Rodeo Daughter. Leigh Duncan
clear on a couple of things. One, I don’t sleep with men I’ve just met. Even if we do have some kind of history. And two, not that it made any difference then or makes one now, I’m here to stay.”
Mitch met her glare with raised eyebrows. She was right when she said it didn’t matter. If timing was everything, theirs couldn’t be worse. Amanda stood on the opposite side of the one issue that meant more to him than all the convictions he’d ever attained. Even if he were interested in a woman who could ride a horse at breakneck speeds and still feel meltingly soft in his arms—which he assured himself he wasn’t—she represented his ex-wife and was, therefore, off-limits.
“Karen doesn’t do anything without a plan. You don’t think she picked you at random, do you?”
“Sorry to disappoint… .” Amanda’s expression said the joke was on him. “But, yeah. There just aren’t that many family law specialists in town. Most of the others refused to take her case. Or they quit once they found out who they’d be up against. I was simply the last on the list. Besides,” she added pointedly, “she signed me before the rodeo.”
Amanda’s brow furrowed. “You do know what they say about you, don’t you? That you won’t cut a deal, no matter what.”
She made it sound like a bad thing, but his reputation was something he’d worked hard to achieve. He refused to apologize for it. “You didn’t walk away,” he pointed out. “What makes you so different?”
He could name several attributes that made her stand out from every woman he’d ever known, but that kind of knowledge wouldn’t help him in court. And, if he was going to protect his daughter, he needed to know more about Amanda Markette than he’d known about her when they were teens.
She stretched her arms before folding them securely across her chest.
“I happen to believe my client has right on her side. Karen wants to be a part of Hailey’s life. Every child needs their mother.”
Mitch stifled a groan. Of course Amanda would feel that way. Her own mom had died the summer before rodeo camp. But Karen…well, Karen was a whole other ball game. “She doesn’t want our daughter any more now than she did four years ago.”
He’d thought long and hard about what had brought his ex-wife back into his life. Their marriage hadn’t really had much chance to begin with. He’d done the honorable thing, marrying Karen after he’d gotten her pregnant, but she’d always been money hungry. She’d never understood why he wanted to prosecute criminals, not defend them. Or why he turned down his dad’s annual offer to rejoin Goodwin & Sons and the membership in the swanky golf club that came with it.
Any hope for their marriage had died while their house was being built. She and their contractor, Ron, had accused him of nickel-and-diming it into mediocrity. A few months later, Karen had handed Mitch the keys to the front door, placed a squalling infant in his arms and climbed into Ron’s SUV.
Now, with the builder in a serious financial jam, Karen was most likely looking for a new source of income. Mitch would bet his last dollar that’s all their daughter meant to his ex-wife. And since Florida courts rarely awarded child support when the guardianship was shared, first she’d have to win sole custody. Something he’d do everything in his power to prevent.
He eyed the woman next to him and kept his insights to himself. There were things about her client Amanda would have to discover on her own. His job was to make sure Hailey didn’t suffer in the process.
“You should know I intend to appeal Dobson’s ruling.”
“I expected no less. You won’t succeed, but I understand why you have to try.” A silky strand of hair had escaped Amanda’s bun. She smoothed it into place. “In the meantime, you’ll have to abide by the ruling.”
“Whatever,” Mitch growled through clenched teeth. “Let’s work out the specifics. A week from Friday, where would your client like me to bring my daughter?”
He read the hesitation in Amanda’s eyes. When she suggested it might be better if they met someplace neutral, such as her office, the ruse didn’t fool him for a second.
“What don’t you want me to see?” Certain she was hiding something behind her innocent expression, he sharpened his focus. “How bad is this place where she’s living?”
“It could be better,” Amanda admitted. “The social worker approved it but…”
“But their standards are lower than mine.” His head throbbed and he rubbed a hand over his forehead. He lifted the lid on the potent mix of fear and anger that had simmered ever since he’d been served with papers on the custody suit.
“I’m holding you personally responsible for Hailey’s safety. And now, if you don’t mind, I have to go home and tell my four-year-old her mother is back in town and determined to ruin our lives.”
He turned to leave, but Amanda’s hand on his forearm stopped him. If he thought he’d read concern in her expression earlier, there was no mistaking the worry on her face now.
“She’s just a little girl,” she murmured. “Are you really going to drag her into this?”
The implication hurt more than Mitch cared to admit. “Of course not,” he blustered. The bands across his chest tightened. “Give me some credit, will you? I will fight you with every fiber of my being, but I’ve never prejudiced Hailey against her mother. I won’t start now. I’ll present it as an adventure, a sleepover with her new best friend.”
The words left a bitter taste in his mouth, and he walked away, the same way he’d walked away at the end of summer camp and again after the Saddle Up Stampede. Only this time, he didn’t have the memory of soft kisses to sustain him.
* * *
ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON, Amanda shifted in her chair in the cozy seating area where built-in shelves housed hundreds of books on family law. “Are you ready for this?”
“You know Mitch and I can’t be in the same room without drawing blood.” Karen’s noisy exhalation sent coffee sloshing over the side of her cup.
Amanda handed across a napkin and said firmly, “You will.” While her client blotted, she dredged up the tone she’d used whenever a horse had balked at a new trick. “For Hailey’s sake, you’ll be civil with each other.”
And I’ll keep my distance.
She had her own reasons for avoiding Mitch Goodwin. Though he would never make it onto her list of Mr. Possibilities, he’d managed to awaken feelings she didn’t want to admit. It took effort to remind herself that a man with single-minded dedication to his career was not who she wanted in her life.
“Do you and Hailey have big plans for the weekend?” Deliberately, she switched subjects so her thoughts wouldn’t drift toward the hot summer nights when she’d dreamed of sharing more than kisses with Mitch.
Karen smoothed the skirt of a dress Amanda recognized from last year’s fashion magazines and sighed. “I wish I didn’t have to work tomorrow. I’d really like to take Hailey to Disney World.”
An uneasy feeling bloomed in Amanda’s chest. Cautiously, she asked, “What will she do while you’re at the store?”
“Why, come with me, of course. She can hang out in the employee lounge, watch TV.”
The answer triggered memories of all the scary, lonely nights Amanda had spent in their trailer while her parents performed to the roar of a crowded stadium. Her own years in arenas where disaster was only a loose stirrup away helped her maintain her composure. “I don’t think you should take your daughter to work.”
Karen’s brows arrowed down over her eyes. “I don’t see why not.”
“I’m thinking safety issues. It was hard enough to childproof your apartment.”
Amanda bent forward, setting her glass of soda