Page 161 of The Nanny and the Beefcake
“You aren’t calling the police, are you, Mr. Cress?”
What was Raz doing?
“No, of course, not.”
“Then why did you take out your phone? I’ll leave. I didn’t mean to make any trouble.”
Anguish coated her dad’s words.
But it was a good question. What would Raz need his phone for?
“I’m sending a text, Mr. Lamb.”
A text?
“Now give me your phone, sir,” Raz directed, his tone curt but not cruel.
“Are you worried about pictures? Because I didn’t take any. I swear. You can look. I’ll show you right now.”
She wasn’t sure what was worse, her father’s deceptive ways or the gut-wrenching desperation in his voice.
“I’m not looking for pictures. I’m putting a note in your phone. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll call the number and do everything the man on the line tells you to do.”
“Who do you want me to call?” her father asked, his voice shaking.
“Just give the person your name, and he’ll handle the rest.”
“Mr. Cress?” her father blurted, his voice thick with emotion.
“Yes.”
“Tell Libby I’m sorry. I haven’t been the father she deserved. You see, I’ve burned a lot of bridges in my life, and I don’t have many options. Aurora, Libby’s mom, made me better. I know I’ve let her down. I know I’ve let everyone down, but I tried. I tried to do right by my kids.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, holding back tears.
Did he know she could hear him?
Was that speech for her, or was that Connolly Lamb trying to save face and garner sympathy?
The truth is, she’d never know.
Still kneeling at Sebastian’s bedside, she focused on the aquamarine gemstone and timepiece on the side table when a memory flickered. It was an image of her mother outside the community center, slipping a stone similar to this one into her pocket.
Or maybe it wasn’t a stone.
It very well could have been her keys or a pack of gum. Her addled mind couldn’t focus. It couldn’t order the onslaught of emotions.
She released a shaky breath and listened.
And…nothing…until an engine turned over, and the grind of tires meeting gravel hung in the air, fading away.
Her father had left.
The front door slammed, and all she could hear now was the thump of Raz’s footsteps.
It was over.
She pressed a kiss to Sebastian’s forehead.
