The Christmas Cradle. Linda Warren
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Название: The Christmas Cradle
Автор: Linda Warren
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Современные любовные романы
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“I’ll apologize in a minute—after I cool off.” He looked at Tulley. “She lied to me.”
“About what?”
“She said she was seventeen in Vegas, not twenty-one.”
“Yep, that’s a whopper, but I told you she looked too young and inexperienced for Vegas. Back then you weren’t listening to much I had to say.”
“I wore rose-colored glasses where she was concerned, but they were brutally ripped away and I can see her for the woman she really is.”
“Are you sure?”
“What do you mean?”
“The young Marisa was weak, but this Marisa seems strong. Remember the time you scratched your arm riding Diablo at the rodeo in Vegas? She almost passed out when I changed the bandage. But yesterday she climbed over the fence, with the horse running wild, to get to you. She even stopped the bleeding. The young Marisa wouldn’t have gone anywhere near that horse and she certainly couldn’t have attended to your leg.”
“So she’s matured. That doesn’t change anything.”
“Guess not.”
“What does she expect from me?”
“Forgiveness.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I can’t ever forgive her—yet last night, when she fell on the ice, I ran to her without thinking. I could feel her pulling me in with those soft eyes and that sweet smile—just like in Vegas. She was sitting with all those people and the only one I could see was her. That connection was there, and it wouldn’t have mattered if she was seventeen or twenty-one.”
“Nope. Probably not.”
Colter took a gulp of coffee, hearing the truth of his words but not wanting to face it. “I can’t believe any of this. Her parents sending the cops out here was the last straw, and it seemed to be for her, too. She was furious when she left, but I hope they convince her to stay away.”
“That would be best.”
Colter got to his feet. “I’d better go soothe Ellie’s ruffled feathers.”
“What would it hurt if she kept the shoes?” Tulley asked. “She’s a little girl, but she’s starting to like big-girl things.”
“Yeah.” Colter glanced toward Ellie’s room. “She’s growing up too fast and I’m lost when it comes to this girl stuff.”
“Yep. Ellie’s reminded you of that on more than one occasion.”
“I thought I could be everything to my daughter, and it hurts that I can’t. She still keeps asking for a mother….”
“Then let her keep the shoes.” Tulley stood and grabbed his hat. “She’ll feel like a big girl. What harm can it do? That’s my two cents. I’ll check on the horses and be back to fix breakfast.”
Colter watched him go with a bitter taste in his mouth. He didn’t want any reminders of Marisa in his house—not even a pair of damaged shoes. But it was a little late for such thinking. Marisa had invaded his carefully built world in more ways than he cared to think about.
AS MARISA FOLLOWED the deputy, her anger mounted. How dare her parents treat her like a child! That was what she’d always been to them—a child who needed protection, guidance and supervision. When her parents separated, the agreement had been that her father would raise Reed and her mother agreed to raise Marisa, and they would do so without interference from each other.
It had worked, more or less, until her father had come to New York for a visit and found her an emotional wreck. She’d just lost her son and she couldn’t bring herself back from that dark place of grief and intolerable sadness. When her father learned what had happened, he and Vanessa had argued bitterly, but he had ignored Vanessa’s threats and brought Marisa home to Texas to heal.
She’d had a strained relationship with her mother after that, but they’d reached a degree of understanding. Vanessa was not to meddle again. But Marisa had never been in control of her own life; one or both of her parents had. That was going to change. She’d been thinking about this earlier and now she had to put it into action.
The deputy didn’t stop at the outskirts of Dallas. He obviously had orders to deliver her, like an expensive package, to her father. The drive had taken twice as long because of the icy roads, but soon he pulled up to the security gate of the Dalton mansion.
When he got out and came to her window, she pushed a button to lower it.
“I’ve been instructed to take you to your father. Could you open the gate, please?”
“Yes,” she answered with deceptive calm, and punched the code into her remote control. The gates swung open and the deputy ran back to his car.
She parked behind him in front of the palatial home that had belonged to her grandfather. Normally, she’d drive to the garage, but today she wasn’t planning on staying that long.
Before the deputy could ring the bell, the door opened and her father stood there. His eyes went immediately to Marisa. “Oh, sweetheart, you’re okay.” He tried to put his arms around her, but she sidestepped him and walked through the foyer into the living room.
Vanessa ran to her. “Darling, thank God you’re home.” She tried to hug Marisa, but again Marisa moved away.
They walked into the library and Marisa turned on them.
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