Page 95 of Summer Weddings
“No,” she answered weakly. “I just want to go to bed. Don’t worry about me. I won’t die.”
Mitch sighed. He didn’t know if she was being dramatic or was expressing some kind of anxiety about death. She’d known about Catherine’s funeral, and maybe that had made her think about Lori… .
“Will you tuck me in?”
“Of course.” He followed her down the narrow hallway to her bedroom. While he pulled back her covers, Chrissie knelt on the floor and said her prayers. It seemed to take her twice as long as usual, but Mitch pretended not to notice.
Once she was securely tucked beneath the blankets, Mitch sat on the edge of her bed and brushed the hair away from her forehead.Her face still seemed a little warm.
“Stay with me, okay?” she asked in a voice that suggested she was fading quickly.
Mitch reached for the Jack London story he’d been reading to her. Chrissie placed her hand on his forearm to stop him. “I want you to read the story about the Princess Bride. That’s my favorite.”
Mitch figured he’d read the book about a thousand times. Chrissie could recite parts of it from memory, and Mitch knew he could repeat whole sections of it himself without bothering to turn the pages. Although his daughter was quite capable of reading on her own, there were certain stories she insisted he read to her.
He picked up the book and flipped it open. He made it through the first page by merely glancing at it now and then.
“Daddy.”
“Yes, pumpkin?”
“Are we going to Susan’s for Thanksgiving?”
Mitch closed the book. “Sawyer asked this afternoon if we’d join them for dinner.” Naturally Susan would’ve said something to Chrissie. Sawyer had also let it drop that Bethany would be there, then waited for his reaction. So Mitch had smiled politely and said he looked forward to seeing her again. Actually it was true.
“Did you tell Sawyer we’d come?”
Mitch nodded.
Chrissie’s eyes lit up, as if this confirmation had given her a reason to live. “I hope I won’t be sick then.” She made a show of swallowing.
“You won’t be.”
Mitch didn’t know what was wrong with his daughter, but he had a sneaking suspicion it wasn’t nearly as serious as she’d like him to believe.He sat with her for a few more minutes, then moved into the kitchen to check on dinner.
“Daddy!”
He made his way back down the hallway and stuck his head in her bedroom door. “Now what?”
“I want Ms. Ross.”
Mitch’s heart rate accelerated. “Why?”
Chrissie nodded. “I just want to talk to her, all right?”
Mitch hesitated. Of all the things he’d expected Chrissie to ask of him, Bethany wasn’t it. A game of checkers. A glass of juice. Anything but her teacher.
“Please, oh, please, Daddy. Ms. Ross will make me feelsomuch better.”
If Mitch was looking for an excuse to call Bethany, then his daughter had just offered it to him. He and Bethany hadn’t seen much of each other in the past few weeks, butsheseemed to be the one avoiding him. Embarrassed by what had happened in his office during Catherine Fletcher’s service, Mitch had decided to leave her alone. He’d done enough damage.
But it didn’t change the way he felt about her. They couldn’t be in the same vicinity without his heartbeat accelerating frantically. It had been years since he’d felt this vulnerable with a woman, and it made him nervous.
Since their meeting at Ben’s place, they’d greeted each other cordially—nothing personal. Just noncommittal chitchat, of the kind he might have exchanged with a near stranger.
None of that, however, was enough for Mitch to forget the feel of Bethany in his arms, Bethany’s lips on his, warm and welcoming. And so blessedly giving that he wanted to kick himself every time he thought about the way he’d treated her.
“Daddy.” Chrissie gave him a long look. “Will you call Ms. Ross?”
