Rodeo Daughter (Harlequin American Romance)

by Leigh Duncan

  “Right on time.” Amanda doused her own shiver of anticipation. Summoning her usual smile, she asked, “Are you ready?”

  Though her client licked her lips, she didn’t budge. “Could you let them in? I’m so nervous, I don’t think I can stand.”

  “Are you sure?” Amanda hesitated. The court-appointed psychiatrist had urged Karen to be the first to greet her daughter. But considering how the shaky woman held one of the sofa pillows in a stranglehold, there wasn’t much chance of that happening. And there wasn’t time to talk her through it. Not with Mitch and Hailey waiting in the hallway.

  “Okay, then.” Amanda took a steadying breath and crossed the room.

  At the door, she steered clear of Mitch’s intensely brooding eyes and firm lips. It was harder to ignore his towering presence, but she sent her gaze skimming past his white button-down and over a pair of long legs to the little girl who stood quietly at his side.

  It wasn’t every day Amanda had the chance to reunite a mother with her child. The occasion ranked high on a list of achievements that included earning a gold buckle at nationals, passing the bar exam, winning her first case. She smiled broadly.

  Just as she did, Hailey Goodwin tipped her head away from scrutiny of patent leather Mary Janes that peeked from beneath her navy pinafore. The ribbons at the ends of her thick plaits of black hair fluttered. Her dark blue eyes widened in an elfish face, and her rosebud lips parted to form a deep oval.

  “Mommy?”

  Stunned, Amanda stumbled back a half step. For an instant, she saw herself curled in a deep chair reading books with a child on her lap. She caught a glimpse of them in a kitchen, baking cookies, doing all the things mothers and daughters were supposed to do. The image was so powerful she almost regretted the large, male hand that dropped to Hailey’s shoulder.

  “No, honey,” Mitch said, breaking the spell. “This is Ms. Amanda, a friend of ours. Your mom is here, though. Isn’t she?”

  In the second it took Amanda to regain her composure, she silenced the useless ringing of her biological clock. Some people should not have children, and having practically raised herself, she’d decided long ago she would never pass her parents’ mistakes on to another generation. She liked kids, though, and mustering up an added dose of excitement for this one, she bent down until she was on Hailey’s level.

  “Your daddy’s right. I’m a friend of your mom’s. She’s waiting for you. She’s so excited to see you.”

  Tiny lips quivered. “Where?”

  “She’s sitting on the couch. Would you like to come inside and see her?”

  The girl’s fingers slipped into Amanda’s, but with each step into the room, Hailey’s progress slowed. They’d barely cleared the threshold before the child’s eyes brimmed with tears.

  Puzzled, Amanda cocked her head. “What’s the matter, sweetie?” she asked.

  A mix of consternation and joy warred on Hailey’s features. Amanda looked to Mitch for help, but after one glimpse of the pain that clouded his eyes, she looked away. Before she could come up with more than a few soothing words on her own, she sensed movement at her elbow and stepped aside.

  “I’m your mama, honey.” Arms widening, Karen sank to her knees before the child. “Come give me a hug.”

  Hailey glanced up at her father while Amanda held her breath and searched Mitch’s face. He’d hidden the pain she’d seen only seconds earlier behind a look that was pure encouragement, but the child’s owl-like gaze swung between her parents. She didn’t move until Mitch leaned down and whispered in his daughter’s ear. With his hand on her back, he guided the child into Karen’s waiting arms. Silence reigned while Karen clung to her daughter. Long seconds passed before one of Hailey’s thin arms crept around her mother’s neck.

  Amanda blotted her cheeks and risked another quick glance at Mitch. She wondered if he saw the rightness of the moment, but his eyes were shuttered. A tic in his jaw told her he was fighting his own emotional battles.

  “You’re such a big girl. So grown-up,” Karen murmured after a few minutes. She swiped at her eyes and held the child at arm’s length. “And so pretty.”

  “You have pretty hair, too.” Hailey ran her fingers through her mother’s platinum locks.

  “Thanks, honey.” Karen rose. She smiled down at the child. “We’re going to have a good time this weekend, just the two of us.” She took Hailey’s hand in hers. Her voice cooled when she turned to Mitch. “I’ll drop her off at the house at five o’clock on Sunday. Is there anything else I need to know before we leave?”

