Tender Loving Care

by Susan Mallery

  The thermometer showed no fever, and the area around the girl’s appendix wasn’t tender.

  “Seems fine to me,” Melissa said as she pulled the pajama top down. “Probably a bug or nerves. If you aren’t back to your cheerful self by Monday, I’ll take you to the doctor.”

  “Swell.” Wendi nibbled on her toast. “Aren’t you going to ask?”

  “Of course.” Melissa sat on the edge of the bed. “I want to hear all the details, from the moment he knocked on the door until you threw up on the dance floor.”

  “Ple-ease. I did not throw up. You’d have been very proud of me. I felt fine until about an hour ago. I went in the bathroom and splashed water on my face. When that didn’t help, I asked Mark to bring me home.”

  Melissa leaned forward and kissed her temple. “Very smart. It’s better to be safe than sorry. I am proud of you. Now tell me the good stuff. Did you dance?”

  “Yes.” Wendi leaned back and smiled. “It was wonderful. The gym was decorated with crepe paper and balloons. The band wasn’t great, but they were loud.”

  “That is important.”

  “I’m ignoring you,” Wendi said. “At first they just played fast songs, but then they played something slow.” She sighed. “Mark took me in his arms and…”

  As she recounted her story, Melissa wondered how she would tell Wendi goodbye. Logan wasn’t the only one who had stolen a piece of her heart. His minx of a daughter had a good chunk of it in her possession, as well. Maybe she could talk to Logan about visiting Wendi from time to time.

  Get a life, she told herself. Wendi would be thirteen next month. In a year or so, she wouldn’t have time for someone who used to be her housekeeper.

  This must be a little of what it’s like to get a divorce, she thought as she watched Wendi speak. Leaving behind bits of her identity until she wondered if there was enough left to make up a whole person.

  “…and then, while we were waiting outside for his dad to come and pick us up…he kissed me. On the lips.”

  “How was it?”

  “Not as gross as I thought. That after-shave was a little overpowering, but guys are like that.”

  “Oh, they are, are they?” Melissa smiled. “When did you get so worldly?”

  “I read magazines. I know what goes on between a man and a woman.”

  The knife turned in her back. “I bet you do. Now, come on. Lie down and try to rest. I’ll check on you during the night.” She put the tray on the nightstand, then smoothed Wendi’s bangs off her face. “If you start to feel worse, come get me.”

  “I will.” Melissa leaned down and Wendi kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Melissa. Good night.”

  “Night, kitten.”

  She looked in on the girl at midnight and again at two. Both times Wendi was sleeping soundly. Her skin was cool, her color good.

  Must have been nerves, she thought as she stumbled back to her bed. Despite the late hour, she still hadn’t slept at all. The conversation she’d had with Logan kept playing over and over in her mind.

  Was there something else she could have said? Words that would have made a difference, maybe changed his mind and the course of their relationship? Or had it been destined to failure from the beginning? Had her dreams been just that…dreams?

  Once again the sun had already crept into her room before she was able to find some sort of rest.

  By ten, Wendi still hadn’t come out of her room. Melissa glanced at the clock, then the closed door. If she was sleeping, she didn’t want to disturb her. But Wendi wasn’t normally a late sleeper.

  Knocking softly, she entered the room. The bed was unmade but empty.

  “Wendi? Are you hungry? Do you want some breakfast?”

  The girl wasn’t there. Walking into the bathroom, she saw it was empty, as well. The usual piles of junk littered the marbled counter, but a familiar booklet caught her eye. It was the one from the clinic.

  The open pamphlet rested under a jar of moisturizer, the pages exposed included the section on menstruation. The first line made her stop breathing.

  This is the day you change from a girl to a woman.

  “Oh, Wendi.” Melissa picked up the booklet and saw the torn pink box. No wonder her stomach had been hurting, she’d been having cramps.

  Why now? she thought as she raced from the room. Wendi hadn’t been reconciled to growing up. She was still fighting the changes in her body. More than anything, she wanted to please her father, and her father wanted to keep her his little girl.

