Destined To Be A Dad (Welcome To Destiny Book 9) (6 page)

“My fault, I fear. I must have mishandled the switches in the kitchen while learning my way. Will fix that straight away when I go back inside.”

“Okay, then. I’ll see you both tomorrow.” The small talk was inane, but his feet refused to move. “Or rather, later today.”

She nodded. “Right. Later today.”

Don’t look at her and you might be able to get your ass out of here!
He listened to the internal command, focused on the stairs and started down. “Good night, again.”

“I’ve decided we’re staying.”

He froze, his gaze darting back to her. “You are?”

“We have a month or so before we need to be back in London, when Casey’s second school term begins.” Hands clasped against her stomach, Missy came a few steps closer. “That should be long enough to get back test results... Of course, we can make other arrangements to stay in town—”

“You’ll stay here.” He cut her off, elation racing through his veins that she and Casey were going to be in Destiny, were going to be at his family’s home, at least for now. “The apartment is yours for as long as you want it. Mom will insist on it.”

“But most of our luggage is still at the hotel in LA. I’m not quite sure how we go about getting it here.”

“I’ll get Katie on it,” Liam said, adding the item to the mental list of things he needed to take care of in the morning. “First thing tomorrow.”

“Katie?”

“She’s the office manager for the company. Believe me, the woman can work wonders. You won’t have any issues canceling your vacation rental?”

Missy joined him at the landing. With him two steps down, their gazes were even. “The use of the beachside villa was a thank you from a producer friend at the film studio where I work. I’ll let him know of our change of plans tomorrow.”

Liam brushed aside the flicker of annoyance her words created. So her friend was a man. Big deal. She probably had a lot of male friends.

Casey had made that crack about her mother not dating much, answering his unspoken question about whether she’d ever married again.

Hell, he’d given it a second go himself right after college and failed miserably for the second time. Not that he’d led the life of a monk since then, but after just having this woman in his arms, his mouth on hers, the last thing he wanted to think about was a friendship that netted her the use of a Hawaiian beach house.

No, what he wanted was to lean over the railing, wrap his hand around the back of her head and bring her mouth down to his.

Bad idea. Not when he had just gotten what he really wanted. A chance to get to know Casey. To get to know Missy, again...

Yeah, not helping, man.

He blinked away that thought to find her still standing there, watching him. She had something else she wanted to say. He was sure of it, but her staring at him while swiping at her bottom lip with the tip of her tongue wasn’t helping his resolve to get out of here.

“Was there anything else?” he asked.

She nodded, but remained silent.

“What?” he pushed, something telling him he wasn’t going to like it. “Missy, after everything we’ve—said to each other tonight, you can just spit it out.”

She pulled in a deep breath, releasing it in a slow exhale before she said, “Destiny seems to be the same quaint small town I remember. I’m sure the gossipmongers are already talking about my daughter’s appearance at the rodeo tonight with you and your family.”

“You’re probably right.”

“I wonder whether you’ve decided what you plan to tell...people. Your family, friends, colleagues. Now that you know everything.”

Another good question that he didn’t have a ready answer to. “What do you want me to tell them?”

“The truth. All of us have been living with this lie for too long.”

Liam admired how she spoke without any hesitation, but the last thing he wanted was to cause her any embarrassment over what her parents had done. To her. To them. Especially since she’d had so little time yet to come to terms with their deception herself.

“We’ll tell them...” He paused, and then went with a decision straight from his gut. “We’ll tell anyone who asks there was a mix-up with the hospital paperwork and your...husband was incorrectly listed as Casey’s father. The mistake wasn’t discovered until now.”

Relief colored her features, but she still appeared upset. “It won’t take a math genius to figure out the time difference between when I left here, Casey’s birth and what I did when I got home to create such a...possibility.”

“I don’t care about that.”

When Liam let himself think about it, the idea of Missy getting busy with her ex still stung a bit, but hell, that was years ago. With everything going on between them now—especially in the last half hour—her actions back then just added another twist in this crazy turn his life had taken.

“So, you believe me then?” she asked. “This whole crazy story?”

Liam looked at her. His first love. Now the mother of his child. “That’s why we’re getting a new DNA test done, right? Don’t worry, everything will be okay.”

He took a step, intent on heading down the stairs, but apparently Missy wasn’t done.

