Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

  Delinquent Daddy

  by Linda Kage

  little girl howling with giggles. As euphoria filled him, he leaped off the cracked, uneven steps and started off.

  Following the sounds of Cassie's voice, he strolled back between the two houses.

  In the neighbor's backyard, he found Cassie and her friend, Keller. Sitting on the deck at the table under a large umbrella and reading a book lounged the nosy neighbor who'd come over to grill him the day before.

  Boston stopped and took in the scene of Cassidy climbing a ladder to a huge tree house. Keller had already reached the top and was watching her ascend, waiting impatiently from the looks of it.

  As Boston moved closer, no one noticed his presence. He was fully in their yard before Cassie finally glanced over and saw him. She'd just reached the top of the ladder and was about to disappear inside the tree house when she glanced back.

  "Dad!" she screamed, her excitement lighting up her entire face.

  Nora lifted her face and let out a startled yelp. Dropping her book, she leapt to her feet and started off the porch just as Cassie scurried back down the ladder.

  Being called "Dad" for the first time sent a shiver though Boston. Good Lord. He really was a dad. And he kind of liked it. He'd never thought he'd cherish the idea of having children. Sure, he'd figured he'd probably get married some day and eventually start a family. But he'd just thought of it as part of life. Now, here he was, a father, and he loved the sound of Cassie calling him "Dad."

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  Forgetting about the babysitter, Boston started toward his child.

  Nora reached the edge of the porch just as Cassie reached him. His daughter ran toward him full force and threw her arms open as Boston swooped down to catch her.

  It felt good to hold her. Incredibly good. He couldn't help but wonder what it would've been like to hold her the minute she was born, to feel how weightless she was and look into her newborn eyes. A bitter resentment filled him, but he pushed it down and focused on appreciating the nine-year-old she had grown to be.

  "You came!" she said, burying her face in his collar a second before pulling back to beam up at him. "You really, really came!"

  Boston laughed at her obvious excitement. "I said I would," he answered, a little upset she had to doubt him.

  If only Ellie hadn't sent him away, his daughter would never have any reason to think he couldn't keep his word.

  Cassie glanced over at the two on the porch. Her friend, Keller, had climbed down the ladder as well and hovered next to his mother.

  "Keller," Cassie called. "Nora. This is my dad."

  Boston set Cassie down and turned to the woman.

  The regal-looking lady stared back, blinking repeatedly.

  "Well, my word," she said. "Cassidy kept saying her father was going to come see her today, but I thought...Ellie didn't mention any of this to me."

  "We're going to Chuck E. Cheese's," Cassie announced happily, taking Boston's hand. Her fingers were so small and 108

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  soft, he looked down at their connection, startled. He was holding his daughter's hand like it was the most normal action in the world.

  Looking up, his chest swelled. "You must be Nora."

  She gave him a slight nod, returning, "And you must be Boston." There was a cool edge to her voice today; she wasn't quite as accepting as she'd been yesterday when she thought he was merely a long-distance relation. Yeah, he thought bitterly, Ellie had definitely gotten a hold of her. And probably told all.

  Realizing she was Team Ellie, and probably knew more dirt about him than most people did, he turned away uncomfortably and focused his attention on Cassie. "Are you ready to go?"

  She started to hop up and down. "I've been ready since last night," she nearly exploded.

  "Cassie," Keller said from between gritted teeth as if he was trying to get her attention.

  Cassie glanced at her friend. "Oh, yeah," she added to Boston. "Keller wants to come too."

  "Keller!" Nora gasped in appalled shock.

  Boston studied the small boy who hovered by his mother's legs and stared disappointedly down at his shoes. His heart went out to the poor kid.

  "Cassidy wants to spend time alone with her father," Nora berated. "You can't just—"

  "Actually," Boston said, cutting in and grinning at Nora,

  "it's fine. I'm pretty sure most of my family will show up, and 109

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  there're a lot of cousins his and Cassie's age. So, really, it's no problem if he came along."