  Mitch stared at the colorfully decorated, bright pink suitcase he’d dropped by the door. “I put a list in her bag. Her likes and dislikes, her favorite TV shows, a description of our bedtime routine—it’s all in there.”

  “Oh, I’m sure we’ll do just fine without all that.” Karen patted her daughter’s hand. “Won’t we, Hailey?”

  The little girl’s gaze swung from her mother to her father and back again, while beside him, Amanda practically felt the temperature around Mitch rise. Hoping to keep everyone calm and moving in the right direction, she intervened.

  “That was very thoughtful of you, Mitch.” She aimed a pointed look toward her client. “I’m sure Karen appreciates it.”

  With Hailey’s hand in hers, the woman moved toward the door. As she passed Mitch, the child wrenched free.

  “I don’t want to go, Daddy.” Hailey clung to her father’s leg.

  Karen hadn’t even slowed down. From the doorway, she called, “Hailey, be a good girl now, and let’s go.”

  Mitch peeled his daughter’s hands away from his leg and squatted down until he was even with her tearstained face.

  “Shush, baby. It’s all right. You’re going to have a sleepover with Mommy tonight and tomorrow night. I’ll see you on Sunday. We’ll play together, same as always.”

  “But I want you to come, Daddy. I don’t want to go alone.” Hailey’s lower lip trembled and she hiccuped.

  “Daddy can’t come this time, honey. But remember? We packed Mrs. Giggles in your suitcase.” He looked up and addressed Karen directly for the first time. “Mrs. Giggles is her favorite doll. They sleep together every night.” His focus shifted back to his daughter. “You be a good girl for Mommy now and have fun.”

  “Okay, Daddy, but I won’t have fun,” Hailey conceded. Her toes dragged with every step, but she crossed the carpet to her mother’s side.

  Karen immediately whisked the little girl into her arms. Within seconds, she had grabbed the suitcase and disappeared out the door. The sound of her heels tapping against the hardwood floor outside the office faded into the distance.

  Mitch’s posture sagged the minute the door swung closed. He turned to face Amanda. The mask he’d hidden his emotions behind slipped away, exposing a potent mix of anger and pain.

  “I hope you’re satisfied, Counselor,” he said through clenched teeth.

  She was. Time would prove her right, but there was nothing to be gained by pouring salt in the man’s wounds. Instead, she strove to remain professional. “It’s the right thing to do, Mitch. That little girl deserves to be with her mother…and her father.”

  His hand on the doorknob, he issued a stern warning. “I meant what I said about holding you personally responsible for Hailey’s safety. Heaven help you if my daughter is harmed in any way.”

  And then he, too, was gone.

  Amanda sank onto the chair behind her desk. To win this case she’d need all the help heaven could give—and more—now that the combative prosecuting attorney had shown his vulnerable side.

  Chapter Four

  At four-thirty on Sunday afternoon, Mitch conceded defeat. Without the sound of little-girl laughter bouncing off the walls, the house was so quiet he couldn’t concentrate on the opening argument he’d present in the morning. In the past, he’d grumbled about the thousand-and-two interruptions Hailey insisted were absolutely necessary whenever he worked at home. He would never make that mist
ake again. Her tiny fingers on his keyboard or frequent breaks for make-believe tea parties were nothing compared to the worries that troubled him now.

  Where was she? Was she happy? Was she hungry? Safe? Did she miss her dolls? Her toys?

  The first time he’d looked into his infant daughter’s face, he’d fallen for her cute little button nose. From that moment on, he’d made it his business to know exactly where she was and that she was taken care of every moment of every day. Relinquishing her into Karen’s hands had required all the courage he possessed and then some. He’d walked out of Amanda’s office Friday afternoon feeling as if someone had filled his heart with sand. Sand that had slowly dribbled through an hourglass, marking the time until his little girl would be home again.

  He checked his watch. With another half-hour to go, he logged off, closed the laptop and moved to the window where he could stare in earnest at the empty spot in the driveway. Except it wasn’t empty. He blinked, unable to believe that his ex-wife had returned their daughter ahead of schedule.

