Page 108 of Protecting You

Thank God Hank and Fiona had taken Peri in. Thank God for Hannah, who was obviously doing everything she could for the child.

But Hannah was right. It was time for Callan to step up.

CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX

Callan felt as wrung out as a used dish towel.

“You can do this,” Hannah whispered in his ear near the front door. She’d already gathered Mom’s things into her small suitcase. “You have to do it.”

“I know. I know you’re right. I will.” He didn’t add theI promiseto the end of his statement. How many times had he said that and then failed?

Too many.

He closed the door behind his sister, then pressed his forehead to it.

Hannah was right about everything. Well, most things. Yes, he had to step up and act like Peri’s father.

But he didn’t share her confidence that he could do it, certainly not well.

That was what nagged him. He didn’t like to tackle things without a plan, without the confidence that he could not only manage but do great. Succeed. Overachieve.

He’d done all of the above in college, then in the Army, then with the Agency. He’d risen in the ranks. He’d been praised for his achievements.

How did oneachievewith raising a little girl? How would he know if he was doing it right or failing miserably? What if he messed it up? He didn’t care how it would make him look, though that had always been a huge motivator for him. He cared about Peri. If he messed it up, messedherup, he’d never forgive himself.

Even if he could, eventually, learn how to be the father Peri deserved, that wouldn’t change the issues he was dealing with right now. He couldn’t keep Peri with him until he’d extricated himself from the Alyssa-and-Ghazi situation.

He’d have to leave her here with Mom and Dad for the time being. It would be hard on them after Dad’s heart attack, but Peri was incredibly self-sufficient for an eight-year-old. She’d had to be.

Megan hadn’t given her much choice.

Familiar fury rose like bile, but he had no right to judge Megan for her choices when his own were so questionable. He grabbed the bags he’d left on the stairs and climbed to the second floor.

His daughter’s bedroom door was open, and Peri and Alyssa were lying on their stomachs on the floor, coloring and chatting like old friends. They were facing away from him, both their legs swinging up and then plopping down on the area rug, casual as could be.

“And so then,” Peri said, “she told me she was taller than me, but I was like, nuh-uh, because I’m like, way taller than her. So Nell said we should get back-to-back, and then everyone said I’m the tallest girl in the whole class.”

“No way.” Alyssa sounded duly impressed. “That’s awesome.”

“Uh-huh. And then the kids were mean to her, but I told them to be nice because it’s hard to tell if you’re taller than someone when you’re looking at them, right?”

Alyssa rolled to her side, her back to Callan. She propped herself up on an elbow, her hand supporting her head. “You’re a really cool kid, you know that?”

Peri shrugged. “I just know what it’s like to not have friends. When I first moved here, I didn’t have any. So I try to be nice. And now she’s my friend.”

“The girl who was mean to you?”

“Uh-huh. Emma. She’s a cheerleader, and she thinks I’ll be good, even though she says I’ll be taller than all the other girls, she says it’s okay, that I can be a base like her, so we can practice together, but we’ll need shorter girls to climb on our shoulders and do tricks and stuff.”

Cheerleading? Peri wanted to be acheerleader?

Of course she wouldn’t choose to play a sport he knew something about, softball or basketball or soccer or even field hockey. Something he could actually help with.

He had a flash of the cheerleaders from his high school days, those adorable girls with their big smiles and short skirts.

He’d need a way to signal all the high school boys that he wasn’t a father to be trifled with. Casually mention his military and Agency history. Start carrying a sidearm. And billy club. Just in case.

“That makes sense.” Alyssa rolled back to her stomach and resumed coloring. “You’ll need to ask your daddy about cheerleading when you get a chance.”

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