Love Me or Leave Me by Gwynne Forster

Author:Gwynne Forster [Forster, Gwynne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2011-01-15T05:00:00+00:00

Pamela waved at Drake, went inside and stood before her father. She knew he anticipated her ire, and she didn’t plan to disappoint him. “You didn’t greet Drake, and you gave him the impression that you thought him worthless, that he didn’t have a decent enough job to support himself and a family. I was speechless. I couldn’t believe my ears. Why did you do that, Daddy? Anybody, including you, can look at that man and see that he stands for something worthwhile. If you hurt his feelings, you hurt me.”

Phelps flexed both of his shoulders in a shrug. “You needn’t defend him—he’s got a mouth and he used it.”

She didn’t want to plead with her father, because the more she begged, the more stubborn he became. “He’s a man, Daddy, and a strong one. Would you expect him to hang his head like a whipped puppy when you insulted him? And another thing—your marriage to a black woman isn’t proof that you aren’t prejudiced against black men. I’m reminded of your advice that I should marry a white one.”

He jerked forward. “What you’re suggesting is ridiculous.”

She’d known since childhood that a wise person didn’t put Phelps Langford on the defensive, that he fought hardest and most ruthlessly when he was down. An inner voice told her to let it be, that she may one day want her father and the man she loved to join hands. But she also knew that she was enough like him to ignore her own warning.

“You may know it’s ridiculous,” she said, “but does Drake? He came to your home with your daughter, the first man who’s walked into this house with me since I was eighteen years old, and you didn’t shake his hand or welcome him in any way.”

He pulled air through his front teeth, a gesture that was rare for him. “If he can’t decide whether to ask you to marry him, why should I genuflect when he shows up here?” The comment didn’t surprise her. Her father wasn’t given to wasting time fencing, but went straight for the jugular.

She told herself to be calm and to use more tact. “Daddy, yesterday for the first time, Drake Harrington told me that he loves me. I understand him well enough to know that he didn’t say it until he was sure he meant it and was willing to back it up. For a while now, he has behaved as if he cares deeply for me. He’s not a frivolous man.” She could see that she was getting to him. “I love him. I tried to forget him, but it was like trying to store water in a sieve. Useless.”

He held his hands up, palms out. “If he loves you, you don’t have a problem. I tell you, a man who looks like that one invites mistrust. He’s an awfully good-looking man.”

“Yes,” Delta Langford said, having avoided entering into a conflict between her husband and her daughter as she usually did when they disagreed.

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