Rodeo Daughter

“Right on time.” Amanda doused her own shiver of anticipation. Summoning her usual smile, she asked, “Are you ready?”

Though her client licked her lips, she didn’t budge. “Could you let them in? I’m so nervous, I don’t think I can stand.”

“Are you sure?” Amanda hesitated. The court-appointed psychiatrist had urged Karen to be the first to greet her daughter. But considering how the shaky woman held one of the sofa pillows in a stranglehold, there wasn’t much chance of that happening. And there wasn’t time to talk her through it. Not with Mitch and Hailey waiting in the hallway.

“Okay, then.” Amanda took a steadying breath and crossed the room.

At the door, she steered clear of Mitch’s intensely brooding eyes and firm lips. It was harder to ignore his towering presence, but she sent her gaze skimming past his white button-down and over a pair of long legs to the little girl who stood quietly at his side.

It wasn’t every day Amanda had the chance to reunite a mother with her child. The occasion ranked high on a list of achievements that included earning a gold buckle at nationals, passing the bar exam, winning her first case. She smiled broadly.

Just as she did, Hailey Goodwin tipped her head away from scrutiny of patent leather Mary Janes that peeked from beneath her navy pinafore. The ribbons at the ends of her thick plaits of black hair fluttered. Her dark blue eyes widened in an elfish face, and her rosebud lips parted to form a deep oval.

“Mommy?”

Stunned, Amanda stumbled back a half step. For an instant, she saw herself curled in a deep chair reading books with a child on her lap. She caught a glimpse of them in a kitchen, baking cookies, doing all the things mothers and daughters were supposed to do. The image was so powerful she almost regretted the large, male hand that dropped to Hailey’s shoulder.

“No, honey,” Mitch said, breaking the spell. “This is Ms. Amanda, a friend of ours. Your mom is here, though. Isn’t she?”

In the second it took Amanda to regain her composure, she silenced the useless ringing of her biological clock. Some people should not have children, and having practically raised herself, she’d decided long ago she would never pass her parents’ mistakes on to another generation. She liked kids, though, and mustering up an added dose of excitement for this one, she bent down until she was on Hailey’s level.

“Your daddy’s right. I’m a friend of your mom’s. She’s waiting for you. She’s so excited to see you.”

Tiny lips quivered. “Where?”

“She’s sitting on the couch. Would you like to come inside and see her?”

The girl’s fingers slipped into Amanda’s, but with each step into the room, Hailey’s progress slowed. They’d barely cleared the threshold before the child’s eyes brimmed with tears.

Puzzled, Amanda cocked her head. “What’s the matter, sweetie?” she asked.

A mix of consternation and joy warred on Hailey’s features. Amanda looked to Mitch for help, but after one glimpse of the pain that clouded his eyes, she looked away. Before she could come up with more than a few soothing words on her own, she sensed movement at her elbow and stepped aside.

“I’m your mama, honey.” Arms widening, Karen sank to her knees before the child. “Come give me a hug.”

Hailey glanced up at her father while Amanda held her breath and searched Mitch’s face. He’d hidden the pain she’d seen only seconds earlier behind a look that was pure encouragement, but the child’s owl-like gaze swung between her parents. She didn’t move until Mitch leaned down and whispered in his daughter’s ear. With his hand on her back, he guided the child into Karen’s waiting arms. Silence reigned while Karen clung to her daughter. Long seconds passed before one of Hailey’s thin arms crept around her mother’s neck.

Amanda blotted her cheeks and risked another quick glance at Mitch. She wondered if he saw the rightness of the moment, but his eyes were shuttered. A tic in his jaw told her he was fighting his own emotional battles.

“You’re such a big girl. So grown-up,” Karen murmured after a few minutes. She swiped at her eyes and held the child at arm’s length. “And so pretty.”

“You have pretty hair, too.” Hailey ran her fingers through her mother’s platinum locks.

“Thanks, honey.” Karen rose. She smiled down at the child. “We’re going to have a good time this weekend, just the two of us.” She took Hailey’s hand in hers. Her voice cooled when she turned to Mitch. “I’ll drop her off at the house at five o’clock on Sunday. Is there anything else I need to know before we leave?”

Mitch stared at the colorfully decorated, bright pink suitcase he’d dropped by the door. “I put a list in her bag. Her likes and dislikes, her favorite TV shows, a description of our bedtime routine—it’s all in there.”

“Oh, I’m sure we’ll do just fine without all that.” Karen patted her daughter’s hand. “Won’t we, Hailey?”

The little girl’s gaze swung from her mother to her father and back again, while beside him, Amanda practically felt the temperature around Mitch rise. Hoping to keep everyone calm and moving in the right direction, she intervened.

“That was very thoughtful of you, Mitch.” She aimed a pointed look toward her client. “I’m sure Karen appreciates it.”

With Hailey’s hand in hers, the woman moved toward the door. As she passed Mitch, the child wrenched free.

“I don’t want to go, Daddy.” Hailey clung to her father’s leg.

Karen hadn’t even slowed down. From the doorway, she called, “Hailey, be a good girl now, and let’s go.”

Mitch peeled his daughter’s hands away from his leg and squatted down until he was even with her tearstained face.

“Shush, baby. It’s all right. You’re going to have a sleepover with Mommy tonight and tomorrow night. I’ll see you on Sunday. We’ll play together, same as always.”

“But I want you to come, Daddy. I don’t want to go alone.” Hailey’s lower lip trembled and she hiccuped.

“Daddy can’t come this time, honey. But remember? We packed Mrs. Giggles in your suitcase.” He looked up and addressed Karen directly for the first time. “Mrs. Giggles is her favorite doll. They sleep together every night.” His focus shifted back to his daughter. “You be a good girl for Mommy now and have fun.”

“Okay, Daddy, but I won’t have fun,” Hailey conceded. Her toes dragged with every step, but she crossed the carpet to her mother’s side.

Karen immediately whisked the little girl into her arms. Within seconds, she had grabbed the suitcase and disappeared out the door. The sound of her heels tapping against the hardwood floor outside the office faded into the distance.

Mitch’s posture sagged the minute the door swung closed. He turned to face Amanda. The mask he’d hidden his emotions behind slipped away, exposing a potent mix of anger and pain.

“I hope you’re satisfied, Counselor,” he said through clenched teeth.

She was. Time would prove her right, but there was nothing to be gained by pouring salt in the man’s wounds. Instead, she strove to remain professional. “It’s the right thing to do, Mitch. That little girl deserves to be with her mother…and her father.”

His hand on the doorknob, he issued a stern warning. “I meant what I said about holding you personally responsible for Hailey’s safety. Heaven help you if my daughter is harmed in any way.”

And then he, too, was gone.

Amanda sank onto the chair behind her desk. To win this case she’d need all the help heaven could give—and more—now that the combative prosecuting attorney had shown his vulnerable side.

Chapter Four

At four-thirty on Sunday afternoon, Mitch conceded defeat. Without the sound of little-girl laughter bouncing off the walls, the house was so quiet he couldn’t concentrate on the opening argument he’d present in the morning. In the past, he’d grumbled about the thousand-and-two interruptions Hailey insisted were absolutely necessary whenever he worked at home. He would never make that mistake again. Her tiny fingers on his keyboard or frequent breaks for make-believe tea parties were nothing compared to the worries that troubled him now.

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