Doorstep daddy (5 page)

_{Yet she wanted a monastic life - temporarily maybe, but remaining uninvolved was a necessity for her right now. She'd been responsible for so many for so long, and she'd finally achieved freedom to do what she needed for herself. It wasn't selfish; it was survival. Her dream of college would wither if she got involved with someone, let alone someone with kids. Others would have demands on her time again, and she would sacrifice herself once more. She had to be strong for herself for a while. That was all. Maybe this group date was the best kind of date, light and casual and,, above all, friendly. No future implied.}

_{Mark was practically asleep in Richard's arms after
skee-ball. Callie had paid her losses to that slick shooter, Jason. Jason looked happy - and nearly out of gas. "Time to go," she said.}

_{"I got the message," Richard said, nodding at the dozing toddler he held.}

_{"I won, Uncle Richard." Jason held out his take, a dollar and a half.}

_{"Wow. Dinner's on you. Just kidding. Congratulations, although I ought to yell at Callie for teaching you how to gamble."}

_{Jason grinned at his uncle, clearly forgiving him for his earlier reprimand.}

_{As they walked out, Richard said, "You're a sensational date."}

_{Callie grinned, very pleased he thought so. "Thank you."}

_{"And you're a good friend."}

_{Her pleasure faded as a strong, more tender emotion surfaced. Be careful, she told herself. "I'm happy to help."}

_{"I think you're my guardian angel. You've saved me tonight from a lot of future torture. I hope."}

_{He repeated the "guardian angel" sentiment at her apartment when he dropped her off. It pleased her until she realized he wasn't walking her inside for a goodnight kiss. Logic told her he couldn't leave two young children alone in a car, even for a few minutes.}

_{He did cover her hand with his. "I'll call you."}

_{She smiled. "Good night, Richard."}

_{His fingers squeezed hers, as if sending her that kiss he couldn't physically give. "Good night."}

_{In her bed later Callie found herself as dreamy-eyed as if he had kissed her senseless. Get a grip, girl, she thought, shaking off the gooey feeling. The guy brought
kids on a first date, a nightmare signal in any self-respecting woman's book of prospective mates. And any self-respecting woman would have run for the hills.}

_{She
was
running. Now if only she hadn't had such a good time beforehand.}

_{"that's all of it."}

_{Richard stood in the huge hangar-warehouse as trucks waited to pick up fruit from Malaysia. USDA inspectors swarmed over the boxes before finally releasing the shipment. In his capacity as Malaysia's local representative, Richard signed off on the paperwork while ignoring Mark's grunts to get the stroller moving. He had no other choice but to bring the boy with him as he got the Southeast Asian country's merchandise pushed as quickly as possible through the system.}

_{"Okay, kid, we're off," he told Mark, turning the stroller toward the entrance. He waved his hand, motioning the trucks to move in.}

_{Mark screamed happily at the vehicles, calling them by name. Only he didn't quite get the word right.}

_{"Trucks,
Mark, with a
T"
Richard corrected firmly as the warehousemen nearest them roared with laugher.
"Trucks."}

_{Tucks!'' Mark shouted.}

_{"Close enough, my friend." Richard decided he had handled that Callie's way - with humor, not outrage or admonishment for perfection. He could live with "Tucks." Boy, could he live with it.}

_{He'd had that talk with Amanda about the virtual pets and about her life changes. She'd blushed furiously, and he'd been embarrassed, too, but he'd also tried to be as easy and matter-of-fact as he could. He didn't think he'd made too much of a mess. Amanda had seemed better
since, controlling her outbursts.. .well, toning them down a bit. And maybe that was because she now had some insight into the cause of her behavior. All thanks to Callie.}

_{He wanted to see Callie again to talk about
her
this time. She had mentioned night classes, but they'd never got around to talking of them on their date. They'd never got around to a lot of things. He intended to make up for that.}

_{He would call her for another date as soon as he got home. And he would see her at the housewarming her sister was giving him. That would be great.}

_{Chapter Three}

_{"We're so honored to have a diplomat among us."}

_{Richard couldn't understand his neighbor's excitement about his title. If they'd been at the warehouse with him and Mark, they wouldn't have been nearly so impressed. He'd been dressed in jeans and a ratty University of Pennsylvania T-shirt. About the closest he came to class or elegance had been his five-year-old loafers. The air he breathed had hardly been rarefied. "Sucking diesel" was the slang expression for inhaling truck exhaust. All in all, his diplomatic post meant he was no more than an exotic paper-pusher.}

_{Richard smiled at the speaker, a woman from around the corner whose husband ran a Fortune 1000 company. "It sounds niftier than it is," he said, "believe me."}

_{"Oh, I doubt that." The woman was so positive, Richard didn't have the heart to disabuse her of her notion.}

_{As she talked with him, Richard had to admit that Gerri's housewarming was niftier than
he
had thought it would be. The place was packed, which was gratifying. Most of the guests talked in bunches, clearly old neighbors and friends, but they welcomed him graciously, and he couldn't complain.}

_{For once he was without kids, too.}

_{Since Gerri's house was on the same street, he'd left Amanda in charge of the boys. She was only a few minutes away, he would only be a few hours, and Mark had had his bath and been stuffed into his pajamas before he'd left. He felt at a loss as to what to talk about with these people, his world lately revolving almost exclusively around children, but his neighbors were quite skilled in the art of conversation. He was getting back into adult-conversation shape. Only one thing was missing. Callie.}

