Father by Choice. Amanda Berry

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СКАЧАТЬ be anything to worry about. I’ll be in a hotel. By myself.” Maggie stood and took charge of the packing. “I should call first, though.”

      “What could you possibly say on the phone?” Penny tried to mimic Maggie’s voice. “I’m planning on being in New York this weekend and ran into Sam. Even though you apparently haven’t spoken to him in years, he told me your phone and address so that we could hook up. You don’t have time because you are a busy man? That’s fine. I’ll tell you some other time that you have a daughter.”

      “I get it.” Maggie held up her hands in defeat. She hadn’t been able to figure out a better plan for the past few days. “I guess this is the way it will have to be.”

      Penny grinned and held up a different lacy nightie.

      “I’m not going for me. I’m going for Amber.” Maggie pointed to the drawer until Penny returned the nightie to its proper place.

      “Yes, ma’am.” Penny saluted with two fingers. “I guess I don’t need to run to the drugstore and get some condoms?”

      “No!” Maggie blushed as a little remembered heat flushed her body. “I don’t need a man. I’ve done fine on my own for years now.”

      Penny muttered, “It isn’t about need.”

      “Where are you going, Mommy?” Amber hugged her brown bear close to her small body. Her hair spread on the pillow, making her look like a dark-haired angel.

      Maggie drew the covers to Amber’s chin. “I’m going to New York for a few days. Penny is staying with you.”

      “I like Penny. She orders pizza for dinner.” Amber smiled. Her front tooth had come out a few days ago, prompting a visit from the tooth fairy. Another thing Brady had missed out on. If he even wanted to be part of their lives. She tried not to dwell on it, but she had to be prepared for him to reject her like she thought he’d already done. What would he want with a small-town family when he had New York?

      “Are you going to see the Statue of Liberty?” Amber asked with awe in her voice.

      Maggie smiled. “Maybe.”

      “Will you bring me something?”

      “Definitely.” She tickled Amber until she laughed. Maggie had her own ideas of what she wanted to bring home for her, but she wouldn’t dare to get Amber’s hopes up. It was bad enough that Maggie was thinking hopefully. She’d been kicked enough to only have doubt left, but apparently, a little spark of hope had survived.

      “Go to sleep. Penny promised she’d get doughnuts.” Maggie dropped a kiss on her daughter’s cheek.

      Amber linked her small arms around Maggie’s neck and pulled her down to the bed. “I’ll miss you.”

      “I’ll miss you more, baby.” Maggie hugged her as best she could with all the bedding and stuffed animals in the way. She stood and walked over to the light switch. “Good night.”

      “Night.” Amber squeezed her eyes shut like she always did at bedtime with her hands clasped together. What she prayed for, she never said aloud. Maybe Maggie, maybe her father.

      Amber knew her daddy lived far away. But Maggie couldn’t bear to break Amber’s heart by telling her that her father didn’t want to be part of their family. Now she was glad she hadn’t.

      A whole week hadn’t been long enough to figure out what to do or say. She’d never imagined Brady didn’t know. Over the years, she’d come to terms with the fact that he didn’t want her or Amber. Okay, maybe she was upset with him not wanting to be a father, but Maggie didn’t need him to want her.

      That knot twisted a little tighter in her stomach.

      How was she going to tell Brady about their child?

       Chapter Three

      “This is stupid,” Maggie muttered as she stood in front of Brady’s apartment building. She should have called. Sam had said she could catch Brady in the morning when he left for work.

      The cold day seeped through her jeans and she hugged her blue sweater closer. Her ponytail whipped around into her face again. Just a few more moments then she’d go in and ask for him. Just a few…

      Brady lived in a luxury apartment building off Central Park. Housing wasn’t cheap in New York, but his building seemed to be the cream of the crop. On the taxi ride over, Central Park had emerged among the buildings. The trees gave an illusion of open spaces, but the massive buildings dwarfed the park, holding it captive. Metal-and-glass structures on concrete. She’d never felt more lost or frightened.

      Too many people shoved into one space. Even now, people walked or jogged past her. There didn’t seem to be a spare area anywhere in the city to step aside and take a deep breath. Her heart raced and she could barely breathe with the hustle and bustle.

      She didn’t understand how Brady could live here when he’d grown up with the open spaces in Tawnee Valley. Where you didn’t have to clutch your purse to your side and fear the stranger walking toward you.

      She moved closer to the door. Maybe she should return to the hotel and call him. A jogger in hot-pink short shorts weaving between the business people in their gray-and-black suits caught her attention. She followed the woman with her gaze, wondering if she could ever feel that comfortable here, surrounded by strangers.

      “Maggie?” Brady’s baritone voice rushed over her like a warm waterfall.

      Her breath caught in her throat as she turned to find Brady staring at her from a few feet away by the apartment building door. The sun chose that moment to come out from under the clouds, lighting his handsome face as he came toward her. His dark hair was cut more conservatively now, and crinkles formed in the corners of his blue eyes. He was even more handsome than she remembered.

      Maggie returned his smile but couldn’t form any words. Up close, she could see the similarities between him and Amber. And those eyes, they caused her heart to stutter as he focused solely on her.

      Brady had a huge grin on his face. “Maggie Brown! What are you doing here?”

      “I came to see you,” she pushed out through her numb lips. “I mean, I’m visiting New York and…”

      What else could she say? And how was she supposed to think when he looked at her like that? As if he knew her inside and out. It had been a long time since she’d been in his arms, but her body tingled with memories. Should she hug him?

      “God, it’s good to see you.” His genuine smile didn’t change, but his voice sounded different from high school, more sophisticated, colder. “Are you living nearby?”

      “No, I’m still in Tawnee Valley.” She didn’t want to blurt it out, but how was she supposed to ease him into knowing he had a seven-year-old daughter? Even though she’d known Brady since they were kids, they hadn’t been close friends, and right now he felt like a stranger. “I need to talk to you about something.”

      Brady’s eyebrows drew together in concern, and he reached out his hand to grip her elbow. “Is everything all right? Is Sam…?”

      Shocked СКАЧАТЬ