That Touch of Pink (12 page)

“Yeah.” Abby could hardly breathe. “This kind of explains where the Santa questions came from.”

Leaving the amount blank, he wrote a check and gave it to Kim. “Let me know the total.”

“I will,” she promised, stuffing it in her backpack.

“Okay, now we really have to let Riley get back to work.”

“Wait. Just one more thing,” Kimmie pleaded.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Just before we went camping, Mommy came to my school for Muffins With Mom.”

He glanced at her, then back to Kim. “I see.” Clearly he didn't, but he patiently waited for her to continue. “Go on.”

“My friend Griffie's mom wasn't there.”

“Does he have a mom?”

“He does,” Abby explained. “Mrs. Nolet, the teacher, asked all the parents to RSVP so she could step in for the kids whose parent couldn't be there. Griffie's mom had something come up at the last minute.”

“He was sad,” Kimmie explained. “So Mommy and me brought him to sit by us.”

“That was very nice of you,” Riley commented.

“Thank you.” Kimmie blushed shyly at his compliment. “But…”

“What?” he prompted.

“Doughnuts With Dad is coming up. And I don't have a daddy. And I don't want to be sad, and I was just wonderin' if you'd come so I won't be sad.” When the words stopped pouring out of her mouth, she slid a glance at him.

He looked at Abby. “Wow.”

“I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but I had no idea she was going to ask you. Seriously, she won't be the only who doesn't have a dad there. And the teacher will make sure no one is left out. So you don't have to—”

“I'd love to go,” he said to Kim. “Thanks for asking.”

“You're welcome.” The brightness of the smile on Kimmie's face could have illuminated the city for a month.

Abby's heart swelled with gratitude and something else she refused to even look at, let alone put a name to. “Thank you, Riley.”

“No. Thank you,” he said, first to her, then to Kim.

Suddenly his intercom buzzed and Nora's voice came through loud and clear. “Riley? I'm sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Milton is getting impatient.”

Riley hit the respond button. “Okay. We're finished. Thanks, Nora.”

He stood and walked them to the door, settling his hand on the knob. Abby knew her friends were right. Men like him didn't grow on trees and she'd be an idiot not to give this—whatever it was between them—a chance. After all, everyone knew you couldn't fool kids. And it was obvious that her daughter trusted him completely.

Abby took a deep breath and met his gaze, her heart stuttering at the expression in his eyes. “Since you're in the mood to say yes, I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner sometime? Let me say thank you for everything. I could cook—”

He touched a finger to her lips to stop her. “I'd like that. And I'll take you out.”

“I'd like that,” she said, echoing his words while her heart ceased stuttering and commenced a steady hammering against her ribs.

When he looked down, she noticed that Kimmie was tugging on his jeans to get his attention. “Riley?”

He squatted and looked her in the eyes. “Yes?”

She threw her arms around his neck. “I'm so glad you're coming to Doughnuts With Dad. Even though my daddy called.”

“Your daddy called?” he asked, his voice cold, his gaze colder when he looked at Abby. “Don't tell me. You didn't know she was going to say that.”

“I didn't. I had no idea she talked to her father.”

“And I'm Santa Claus,” he muttered as he straightened to his full height.

Without another word, he motioned the waiting client into his office. The door closed quietly, but Abby felt it all the way to her soul.

A
bby tugged her daughter over to the chairs in the waiting room. “Kimmie, why didn't you tell me your daddy called?”

“I forgot.” She rubbed her nose. “I just now 'membered.”

“When did he call?”

“This morning.”

“Where was I?”

“In the shower.”

“What did he say?”

“He asked what I been doin'. I told 'im about The Bluebonnets and camping with Riley after you bought 'im at the auction. I told 'im about how Riley helped me catch a fish and the way he made my scrape feel better when he teached—”

“Taught,” Abby automatically corrected.

“
Taught
me about first aid. I 'splained about how he
was training us so I could get my hiking badge. And that I'm getting my badges so Caitlyn and me can be together.”

“What did your father say?”

She thought for a moment. “That he wanted to talk to you. I told him you couldn't come to the phone just like you always say to do.”

“Did you ask for a phone number the way I always say, so I could call back?”

“Yes,” she answered, nodding emphatically.

“Did you write it down?”

“No.”

“Kimmie, remember what I told you?”

“He said he'd call back,” she protested. “That's why I forgot. I didn't have to write anything down. And I was excited 'cause you said we could come and talk to Riley after school. I'm sorry, Mommy.”

Abby gave her a half-hearted smile. “Me, too. But you did a good job, sweetie.”

Boy, did she do a good job. If only she'd known, Abby could have brought it up in a kinder, gentler way. There was a very good reason six-year-olds didn't work in diplomacy.

Abby noticed that Nora was watching and listening—and made no attempt to conceal the fact that she was.

