The Good Father

Chapter Six

Jane looked at Max, her eyes imploring. “It’s late, and I’m in no mood for a tantrum. Do you mind?”

Max smiled. “Not at all.” He didn’t understand Kaylee wanting him, of all people, instead of her incredibly gentle and patient mother, but the little girl was entitled to a bit of spoiling after her accident. That road rash on her arm probably burned like fire.

He dabbed some antibiotic ointment on the oozing scrape. Kaylee watched him with interest, but she didn’t cry or try to pull away. He did the same for the tiny cut on her chin. Finally, he put bandages on her injuries. The arm took two.

“You look like you’ve done this a time or two,” Jane said.

He had. Hannah was a typical rough-and-tumble kid, so he knew how to apply a bandage. Now that he thought about it, Hannah had enjoyed having him fuss over her, too. Maybe it was something common to girls with absent fathers. But what did he know? He was no shrink.

What he did know was that he enjoyed taking care of Kaylee. She aroused protective feelings in him that he’d pushed aside and buried years ago. And he didn’t want those feelings-not at all.

He had specifically stayed away from single moms for this very reason.

But this situation was different than the one with Hannah, he reasoned. He and Jane weren’t involved. If Kaylee felt a temporary attachment for him, it would end as soon as he stopped spending time with her. And, really, he would have no reason to spend time with her after they returned to Port Clara.

“I think we’re done here,” Max said brightly. He needed to get out of this bathroom, away from the false intimacy.

He was not going to fall into that trap again, getting cozy with a woman because he enjoyed pretending to be a family. Not that “cozy” was even a possibility with Jane.

Jane helped Kaylee down from the counter. “Let’s go find your pajamas.”

Kaylee squealed with delight when she saw the big canopy bed in the bedroom she and Jane would share. “It’s a princess bed!”

Max smiled as he fixed himself a drink from the minibar in the sitting room that separated the two bedrooms. He felt tremendous relief that Kaylee seemed back to her old self, that the injury hadn’t been more serious. As he sipped his weak gin-and-tonic, he listened to the murmur of female voices coming from the bedroom.

Peaceful. That’s how he felt. Relieved and peaceful.

That wasn’t a feeling he was used to. His was a world of highs and lows, tremendous drive and energy. Always a goal in mind. He wasn’t used to just sitting, enjoying a quiet moment.

Jane emerged from her bedroom looking beautiful but frazzled. “She wants a story. And she wants you to read it.” Jane settled on the loveseat across from Max. “I’m sorry, but you’ve suddenly become her favorite person.”

“I don’t mind reading her a story. Does she like Green Eggs and Ham? I can do that one from memory.”

“Really?”

Maybe he shouldn’t have revealed that. He didn’t want to get into his history with Alicia and Hannah, not tonight. “It’s my favorite.”

“She likes it, too, Sam-I-Am.”

Max abandoned his drink and strolled into the bedroom. “I am Sam. Sam-I-Am.”

Kaylee giggled. “No, you’re Max.”

As he recited the familiar text from memory, Kaylee’s eyes grew heavier and heavier, and Max’s eyes strayed often to the other side of the double bed, with its luxurious sheets and silk comforter, picturing Jane reclining there, her dark hair spilled over her pillow.

What did she wear to bed? A skimpy nightgown? Boxers and a tank top? Nothing?

Max forcefully corralled his thoughts. She was his employee, a single mom and recently divorced. Off-limits. He had no business entertaining lurid thoughts about her.

But knowing that didn’t stop him. By the time he reached the part about the fox and the box, another part of his mind had Jane undressed and writhing in his arms.

“She’s asleep,” Jane whispered as Max neared the end of the story. They tiptoed out of the room, and Jane quietly closed the door. “I wish I could drop off to sleep that easily.”

“You don’t?”

“Sometimes I lay awake worrying about the future and how I’m going to provide for Kaylee. Sure, everything’s okay now. But she’s young and her needs are simple. What about when she gets older? She’ll want a cell phone and a computer. Prom dresses. Textbooks. College tuition.”

“Ex-husbands are good for that kind of thing.”

“Hah.” Scott would never provide for anything that wasn’t specifically spelled out in their divorce agreement, not unless he underwent a major personality transformation.

Max quickly changed the subject. “You want a drink? I noticed you stayed away from the beer and wine at the ball game.”

“I wanted to keep my wits about me so I wouldn’t inadvertently blurt out something to Ellen that gave away our secret. And, yes, a drink would be nice. Is there wine?”

