The Single Dad's Proposal. Karin Baine

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СКАЧАТЬ relationship when children were involved. Broken families would always be a source of pain to her when they represented her own difficult background. The children suffered most when the parents decided they couldn’t live together and, in her case, not only had she lost her father but he’d taken her stepbrother too, severing all contact between them and leaving her feeling incomplete.

      Robbie may not have been her biological sibling but she’d grown up thinking of him as her big brother, someone she could turn to for advice or comfort, and losing him had been akin to having a limb cut off. Since then, she’d lived her life always feeling as though something was missing, and the loss of a mother had to be even more devastating to a child of Gracie’s young years.

      She never talked about her mom and she’d noticed Dr Valdez didn’t wear a wedding ring so there didn’t appear to be a significant other anywhere in the background. There was a chance he was nursing a broken heart, which would explain his defensive behaviour. It was the same reason Summer had come to Maple Island in much the same mood at first. Perhaps he was finding life as a single dad difficult. Given time, he might get back together with his ex again too, just as Marc had when he’d left Summer out in the cold over a year ago. Apparently, it was easier to share the parenting of a small child with their actual parent rather than someone who’d been learning on the job.

      Men with motherless children were double heartbreak waiting to happen because when things ended you lost them both. Regardless of the love and time given to help raise their offspring, when the relationship was over an ex-girlfriend didn’t have any right to remain in the child’s life. Losing Marc had been difficult, but having five-year-old Leo taken away from her too had been devastating when she’d come to think of him as her own. Until Marc had decided to forgive his ex for cheating on him when she’d asked to come back and, just like that, Summer had been surplus to requirements.

      That bitter taste of loss and betrayal tinged her objectivity. She knew nothing of the secrets the Valdezes might be hiding and she intended to keep it that way, having sworn not to get involved with another family outside the workplace again. If and when she decided to date again, her requirements for a suitor would include being single with no dependants or exes lurking in the background.

      She doubted Rafael had any desire to jump into the dating quagmire either. There certainly hadn’t been any talk of him seeing anyone since arriving on the island and his devotion to his patients, including the ten-year-old Walsh twins who’d suffered severe spinal injuries and were taking up a lot of his attention, didn’t leave him with much down time.

      She might not view him as relationship potential but she could see he was a good father, trying to give his daughter the best start in life and struggling with the demands of juggling his home and work life. It couldn’t be easy for a busy single dad contending with the special needs of an autistic daughter and Summer would never dare criticise his parenting skills but it wouldn’t hurt him to ask for or accept help once in a while.

      Her own mother had been equally as pig-headed when they’d been left as half of a family when her father had taken off, refusing financial or emotional assistance from any quarter. As an adult she recognised how her mother must’ve been hurting badly to be so determined to do everything on her own and prove she didn’t need a man around. Except Summer had been the one to suffer, forced to grow up too quickly and dragged into the conflict between her parents by having to choose which one to live with. She hoped Gracie would never be subjected to that kind of stress when it could have such a devastating impact on her development.

      It hadn’t been fair to Summer as an eight-year-old to put her under that much pressure to pick sides, but emotions had been running high and she’d been compelled to stay with her mother since her father had been the one having an affair. Once she’d made her position known, her father had demanded custody of her stepbrother and moved abroad to start a new life with the woman he’d left them for.

      They’d all been devastated by the split but her parents had wanted a complete separation, things having been said and done that neither could apparently overlook in order to let the siblings maintain contact. Perhaps they’d imagined they had been young enough to forget and would get over it, but she hadn’t and now she didn’t even know where to start looking for Robbie.

      With hindsight she could understand why her mother had chosen never to rely on anyone else after that epic betrayal, but when her health had suffered, Summer had been the only one there to pick up the pieces.

      Unable to work full time, there had been no money to fund things every other child took for granted and it hadn’t been long before she’d been taking on after-school jobs to supplement their income at a time when her teenage peers had been going to parties or shopping for clothes. She’d never resented her mother for those sacrifices but when she had eventually married again Summer had gone a little wild, exploring her sudden freedom and leaving her responsibilities far behind. They hadn’t really been close since. She’d even been replaced at home.

      Summer had no wish to interfere in anyone else’s life but Dr Valdez didn’t have to be Gracie’s whole world. There were no parent-of-the-year prizes for running yourself into the ground, only more problems for the child when there was no one else around to lend a helping hand.

      She’d studied hard to enable her to work with vulnerable children and she knew how much time and patience it took to communicate effectively to make any progress in their development. If he would simply give her the chance, she was willing to share everything she’d learned to make their lives a little easier.

      ‘Hold this for me,’ she said, handing the plush toy to Kaylee, and left her vantage point to meet them in the corridor, persuading herself her actions were based purely on Graciela’s needs.

      When she reached Rafael, he’d changed tactics and was murmuring in soothing placatory Spanish to his daughter. Summer’s school-level Spanish was rusty but she recognised ‘Te amo, mija’, because he told Gracie he loved her each time he had to leave her in child-care to go to work. It melted her heart that he could be so curt with people at times yet wasn’t afraid to express his feelings for his daughter. She wouldn’t have been human if she didn’t wonder what it would be like to have him whisper sweet Spanish nothings into her ear too, or experience the delicious shivers up her neck when she imagined him there.

      ‘I can take her from here if you’d like?’ Graciela immediately stopped fidgeting once she took her hand.

      It had taken weeks to get her to this stage when she’d screamed the place down every time her father was out of sight at first. There were still problems with those who worked with her on late shifts when Rafael was on nights at the clinic, but she was lucky Gracie responded to her so positively.

      ‘We’re fine, thank you,’ he insisted, yet as she dropped Graciela’s hand, the little one began stamping her feet. The low whimpering in her throat began to build until it would soon become that ear-piercing shriek to let everyone know she wasn’t happy. It was difficult for children like Gracie to communicate their needs effectively and the tantrums were often born of frustration.

      Summer stood her ground before Rafael’s stubborn pride, or lack of faith in her ability to do her job effectively, distressed the child any further.

      ‘If she’s happy to come with me now, it means you can get to work quicker.’ It was logical to anyone who wasn’t a helicopter parent, who didn’t trust another soul with the care of their precious offspring, that she was offering him the perfect solution.

      ‘Graciela, would you like to come and have a teddy bears’ picnic with us this morning? You can pick any toy you want and we’ll spread out the tea set for the party.’ Addressing her directly didn’t always elicit a response but on this occasion Gracie СКАЧАТЬ