  There was a flaw in his reasoning. The legs that swung out of the driver’s seat of the Chevy Suburban were too curvy to be Karen’s. Honing in on them, he decided Amanda looked even better in shorts now than she had as a teenager. He reminded himself that he wasn’t interested. Only one thing mattered at this point, and he held his breath until Hailey bounded from the car.

  The second his little bundle of sunshine hit the ground, he headed for the entry hall. He covered the distance in half the time it took her much shorter legs to make it across the front lawn. Still, he hung back, waiting as the doorbell sounded once, then twice, because she liked to hear the chimes echo through the house.

  “Dad-deee!” she cried the minute he opened the door. She lunged for his legs.

  When he’d played football in high school, two-hundred-pound linemen had struggled to bring him down. Today, forty pounds of little girl brought him to his knees in a heartbeat.

  Hugging her close, he ran his hands through hair that smelled of perfume instead of the baby shampoo and talc he kept in Hailey’s bath. His fingers tangled in a snarl, and he grimaced, wanting to wrap his protective arms around her and never let go. For her sake, he pried her away from him and rocked back on his heels.

  “Look at you,” he scolded, teasing. “I think you grew an inch while you were gone.”

  Pride danced in her eyes. “Mommy said I was all growed up and not her baby girl anymore.”

  Mitch fought the urge to roll his eyes. If Karen regretted missing out on her child’s early years, she had only herself to blame. “You are growing up,” he agreed, as Hailey snuggled in for another hug.

  He shot a grateful look at Amanda.

  “C’mon in,” he said. The first week of September in central Florida still meant ninety-degree heat and the kind of high humidity best endured in short bursts while moving from one air-conditioned place to another.

  “All in one piece, Counselor?” Amanda’s smile was light and breezy. She placed Hailey’s child-size suitcase on the floor.

  “As far as I can tell,” Mitch grumbled. “How’d it go?”

  Amanda shrugged. “There were a couple of kinks, but nothing Karen couldn’t handle. Things will go more smoothly next time.”

  Mitch suppressed a chuckle. His daughter could be headstrong and demanding when she didn’t get her way.

  Hailey backed out of his embrace to frame his cheeks with her little fingers. A frown pursed her lips. “Daddy,” she demanded, “why did you make Mommy go away?”

  Mitch stared straight into her troubled eyes. “I didn’t, honey.”

  Her sneakered foot stomped the entryway floor. “Mommy said you did.”

  Mitch forced himself to exhale slowly. This was exactly the sort of thing he’d been afraid of. He’d never said anything bad about his ex-wife—not when his daughter was within earshot—and he refused to start now. “Remember when Nana came to visit?” he asked. “You wanted her to stay forever, but she had to go to her own home. Mommy has her own home, too.”

  If Karen had been standing in the doorway, he’d have clarified the rules, made certain she understood that using their child as a pawn in some sort of power play was both cruel and unnecessary. But his ex-wife hadn’t dropped the child off. Amanda had. Why was that?

  “Karen was low on gas,” Amanda volunteered. “Your home is quite a drive from her apartment. It’s lovely, by the way—your house.” Tentatively, she sniffed the air. “Something smells good in here.”

  “Sga-betti,” he said, pronouncing the dish the way his daughter insisted. “It’s Hailey’s favorite.” Even he had to admit the house smelled a little like an Italian restaurant. Unable to sleep, he’d minced onions and garlic before dawn. The sauce had been simmering ever since. With nothing better to do, he’d prepared their salads—a large one for him, two or three bites of lettuce and a slice of cucumber for her.

  “I still make the bread. Right, Daddy?” Hailey asked.

  “Absolutely.” Later, after he cooked the pasta and dinner was almost ready, she’d help him spread butter on the bread before he ran it under the broiler.

  “So,” Amanda said, her hand on the door, “a week from Friday, then. My office?”

  “That works.” He rose to his feet. Should he ask her to stay for dinner? If she spent some time with them, would Amanda see how wrong it was to rip Hailey from the only home, the only parent, she’d ever known?

