The Parent Plan Part 2 by Paula Detmer Riggs

Author:Paula Detmer Riggs [Riggs, Paula Detmer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Karen gave the already spotless bathroom sink another swipe with the pale blue towel before returning it to the old porcelain rod she’d found buried under a pile of castoffs in the barn loft. Then, for the next few minutes, she made sure all the other towels were lined up perfectly.

After leaving Vicki’s bedroom twenty minutes ago, she’d made one last tour of the house to make sure the doors were bolted, though she knew full well they were—Cassidy was meticulous about security for his family—and then she’d brushed her teeth until her gums were stinging painfully. She was stalling and knew it.

Walking carefully, as though the colorful cotton hall runner was strewn with ground glass, she made her way down the short passage to the master bedroom. After switching off the hall light, she opened the door and slipped inside. Illuminated by only the small reading lamp on her side of the large Victorian bed, the room was shrouded in shadows.

Cassidy was sitting up in bed with the sheet pulled to his waist, his reading glasses sliding down his nose, the way they always did when he was absorbed in something. He glanced up as she entered, watching her over the rims. It never failed to intrigue her at the difference those glasses made. He still looked ruggedly appealing, but his harsh features seemed gentler somehow when he was peering through horn-rimmed lenses—especially when he was reading to Vicki.

“Is she asleep?” Though his gaze was direct, his expression was remote.

“Yes, poor darling. She’s had a pretty rotten day, all in all.”

One side of his mouth edged upward. “All in all, she’s not the only one.”

“No, she’s not the only one.”

He hesitated, then closed the stock breeder’s magazine he’d been reading and set it on the night table. His glasses followed. Though he always slept nude, even on the coldest of winter nights, she saw that he was still wearing the white T-shirt, and she suspected, his briefs.

“Thanks for backing me up about school tomorrow,” she said as she went to the closet and slid it open.

“I didn’t do it for you,” he said to her back.

“I realize that.” She went to her tiptoes and reached to the second shelf for the spare blanket she kept there in anticipation of Colorado’s frequent sub-zero nights.

“She’s my daughter, too, Karen,” he said as she slid the door closed again. “Don’t ever forget that.”

“I don’t intend to. And if you’re suggesting I’d use her as a weapon against you, forget it. I wouldn’t do that.” Bristling at his arrogance, she turned to glare at him. “Like it or not, we have a responsibility to Vicki to be civilized about this separation.”

“Separation?” One black eyebrow rose in a lazy arch. “Thought you intended to divorce me.”

She told herself it couldn’t be pain in his voice. Not when his eyes were clearly rejecting her. “I don’t have much choice, do I?”

“You had a choice and you made it.”

Now live with it, she heard in the silence that followed.

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