Ethan's Daughter. Rachel Brimble
a person’s emotional instability. Okay, so many people, including her sensible self, might argue the plausibility of that sentiment, but still, wine was her chosen chain mail for tonight.
She pushed open the bar door.
The place was as busy as she’d expected at nine o’clock on a Friday night.
That afternoon—somewhere between suturing a guy’s knee and extracting a splinter the size of a small missile from a teenager’s hand—she’d decided that affecting a breezy attitude with Ethan was the name of the game. She might have a whole lot of uncertainty with regards to how to deal with him, but the important thing was to gain his trust so he’d see the right thing—the only thing—to do was to at least take the police into his confidence in case anything else should happen. Even if he wouldn’t press charges against his ex after her attack, the police being aware of any potential danger made absolute sense.
Propping herself against the bar, she lifted her hand to Vanessa, one half of the husband-and-wife team who owned the Coast, as she finished serving a group of raucous young men. Leah smiled softly. Vanessa could be a force to be reckoned with.
“You boys just behave yourselves, you hear?” Shaking her head, Vanessa smiled as she walked toward Leah. “Hey, you. Not very often you’re in here at this time. Do you have tomorrow off?” She peered over Leah’s shoulders. “And you’re alone?” Vanessa frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Leah laughed. “Nothing’s wrong. I just came in hoping to buy a bottle of wine to take away.”
Vanessa’s eyes lit with interest as she wiggled her eyebrows. “To a man waiting for you at your house dressed in nothing but a loincloth, by any chance?”
“No-o-o, but there is a man waiting in his own home...and I’m guessing fully dressed.”
“Guessing? Or hoping?”
“Does it matter?”
“Of course it matters. Who’s the mystery man?”
Leah tapped the side of her nose. “Uh-uh. A bottle of your finest pinot grigio, please.”
Vanessa scowled. “Spoilsport.” She turned to the fridges behind her and pulled out a bottle of white wine, placed it on the bar. “Ten pounds, please...” She raised her eyebrows again, still clasping the bottle. “But I’ll make it eight if you spill his name.”
Smiling, Leah took a ten-pound note from her purse and held it out. “Ten pounds exactly.” She pulled the bottle from Vanessa’s scarily firm grip. “Thank you.”
Vanessa narrowed her eyes.
Smiling, Leah turned from the bar with the wine and walked toward the exit.
“Hey, Leah. How are you?”
She’d stopped to speak with Tanya Todd, her best friend’s sister, when she caught sight of Ethan sitting at one of the high tables by the window. Surprise lodged any further words in her throat. What was he doing here? She’d been pretty clear when she’d told him she would come to the cabin to see to his hand, tonight and every night until it was healed. Was the thought of seeing her again enough to make him hide out in a bar? Leah frowned. Wait a minute... Was Daisy here, as well?
“Leah?”
She blinked and faced Tanya, forcing a strained smile. “Sorry, Tanya. I’m good. How are you?” She flitted her gaze to Ethan.
“I’m fine, but you, on the other hand, look suspiciously distracted.” Tanya turned and glanced in Ethan’s direction before facing Leah once more. “See something you like?”
Leah scowled. “Not at all. Just a certain someone I need to speak with. We’ll catch up soon, okay?”
Without giving Tanya a chance to respond, Leah headed toward Ethan. She placed the bottle on the table next to his open laptop.
He slowly raised his eyes from the screen. His gaze was glazed, as though he didn’t see her at all, before he blinked and his eyes widened. “Leah.”
She planted her hand on her hip, the other still around the wine bottle. “Weren’t we supposed to be meeting at your place?”
“What time is it?”
Had his ex-wife beaten him about the head, too? “It’s just past nine.”
“What? Damn it.” He hastily shut the lid of his laptop and stood. “Could we take a rain check? I promised my agent a Skype call at nine thirty.”
“And where’s Daisy when you’re sitting here...” She glanced at his empty pint glass, the froth from his beer still clinging to the inside. “...drinking beer and playing video games.”
“Playing vid... I’m working.” He glared, his bright blue eyes flashing dangerously. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
“Hi, Leah.”
Leah turned at the tug on the bottom of her shirt, to be met with eyes amazingly similar to Ethan’s, and delightfully more friendly. “Daisy.” Relief pushed the air from Leah’s lungs. “Where did you appear from?”
“Over there.” She pointed to the kids’ soft play area through an arch toward the back of the bar. “I’m making friends.”
“Oh, I see.” Happiness and a whole lot of forgiveness toward Ethan’s forgetfulness squeezed Leah’s heart. She faced him and lifted her eyebrow. “That was nice of Daddy to bring you out this evening.”
“Uh-huh.” Daisy tugged on her shirt again. “Are you coming home with us? Daddy promised me ice cream when we get home. He said it’s way overpriced in here.”
Biting back a laugh, Leah smiled. “Did he, now?” She leaned closer to Daisy’s ear. “You’d better ask your daddy if I can join you. I don’t think he’s very keen on my interrupting your evening’s plans.”
Daisy faced Ethan. “Please, Daddy. I’ve made new friends and Leah can be your new friend. Please...”
Leah lifted her chin and fought the guilt that Ethan was quite possibly being beaten into an extremely uncomfortable corner by two very forceful females. He held her gaze for a moment, his eyes annoyed and cold. Then he looked to Daisy and back to Leah, before his shoulders slumped. “Are you sure you still want to come over? It will mean waiting for me to finish speaking with my agent.”
“That’s no problem.” She lifted the wine. “It’s important I check your hand. I’ll follow you back in the car. We can always save this wine if I need to come over to check your hand again tomorrow.”
He stilled. “Tomorrow?”
Maybe she was bothering him more than she realized. She couldn’t imagine for one minute he wanted her coming back and forth to his place. “I’m sorry if I sound pushy, Ethan. I really don’t mean to be, but on top of everything else that’s going on with you, I don’t want to be responsible for letting your wound get infected. Can’t I at least hold up that part of my job?”
He met her gaze before glancing at Daisy, who looked at her father with a soft pleading in her eyes.
“Fine.” He raised his good hand in surrender. “You can check on my hand.”
“Thank you.” She looked from the reluctant defeat in his eyes to Daisy’s happy ones and held out her hand. “Want to walk me to my car?”
The little girl grinned and slipped her hand into Leah’s. “Sure. Come on, Daddy.”
Without looking at Ethan again, Leah walked with Daisy out into the falling dusk. Her heart hammered and her body was tense, but she battled to keep her face impassive. Now that she’d seen him again, her heart told her she hadn’t just been going to Ethan’s tonight to make sure his stitches were okay. She’d also been looking forward to seeing him again. Him and Daisy.
And that realization was terrifying.