  Truth be told, he'd like to get on Nora Young's good side.

  And if that meant taking her son to Chuck E. Cheese's, he'd do it.

  But Nora glanced at him as if he were insane. "Are you sure about this?" she asked hesitantly. "His bedtime is half an hour earlier than Cassie's at eight thirty."

  No, he wasn't sure about anything anymore. But he merely said, "It's fine. Really."

  "Well, all right then," Nora relented, and the two children cheered, dancing around each other. "Let me get you some money for Keller's—"

  "Don't worry about it," Boston said, lifting a hand to stop her. When she paused to send him a surprised look, he smiled. "I can cover it."

  Nora blinked a couple more times before she matched his smile, flushing a bit in the cheeks. "All right then," she said, quickly turning away from him as if embarrassed. "You two have fun with Mr...." She frowned slightly when she realized didn't know his last name.

  "Kincaid," he told her, sticking out his hand and realizing he'd just won over the neighbor lady despite what Ellie had probably told her. "But, please, call me Boston."

  "He what?"

  Ellie stared at Nora with wide eyes, thinking her neighbor had to be joking... praying she was joking.

  Nora paused. "He took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese's," she said slowly, as if talking too fast might get her into trouble.

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  "Why are you looking so alarmed?" she added, starting to look exactly that way herself. "That was okay to let him take her, wasn't it?"

  Ellie pressed a hand to the side of her head. Her daughter was gone, and she had no idea when she'd be home... if she'd be home.

  "When did they leave?" she asked, walking in a slow circle to beat back the panic.

  Boston had taken Cassidy. He'd come and gotten her and just...taken her away. She couldn't believe it.

  "I...uh, it was between three and five. I don't know. God, I thought you knew he was doing this. You didn't mention anything at lunch, but...Cassidy knew about it, and he didn't act like it was some covert, undercover outing or anything."

  "I had no idea," Ellie said numbly. She looked at Nora with such a pale face the woman reached out as if to catch her before she could fall.

  "I am so sorry, Ellie," Nora gushed. "I just...well, hell. I was reading a book one minute and the next, this complete hunk was staring at me and smiling and...damn, I couldn't think." She paused to look at Ellie in awe. "I always knew you had excellent taste, but I thought that was just about clothing sense and shoes."

  "Nora!" Ellie moaned. How could she talk about Boston's looks now? Her daughter was missing.

  "God, I'm sorry," Nora started again, realizing they had a real problem on their hands. She cupped her face with her fingers. "It's just that I even talked to him yesterday, and he didn't have that effect on me. But then again, yesterday, he 111

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  didn't smile. Today he did, and it was like...oh, wow, El. That man has some smile."

  Ellie didn't need to be told this. She was already well aware of the power behind his stupid, charming smile.

  "I think all I could do was stammer, blush and drool. I probably would've handed over my house, car,
and kidney if he'd asked. I guess I did hand over my kid, now that I think of it. And— Oh, my God!" Nora stopped blabbing and froze with a look of utter horror on her face. "He took Keller too,"

  she said as if just now realizing that fact. "You don't think he'd keep Keller too, do you?"

  Suddenly, she looked about as sick as Ellie felt.

  The parking lot at Chuck E. Cheese's was packed, but Ellie spotted Boston's Infiniti among the family vans and SUVs quickly enough. She found a spot three places down and whipped in, jerking to a halt. In the passenger seat, Nora was out the door before Ellie had even tugged her key from the ignition. Though her friend was sprinting toward the entrance of the restaurant, Ellie could only sit there a moment and try to calm her breathing.

  When Nora told her Boston had taken Cassie, she'd thought she would pass out from the fear. She'd feared she might never see her baby girl again. But now that she was staring at Boston's car and knew he'd at least been honest about where they were going, her fears subsided substantially. The relief was so overwhelming, she felt like crying, but for an entirely different reason, a more powerful reason. Moisture actually beaded at the corners of her eyes.

