Page 4 of Seizing Mack
Chapter Two
~ Mack ~
“Please, Mack,” herfather pleaded over the phone.
Heather “Mack” MacKenzie pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it. He was kidding, right? He couldn’t really be asking her to babysit the brat, could he?
“She is twenty-seven years old, Dad. She’s not a child.”
“No,” he agreed, sounding much older and wearier than the last time they had spoken. No surprise there. Dealing with her spoiled stepsister was enough to suck the life force out of anyone, even someone as vibrant as her father. She felt a stab of sympathy for him, but it passed quickly. Choices, and all that.
“But she isn’t exactly mature, either,” he continued. “She needs to learn how to do for herself. Catherine can’t say no to her. It’s becoming a point of contention between us and putting a strain on our marriage.”
Let it, Mack wanted to say.Ditch the dead weight and come stay with me. Instead she said, “So you want to send her tome?”
The skepticism in her voice was obvious; she and Dee had never gotten along. Mack tried to picture the well-coiffed former deb in her rustic, eco-friendly home and failed. When Mack had fallen in love with the sprawling, spacious house, she never once imagined Princess Dee stepping over the threshold.
“You’re a good role model, Mack. Strong and independent. You won’t coddle her.”
Not coddle her? Dee would be lucky if Mack didn’t murder her in her sleep. As one ofthe few, the proudMack knew about a hundred ways to do so while making it look like an accident. Her father knew this.
Or maybe he didn’t. They didn’t talk about that part of her life much. He hadn’t exactly been thrilled when she’d enlisted the day after her eighteenth birthday, nor when she’d re-enlisted for an additional tour after that. The ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ philosophy worked well for them.
“She’s agreed to this?” Mack asked doubtfully.
George cleared his throat and hesitated, making the hairs on the back of her neck prickle in warning. “We’re not giving her a choice. Catherine and I are going abroad. Alone.”
Mack mentally translated that to a big, fat “no”, which meant that Princess Dee wasn’t any happier with the idea than she was. The only thing worse than an unwanted houseguest was an unwanted houseguest who didn’t want to be there, either.
“We’ll provide an allowance to help with basic expenses, but it will be much less than what she is used to and will go directly to you to disburse as you see fit.”
It was on the tip of Mack’s tongue to tell her father that she neither needed nor wanted his money, but then thought better of it. Heshouldpay something for what he was asking. Mack started making a mental list of the local organizations that might benefit from her father’s restitutions and her personal sacrifice. She scribbled ‘animal rescue’ and ‘women’s shelter’ on the notepad beside the slim desktop monitor.
“She’s not going to like that. Especially the ‘much less than what she’s used to’ part.”
“No,” he agreed, “but that will provide incentive for her to get a job.”
Mack snorted. “A job doing what, exactly?” As far as she knew, Dee wasn’t qualified to do anything besides bat her eyes and point a well-manicured finger, expecting everyone to do her bidding.
Another long pause told her everything she needed to know. Mack let out a heavy sigh. “You’re kidding, right?” Mack rubbed at the dull ache blossoming between her eyes. “There must be something she can do. Didn’t she go to that fancy college?”
“For a while, yes,” her father said slowly, “but we stopped paying her tuition when she failed all of her classes. Catherine sent her to quite a few modeling and dance schools, though, when she was younger. Maybe you could find something for her atSeize. You have dance fitness classes, right?”
Jesus, give me strength. The conversation just kept getting better. Now her father was not only asking Mack to share her home, but to give Dee a job as well? In her fitness center!Seizewas Mack’s baby. It was her pride, her life, built on things like discipline and a desire to improve oneself — concepts that were completely foreign to Dee’s self-absorbed, pampered existence.
“Please, Heather,” her father said after long minutes stretched in silence, pulling Mack out of her musings.No onecalled her Heather, not since her mother had passed away. The situation had to be even worse than she’d thought if he was pulling that shit.
“You know I wouldn’t ask if there was another option,” he confirmed. “It’s just for a couple weeks, a few months, tops. Once we have the Copenhagen office up and running and our marriage back on track, we’ll be back to take her off your hands.”
God. Damn. It.She was going to say yes. She couldn’t deny him; the man rarely asked for anything. She might as well get SUCKER tattooed on her forehead. If nothing else, it could hide the bruises she’d get from banging her head against the wall. Mack closed her eyes and sighed heavily. “All right, Dad.”
His sigh of relief was audible. “I won’t forget this, baby.”
“Yeah, I know. When is she coming?” Mack started a new list, all the things she’d have to do before the Princess’s arrival. She had a spare guest room, but she’d need to get some bedding and pillows ready and —
“Her flight’s getting into Philly tonight. We’ve arranged for a car to drive her to Covendale.”
“She’s comingtonight?!”
