A Mother's Homecoming(41)
She immediately had a visual of that company name on the side of Nick’s truck—followed by the image of Nick getting out of the truck at her aunt’s house, looking great in jeans as he strode purposefully toward her.
Oblivious to the fact that he’d lost half her attention, Richie continued. “I thought that if there are one or two projects you get stuck on, maybe some of us here can help you.”
“Thank you, that’s very kind of you to offer. I’ve already had dinner, but I might take you up on the—” Her phone, set to vibrate before the meeting, began buzzing around inside Pam’s purse like a hive of angry bees.
She flashed Richie an apologetic smile. “Do you mind? Very few people have this number, and it could be an emergency.”
“Not at all.” He waved, then caught up with his dinner companions.
She hit the answer button. “Hello?”
“Pamela Jo,” Nick growled, “what in the hell did you do to my daughter?”
Chapter Ten
Pam rocked back on her heels. “Excuse me?”
“It’s bad enough that I find out the two of you are meeting behind my back—didn’t you respect me enough to discuss it with me? If you don’t recognize my authority as a single parent, you shouldn’t have left her with me in the first place.”
She was stunned, not only by the out-of-the-blue phone call but also by the depth of emotion in his words. How many years had he been waiting to lash out about that? On the other end of the phone, Nick fell quiet. Was he regretting his outburst or just biding his time until the next attack?
Making her way to her car, she gave him a moment to calm down. She slid into the driver’s seat and locked her doors. “Nick, the only time I’ve seen Faith since that day you dropped her off was at the salon, where she just showed up for a haircut. I had no idea she was coming. She didn’t even have an appointment.”
More silence. Pam grew uneasy. He’d seemed upset about more than a single visit to the beauty shop.
When he finally spoke, his voice was softer, but tight, barely restrained. “She looks so much like you, now more than ever. She never wanted her hair short before.”
Pam ran a hand self-consciously over her own short, spiky hair. “I didn’t suggest she get it cut like that.”
“You didn’t have to. Don’t you see that she—” He edited himself, changing tack. “But what about guitar lessons with that slimeball nineteen-year-old? She said that was your idea! That guy is bad news, and I don’t want Faith within three miles of him, much less alone with him and paying to be there! You can’t just waltz into her life—”
Pam’s burble of laughter stopped him dead. Oh, hell. Where had that come from? There was nothing humorous about this call. Could she convince him it had simply been a nervous giggle and that she hadn’t meant anything by it?
“My daughter’s well-being is amusing to you?” he asked coldly.
“No, of course not. I … care about Faith, too. And I let her know when she came to the salon that I was worried about how she got there and how she was getting home. Even in a place as relatively predictable as Mimosa, she’s too young to be gallivanting around alone and unsupervised.” Too late, Pam realized that might sound like criticism of his parental skills, so she barreled onward. She’d rather he be angry with her for inappropriate laughter than argue with him about Faith.
“Okay, maybe one teensy thing struck me funny,” she admitted. “Nick Shepard, protective father? Vigilant against teenage guys with lustful thoughts! You’re right to look out for her absolutely, but in my mind, I can still see you as that teenage guy with lustful thoughts.”
“God, if any kid ever did to Faith what I did to you, I’d …”
Pam blinked. Was that self-recrimination she heard in his voice? “It’s not like you had to seduce me, Nick.” She’d wanted him so much.
All through their first date, she’d wanted him to kiss her. It had escalated every time she was around him, staring into those blue eyes and breathing in that familiar cologne. Just the feeling of him coming up behind her in the library had sent tingles through her body. He hadn’t even needed to touch her. Whenever he’d been close, she’d grown preoccupied with what it would be like when they touched later, when they were away from the school or when his parents weren’t in view.
But she doubted telling him that, reminding him how hot they’d been for each other, was going to make him feel any calmer about raising a teenager daughter.