Full-Time Father

Parker’s large hands dwarfed the child. He could span her back from shoulders to hip. She’d insisted on wearing her favorite shorts set for the visit—lime green shorts and a T-shirt covered with cartoon fish. Matching green ribbons held her hair in pigtails.

Christie stepped back a little and smiled. “You smell nice. Different from Mommy.”

Erin agreed. When she’d first come to the house and spoken with him, she’d noticed the faint fragrance of his spicy after-shave and the musky undertone of pure male.

There was a sound in the foyer of the house. Erin saw the housekeeper hovering in the background. Parker saw her, too, and rose to his feet. “Kiki, this is my daughter. Christie, this is Kiki. She takes care of things here.”

“Hi.” Christie studied her for a moment. “That’s a pretty color,” she said, motioning to the brightly colored jogging suit the woman wore. “Are you my daddy’s mother?”

Kiki smiled. She looked to be in her mid-fifties, with short blond hair and bright blue eyes. Her smile was warm as she bent toward the child. “I’m the housekeeper, Christie. I’m in charge of the cooking and I look after your father. Do you like cookies?”

“Yes.” Christie nodded vigorously.

“I’ve just taken some from the oven. Would you like to help me bring them to the terrace?” Kiki turned to Erin. “If you don’t mind.”

Erin glanced at Parker. He looked a little shell-shocked. They both needed a moment to catch their breath. “It’s fine. Go on, honey, but you behave.”

“Yes, Mommy.”

Christie took the hand Kiki held out and skipped next to her as they moved down the hallway. When they had disappeared, Parker shook his head, as if clearing it.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Fine.” He glanced at her. “She’s amazing.”

“Oh, she has her moments. Don’t let the charming smile fool you. Christie is a bright, curious and very sweet-natured child, but she also has her share of faults.”

Parker stared after the girl for a moment, then seemed to remember his manners. He stepped back and motioned to the house. “Please come inside,” he said, then closed the door behind her.

He escorted her to the terrace. His fingers rested on the small of her back. Erin swore she could feel the heat of that light touch clear down to her toes. The accompanying shiver made her nervous, but she was determined to ignore the sensations.

The table they’d sat at before had been covered with a white linen cloth and set with dessert plates, flatware and glasses.

“Kiki is preparing an assortment of treats for Christie,” Parker said, holding out a seat for Erin. “She’s spent the last three hours in a cooking frenzy.”

“I wish she hadn’t bothered,” Erin said. “Christie isn’t a fussy eater. Anything that remotely resembles dessert is fine with her.”

He took the seat opposite and leaned forward. One corner of his mouth quirked up in a deprecating half smile. “I don’t know where to begin.”

“I know this is very sudden,” she said. “Why don’t you let me tell you about the two of us, and when you think of a question, you can ask?”

“Sounds great.”

His dark eyes mesmerized her and she couldn’t look away. You’re acting like a fool, she told herself firmly, mentally using the same tone she used when her daughter was misbehaving. Unfortunately it didn’t work nearly as well.

With a conscious act of will, she shifted her gaze to the view beyond the terrace. The sky was a typical brilliant shade of California blue. The Pacific Ocean twinkled, the swaying waves sparkling with light.

“We live in Palmdale,” she said. “You couldn’t find a place more different from this and still stay in the same state.”

“Where is Palmdale? I’m not familiar with the name.”

“Most people aren’t. It’s in the high desert, about ninety miles north of Los Angeles. Remember where they used to land the space shuttle?”

He nodded.

“That’s by us. It’s cold and windy in the winter and hot and windy in the summer. You know, a hundred and ten, with zero humidity.”

He frowned. Well-shaped dark eyebrows drew together. “I think Stacey might have mentioned something about it. I can’t remember. But she didn’t go to a university there. I recruited most of my interns from Stanford.”

“Stacey was at Stanford.” Erin bit back a sigh. There hadn’t been enough money for both of them to go to an expensive university, so they’d compromised. Stacey had gone to Stanford, while Erin had attended a local state college. When they both graduated, Erin was to have applied for a graduate degree. But that had never happened. Stacey had died and Erin had been responsible for a newborn. There hadn’t been time for graduate school.

“She calls you ‘Mommy,’” he said.

“Christie knows that Stacey is her birth mother. As much as she can, after all she’s only four and the concept of death is difficult to comprehend. She knows that we’re twins and look alike. She’s seen the photos. But I’ve raised her from the day she was born. Make no mistake, Christie is my daughter.”

She made the statement quietly but firmly. She’d wrestled with this for a long time, wondering if she was doing the right thing by letting Christie think of her as her mother. Then she’d realized she didn’t have a choice. Stacey was gone forever and Erin was the only mother Christie would ever know.

“I’m not judging you,” he said. “I think you made the right decision. I’m still having a hell of a time with this.”

There was a noise by the far door. It opened and Christie stepped out, proudly carrying a tray covered with cookies.

Parker stared at her. “Five hours ago I didn’t know she existed and now she’s here.”

Erin glanced at his strong profile and the obvious pride in his expression. She’d wondered what the reclusive man would think and say when he found out about his child. She hadn’t expected him to be quite this pleased. Not that his feelings changed anything. She was still going to stick to her original plan. Christie deserved to know her father and Parker had the right to get to know his daughter. As long as a few simple rules were followed, everything should be fine.

Christie made it all the way across the terrace without spilling a single cookie. Kiki followed behind with a pitcher of lemonade.

“I tasted the chocolate chips cookies,” Christie said as she handed her mother the tray. “They’re ‘licious.”

“I can tell.” Erin set the tray on the table, then leaned forward and wiped a few remaining crumbs from the corner of her daughter’s mouth. “How many did you taste?”

“Just one,” Kiki said as she poured lemonade into three glasses. She gave Erin a quick wink. “She tried to convince me she was starving.”

“We just had lunch,” Erin said.

“I was starving. For cookies.” Christie grinned.

Parker grabbed a handful. “I’m hungry enough to eat anything. Someone here forgot about my lunch.”

Kiki turned to him and covered her mouth with her fingers. She shook her head. “Parker, I’m sorry. I was so busy making the cookies and lemonade.”

“Yeah, yeah, no problem. Maybe you could make me a sandwich or something.”

“Sure.” She took two steps, then paused. “Erin, can I get you a sandwich, too?”

“I’m fine.”

Kiki returned to the kitchen. Christie scrambled into the seat between Parker and Erin. She picked up her glass of lemonade with both hands and took a drink. Some of the liquid ran down her chin and onto her shirtfront. Erin wiped it away with a napkin.