She pressed her lips together and tilted her chin. Refusing to let him inside her head. To make her doubt her decisions all those years ago. Those questions she’d had when Sam had dropped off the money with no note from Brady. As she examined it over the years, she would wonder, but the older Amber got, the harder it was to admit maybe she’d made a mistake in trusting Sam.
“Admit it, Maggie. You were afraid I’d want something to do with Amber. That I would want to be her father.”
Somewhere deep inside she found the strength to step away from Brady. She wasn’t backing down, just getting breathing room.
“Why would I be afraid of that?”
He narrowed his eyes. “It doesn’t matter. I’m Amber’s father and that isn’t going to change.”
“You’re my dad?” Amber’s voice sent chills through Maggie’s body.
They both turned in time to see the hurt in Amber’s eyes before she spun around and ran out the front door.
Brady cursed. This wasn’t the way he had wanted Amber to find out.
Maggie was already at the front door, ready to go after her. Brady reached her in three strides.
“I’ll go,” he said.
“You don’t even know where to look.”
Flicker bounced between the two of them obviously excited to be going back outside. Brady grabbed his leash.
“Fine. We’ll go together. Where would she go?” Brady opened the door and let Maggie go first.
“I saw her go right before she disappeared behind the bushes. There’s the park, the school playground, Amber’s friend Mary’s house, Penny’s. There are a million places she could have gone to.” Frustration tinged her voice.
He linked his fingers with hers. “We’ll find her.”
Her chest rose and fell as she took a deep breath. Her fingers remained entwined with his.
Before they left, the phone rang. Amber had shown up at Penny’s. Brady’s heart started again, grateful for once that Tawnee Valley was a small town. Maggie squeezed his hand.
When they arrived, Penny simply held open the door. “She’s in the living room.”
As Penny took the leash from Brady’s hand and led Flicker away, Brady followed Maggie into the living room. The yellow walls peeked out in the spaces between the framed pictures on the wall. There were some from high school, some from when Amber was a baby and even some from now. On the blue sofa, Amber sat with a mug of milk and a plate with a few cookies.
“Amber Marie, you can’t run out the door like that.” Maggie looked as though she was going to scold her more, but Brady tugged her hand. She turned to look at him. In her hazel eyes, the relief over finding Amber only barely covered the fear that had been there before.
“I’ve got this one.” Brady squeezed her hand one more time before letting go. He sat in the floral chair facing the couch.
Amber hadn’t made eye contact with either of them. She continued to dunk and eat her cookies as if they weren’t there.
Brady struggled to find the words that would put this to right. “We didn’t mean for you to find out like that.”
Maggie moved behind his chair. Her presence offered him the comfort and support to continue.
How could he make this right?
“I should have let your mom tell you right away, but I was afraid.” Brady waited for some indication that she was even listening.
She set the cookie on her plate and lifted her blue eyes. “What were you afraid of?”
“Everything.” Brady took a deep breath.
“That’s silly.” Amber grabbed a napkin and wiped the chocolate from her lips. “How can you be afraid of everything? Are you afraid of cookies?”
“I wish this were simple, but I didn’t know about you until your mom came to New York. And then all I wanted to do was meet you, but I thought you wouldn’t like me.” Brady scrubbed his face with his hand.
“Why wouldn’t I like you?”
When she put it so simply, Brady was stumped. “I don’t know.”
“You’re my dad?” Amber was keeping her face blank.
Maggie slid her hand over his shoulder. He was amazed that the touch of her hand could make him feel more in control.
“Yes.” Brady waited as Amber thought about it.
“You and Mom were married?”
“No.” Brady shifted on the seat. This wasn’t headed in a pleasant direction, but being honest had always served him well in the past. He just wasn’t sure that Amber was old enough to understand what had happened between Maggie and Brady when they were young.
Amber sat back in the couch and pulled her feet under her. “But you guys dated? I thought you said you hadn’t dated Brady, Mom?”
Maggie’s fingers curled into his shoulder. “We knew each other in high school. We were friends.”
Friends? They’d barely spoken in high school. They’d had one passionate night. Amber had been the result of that. He needed to get Amber off this path.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away. I should have.” Brady leaned forward. Maggie’s hand slipped from his shoulder. He met Amber’s intense gaze. “Do you forgive me?”
Amber looked from Maggie to Brady and back again. Her nose wrinkled. “Are you going back to New York?”
“In a week.” Brady could feel the clamp on his stomach as he waited for her to come to her decision.
“Are you coming back?”
He could almost see the wheels turning in her head. “If you want me to.”
She scooted to the edge of her seat. “Am I going to go to New York?”
“I’d love to have you come stay with me.” Brady could feel the clamp loosen.
“Can Mom come, too?” Amber spared a glance at her mother.
“We haven’t worked out all those details yet,” Maggie interrupted.
No, they hadn’t. It was probably time they started to think about the future, but not tonight.
“Can I keep Flicker?” Amber had a devious glint in her eyes.
“Is that the only way you’ll forgive me?” Brady bit back his smile. Negotiations were supposed to be serious.
“You know the rules, Amber Marie.”
Brady wasn’t used to Maggie’s “mother” voice. It was amazing how much she’d changed in the years since he’d known her.
Amber crumpled her forehead and pouted. “No pets as long as my room looks like a tornado hit it. And I learn some responsi-bil-ity.”
“I’m sorry about keeping this from you.” Brady was eager to hear her words of forgiveness.
“Do I still call you Brady? Or should I call you Dad or Daddy?” Amber cocked an eyebrow, mimicking her mother perfectly.
“You can call me anything you want.” Brady’s heart stuttered and filled his chest.
“Dad.” Amber tested out the word. “Daddy. Brady.” Flicker barked somewhere in the background.
Amber stood and rounded the coffee table until she stood in front of Brady. They were eye to eye. Brady held his breath. His emotions too overwhelming to pick apart.
“I