  “Logan! Logan!” Melissa quickly checked the kitchen and living room.

  He met her in the hall. “What’s the problem?”

  “Have you seen Wendi this morning?”

  “No. Why?”

  She showed him the brochure. “I think she got her period last night. She’s not in her room and I can’t find her in the house.”

  She turned to run outside, but he grabbed her arm and held her fast. “What are you going on about? Maybe she’s with a friend.”

  “Wendi wouldn’t leave without saying something. Besides, I’ve been in the kitchen all morning and would have seen a car pull up. You know your daughter wouldn’t walk to someone’s house. It’s not the cool thing to do.”

  A careful search of the house and yard showed that Wendi was gone.

  “I’m phoning the police,” Logan said, walking toward the kitchen.

  “Wait. Maybe you were right and she’s with one of her friends. Why don’t we try calling them first?”

  His hair was untidy, the result of his fingers being dragged through it. Worry deepened the furrow between his brows and the lines from nose to mouth. “That’s a good idea.”

  They found her address book. The loose-leaf binding allowed them to split the pages. “I’ll call the first half of the alphabet,” she said.

  “Use this phone. I’ll use the one in the kitchen.” He walked out without looking back.

  Please let her be okay, Melissa prayed as she dialed the first number.

  “Hello. This is Melissa VanFleet. I’m calling for Logan Phillips. Is his daughter Wendi there?”

  The phone calls took a half hour. She joined him in the kitchen.

  “Anything?”

  He shook his head. “Nobody’s seen her or talked with her since yesterday.”

  Melissa drew in a deep breath. “Then I’m afraid she’s run away.”

  “What? Why would she do that?”

  “Because, you pigheaded fool, you’ve spent the last three months telling her not to grow up.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Bracing his arms on the counter, Logan hung his head. “I never saw it that way. But I was so damned afraid she’d turn out like Fiona.”

  “The important thing now is to find Wendi,” Melissa said as she poured them each a cup of coffee. “I wonder if she’s gone off to think things through. Maybe she’ll come back on her own.”

  “Do you believe that?” His tawny eyes were haunted. “I’m calling the police.” His hand reached for the phone, then paused as if he were waiting for her to tell him it wasn’t necessary.

  “I think that’s a good idea.” She picked up her purse and headed for the front door. “I’m going to drive down to the mall and see if she’s there. I’ll call every half hour to give you a report, or find out if she’s back.”

  He nodded.

  “Logan?”

  “What?”

  “It’ll be all right.”

  Logan clenched his jaw. “You don’t know that.”

  She paused as if she were going to say something more, then walked out of the house. He wanted to call her back and tell her he wasn’t being a jerk on purpose, that he’d never been so worried in his life, but the police department answered the line.

  “My daughter’s missing,” he told the officer.

  He answered the questions as best he could. No, he didn’t know what Wendi had been wearing or the approximate time of her disappearance. Yes, they’d called all her frien
ds.

  After finishing with the police, he made a quick call to Fiona.

  “What?” she squawked when he’d told her what had happened. “No, she’s not here. My God, Logan, what the hell is going on over there?”

  “Nothing,” he said, glaring at the phone. “Melissa thinks she got her period and is confused about growing up.”

  “Oh, that. If she’s anything like me, she’s just pissed at the inconvenience.”

  With any luck, his daughter was nothing like Fiona. “Let me know if she shows up there.”

  He heard the sounds of rustling sheets. She must still be in bed. At one time, the thought of Fiona warm and naked would have been intriguing, but not anymore. All he could think of was how he’d blown the two most important relationships in his life. Wendi had run away and Melissa wasn’t that far behind. How the hell had everything gotten so out of hand?

  “Logan? Are you listening to me?” Fiona sounded irritated.

  He dragged himself back to the conversation. “What were you saying?”