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  He hadn't been trying to steal her little girl. He'd merely wanted to spend some time with her. And that was the only thought that kept her from leaping from the car and racing Nora inside. Cassidy had wanted to meet her father for months now, and it wasn't just one of those passing wants either—this was a deep-seated need, consuming her entire nine-year-old body.

  Ellie'd be lying if she denied dreaming about Boston returning to them and making them a complete, happy little family: mother, father, and baby. She'd always wanted to see him look at Cassidy with an emotion she herself had felt so many times.

  But that was a stupid pipe dream; this was reality. And in reality, he'd taken her daughter away without telling her. The urge to kill him was so strong, she stayed in her car with both her trembling hands covering her mouth until the anger cooled a few degrees.

  She blew out a breath, smoothed out the wrinkles on her blouse and slowly exited the automobile, reminding herself Cassie was okay. Boston hadn't stolen her. Everything was fine...for now.

  As soon as she opened the door to the restaurant, she could hear her neighbor yelling.

  " You lousy son of a bitch."

  Obviously, Nora'd had no problem finding him in the crowded joint. Picking up her pace, Ellie hurried forward as her friend ranted on.

  "How could you trick me and convince me to send my son out with a complete stranger? You made me think you'd 113

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  cleared this whole outing with Ellie first. I thought it was okay. I thought it was planned. But no, you just stole two children away from their homes. How were we supposed to know when you were bringing them back? You never said when you were—"

  "Yes, I did," Boston quickly cut in.

  He stood in front of Nora with his arms lifted as if to restore peace to the kingdom. Surrounded by a table full of more strangers who looked like they were probably his family, he'd obviously been watching Cassie and Keller and a few other children playing a video game not far away until he'd spotted Nora barreling toward him.

  "I told you I'd have them back by eight thirty," he said, looking frankly panicked by the enraged female glaring at him.

  "The hell you did," Nora growled.

  "But..." Looking truly puzzled, Boston scratched his head.

  "You said Keller's bedtime was eight thirty. I assumed—"

  "Well, that's what we both get for assuming," Nora retorted. "Because I never, never, would've let you walk away with Keller, or Cassie either for that matter, if I'd known you hadn't talked to Ellie about this. I can't believe the nerve..."

  As she continued to rail, Ellie started toward her daughter.

  "Cass," she called. Once she got the girl's attention, she snapped her fingers and pointed to the floor in front of her.

  "We're leaving...now."

  Just as Cassie froze with her face showing that all-too-familiar expression of a tantrum about to start, Boston stepped away from the still-bickering Nora.

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  "Whoa," he said, grabbing Ellie's arm. Behind him, his alarmed-looking family had all come to their feet and moved supportively closer.

  Ellie pulled her arm from his grasp and glared. "What made you think you could just take off with my daughter without even asking me?"

  Boston opened his mouth, but no words came out... He honestly looked too stunned to speak.

  "I came home from work tonight and I had no idea where she was. And even after Nora told me you had her and where you'd taken her, I had no idea how long you were going to be gone. Or if you were ever going to bring her back."

  Boston's jaw tightened, making his words strained. "I didn't realize I had to run it by you every time I wanted to see my own child."

  Ellie let out a disgusted breath. "Yes!" she yelled. "You do."

  "Why?"

  "Why?! She's my daughter. I have to know where she is."

  "Oh?" he drew out the word slowly. Then he glowered.

  "You mean, like you let me know where my daughter was for the past nine years?"

  Ellie probably would've wound back her arm and hit him square in the jaw if the older woman behind him hadn't tugged on his arm and jerked him around.

  "Are you telling me you didn't get permission to take Cassidy tonight?"

  "Permission?" he said incredulously. "She's my child. I don't—"

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  "Yes, you damn well do," the woman growled sternly, and Ellie suddenly realized this matriarchal figure was his mother.

