Hero Dad. Marta Perry

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СКАЧАТЬ held him against his chest. “Davy, say hello to Ms. White.”

      Davy stuck his finger in his mouth, afflicted with sudden shyness, then apparently decided she was okay and lunged toward her. Julie’s arms went out automatically to grasp him, and he threw his arms around her neck in a hug.

      She looked a little stunned.

      “Sorry about that. Davy’s a born hugger.”

      “That’s all right.” Her voice was muffled as she returned his son’s embrace. She pulled back a little. “Hello, Davy. It’s nice to meet you.”

      The words were conventional. Her expression wasn’t, and it rocked him back on his heels.

      He took a breath, trying to adjust his impressions of her once again. Ryan wouldn’t call her an ice maiden if he saw the way she looked now. Julie had plenty of feelings.

      The rest of that conversation flickered through his mind. No, he certainly wouldn’t be expressing any interest in Julie White. He wanted someone safe, and whatever he was reading in Julie’s sea-green eyes wasn’t safe at all.

      Julie felt as if she’d taken a blow to the heart. She was too overwhelmed with feelings to think straight, and she could only hope none of them showed on her face.

      She’d told herself, objectively, that her mission here was clear. She had to make sure Lisa’s child had the best, and then she’d step back out of his life again.

      But she hadn’t thought about how it would feel to hold a living, breathing, sturdy little boy in her arms. A squirming little boy, she realized.

      She set him down, thankful that the movement hid her face for a moment. When she stood again, she was composed.

      “So this is your son. He’s adorable.”

      He was. She didn’t want to stop looking at him. He had a mop of soft red curls that glinted gold where the light touched. His eyes were the same golden brown that Seth’s were, and he had a sprinkling of freckles across his cheeks.

      “Yeah, we think he’s a pretty neat kid.” Seth’s words were casual, but love and pride blazed across his face.

      This was something else she’d left out of her planning. She hadn’t imagined the power of the love Seth had for his child, and it left her groping for solid ground.

      Davy ran across the room to his uncle. Ryan scooped him up and tossed him in the air, the boy’s head nearly touching the ceiling. She flinched at the sight; they ought to be more careful with Lisa’s child.

      Davy might look like his father, but there was an indefinable something in his heart-shaped face that reminded her of Lisa. Her fingers itched to pull out her camera and start snapping.

      “Did you say you had some articles to show us?” Siobhan Flanagan’s question brought her back to her senses.

      She couldn’t start taking pictures of Davy. She couldn’t do anything that would alert the Flanagan family to her interest in him.

      “Yes, of course.” She pulled several magazine issues from her satchel. “These should give you an idea of the type of piece I have in mind.”

      “Come, sit down.” Siobhan took one of the magazines and handed another to Seth. Then she drew Julie down beside her on the well-worn sofa.

      Julie began explaining the photo piece she’d done on women pilots, but she could only give it half of her attention. The other half was focused on Seth, who sat opposite them with an article she’d done on one of the grand old resort hotels of the Maryland shore. He frowned at something, and her throat tightened.

      Ridiculous, to care what he thought of her work. They had no relationship, in spite of the fact that he’d been married to her sister. That was the way Lisa had wanted it. The way she wanted it.

      He glanced at her. “I’ve seen this place, but your pictures make me think I’ve never really looked at it.”

      She was irrationally pleased. “I hope that’s a compliment.”

      “It is.”

      He gave her that easy grin, and her breath caught. Seth might be the quieter of the Flanagans, but he packed a powerful masculine punch, all the same.

      “I’m telling you, if we’d taken in a bigger line to begin with—”

      Two men came in, their conversation stopping when they saw her. Even as she tried to identify them from what the investigator had told her, a young woman came in behind them, running her hand through tumbled red curls. More Flanagans, obviously.

      Her nerves twitched again as Davy ran to the older man, who picked him up, kissed him, then tossed him casually to the woman. She’d be the first one to admit she didn’t know anything about raising an almost-three-year-old, but surely all that stimulation couldn’t be good for him right before supper.

      She and Lisa had always had an early supper in the nursery, followed by bath and bed, supervised by a revolving progression of nannies and au pairs. She had a vague memory of Lisa’s mother popping in to say good-night once they were in bed. She’d worn silk and diamonds and smelled of expensive perfume.

      No one had stayed in their lives long. Not her mother or Lisa’s mother or any of the nannies. She wouldn’t want that for Davy, obviously, but was this better?

      Her head already throbbed from too many people talking at once. There were way too many Flanagans.

      She stood, trying to make sense of the introductions flying at her. Seth’s father, Joe, bluff and hearty. His white hair still had traces of the red it had once been. Seth’s minister cousin, Brendan, who was also the fire department chaplain, explained that his fiancée was working late so he’d come to beg supper from his aunt. The red-haired young woman was Terry, Seth’s paramedic sister.

      Too much confusion. She backed up until she bumped into the mantel. This was better. She could stay out of the mainstream and observe. If only she could put a camera in front of her face, she’d be fine.

      Did they always all talk at once? And pass Davy around in that casual manner? Apparently there had been a fire call after she’d left the station that afternoon, and they were engaged in an animated argument over the order in which equipment had been called in.

      She took a steadying breath. This was her chance to observe, she reminded herself. She could see how they interacted with Davy and with each other.

      Seth was the quiet one, she realized, but not for any lack of strength. He came across as solid and even-tempered, a peacemaker in the face of some flippant remark of Ryan’s that brought a rebuke from his father, or Terry’s passionate defense to Brendan of some action Julie didn’t understand. For that matter, they all seemed to be speaking a language they understood and she didn’t.

      In the midst of the hubbub, Seth’s gaze met hers. His smile seemed to pierce her heart, adding another layer to the confusion.

      He took a few steps toward her. “Still sure you want to have anything to do with the Flanagans?” he asked. “Trust me, it’s even worse when the rest of the family is here.”

      Family. СКАЧАТЬ