She looked at her daughter. “Kimmie, I need to talk to Nora. Do you have some homework in your backpack?”

“Yes.” She pointed to the stacks of magazines on the coffee table. “But I wanna look at one of those.”

“I think you're a little too young for
Guns & Ammo
or
Mercenary Monthly
.”

“What's that?”

“It's for soldiers.”

“Like Riley?”

No. Unlike mercenaries, he'd worked in military service defending his country because it was the right thing to do, not because he sold his services to the highest bidder. “I was kidding about that last one. But you need to start your homework. If you finish, you can look at a magazine.”

“Okay.” She slid so far back in the chair that her legs stuck straight out. Then she pulled her notebook and a pencil from her backpack and started to work on a math sheet.

Abby walked to the reception desk. “You heard?”

“Everything.” Nora folded her arms over her chest.

“Cross my heart and hope to die, I had no idea Kimmie's father called.”

“Yeah, I heard that, too.”

She wasn't sure why, but it was vitally important for Riley's sister to believe her. “The man hasn't gotten in touch with me since the divorce and then all communication went through my attorney.”

“You expect me to swallow this? He's had no contact with his daughter in all this time?”

“He signed away his legal rights to her because he didn't want to pay child support,” Abby said, lowering her voice so Kimmie couldn't hear. There was no reason she should know how little her own father valued her. “If you don't believe me, I'll give you Jamie Gibson's office number. She's the attorney who handled everything for me.”

Something flickered in the other woman's eyes and her expression softened. “Don't ask me why, but I believe you.”

“It's the truth,” Abby said. One Dixon down, one to
go. Relief made her knees weak and she sat down in one of the two waiting chairs. “Nora, I don't understand what just happened. I haven't seen Riley that distant since the first time I was in this office trying to collect my survival weekend.”

“I remember.” Nora looked uncomfortable.

“What?”

“Well…” She squirmed in her office chair. “There's no easy way to say this.”

“Then just spit it out.”

“You remind him of his ex-wife.”

“I'm sorry I asked.” Abby blinked. “Define ‘remind.' I've never done anything like she did to him.”

“No. It's a resemblance—hair, eyes, height—that sort of thing.”

“Is that why he was so opposed to doing the weekend he'd donated?”

“Part of the reason,” Nora confirmed.

“What's the other part?”

“He's afraid.”

“Now I know you're making this up.” Abby laughed, a tension reliever that was a dismal failure. “They say everyone has a twin, but I simply couldn't be that unlucky. And Riley's not afraid of anything.”

“I'm not making it up. And Riley would kill me for saying this. But he's afraid of getting his heart broken again.”

“So am I,” Abby said. “But my friends made me see that sooner or later you have to take a chance, especially if you find a great guy like Riley. And one of my friends happens to be my divorce attorney.”

“No, Abby. You don't understand.”

“Enlighten me.”

Nora leaned forward. “One of the things that made Riley such a good soldier was how much he loved it.”

“The army?”

Nora nodded. “Specifically the Rangers. He was good at it. The discipline and adventure suited him. He'd found his niche, his career. Oddly enough, the same nobility, loyalty and sense of honor that made him such a good soldier were the same virtues that cost him that way of life.”

“What do you mean?”

“He gave it up. For her.”

“Why?” Abby felt a knot the size of Delaware form in her midsection.

“Soldiers are frequently away. Deployed to hot spots around the world, sent overseas for months at a time. That lifestyle is hard on families. And he wanted to be a husband to Barb and a father to the child he considered his. His career made the odds of domestic success slim, and he didn't want to take the chance.”

“And she let him resign his commission? She went along with his decision to end such a promising career?” Abby couldn't believe it.

Nora nodded. “He gave up everything and she continued to take advantage.”

“How?”

“When he decided to get out, he knew he needed a plan and decided the military training he'd received would complement a security business. And Charity City was just the up-and-coming place to set up his base of operations.”

“How did Barb take advantage?” Abby glanced at
Kimmie and assured herself that her daughter was still occupied.

“I'm getting there. When he was around all the time, too often she left him with the baby while she went off and did whatever she wanted.”

“At the same time he was trying to get his business off the ground?”

Nora nodded. “Then the biological father waltzes back into her life and just like that, she's outta there.”

“She didn't care about Riley at all.”

“Bingo,” Nora said.

“She took everything from him—the career he'd worked so hard to build, the family he'd sacrificed everything for and the child he loved.”

“The witch. If there wasn't a child within earshot, I'd substitute a B for the W in that word.” Anger glittered in Nora's eyes. “She took it all without a backward glance. It was clear she never cared about him and simply used him as a meal ticket as long as she needed him. So you can see why he's gun-shy.”

“Unfortunately, yes. And Kimmie's little bombshell was like déjà vu all over again.”

“Right in one.” Nora glanced over her shoulder at the closed door. “I'm not sure how long he's going to be tied up, but if you want to wait—”

Abby shook her head. “I have to get Kim home. But thanks.”

