She leaned closer to the speaker and jabbed the button. "No," she said. "I'm downright furious with you. You hurt Kelly's feelings the other night. You were no more than yards from her and refused to go to her or let her come to you. She's feeling rejected and hurt and—" she drew in a breath "—she thinks you don't want her here."
"What?"
"The mind of a four-year-old. Go figure. She thinks just because you won't see her, talk to her or acknowledge she's here … you don't want her here at all. Strange, huh?"
"Damn."
"My thoughts exactly. What do you plan to do about it?"
"What can I do?"
"Come down here and face her."
"Don't you think I want to? But I'll be damned if I'll scare my own daughter!"
"She loves you unconditionally. It's something parents get from their kids without a test, without having to do a dang thing." She switched off the intercom and refused to respond for a few seconds. Then she tapped the button one last time. "The ball's in your court. Make the shot or get off the field."
"What are you saying, Laura?"
His tone was deadly with warning, but Laura butted right up against it. "Stay up there till she forgets she has a father, till she manages to live without either parent. She already is, and it will hurt her less." She clicked off and went back to preparing dinner.
Richard called to her twice, but she didn't respond, and he sagged in his leather chair, rubbing his hands over his face, then through his hair. Stubborn woman. Who the hell did she think she was telling him what to do with his daughter? She was just the nanny, for heaven's sake. He set the rules here. Kelly was his child, and he'd raise her as he saw fit.
* * *
Richard was tying his tennis shoe when he saw the black paw curl under the door, heard the meow. Pitiful. He rose and crossed to the door, opening it slightly. The kitten peeked around the wood and tipped its head to look up at him. Anybody with a heart would have smiled. The kitten wrapped herself around his ankles, purring softly, and he bent, picking it up. "You are trespassing," he said to the green-eyed animal.
It was late, the house was quiet. Kelly was in bed and he suspected Laura was either in her room or downstairs. He hadn't heard any movement in the house for a couple of hours now. The kitten meowed. Richard spared it a glance, then tucked it against his chest, prepared to take it back to his daughter before his nightly run. But the kitten wiggled her way upward, near his throat, purring warmly and licking his skin. Something skipped through him, the need for contact, for the touch of another living creature, and he rubbed his face against the soft black fur as he crept down the hall. Serabi purred harder.
He stepped into Kelly's room, the night-light a soft glow in the corner. He laid the kitten near Kelly's chest, and watched the little thing paw the blankets, circle, then settle down. Kelly's hand immediately went to the kitten, resting on its back.
She doesn't think you want her here, Laura had said. And since this morning he'd tried to figure out a way to make Kelly understand that she was the best thing to come into his life. That he needed her so badly. Carefully, he sat on the edge of the high bed and simply watched her sleep. The kitten lifted its head and regarded him like an intruder, then lay back down.
Kelly stirred. Richard tensed.
Her eyes fluttered open and he stayed still, his heart pounding. It was dark enough that she could see no more than his silhouette. He didn't want her to think she was being set upon by some ghoulish creature in the dead of the night.
"Daddy?"
He could hear the quiver in her voice and he prayed it wasn't fear. "Yes, princess."
"Are you mad?"
"Oh, honey, no. Why would you think that?"
"You never come see me."
"I'm here now, aren't I?"
A pause, then she said, "Yes, I guess so."
Richard did what he shouldn't do. He reached for her, gathering her in his arms. The kitten protested, and he lifted the animal out of the way and set it on the pillow. Kelly's arms latched around his neck and she clung. His throat tightened and he whispered in her ear, softly, soothingly. "I love you, Kelly. I love you so much. I'm so very glad you are here with me now."
"Really?"
"Oh, yes, baby, of course I am. I love you. I wish I could come outside with you, I wish I could play on the beach with you, but it's just not possible."
"Why?"
"Because … I can't be in the sun." The lie stuck in his throat.
"Do your cuts still hurt, Daddy? Momma said they were deep."
Richard closed his eyes. Deep? They went clear to his soul. "Yes, honey, sometimes they still hurt." In ways he prayed she never learned.