Heartstrings. Sara Walter Ellwood

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СКАЧАТЬ the frame with a shaky hand. This time, the trembling wasn’t from overwhelming amazement, but barely controlled anger.

      He turned and worked to keep his temper in check. “I only have one question for you.” He had to unclench his back teeth to chew out the words. “Why did you marry Abby?”

      Mike moved the lace curtain to look out the front window. “I loved her.” His voice was low and as cold as a Montana wind in mid-January. “That’s more than can be said for you. You only wanted a piece of ass.” Dropping the lace, Mike turned and faced him with a sneer twisting his pretty-boy face. His eyes were as icy as his voice. “I told you that when we had this very same discussion after Emily was born, if I recall.”

      Seth took a step closer and grabbed his shirt. Mike’s voice from that day fourteen years ago echoed in his mind.

      “What kind of father do you think you’ll be, Seth? Yours is a son-of-a-bitch to you most of the time. Your mother killed herself just because she had to live the simple life like the rest of us. Abby and I are married. You’ll be away more than you’ll ever be here. I’m not going anywhere. I love that baby, Seth. I love her. What do you feel for her?”

      At the time, he hadn’t known what he felt. How wrong had he been? About Mike being a better father than he could ever be. And about not fighting for his right to be a father to the little girl who’d stolen his heart without him ever seeing her. “You didn’t give me a chance to be her father. You didn’t even allow me to see her.”

      Mike pushed his hand away and stepped back. “I’m not fighting you, not here. But what I do want is for you to leave my family alone. As far as I’m concerned, you are a non-entity in Emily’s life. If it was up to me, she wouldn’t even be allowed to listen to your music.”

      “What I don’t get is why.”

      Mike shrugged and straightened the wrinkles Seth’s grip had made in his linen shirt. “Does love have to have a reason? Emily’s my daughter.”

      “Hello?” The voice belonged to Abby.

      As the front door clicked closed, Carolann called, “I’m in the kitchen, dear.”

      Seth ground his teeth together. What was she doing here?

      At the pocket doors, Mike glared over his shoulder at him. “I won’t let you hurt Emily or Abby. They’ve both been through enough.”

      He squared his shoulders. “Who said I had any intention of hurting anyone? I just want what I’ve been denied.”

      Mike slid the doors open, and Abby looked through the opening. Her eyes narrowed and she stood straighter. “What are you doing here?”

      He pushed past Mike into the foyer. “Wow, I feel so welcome.”

      “Mom! Did you see who...” Emily ran down the hall from the kitchen. “I guess you did.” She looked from her mother to Mike to him, her expression falling and taking on the pucker of confusion. “What’s going on? Why do y’all look so mad?”

      Mike smiled and draped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. Something in Seth squeezed and the acid in his gut churned when Emily met Mike’s gaze with trusting eyes only a daughter could have for her father.

      “Nothing.” Mike glanced at Abby. “I didn’t expect your mother, that’s all.” The obvious lie seemed to slide easily off Mike’s tongue.

      Emily rolled her eyes. “Right. The wicked witch might not like it.”

      “Emily,” Abby said in an exasperated tone, “please, don’t speak about Tammy Jo that way. She’s your stepmother.”

      Seth clamped down on his teeth so hard pain shot through his face. Obviously, Tammy Jo hadn’t changed much in the intervening fifteen years since he’d left town. He wouldn’t have his daughter mistreated by anyone.

      Mike’s jaw worked as if he had to unlock it to get the words out between the compressed line of his lips. “Tammy Jo is doing her best, sweetheart. Give her time. Now, let’s go have dinner.”

      Mike’s arm remained wrapped around Emily’s shoulders as he led her down the hall. Abby fell into step behind them, and Seth followed.

      Frank and Tammy Jo greeted him with a welcome that surprised him, after the chilly response he’d received from his old-time best friends.

      Mike moved around the large glass-and-wrought-iron table. Letting go of Emily’s shoulders, he pulled out a chair for her to sit, then helped Tammy Jo into her seat. He sat between his wife and Emily.

      Seth pulled out a chair and raised a brow at Abby.

      “Thank you,” she murmured and slid into the chair.

      Carolann brought a platter of thick steaks to the table. He helped her into her chair, and she smiled at him as he took a chair between her and Abby. “My, what a gentleman you’ve turned into.”

      “You taught me well. What else can I say?” He looked around at the food in the middle of the table. “Everything smells delicious, Carolann.”

      She waved his compliment away. “Frank, why don’t you pop the cork on that fancy bottle of wine Seth brought with him? We’ll save Tammy Jo’s wine for the next time.”

      Frank retrieved the bottle from the kitchen. He held the bottle up upon his return to look at the label.

      Tammy Jo’s eyes brightened the moment she saw the bottle. “Tahbilk Shiraz. I’m impressed. Wish I could drink some,” she said, looking across the table at him. “You have good taste.”

      He shrugged and unfolded his brightly colored napkin in his lap. “I like good wine.”

      “I hope you didn’t pay an arm and a leg for it. I told you we were just having steaks.” Carolann picked up the salad bowl.

      “I think I can afford it.”

      “I saw Forbes Magazine just ranked you at the top of its richest country singers,” Emily said, and he met her awed gaze.

      Swallowing hard, he shifted in his seat and shrugged. “Don’t pay too much attention to those reports.”

      Carolann passed the salad bowl to Tammy Jo, who filled her plate and passed the bowl to Mike, then looked across at him again. “I saw you in Dallas in March. What a show! I couldn’t believe our very own Seth Kendall could sell out an entire football stadium.”

      He turned to take the wine from Abby. When his fingers brushed hers, awareness zapped through him. He held her gaze a beat longer than necessary.

      She blinked and let go of the bottle. If he hadn’t hustled to hold on, the hundred-dollar wine would have slipped out of his numb fingers and landed on the concrete floor of the patio.

      “Thanks. This past year was amazing.” He glanced at Tammy Jo as he poured the wine into his glass.

      “What’s it like being so rich and famous?” Emily took the salad bowl from Mike and dumped a pile on her plate.

      His tongue felt heavy and dry. “I guess it’s fun, СКАЧАТЬ