“I told you earlier how Casey was taking all of this in stride,” she said, “but as excited as she is about you and what you represent, she has no idea how you feel about suddenly having a teenage daughter in your life.”

The pounding in his chest returned.

All the things he hadn’t been able to experience over the past fifteen years when it came to Casey flashed inside his head. Birthdays. Holidays. Her first words, first steps, first day of school.

“Seeing how I’ve only known about her for the last twelve hours or so, I’m not sure exactly what I’m feeling, either, but we’ll work on that.”

“She wants to get to know you, and your family.”

“I want that, too.”

The words came easily because they were true. He wanted to get to know his daughter. Wanted her to be a part of his life, part of his family. What that meant for him and Missy, he had no idea.

He’d honestly never thought—

Okay, maybe once in a while, especially lately with the company’s business growing in the UK the way it was, he’d thought that he might someday run into his first love again on a trip to London. Pass her in Piccadilly Circus. Catch sight of her in a restaurant or on the subway.

Now she was here, right in front of him.

Now he had the chance to get to know her all over again...

“As for all that happened here tonight, between us—” Missy turned slightly and waved at the porch behind her, before putting her hand on the doorknob “—I know talking about the past—our past—is inevitable. Reliving it, however, is not. I’m only staying in town for Casey’s sake. To give her what she wants and needs.”

And that was all.

She disappeared back inside the apartment. It was as if she’d read his mind and taken care of answering his unasked question. It was for the best, he decided as he headed back to his house.

All fantasies aside, the last thing he needed right now was to get involved with anyone, least of all Missy. He lived and breathed his position as CEO of Murphy Mountain Log Homes, and now he’d had fatherhood tossed into his lap.

Besides, his track record proved he wasn’t a settling-down kind of guy.

But was he father material?

He loved his niece and nephews, enjoyed spending time with them, even the baby. Not that Casey needed him that way, but with the other kids he liked helping with their homework. Taking them and their friends for rides in the company helicopter. Going to their games. He’d even ended up teaching Abby how to drive this past spring after she and her father disagreed over who was at fault for a toppled tombstone in the town’s cemetery during one of their lessons.

How hard could it be to have the same relationship with Casey? He had no idea. But one thing he did know was that he only had a month to make that happen.

Chapter Five

T
hey were staying! At least for the rest of their holiday.

Unfortunately, in less than six weeks, she’d be back in London, suiting up in a plaid skirt, navy blue blazer and ugly oxfords.

And she’d have to get rid of the blue and pink streaks. Her piercings would have to go too. Gah. She would be ordinary...again. Worst of all, they’d be back living with her grandmum.

Or maybe not. After everything that had gone on in the last few weeks, Casey didn’t have a clue what was going to happen when they returned to London.

For now she was glad to be in Destiny with Liam Murphy.

Her real dad.

The man who sat directly across from her with a big smile on his face, stuffing his fourth hot dog into his mouth. Four! Crikey, he was big, but still. He had to be at least six feet tall and sitting there next to her mum, he made her look small and delicate.

She studied Liam while he and her mum chatted. Casey and he looked a lot alike—their baby pictures could have been carbon copies—but she now noticed she and Liam shared height and the same eye color too.

Eyes that were constantly in her mum’s direction. Like right now.

“You see, ending a tour of Destiny with a late lunch was the right thing to do.” Liam’s words cut into her thoughts as he wiped at his mouth with a napkin. “You never could resist a whistle pig.”

“It’s still a silly name for a food item.” Her mum blushed as she lightly scrubbed the crumbs from her fingers over her now empty plate. “Even for the best hot dog I’ve eaten in years.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you eat a hot dog before.” Casey finished the last of her own beef frank, deliciously wrapped in bacon and smothered in cheese, then mumbled around the last bite, “Much less two of them.”

They sat at a picnic table outside a fast food restaurant named after their lunch, a place that had an oversize dancing cartoon pig with a whistle around its neck on the marquee.

“She’s got you fooled. I remember her downing four of these.”

Liam grinned as he spoke, sending a wink in her direction that made Casey feel sort of gooey inside.

“I ate those on a dare and I was honking the whole next day.” Missy reached for her drink, pausing just before putting the straw between her lips to stare at Casey. “Don’t even think about it, young lady, and it’s not polite to talk with your mouth full.”

Casey swallowed, and then laughed. Blimey, that felt good.

“So, what now?” Liam asked. “Anything you’re interested in doing or seeing? Or should we head back to the family compound?”