Max headed for the minibar. “Red or white?”

“White.”

She shouldn’t drink anything. In fact, she should just say good-night and march back into her bedroom, brush her teeth and go to bed, even if she didn’t believe she could go to sleep. She was alone in a hotel suite with her boss. She thought about all those business trips Scott took. Staff development seminars, regional meetings in Dallas…

Oh, who cared about Scott.

Max handed her a glass of Chablis, and she took a sip. It was cold and crisp. “Not bad for minibar wine.”

“The Hotel Alexander strives to be a cut above. It says so on all their advertising.”

“Did you come up with that slogan?”

“Yeah. Long time ago.” He reclaimed his drink-something clear with ice-and settled across from her. Well out of arm’s reach, thank goodness.

“So, Max, I’m curious. Why do you have a policy of not dating women with children?”

He scowled. “Where’d you hear that?”

“From Allie. Or Sara-I can’t remember.”

“You shouldn’t listen to gossip.”

“So it’s not true?”

He didn’t answer right away. In fact, he looked troubled, and Jane’s heart sank. Of course they couldn’t date, it was ridiculous. She had just ended one unhappy marriage and had no business even thinking about getting involved again. Yet…

Oh, Jane. She really should cut down on her fantasizing.

“I have dated women with children,” he finally said. “But I found it…complicated.”

“You seem good with kids, though.”

“I like kids. It’s not that.”

“Then what? I know I’m being nosy, but I’m curious. And since I’m not auditioning for the role of your girlfriend, you can be perfectly honest.”

He raised one eyebrow at her. “All right, I’ll be brutally honest. Women with children are so often looking for fathers for their kids. That’s what they see when they see me-a good provider as well as a guy who gets along well with children. I don’t like being seen as just a potential stepfather.”

“That’s a bit harsh.”

“It’s true, though. If you were a single man out in the dating world, you would see that. Not that it’s wrong for a woman to put her child first. I’m sure if you were looking for a boyfriend, your first concern would be for Kaylee. Right?”

Since her thoughts had been running along that very line earlier in the evening, she couldn’t very well deny it. “Maybe you do have a point.”

“It’s a shame, though,” he added absently, almost to himself.

“What’s a shame?”

He looked up, surprised. Maybe he hadn’t meant to say those words aloud. “It would be pointless to deny that I’m attracted to you, and I suspect you don’t find me repulsive. Here we are in this romantic hotel, and under other circumstances…”

“Don’t even think about it.”

“It’s hard to think about anything else.”

Every cell in Jane’s body came to life. Something fluttered in her stomach and her palms grew damp.

Suddenly he smiled. “Don’t worry, Jane. I would never act on it. I do have some scruples.”

She allowed herself to breathe again, relieved at his words. Because if he tried to seduce her, she wasn’t sure she was strong enough to say no.

MAX LAY AWAKE in his big bed, still unable to sleep. The gin hadn’t helped; neither had clearing the air with Jane. He wanted her just as badly as ever. Despite his brave words about having scruples, it took every ounce of his willpower not to get out of bed and knock on her bedroom door.

But he made it until morning without succumbing to temptation. When he emerged from his room, showered, shaved and dressed, he found Jane and Kaylee sitting together on the sofa. Jane was reading a book aloud in a soft voice, something a bit more complex than Green Eggs and Ham.

“Max!” Kaylee jumped off the sofa and ran toward him, attaching herself to his leg.

“Good morning to you, too.” He ruffled her blond curls and tried not to notice how his heart squeezed painfully. How could Jane ever wonder why he avoided single moms when she saw this? He’d barely scratched the surface of his reasons last night. He hadn’t mentioned that the worst thing, the very worst, was the attachment to the child-an attachment that would have to be painfully severed if things didn’t work out.

It wasn’t just the woman who saw him in the daddy role. With Hannah, he’d adopted it willingly.

He resisted the urge to show Kaylee more affection, though she obviously craved it. He gently detached her from his leg. “Do I smell coffee?”

“I made a pot,” Jane said. “I know we’re going for breakfast, but I thought we might both need some caffeine.”

“You didn’t sleep well, either, huh?” His voice was laced with more innuendo than he’d intended.

She arched one eyebrow at him. “I slept fine, just not long enough.”

Max poured himself a half mug of coffee, wishing he had time to linger over it. Instead he gulped down a few scalding swallows. They were scheduled to meet Ellen and Ogden at the hotel restaurant in five minutes. “We probably should get going.”