_{When Gerri crossed his path in her hostess duties, he stopped her. "Is Callie coming?"}

_{"No," Gerri said, looking surprised. "Why would she?"}

_{Richard realized he might have made a faux pas. "I mentioned I expected to see her here when I talked to her the other day. I didn't think...I mean, she is your sister, and I assumed she'd be invited."}

_{"Oh, dear." Gerri's face mirrored distress. "I don't invite family to neighbor things. I didn't even think about it. I'm sorry."}

_{"I'm sorry, too," Richard said. It occurred to him that Gerri knew perfectly well he was more acquainted with Callie than with ninety-five percent of the people in the room. To leave Callie off the list because she didn't mix family and neighbors was incredibly rude to the guest of honor, who ought to have one familiar face in the crowd.}

_{"I can call her now if you like," Gerri said, gesturing toward the kitchen where there no doubt was a phone.}

_{"No, that's okay. She's probably busy."}

_{Gerri brightened considerably. "Oh, yes. She must be. She's quite the free bird now."}

_{Richard's housewarming mood deflated after that. People were welcoming still, but they seemed to have no true depth of character. He didn't feel much better when Callie's nephew, Joey, came downstairs and greeted him.}

_{"Hi, Mr. Holiday," the boy began innocently enough.}

_{"Hi, Joey." Richard smiled at him. He looked a little like Callie with his blond hair and fair complexion.}

_{"Is.. .is Amanda allowed to go to soccer matches after school?" he asked, blushing bright red. Richard sensed girl interest, and he wasn't sure he liked it directed at his sweet, innocent, if occasionally hurricanelike niece. In fact, he was sure he didn't.}

_{"Well, yes, I suppose," he said dubiously, having a feeling Amanda would kill him if he said anything else. "I'd like to see her support her school's events."}

_{"Oh. I don't go to her school," Joey said. "I go to a private one. All the kids around here do."}

_{Richard stared at him. He'd had no clue she was on the wrong side of the school tracks, too. Before they moved, he had thoroughly researched the schools, and they were excellent, in the top ten percent of the country. Why would all these people send their kids to private school when the local one had a great reputation? Unless they were total status-symbol seekers - or knew something he didn't. He would have to ask Callie. In the meantime he said, "I'm sure Amanda can go to your school's soccer match if she wants to."}

_{The boy smiled. "Great. Thanks."}

_{Joey practically skipped into the kitchen. Richard frowned after him. Nice boy, he thought. Polite. And he had better be as sweet and innocent as Amanda while he was with her. Unfortunately Richard had once been an adolescent. Masses of uncontrollable hormones
weren't the exclusive property of young females. While girls got moody and weepy, boys got horny - and eventually desperate for an outlet. Richard glared at the swinging single door.}

_{Worried about his niece, he managed to get away from the housewarming the moment it was acceptable to do so. He used the excuse of an early-morning appointment. People assumed it was some diplomatic thing, all hush-hush. He let them.}

_{"Everything okay here?" he asked Amanda when he came through the door.}

_{She nodded while staring at the den's television set. "I thought you'd be late."}

_{"I was concerned about you, how you were doing. Mark went to bed okay?" he asked. "And Jason?"}

_{"Yes,"
she snapped, glaring at him.}

_{"I'm just asking," he replied, a little tired of the sulk-iness. He wished he knew what to do with her. When her parents first died, she'd been clingy, something he understood perfectly. Now, however, she was distant, belligerent even. He wondered if she should see a grief counselor. He sat down opposite Amanda in the other wing chair. "Everyone was nice and very glad we've moved in. They gave us lots of things we can't use."}

_{She wasn't amused. "That figures."}

_{"I was joking." He paused, then decided he should play his ace. That was bound to make her happier with him. "Joey's bringing the gifts over in the morning."}

_{She glanced at him again, although in a barely interested manner. "He is?"}

_{Richard nodded. "He talked to me about asking you to a soccer game at his school."}

_{She bolted upright. "What! You didn't say anything stupid, did you, Uncle Richard?"}

_{Richard straightened happily, knowing he was on solid ground. "No, I didn't. I'm not that dumb. You'll be happy to know I told him it would be okay with me if he asked you to go."}

_{"Uncle Richard!" she wailed, horror in her voice. "You
didn't."}

_{Richard gaped at her in bewilderment. "What's wrong with that?"}

_{"He didn't ask me and now he won't!" She leaped from the chair and ran out of the room.}

_{Richard slumped. "When will I learn to keep my mouth shut?" he muttered. "Especially when I didn't know I opened it?"}

_{A few moments later he got up. He'd wronged Amanda - somehow - justified or not. He needed to tell her he was sorry. He'd also wronged Callie over the invitation. Well, no, he hadn't; her sister had. Still, he owed Callie an apology, too.}

_{He dialed her number. When she answered, he said, "Hi, it's Richard. I hope I'm not disturbing you."}

_{"No." She said nothing else. He wished he knew if she was in her nightgown, ready for bed. Did she wear a gown or pajamas? Baby dolls. She had to be the baby-doll type.}

_{He got hold of his wandering libido. "I wish I'd had control over the housewarming guest invitations because I would have done more than assumed someone I actually liked would be invited. In fact, you would have been first on the list."}