Delinquent Daddy (Banks / Kincaid Family #2)(45)

"She's so mean," Cassie finally admitted, lifting her face to show Boston a rebellious look. "I can't do anything because of her. She treats me like a little kid."

Boston checked the impulse to say, "But you are a little kid."

"I hate green beans, but she makes me eat them. My friend Ally gets to stay home from school at least once a month because her mom is so cool. But my stupid mom makes me go every day. I have to take a bath when she tells me to and eat what she tells me to. And she kept me from you. She always makes me do stupid stuff that's good for me.

I'm sick of it. Maybe I don't want to brush my teeth every night. Maybe I don't like healthy food."

Boston swallowed back a quick laugh. His poor little girl.

She had a first-rate mother, and it was driving her crazy. He opened his mouth to tell her she should be grateful instead of so unappreciative, when she blurted out, "And It's her fault you didn't know me all these years."

Boston paused.

"If she hadn't lied to you, you wouldn't have left. It's all her fault."

His chest tightening, Boston sighed and rubbed his face.

He didn't even bother to ask how she'd learned so much about the weeks after her conception. "No," he said. "It's not all her fault. Cassie, I..." He lifted his face and winced in apology. "I said some things"—and did some things—"to 170

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

make your mother think I didn't want to stick around. She had a reason to do what she did."

Maybe not a good one in his opinion, but she'd had one.

Cassie looked up at him with wide eyes. "But you did want me, didn't you?"

"Yes," Boston answered immediately. "Of course. And I want you to come live with me more than you'll ever know.

But I think you should stay here with...with your mom."

"Y-you do?" Cassie said, her eyes going wide with hurt.

As much as he wanted to pick up her suitcase and say,

"Let's go," he knew that wasn't the right decision. Children of separated parents had it hard enough as it was. It wouldn't help anything to create such an open war with Ellie about this. Picking that fight with her after the Chuck E. Cheese's outing and letting Cassie catch them at it had been an eye-opening experience. Unmarried or not, he and Ellie were this child's parents, and they needed to appear as a united front.

So Boston swallowed his pride and nodded. "Yes," he said.

"You need her right now. And no matter how mad you are, you love her, and you'd hate to be without her." He paused when he saw her face turn hard and unyielding.

"Just tell me who'd make chocolate chip cookies with you?"

he asked because he remembered Cassie talking about how she loved to make cookies with Ellie. "And who'd go before-school shopping with you every year?"

"C-couldn't you?" the girl asked, looking up at him with wide questioning eyes.

He melted. "Well, yeah. I probably could," he relented with a nod. "But it wouldn't be the same. That's special stuff you 171

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

do with just your mom. You and I are going to make up new stuff to do together. And that'll be our special time."

Reaching out, he took both her hands and squeezed firmly.

"I promise someday I'll take you home with me and you can visit my house for a while. Okay? But you have to stay here too. You have to make up with your mother."

Cassidy frowned at that suggestion. "I don't want to make up with her." She jerked her hands from his. "I hate her."

Boston blinked in surprise. He didn't much like the fact that his sweet, innocent young daughter could be so spiteful.

"Please let me come live with you," she begged.

His heart filled with an emotion that seemed to consume him to the point of explosion. He just wanted to scoop her up and let her have whatever she wanted. But she was being a brat, and Ellie's words echoed through his head. That's the second time tonight you got to play the good guy.

"No," he heard himself say, sounding stubbornly resolute and, surprisingly, just like he could remember his own father being. "You said some very mean things about her. Things that would hurt her. I can only imagine what you told her to her face. So you're not leaving this room until you can apologize to your mother."

Cassie's face filled with surprise. Then anger. Crossing her arms over her chest, she growled. "Fine. I didn't want to leave anyway."

Boston eased quietly out of Cassie's room, slightly sick to his stomach. Worried he'd just lost his one chance with her, he paused to swallow down his rising panic. Then he huffed out a breath and walked through the house until he saw Ellie 172

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

through the back window. Blowing out another breath for an entirely different reason, he opened the door to join her. He wasn't sure why he bothered. Both Trenton girls despised him at the moment. He should leave. But he felt drawn to Ellie, and leaving was the last thing he could do.

It was a cool evening with a slight breeze. Ellie sat at a picnic table, huddled inside her bulky jacket. For a moment, she looked so much like that college girl he'd fallen for, he couldn't even breathe.