“For what?”

“Explaining.”

“You're welcome, I think.”

Abby knew she had some explaining of her own to do. But now wasn't the time because Riley was with the
client he'd kept waiting while putting her and Kim first. She'd talk to him at Kimmie's scouting meeting. That would give her an opportunity to make him understand a few things—such as that she hated resembling the woman who'd crushed his heart. But she wasn't that woman and her ex-husband may have called, but that didn't mean this was a repeat of what Barb had done to him. Abby had no intention of going back to the man who'd turned his back on her and his daughter.

With a plan in place, Abby smiled confidently at Riley's sister before ushering her daughter into the elevator. When they were alone, she remembered the dark look of betrayal on his face. The knot in her abdomen pulled tighter, and she knew it wasn't about the elevator car plunging toward the first floor.

It was all about convincing Riley she'd had no contact with her ex-husband and wouldn't take him back if he got down on his hands and knees and crawled all the way to the Panhandle.

 

Riley walked into the high school library for a quick look-see at the metal detector being installed there. Because it was lunchtime, most of the student body and faculty would be tied up in the cafeteria. But when his eyes adjusted from the bright sun outside, he saw Abby toying with a salad at her desk.

The sight of her was like a blow from a two-by-four to his midsection. She was so beautiful, it was almost painful to look at her. Because he didn't want to see her.

And he wanted to see her more than anything.

She'd kissed him back on that camping trip. No question about it, in his mind. He'd been so sure her
breathless reaction and passionate response had been genuine.

And a few days ago, when Abby and Kimmie had come to his office, the future had never looked brighter. Kim, with her precocious questions and asking him to be there for her, counting on his support. Then Abby had shyly suggested dinner, indicating her shift in policy regarding something personal. And last, the bombshell when her little girl had mentioned the father who was supposed to be out of the picture. So Riley had gotten his teeth kicked in again.
And
by the same scenario. Once wasn't enough for him.

But now she was there looking at him and he had nowhere to go. Never a foxhole when you needed one. “Hi, Abby.”

“Hi, yourself.”

“I'm here to check out the new hardware,” he said, cocking a thumb at the electronic archway.

“I guess you thought I'd be at lunch. You probably wanted to slip in and out—covert-style.”

“I tried to pick a time that was the least disruptive to your students.”

Not seeing her would have been less disruptive—at least to his pulse and heart rate. His body was still reacting as if she were the sweet innocent he'd thought her to be. The woman with no ulterior motives.

“So much for a clean getaway. I decided to eat lunch in here today.” She stood and folded her arms over her chest, then leaned a hip against her desk. “Kimmie and I missed you at The Bluebonnets last night.”

“Something came up.” He didn't even pretend to
misunderstand the statement, but he concealed the wince when she mentioned Kim.

“Something came up,” she said dryly. “Well, that certainly explains everything. Or is that what you say when you could tell me but then you'd have to kill me?”

He met her gaze and saw the anger snapping in her normally warm brown eyes. “I couldn't make it,” he said vaguely.

“Still not clear. And buster, unless both your arms were broken, you don't have a good enough excuse.”

“What does that mean?”

“You're in the security business,” she said, lifting her chin toward the equipment he'd come to check. “You've got a passing acquaintance with gizmos. Surely you know your way around a cell phone. That's child's play for the
average
person.”

He should have called. The fact she was right made him defensive. “I don't owe you anything.”

“Not me. Kimmie. You owe her something. You gave your word. And if that's not bad enough, you broke a promise to a child—my child,” she said, tapping her chest. “But therein lies the problem. It's because she's my child that you hurt her. Because you're angry with me. The least you could have done is give me a chance to explain.”

“There's nothing to say.” He folded his arms over his chest. “My obligation to you is fulfilled. Kimmie got her badge—”

“How would you know? You weren't there.” She held up her hand. “I know. You couldn't make it. Look, Riley, just because I resemble your ex-wife doesn't mean—”

There was only one person who could have given her that information. “What did Nora tell you?”

“That because of your commitment to your family, you gave up your career. I know you lost everything when your wife went back to her baby's father.”

“And your point?” he said, barely holding onto his temper. He'd been an idiot then. He was an even bigger one now because he should have known better, but he'd marched in—double time—with his eyes wide open. Time to take it on the chin like a man.

“My point is that it doesn't take a psychobabble expert to get that when you found out Kimmie's father called, for you it was like history repeating itself.”

He looked around at the rows and rows of books. “Have you been spending too much time in the self-help section?”

“You should try it.” She walked over to the counter, which was the only thing separating them, and looked him straight in the eye. “But you could read all the books in the world and it comes down to one thing—it's time to deal with it.”

“Is that the pot calling the kettle black?” he challenged.

“It would have been. But that day I came to your office, I'd decided to get over it.”