Jordan,” Jon said firmly.
Jordan obeyed. Ashley started to laugh, pointing at Jon’s shirt and jacket. “Daddy, you have marks all over you. Are those gerbil poopies?”
“No. It’s mad-dog muck,” Jon said.
“Mad-dog muck?” Ashley asked.
Even Jack Taylor was smiling then. “It does look like your latest client was a mountain lion out for blood,” Jack said ruefully.
Jon tried to smile. “Yeah, right. My last client was that Saint Bernard. Julie, haven’t you asked the neighbors to please keep that animal in their own yard?”
“I’ve asked them, Jon,” she said. Her tone was abrasive.
“Daddy, I like Sam in our yard!” Ashley wailed. Her eyes welled with tears. She stared at him as if he were planning to send her best friend away. Jordan suddenly swore as he dropped a gerbil. Jon snapped at him quickly. Before Jordan could apologize, a door slammed from elsewhere in the house. Jon frowned and started back through to the living room in time to see his elder daughter chasing out after the dark-haired kid who was hurrying from her bedroom toward the front door.
“Christie!” he thundered.
She stopped. The dark-haired kid had alreadygotten out. Christie looked fearfully from the door to her father as if he were the worst possible nuisance imaginable.
“What!” she snapped out.
“What the hell were you doing in your bedroom with a boy?”
“Playing the stereo. I’ve got to go, Dad, I’ve—”
“Get back in here.”
“I can’t. He’s going to think—”
“Want to hear what the hell I’m thinking?” he demanded. His fists were clenched at his sides. He was about to blow a gasket. He had to get himself under control. “I think that I’d better not see a male coming out of that side of the house again, unless you want to find yourself grounded until your twenty-first birthday!” he raged at her.
Christie gasped. Good. He hoped that he was rattling her, damned hard. She had on too much makeup, and her little plaid skirt was too short. And she was too thin. She was dieting for her boyfriend, or so it seemed. All the cool girls wanted to be toothpicks.
“Mom knew I was in there with Jamie. We were just listening to music.”
“Just listening to music.”
“Mom knows enough to trust me.”
“I don’t want boys in your bedroom.”
“Why, Dad?” she demanded belligerently, handson her hips. “Why can’t you just trust me in my own house with my own family in it? You just hate Jamie, and you just hate him because he’s different. What, Dad? You think I can’t sleep with a guy in a car, a park, an alley, somewhere else, anywhere else?”
He froze. His temptation was to walk over to his daughter and give her a sharp slap across the face.
He didn’t do it.
“Because this is my house, and you’re my daughter, and I’ve told you that you won’t have boys in your room, and that’s that,” he told her. “Because I damned well said so!” he added furiously.
His anger left him quickly. He felt weary, deflated. It wouldn’t work, he thought. She was just going to ignore him and go racing after her boyfriend, and then what was he going to do?
They stared at one another. Damnation, but she was another Julie. Her mother’s eyes seemed to stare at him as she defied him. She tossed back a length of her beautiful blond hair. Then she suddenly cried out, “I hate you, Dad. I hate you, hate you, hate you!”
Hate you…
God, did they all really hate him? What the hell had he done that was so very wrong? All he really wanted to do was love and provide for his family! He hadn’t erred that far; it had been damnedmiserable and he’d only looked for someone else back then because…
Julie hadn’t wanted him. Not then. At least, he hadn’t thought that she wanted him.
And his ego had been at stake.
Christie ran past him. He heard her bedroom door slam.
Millie and Jack came into the living room, Julie following quietly behind them.
“You’ve been home five
Jordan obeyed. Ashley started to laugh, pointing at Jon’s shirt and jacket. “Daddy, you have marks all over you. Are those gerbil poopies?”
“No. It’s mad-dog muck,” Jon said.
“Mad-dog muck?” Ashley asked.
Even Jack Taylor was smiling then. “It does look like your latest client was a mountain lion out for blood,” Jack said ruefully.
Jon tried to smile. “Yeah, right. My last client was that Saint Bernard. Julie, haven’t you asked the neighbors to please keep that animal in their own yard?”
“I’ve asked them, Jon,” she said. Her tone was abrasive.
“Daddy, I like Sam in our yard!” Ashley wailed. Her eyes welled with tears. She stared at him as if he were planning to send her best friend away. Jordan suddenly swore as he dropped a gerbil. Jon snapped at him quickly. Before Jordan could apologize, a door slammed from elsewhere in the house. Jon frowned and started back through to the living room in time to see his elder daughter chasing out after the dark-haired kid who was hurrying from her bedroom toward the front door.
“Christie!” he thundered.
She stopped. The dark-haired kid had alreadygotten out. Christie looked fearfully from the door to her father as if he were the worst possible nuisance imaginable.
“What!” she snapped out.
“What the hell were you doing in your bedroom with a boy?”
“Playing the stereo. I’ve got to go, Dad, I’ve—”
“Get back in here.”
“I can’t. He’s going to think—”
“Want to hear what the hell I’m thinking?” he demanded. His fists were clenched at his sides. He was about to blow a gasket. He had to get himself under control. “I think that I’d better not see a male coming out of that side of the house again, unless you want to find yourself grounded until your twenty-first birthday!” he raged at her.
Christie gasped. Good. He hoped that he was rattling her, damned hard. She had on too much makeup, and her little plaid skirt was too short. And she was too thin. She was dieting for her boyfriend, or so it seemed. All the cool girls wanted to be toothpicks.
“Mom knew I was in there with Jamie. We were just listening to music.”
“Just listening to music.”
“Mom knows enough to trust me.”
“I don’t want boys in your bedroom.”
“Why, Dad?” she demanded belligerently, handson her hips. “Why can’t you just trust me in my own house with my own family in it? You just hate Jamie, and you just hate him because he’s different. What, Dad? You think I can’t sleep with a guy in a car, a park, an alley, somewhere else, anywhere else?”
He froze. His temptation was to walk over to his daughter and give her a sharp slap across the face.
He didn’t do it.
“Because this is my house, and you’re my daughter, and I’ve told you that you won’t have boys in your room, and that’s that,” he told her. “Because I damned well said so!” he added furiously.
His anger left him quickly. He felt weary, deflated. It wouldn’t work, he thought. She was just going to ignore him and go racing after her boyfriend, and then what was he going to do?
They stared at one another. Damnation, but she was another Julie. Her mother’s eyes seemed to stare at him as she defied him. She tossed back a length of her beautiful blond hair. Then she suddenly cried out, “I hate you, Dad. I hate you, hate you, hate you!”
Hate you…
God, did they all really hate him? What the hell had he done that was so very wrong? All he really wanted to do was love and provide for his family! He hadn’t erred that far; it had been damnedmiserable and he’d only looked for someone else back then because…
Julie hadn’t wanted him. Not then. At least, he hadn’t thought that she wanted him.
And his ego had been at stake.
Christie ran past him. He heard her bedroom door slam.
Millie and Jack came into the living room, Julie following quietly behind them.
“You’ve been home five
Similar Books