  “I want to come over and wait with you. The maid can call the house if she comes here, but I don’t think she will.” Fiona drew in a breath. “I’m not the maternal type. Wendi thinks of me as a playmate rather than a parent.” Regret stained her tone. Before Logan could wonder if he’d misjudged her, she gave a little laugh. “Besides, if we make a television appeal, I think it should be done from the house. The natural light is so good there.”

  He hung up without saying a word.

  Melissa checked the boutiques, then the food court at the mall. No Wendi. She went from store to store, showing her picture to clerks, but no one had seen the pretty young woman.

  At eleven-thirty, she stopped to call the house. She should have checked in twenty minutes ago, but she had hoped to phone with good news.

  Logan answered on the first ring. “Melissa?”

  “Yes?”

  “She called. Wendi’s down at the park I used to take her to. I don’t know how she got there, but I’m on my way to pick her up.”

  “Oh, Logan. That’s wonderful. I’ll be right there.”

  She stood in the phone booth for several minutes, trying to stop the tears. Thank you, she prayed. Thank you.

  She found her car and quickly drove to the house. An unfamiliar vehicle was parked in front. Must belong to one of Logan’s friends, she thought as she let herself in the front door.

  “Wendi?” she called.

  “In here.”

  Melissa stepped into the living room and stopped.

  Standing in the center, next to the coffee table, were Logan, Wendi and Fiona. Their arms were wrapped tightly around one another. She gasped.

  Wendi turned at the sound and smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry I took off without telling you. Dad said you figured out what happened. Pretty dumb, huh?”

  Her throat was closing as though a giant fist were crushing her entire body. “Of course not,” she forced out. “I—I’m glad you’re safe.”

  “You’ll probably want to ground me for a year.”

  Melissa forced herself to laugh. “Something like that.”

  The girl stood between her parents. It was so easy to pick out the features. Her eyes and skin from her mother, her hair and smile from Logan. Three special people…the “perfect” family at home. Someone should get out the camera and take a picture.

  “I’m so grateful you took the time to look for my little girl,” Fiona purred as she patted Wendi’s arm. “Logan and I were so concerned.”

  “I—I’ll be in my room. Excuse me.”

  Melissa fled from them all, trying to ignore the knowing look in Fiona’s emerald eyes. Once alone, she locked the door behind her. Fiery ribbons of pain coursed through her body. The last of her hopes turned to ashes in the onslaught like a dried leaf in a forest fire.

  Fiona had returned. If not at this moment, then soon. She wanted Logan and Wendi, and Fiona was the kind of woman who always got what she went after. How could that strong, lonely, virile man resist the opportunity to regain his first love?

  The thought of them together was so awful her stomach clenched in protest. She went into the bathroom and pressed a cold washcloth on her cheeks and neck.

  The face staring back in the mirror belonged to a stranger. Wan skin, frightened eyes, trembling lips. She had to get out of here…now.

  “Ready to talk, kitten?” Logan asked as he closed the door behind Fiona.

  “Do I have to?” She bent down and made an elaborate show of retying her shoelaces.

  “Yes.” He waited until she’d completed the task, then tugged her to the sofa and sat next to her. “I want you to know that it was wrong of me to make you feel bad about growing up. That’s what kids are supposed to do. I guess I want to keep you young enough to need me.”

  “Oh, Dad. I’ll always need you.” She snuggled closer. “It was scary when I woke up this morning. At first I was afraid I was really sick, but then I remembered what Melissa had told me. I thought you might be mad or something. I don’t know why I went to the park. It’s been a long time since we were there.”

  “Maybe too long.” He rested his chin on her head. “You and I haven’t been doing a lot of family stuff together lately.”

  “We could go shopping.”

  “Ah, how about dinner and a movie?”

  “Okay.”

  Wendi tilted her head until she could look up at him. “Daddy, can you make Melissa stay?”

  As always, the answer he gave was as honest as he could make it. “I don’t think so. She…people have different needs in their lives.”

  “But we need her and she needs us.”

  “When did you get to be so smart?”