  She looked too much like Boston not to be. When she turned her attention to Ellie, Ellie instinctively moved a leery step back.

  But the woman gave her a beseeching look. "Please excuse my son," she begged. "Sometimes, he just doesn't think."

  "What? You're siding with her?" Boston yelped. "Jesus, Mother. She purposely kept my daughter from me for damn near a decade. I think I deserve one night."

  But Diane Kincaid merely lifted a hand to shush him. " She is Cassidy's mother," she argued. "She's been the one raising this child. She's your daughter's ultimate guardian and caregiver. Legally, you have no right to her, and you know that."

  "Yeah," Boston snorted. "Because... she...kept...my child from me. Did you not hear that the first time?"

  "Boston," his mother said calmly. "You're the lawyer here.

  You should know better. You have no claim to Cassidy. I doubt your name's even on the birth certificate."

  "It's not," Ellie cut in, earning a scowl from both Boston and his mother.

  "She could have you arrested for kidnapping," Diane finished. She and her son glanced Ellie's way again, obviously wondering if she'd do just that.

  "I just want my daughter," she told them. Turning, she grabbed Cassie's hand and said, "Come on. We're going home."

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  "What?" Cassie exploded. "No! I want to stay. What does he mean you kept him from me?"

  Ignoring her daughter's final question, Ellie glanced toward Nora, who was standing with a quivering Keller cowered next to her. Her friend gave a slight, supportive nod.

  Boston stepped forward. "But she hasn't even eaten yet,"

  he entreated.

  "Can't she stay long enough for supper?" his mother added.

  Her daughter wrapped both arms around her left leg.

  "Please, Mom, please."

  Ellie glanced at Cassie...then Boston. Then she turned her attention to the dozens of curious people standing behind him, watching the show with avid interest. They were going to think she was the Wicked Witch of the West.


  But she didn't care.

  Tightening her grip on Cassie's hand, she said, "Let's go,"

  and turned away from Boston and his family.

  She should've known better, but when her daughter wailed out her disapproval, Ellie still winced at the volume. Cassie hadn't thrown such a royal fit since she was four, but she truly outdid herself now. Thrashing and screaming, she dug her feet in and struggled against Ellie's hold, fighting for all she was worth.

  "I want to stay with my daddy," she cried over and over again.

  It'd been a few years since Ellie had held her child, but she tried to pick Cassie up anyway. The girl immediately flailed 117

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  her limbs out, catching her right in the face with a swinging elbow.

  "Cassidy!" Boston chided in shock. He stepped forward as soon as Ellie cried out. While she was busy touching her bruised cheek, he bent down in front of their daughter and took her arms. "Calm down."

  "I want to stay with you," she howled.

  "I know," he said softly. "But right now, you have to go home. I'll see you soon."

  "When?" Cassidy demanded to know.

  Boston glanced up toward Ellie as he quietly repeated,

  "Soon." He sucked in a breath and got back to his feet. "Be good for your mom, okay?"

  Cassie was still rebellious, but at least Ellie was able to drag her to the car after that.

  It was a quiet trip home. Even Nora and Keller didn't dare speak. Not until Ellie had pulled into her drive and parked did her friend glance over and quietly say, "I'll talk to you later,"

  before she hustled Keller across the yard to their own house.

  "Into the bathtub," Ellie told her daughter.

  "But—"

  " Now."

  Ten minutes later, she sat in the darkened living room, bawling into her hands. She hated this. She hated hurting her daughter. She hated being mean. But damn it, she was the injured party here. Boston had scared her to death tonight.

  He'd taken off with her child. Why was everyone mad at her like she'd done something wrong?

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  When the doorbell rang, she surged to her feet, needing Nora's support more than anything. She didn't even stop to wonder why her friend was at the front door when she always came to the back until she'd already opened the portal. When she found someone who was completely not Nora, she tried to slam it shut.