lesson—life is not fair. Now, your dad and I will have a little discussion and once we’ve agreed on a suitable punishment, we’ll let you know. Until then, is there anything you’d like to say to your dad?”
Bree thought it over. That was her kid. She liked to weigh her options and her words carefully.
Just like Neil.
So many of her daughter’s traits, big ones and little ones, that Maddie had always tried to brush off as crazy genetics or learned behaviors all linked directly back to Neil.
“No,” Bree said, her expression mutinous, “I don’t have anything to say to him.”
Maddie sighed. “Bree—”
“It’s okay,” Neil said, watching Bree with patience and understanding. “I don’t want her to say something she doesn’t mean.”
“Fine.” Far be it from her to get in the middle of two of the most quietly stubborn people she’d ever known. “Go inside and wait for me,” she told Bree.
“She hates me,” Neil murmured when Bree had shut the door behind her.
“Nah. She’d like to hate you, but I don’t think she’s quite there yet.”
“You know this because...?”
He was so grumpy, sounded so confused and put out, she smiled. “Because I’m sort of an expert when it comes to hating you.”
* * *
MADDIE’S SMILE MADE Neil’s mouth dry so he averted his eyes, stared at the front of Bradford House. It was run-down...aw, hell...who was he kidding? It was a dump. It was going to take a lot of work to make it livable. But if anyone could fix it up, make an old, crumbling house shine again, it was Maddie.
She’d always loved tackling new projects, the more challenging the better.
Which, he suspected, was part of the reason she’d been with him.
“So much for not still being pissed at me,” he said.
She tugged her T-shirt away from her stomach, waved it a few times as if trying to get some air. “I meant that. I’m just saying that for a long time I did hate you. And I have to admit, wanting to see you skewered and slowly spun over a blazing fire gave me the strength to keep going after you left.”
He winced at the image her words provoked—he could only imagine where she would have put that skewer. “It wasn’t easy for me, either. Being without you.”
“Let’s not get into that.”
He stepped over to her so that she had to tilt her head to maintain eye contact. “Because you’re afraid of a repeat of the other night?”
“Don’t let that ego of yours grow,” she said, eyes shining with humor. Wasn’t she all sorts of amused at his expense? “I’m just finally at the place where I’d like to put the past behind me. For good.”
That included him. He could understand that. But for some reason, he didn’t like it. “Fair enough. But I’m grateful you let me be a part of that whole thing with Bree.”
Though, to be honest, he wasn’t sure he wanted to be a part of it. He’d always known being a parent meant being responsible for your child. He’d never shied away from that responsibility, from taking care of his family.
But the fear he’d experienced when he hadn’t known where Bree was, the rush of relief when he’d found her safe...those were new.
Maddie gave him a friendly pat on the arm. “Welcome to parenthood.” She checked her watch. “Listen, can we finish this later? I have to get back to work.”
He nodded but when she turned to walk away, he heard himself say, “I never worried about Bree before. I knew she was well taken care of, that she was safe in Shady Grove. That she was safe with you.”
“She is safe,” Maddie said gently. “She’s fine.”
The sun beat down, burning the back of his neck, making him hot and uncomfortable in his jeans. “I’ve never been so scared in my life,” he admitted. His hands still weren’t steady so he shoved them into his pockets. “When I couldn’t find Bree inside the rink, I went cold all over. I’ve never felt that level of...”
“Panic?”
“More like terror. Even though I kept telling myself she was probably fine, that this was Shady Grove and she was at the same park where I’d played as an eleven-year-old, I couldn’t stop the feeling that something was wrong. When I saw her in that dugout with that man...” He swallowed but could still taste the panic he’d experienced. “My heart stopped. And I knew that if someone ever hurt her, I’d kill them. That if something ever