindsight being twenty-twenty, he wasn’t above admitting maybe if he’d given her a little wap on the butt to put the fear of God into her when she’d been younger... Now it was too late. “Charlotte,” he said to the ceiling, hoping his wife was up there, watching, listening. “I need a little help here.... She’s twice as stubborn as I ever was. How did you handle it?”

      “And here I thought only my pops talked to people who weren’t there.”

      The voice at his back caused him to jump. He saw Lindy framed in the open doorway with a smirk on her face.

      He had the grace to blush. She’d caught him in a vulnerable moment. It wasn’t often he prayed or pleaded with the divine. His mouth tightened, hating that Lindy seemed to see right through to the raw wound inside him that he did his best to cover, and his voice came out sharper than he intended. “Where’s my daughter?”

      “You know, she’s much too young to be left to her own devices,” she admonished him instead of answering his question. He frowned and opened his mouth to offer a rebuke but she kept talking, eclipsing his opportunity. “Here’s the thing—she’s your kid, I know that. But it seems to me that you don’t have a clue as to what you’re doing and that kid is hurting. Big-time. And if you take a kid with a great big emotional wound weeping inside of them and pair that with an absent parent...disaster is only one dirtbag with a creepy smile away. You get me?”

      Oddly, yes, he did, but he chafed at the idea that Lindy plainly saw what he didn’t want to see. “She’s my daughter. I would appreciate it if you minded your own business.”

      “Yeah, that’s the smart thing,” she agreed, as if irritated at herself for her part in this drama, which he found baffling. “But I’ve never been accused of doing the smart thing. I’m an actress, for crying out loud. Doesn’t that tell you something about my decision-making

      process? Don’t answer that, it’s written all over your expression. Your daughter is with my sister Lilah. She’s got a knack for lost things—cats, kids, dogs, birds...you name it. Right now, they’re helping Pops set the table for dinner, which brings me to why I’m here right now.”

      “Which is?” He had to admit, he was curious as to what would drop from her mouth next. The woman was oddly fascinating...and it didn’t hurt that just looking at her made him momentarily forget that he wasn’t interested in dating.

      “I’m inviting you to dinner. I think Carys, even though she denies it, would like you to be there.”

      Dinner...with

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