Heiress for Hire (Cuttersville #2)(64)
Author: Erin McCarthy

Amanda laughed. "Okay, you caught me. But I am wearing a skirt, you know." She hadn’t brought a change of clothes with her the day before, except for her gym shoes, not expecting to spend the night. She was back in her floral skirt, though truthfully, she couldn’t claim it was constricting. "Or maybe I’m just a pokey-Joe."

Speaking of pokey-Joes, Amanda wondered where Danny was. It was almost two, and she was restless for him to get home. She had tried to tell him this morning how she felt, tried to tell him that she wanted to stay here with him, on the farm. As his wife.

But the goofball wouldn’t let her speak, and now she’d spent the whole day in anxious excitement. She hadn’t ever felt this happy, this sure of herself in her entire life. When she ran across this yard, she felt free, she felt satisfied. This could be her home, her family.

Being a mother to Piper and a wife to Danny-could be the most meaningful thing she’d ever done in her life. Nothing else mattered.

And she had learned, through Piper, that you needed to love first, then love will come back to you. You couldn’t take love or buy it or demand it, but once you gave it freely, without thought to yourself, you received it in kind.

"Baby, eeww!" Piper stood up, her shorts covered in dust, and went over to the dog. "Stop eating grass." She scooped up the poodle and cradled her in her arms. Baby yipped, but lay there contentedly.

A poodle wasn’t exactly a farm dog, but Baby seemed to enjoy running around, sniffing out God only knew what. She would adjust. And so would Amanda.

Lifting her sunglasses to wipe her dewy nose and cheeks, Amanda wondered how Danny would feel about her installing a pool. Probably it wouldn’t be practical, but it would really be nice. Her pores were clogging as she spoke. "Maybe we should go into the shade. Baby might be hot."

When she dropped her sunglasses back into place and blinked, she saw a black truck pulling up the driveway. It wasn’t Danny’s truck, and she didn’t recognize it. The tires were too small for the truck, and it bounced and jerked on the pitted gravel.

Piper made a strangled gasp. "That’s Mark," she whispered, clutching Baby closer to her chest.

"Your stepfather?" Amanda shielded her eyes and tried to see the driver. She couldn’t see very well, but it was a man.

"Yes." Piper was rigid, fear on her face. Her baseball hat was lying in the dirt, where it had flown off when she was running her race. She reached for it, slapped it on her head.

That gesture made Amanda furious. This was the bastard who had said all those damaging slurs to Piper about her hair and her behavior.

"Sweetie, why don’t you take Baby in the house? I’ll see what Mark wants." Amanda was already herding Piper toward the house, instinct telling her this couldn’t be good. But she kept her voice even.

Piper didn’t need any encouragement. She ran, her thin legs flying as she went across the yard and up the stairs to the front door, the dog barking wildly. Amanda did a fast walk, not wanting to run, but wanting to grab her purse. She wanted her cell phone in easy reach.

She had her purse over her shoulder, Piper hunkered down in the living room, as she stepped back out onto the stoop. Mark was climbing out of his car.

"Where’s Tucker?" he said, giving her a once-over that made her skin crawl.

"He’ll be home in a few minutes. Can I help you?" You worthless excuse for a human being.

"Who are you?"

With his oversized clothes and gold chains, he looked like a fake white gangsta rapper. Like Aaron Carter in a Spike Lee movie. He looked ridiculous, but he also looked like he wouldn’t hesitate to use violence. Amanda figured it was better to just stay polite and get him to leave.

"I’m Danny’s girlfriend." She was hesitant to even mention Piper in front of this guy.

"No shit?" He gave her a smile. A cold, sexual smile. "Well, if you ever get tired of living with Farmer Ted, give me a call. I could enjoy a beautiful woman like you."

She fought the urge to gag. Pulling her purse open, she started digging in it so she wouldn’t have to look at him. "I’ll keep that in mind."

He must have heard the sarcasm in her voice because he was suddenly in front of her, still on the walkway, but only two feet from her. "Where’s the kid?"

"What kid?" Her hand searched for her cell phone while she stared him down, her heart pounding, her mouth dry.

"Don’t play dumb with me, bitch. Where’s Piper? I’m here to take her back."

Even with the screen door closed, she heard Piper’s gasp from the living room. Trying to stay calm, Amanda swallowed hard. "You can’t take her back. She’s Danny’s daughter."

"I have custody of her. Now where is she? I don’t have all f**king day."

Amanda tried not to shift herself in front of the door and give away with body language that Piper was in the house. But she was almost twitching with the need to protect Piper. There was no way she could let this man anywhere near her. "She’s with Danny."

His eyes narrowed. "You’d better not be lying to me."

She was lying like a rug. But she’d do whatever she had to. Her hand had closed around her cell phone, but she realized there was no one to call. Danny didn’t have a cell, and she didn’t know the number to Willie and Daniel’s. If she had to, she’d call 911, but there wouldn’t be any way for them to know where she was calling from, and somehow she didn’t think Mark would stand there and let her give directions to the farm. Directions that she wasn’t all that sure about anyway.

"Why do you want Piper? You brought her here in the first place."

Mark moved his foot to the stoop and something jingled in his pocket. He cocked his head and gave an amused exhalation of air. "Not that it’s any of your business, but in my grief for Nina I wasn’t thinking straight. See, I just wanted to get rid of the kid. I never thought Tucker would actually want her. Now I understand he wants custody, and I’m thinking maybe I miss her. Maybe I want her back. Maybe Tucker needs to show me how much she means to him."

Amanda’s face went hot, her blood cold. She felt fear, disgust, rage all rise up in her with a sickening swirl. "You want money, don’t you?"

It was always money. Well, she’d die before she let this prick take Piper, and she would starve before she’d let him get any money on the back of an innocent child.

"Damn right I want money. Since I still have custody of her, I’m taking her back until I get it."

"I don’t think so." Her hand searched in her purse for something, anything to defend herself with if she needed to. "If you want her, take Danny to court, but you won’t get her without a court order."