Page 73 of Summer Weddings
“I don’t think she’s contagious,” Ben chided from the kitchen, then chuckled. “And I’m pretty sure she doesn’t bite.”
Mitch cast Bethany an apologetic smile. Uncomfortable, she glanced away.
Ben brought her meal, and she managed to meet his eyes. “I… I meant to tell you I wanted to take the sandwich with me,” she said, faltering over the words. “If that’s not a problem.”
“Not at all.” He whipped the plate off the counter. “What can I get for you, Mitch?” he asked.
“How about a cheeseburger?”
“You got it.” Ben returned to the kitchen, leaving Bethany and Mitch alone.
She looked at him. He looked at her. Neither seemed able to come up with anything to say. In other circumstances, Bethany would’ve found a hundred different subjects to discuss.
But not now. Not when she was so distracted by the battle being waged in her heart. She’d just walked up to her father and ordered lunch.
No, hewasn’ther father, she amended. Her father was Peter Ross, the man who’d loved her and raised her as his own. The man who’d sat at her bedside and read her to sleep. The man who’d escorted her to the father-daughter dance when she was a high school sophomore.
The only link Bethany shared with Ben Hamilton was genetic. He was the man who’d given her life, and nothing else. Not one damn thing.
Chapter3
On the first day of school, Mitch swore his daughter was up before dawn. By the time the alarm sounded and he struggled out of bed and into the kitchen, Chrissie was already dressed.
She sat in the living room with her lunch pail tightly clutched in her hand. She was dressed in her new jeans and Precious Moments sweatshirt.
“Morning, Daddy.”
“Howdy, pumpkin.” He yawned loudly. “Aren’t you up a little early?” He padded barefoot into the kitchen, with Chrissie following him.
“It’s the first day of school.” She announced this as if it was news to him.
“I know.”
“I’m Ms. Ross’s helper,” she said importantly.
Mitch had stopped counting the number of times a day Chrissie mentioned Ms. Ross. He’d given up telling her he wasn’t interested in marrying the teacher. Chrissie didn’t want to believe it, and arguing with her only irritated him. Eventually, she’d see for herself that there’d never be a relationship between him and Bethany.
He’d heard that Bethany had stirred up a lot of interest among the single men in town. Good. Great. Wonderful. In no time at all, she’d be involved with someone else, and his daughter would get the message.
Mitch hated to disappoint her. But, he reasoned, disappointment was part of life, and he wouldn’t always be able to protect her. The sooner she accepted there’d only be the two of them, the better.
“I packed my own lunch,” she told him, holding up her Barbie lunch pail.
“I’m proud of you.”
She delighted in showing him what she’d chosen for her lunch. Ham-and-cheese sandwich carefully wrapped in napkins, an apple, juice, an oatmeal cookie. Mitch was pleased to see that she’d done a good job of packing a well-balanced meal and told her so.
He looked at his watch, gauging the time before they could leave. “What about breakfast?”
Although Chrissie claimed she was too excited to eat, Mitch insisted she try. “How about a bowl of cereal?” he suggested, pulling out several boxes from the cupboard. He wasn’t much of a breakfast eater himself. Generally he didn’t have anything until ten or so. More often than not, he picked up a doughnut or something equally sweet when he stopped in at Ben’s for coffee.
“I’lltryto eat something,” Chrissie agreed with a decided lack of enthusiasm. He let her pour her own cereal and milk. His daughter was an independent little creature, which was fine with Mitch. In fact, he took pride in it.
By the time he’d finished dressing, she’d eaten her breakfast and washed and put away her bowl and spoon. She sat on the couch waiting for Mitch to escort her to school.
“Are you sure you need me, now that you’re a second-grader?” Not that Mitch objected to walking his daughter to class.However, he had a sneaking suspicion that if her teacher had been anyone other than the lovely Ms. Ross, Chrissie would have insisted on walking without him.
“Iwantyou to take me,” she said with a smile bright enough to blind him. The kid knew exactly what she was doing. And being the good father he was, he had to go along with her. The way he figured it, he’d walk her to the school door and, if he was lucky, escape without seeing Bethany.