  He gave the idea a second thought before rejecting it. From the day he and Karen brought Hailey home from the hospital, Sundays had been reserved for friends and family. After their marriage broke up, he’d made it the housekeeper’s day off, and continued the tradition. No meetings, no work intruded. Now, with Hailey spending every other weekend with her mother, he was loathe to share what little remained of their time together. Even for a chance to prove he was the better parent.

  “We haven’t thanked Ms. Amanda for bringing you home. What do you say, Hailey?”

  “I want to play with my dolls, Daddy. Mommy didn’t have any at her house. Just Mrs. Giggles.” She planted her feet and leaned back, tugging on his hand.

  Life was simpler when he let his daughter lead the way, but they’d been working on manners for the past few months. Sensing this was a good time to practice them, he hoisted her onto his hip. “Let’s say goodbye now, and you can play until dinnertime.”

  Hailey buried her face in his neck. A muffled “’Bye,” came from somewhere near his collar.

  Good enough, Mitch thought. As he closed the door behind Amanda’s retreating figure, Hailey whispered in his ear.

  “Daddy, do I hav’ta go to Mommy’s again? I like it at my house. Can’t she come here? I want to stay with you.”

  Mitch swallowed. Balancing his own wants and concerns against the judge’s orders was going to take more out of him than he’d imagined. “I know, honey. I want you to stay with me, too, but we have to share some time with Mommy. Did you have fun with her this weekend?”

  “No,” Hailey insisted. “I don’t like her ’partment. It smells bad. Mommy’s TV doesn’t get Baby Einstein.”

  “We’ll make sure to pack your DVD player next time so you can take your favorite videos,” Mitch soothed. His heart broke a bit as he explained to his daughter that even wonderful little girls didn’t always get what they wanted. He struggled, trying not to let Hailey sense his pain, trying to make light of a difficult situation. “You’ll go to Mommy’s again, but not for two whole weeks.”

  After that, there’d be only four more visits before his next court date. By then, he’d find a way to change Judge Dobson’s mind.

  “I don’t want to!”

  When Hailey’s feet began to swing, he let her slide to the floor.

  “I don’t want to go!” In less time than it took him to put on his tie in the mornings, her voice sharpened into a shrill whine. “I don’t want to. No!” She pushed against his legs.

  She was winding up for a meltdown. And no w
onder, after all the excitement and upset she’d endured over the past few days. Knowing a change of scenery sometimes headed off a temper tantrum, he suggested, “How about if we go to the playground?”

  Hailey’s chin jutted out. Sullenly, she asked, “Will all my friends be there?”

  He checked his watch. There was still plenty of time to burn off some energy before it got too dark, but at this hour on a weekend they might have the park to themselves.

  “Maybe one or two,” he answered. “You like the big slide. And the swing set.” They had their own in the backyard, of course, but Hailey enjoyed their trips to the pocket park where oak trees provided shade and the slides were longer.

  She brightened at the idea. Her pink capris and matching top were casual enough to play in, so they left her suitcase where it was. Mitch turned the heat under the spaghetti sauce to the lowest setting before he exchanged his polo for a T-shirt. Sunblock was next, followed by mosquito spray for both of them. And in fifteen minutes, they were on their way.

  From a distance came the steady roar of a lawn mower. Music drifted from a backyard, accompanied by the heady odor of barbecue. At the playground, Hailey darted past the basketball court where a couple of teens practiced their hoop shots. Spotting two of her friends, she made a beeline for the sandbox. The girls chatted for a few minutes before the trio headed to the jungle gym, a multilevel affair with intricate walkways and two sets of monkey bars—one for little kids, another for older children. The higher bars were off-limits, and while Mitch tried not to hover, he kept a close eye on his daughter, just in case she decided to test the rules.

  Soon laughter filled the air as the girls raced up and down the ladders and slides, darted in and out of a small playhouse and tried to see who could go the highest on the swings.

  Sweat and humidity quickly plastered Hailey’s hair to her scalp, and he wished he’d thought to bring her headband. He dug in his pockets until he found an elastic, and beckoned. As his four-year-old climbed down from jungle gym, a car pulled to the curb and a slim, well-dressed woman stepped out.