“I’m ready.”

As they rode down in the elevator, Jane asked, “Is there some point at which you’d like me and Kaylee to disappear? I don’t want Kaylee to distract from a business meeting.”

“We’ll see how it goes.” Once he told Ellen the truth about his relationship with Jane and her daughter, Ellen might be the one who disappeared.

He was more nervous about losing this account than he cared to admit. He had payments to make on his business loan, and he shuddered to think what would happen if he was late.

Reece wouldn’t be happy with him, that was for sure.

He wished he’d saved more money during the years he’d worked for Remington Industries. But back then, he’d seen money as a never-ending river. He could spend it because he would always have more.

He’d thought that by now, he would have landed some bigger accounts. But the river was more like a trickle.

“You’re going to tell Ellen the truth as soon as we sit down,” Jane said suddenly. “Right?”

“Yes.” No matter how hard that was.

JANE COULDN’T HELP but be impressed with the beautiful hotel restaurant. She’d been to plenty of fancy restaurants before, but not with Kaylee. Scott had not believed in taking children out to eat.

In truth, sometimes a screaming toddler could be a problem at a nice restaurant. But Kaylee was almost old enough that she could be counted on to behave civilly.

She took in the high ceilings and ornate gold-leaved moldings with big eyes. “Mommy, I think a princess lives here.”

“You’re the only princess around,” Jane replied with a slight smile.

“Your party is here,” the hostess replied when Max gave his name. “Right this way.”

Ellen Lowenstein and the same man who’d been with her the other day were seated at a large, round table. The man stood and extended his hand to Max.

“Remington. Good to see you again.” Then he turned toward Jane. “Jane, isn’t it? And Katy.”

“Kaylee,” Jane gently corrected.

Ogden didn’t look all that pleased to be seeing the child again.

The waiter brought a booster seat for Kaylee. Max held Jane’s chair for her. She looked at him. “Now, not later.”

“Yes, um, well, thanks again, Ellen, for the baseball game. We had a great time.”

“No sense in having that expensive box unless you share it,” Ellen said cheerfully. “Ogden, you really should join us out there some time.”

“I’m not much of a sports fan,” Ogden said stiffly.

That figured, Jane thought, just as Kaylee started to squirm out of her chair. “Mommy, look, it’s Daddy!”

“What?”

Every head at their table swiveled as Kaylee, slippery as a little frog, slid out of Jane’s grasp and ran toward a man standing at the buffet with his back turned toward them.

Oh, please, let it not be.

Jane was out of her chair in a flash, running after Kaylee. It would be embarrassing to have her launch herself at some strange man shouting “Daddy!”

Then the man turned, and Jane saw that it was, in fact, Scott.

“Daddy!” Kaylee shouted again just as she reached him and attached herself to his leg, just as she’d done with Max a few minutes ago.

Scott looked down dispassionately. “Kaylee?” He was such a cold fish! Then he looked up and spotted Jane heading for him. His smile wasn’t pleasant. “Well, look who we have here.”

“Could you at least pretend to be happy to see your daughter?” Jane hissed under her breath as she pulled Kaylee away from her father’s leg.

“I am happy. I love my daughter.”

Jane suspected that sentiment was for the benefit of the cool blonde who’d just sidled up to Scott, putting a proprietary hand on his arm.

“This is your daughter?” she asked, shooting a hostile look toward Jane.

“Daddy, we’re gonna have waffles.”

“What brings you to Houston?” Scott asked. “Are you already bored with dreary little Port Clara?”

“I’m at a business meeting. Really, I’m sorry to have interrupted your, er, breakfast.” She wondered how Max was explaining Kaylee’s outburst.

“A business meeting? Are you charging for it these days?”

The blonde looked surprised by the blunt attack, but Jane was livid. How dare he?

Only her reluctance to embarrass Max further kept her from grabbing a glass of orange juice from the buffet and dumping it over Scott’s head.

Kaylee was still babbling, trying to get her father’s attention. Jane took her hand. “We’re leaving now.”

But not soon enough. Scott’s gaze wandered toward Jane’s table, and recognition quickly registered on his face. “I don’t believe it.” He brushed the blonde off his arm and strode toward the table where Max, Ellen and Ogden sat.

Oh, God, no. “Scott, leave it alone!” she called after him, scooping Kaylee up and hurrying to try to ward off the confrontation.

“So, Remington, you’re not involved with my wife, huh?”