  “Yesterday.” She grinned. “So why can’t she stay?”

  “Needing isn’t enough.”

  “Why?”

  He ruffled her bangs. “It just isn’t. There has to be more.”

  “Do you love Melissa, Daddy?”

  “The truth?”

  She nodded.

  Did he love her? He needed her and he wanted her. Was that love? Had he loved Fiona? He’d lusted after her and had been blinded by the light of her beauty. Was that love? “I don’t know.”

  “Does she love you?”

  “Not anymore.” He knew it had to be the truth. He’d seen the look on her face when she’d walked in on the family reunion. Then why did he hope he’d just told Wendi the first lie?

  “I don’t want you to go.” Wendi folded her arms over her chest and turned from the bed.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t want to leave you, either, but I can’t stay.” Melissa folded her bathing suit. Her hands lingered over the shiny Lycra as she recalled the way Logan had peeled the straps from her shoulders.

  “You promised to take me to the doctor if I didn’t feel better. Right now my stomach hurts awful.”

  “It’s called cramps.”

  “It’s not.” Wendi spun to face her. Tears ran down her cheeks. “It hurts because you’re leaving me. Don’t go.”

  Each sob battered at Melissa’s self-imposed control until all that was left was a thin layer of pride.

  “Hush.” She held the young girl next to her, feeling the fragile bones of youth. Who would tell Wendi about boys and kissing and how to know when she fell in love? Would Fiona take the time? Would Mrs. Dupuis? Would there be a string of beautiful women who played with Wendi’s emotions in an attempt to curry favor with her father?

  “I’m not leaving you,” she said finally. “I promise I’ll call every week and we can do something together.”

  “It won’t be the same.” Wendi sniffed.

  “I know. But it’s the best I can offer right now.”

  Wendi stepped back. “I’ll be in my room. Tell me goodbye before you leave.”

  “I will.”

  She pulled open the bedroom door and ran past her father. Melissa bit back a groan. Was the entire Phillips family lined up to speak with her? Would Fiona be
next?

  “I heard,” he said, jerking his head in the direction of Wendi’s room.

  “And?”

  “How can you do that to a little girl? I thought you said you’d stay until I found a replacement.” His eyes accused her.

  “I did, but things have changed.”

  “What things?”

  Did he have to stand so damn close? The scent of his cologne brought back memories best left forgotten.

  “Do I have to spell it out?” She began folding a sweatshirt.

  “Yes.” He tore the garment from her hands and tossed it onto the floor. “Dammit, Melissa, doesn’t Wendi mean anything to you? She needs you.”

  “She needs me? No, that’s not what this is about.” She tried to step away, but he grabbed her hands and held her in place. “What about what I need? And what about you, Logan? Are you willing to admit you need me?”

  She was close enough to see the faint scars crisscrossing his left cheek and the dark hair curling through the vee in his short-sleeved shirt. Close enough to feel the desire spreading through her body. Before she could weaken and give in, she wrenched her hands free and moved back.

  “We had something very special,” she said. “I gave you everything I had, including my heart. I cared for you, encouraged you, loved your daughter and loved you. But it wasn’t enough.”

  He made a move to speak. She shook her head. “I’m not finished. Even now, when I’m ready to walk out of your life, you keep talking about Wendi. “Wendi needs you, Melissa. Stay for my little girl.” She mocked his deep voice. “You’d rather live alone for the rest of your life than admit you care about me.”

  “I care.”

  “Ah, Logan.” She leaned forward and touched his chest with her palm. “I feel it beating and I know it exists, but you’ve hidden it under so much pain, I don’t think it can be found again. You say you care. All right. I’ll buy that.”

  She picked up the sweatshirt and folded it, then placed it in the suitcase. After glancing around the room, she pushed down the top and flipped the latch.

  “There was a time when caring would have been enough. I would have accepted less than the best. But you—” she smiled sadly “—you’ve taught me that I’m worth more. I deserve the best. Unfortunately, that means you.”