Gone Country: Rough Riders, Book 14 by Lorelei James

Author:Lorelei James [James, Lorelei]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Published: 2012-12-10T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Three

December…

The week after Thanksgiving Sierra entered Gavin’s office, phone to her ear, stopping in front of his desk. “No, Mom. I don’t get to decide that. It’s between you and Dad. Hang on, he’s right here.” She handed him her phone. “You need to talk to her now.”

Gavin’s entire body tensed. “Fine. But stick around.” Then he steeled himself for the conversation. “Hey, Ellen. What’s up?”

“After speaking with our daughter? My blood pressure, merci.”

Christ. Now she casually sprinkled French words into conversation? She was probably wearing a damn beret. “I don’t know what’s going on, so why don’t you fill me in?”

“I asked Sierra to come to Paris for her Christmas break and she didn’t seem very excited. That hurts because I haven’t seen my only child since June. So have you spent the last few months turning my daughter against me, Gavin?”

Stay calm. “Not at all. You have to admit the come to Paris for the holidays invitation is a little out of left field.”

“But not out of line,” she retorted. “The court awarded you full custody, but I do have the legal right to request holidays.”

“I realize that.”

“Then you also realize you’ve had her for every holiday this year? And her birthday?”

“You’ve had her for Christmas the last five years! I only get her for one day on Thanksgiving, and then you pick her up at the crack of dawn to go shopping the next day. This is the first year I haven’t had to share her on her birthday since she was five years old.” He felt Sierra staring at him and his face heated. Dammit. He’d sworn he wouldn’t do this in front of her.

“Fine. Whatever. But consider this my unofficial request. I want Sierra to spend Christmas with me. In Paris.”

“You really expect me to put our sixteen-year-old daughter on a ten-hour flight to France…by herself?”

Sierra leapt up and leaned across the desk, her eyes beseeching. “No. Don’t let her guilt you into it, Dad.”

“She’s not a baby. She’s flown more times than most kids her age. Don’t you remember she flew to New York by herself when she was twelve?”

“She wasn’t by herself. That was a school-sponsored event with adult chaperones, so there’s no correlation to this situation.”

“I suppose we could take this issue to our attorneys.” Ellen sighed. “Or we could save the legal fees and you could fly to Paris with her, and back to the U.S., since you’re so concerned about her safety.”

“Really? What would I do in Paris for a week?”

“It’s the most romantic city in the world, I’m sure you could come up with something.” She trilled that mean, annoying laugh. “Oh right, for a second I forgot who I was talking to. Gavin Daniels—the man without a romantic bone in his body.”

Don’t take the bait.

When he didn’t respond, she blithely continued on, “Besides, it’s not like you can’t afford it.”

“Not the point, Ellen.”

“And Sierra’s break is two weeks, not one week, so I’d expect her here for the entire time.

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