“Do you have to go back to work?” Not that he’d really been away from it as his cell phone chimed for the umpteenth time since they’d left the house. “Again? That thing is worse than Mum’s!”

He grabbed his phone and looked at the screen. “Sorry, but I need to take this. I’ll be just a minute.”

After a few minutes, Liam returned. When her mum said they should head to the house, he shot Casey a questioning look. She answered with a casual shrug and headed for his truck.

It was bloody hot when they got back to the Murphy compound. Maybe she’d sit on the dock and dangle her toes in the lake. Or perhaps the twins were around and they could hang out, but when they rounded the corner into the yard, they found a crowd gathered on the deck and around the pool.

“Hey, you’re back,” Adam called from where he sat beneath a shaded umbrella table. His wife and parents were happily passing the baby back and forth between them. Bryant and his wife, Laurie, sat nearby in matching lounge chairs.

“We need a few more bodies if we’re going to get up a game.”

“Yeah, Uncle Liam! Grab your swim trunks!”

“Yeah, come join us!”

“Your uncle is probably going to disappear into his office, boys.” Nolan talked over his boys’ excited cries, the three of them already in the shallow end of the pool, setting up a floating volleyball net. Nolan stopped long enough to peer over the top of his sunglasses. “He’s a busy man with lots of work. Isn’t that right, Uncle Liam?”

Casey looked over at her fath—at Liam. She was ready to race to the boathouse and slip on her bathing suit, but it sounded as if Liam didn’t usually join in the fun with the rest of his family. Did that mean she and her mum shouldn’t?

Liam smiled, and then turned to Casey and Missy. “How about it? You two have swimsuits?”

“Packed in our luggage in LA, I’m afraid,” her mum said, her gaze unreadable behind her dark sunglasses. “Sorry.”

“I’ve got one with me,” Casey piped up, obviously catching her mum by surprise.

“Why don’t you and I go and get changed, Casey? Your mother can relax and enjoy the sunshine.” Liam gestured toward the deck. “If we can get her to peel off a few layers.”

“My layers are just fine.” Missy squared her shoulders. “Thank you.”

Casey headed for the boathouse, hurrying ahead of Liam, his mobile once again at his ear. It didn’t matter now. She didn’t want to talk to him, not when it was just the two of them.

Not yet, anyway.

After she’d changed into her suit and lathered on sunscreen, she followed the path back to the pool. She could hear the laughter and everyone talking but slowed when she noticed Abby lying on a lounge chair at the opposite end of the patio area. She wasn’t alone. Casey recognized the other girls as the ones Abby had gone off with at the rodeo. They must have just arrived.

“Can you believe they’re staying? In the boathouse?” Abby’s voice carried over the yard easily enough to hear, but Casey doubted anyone else could at the other end of the pool. “Up until yesterday none of us even knew about her. My uncle has got to be flipping out—”

“Uh, hi there.” One of the girls, a pretty brunette, cut Abby off by calling out to Casey while removing her sunglasses to squint at her. “You must be Abby’s new cousin.”

Should Casey give the girls a simple nod and keep walking? But that would mean giving her cousin and her snarky comments the satisfaction of running her off. Not bloody happening.

She crossed the grass, hoping she looked more casual than the firecrackers banging around inside her stomach. “Yes, I’m Casey Dobbs.”

“Abs says you’re from England.”

“That’s right. London, actually.”

“Cool accent. I’m Valerie and this is Jannie.” The brunette introduced herself and her friend while Abby pointedly ignored her, continuing with her lotion application. “Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

Casey wondered where this might be going. “No, go ahead.”

“Did that hurt?” Valerie tapped the side of her nose. “Getting it, I mean.”

Ah, the diamond stud. She shrugged. “No, it wasn’t too bad.”

“What about the rest of the holes in your head?” Abby asked. “You must have at least a dozen piercings in your ears.”

Ah, the snarkiness continued. “Thirteen, actually. Seven on the right, six on the left.”

“Hey, that’s cool.”

Casey looked over and saw Logan and Luke had swum down to the end of the pool and propped their arms on the edge, but for the life of her she didn’t know which one was which.

“Don’t mind Abby,” the twin who spoke continued. “She’s pissed our dad won’t let her get a third set. Or the belly button ring she wants.”

“Zip it, Luke,” Abby snapped at her brother and then turned back to Casey. “So, thirteen...” She dropped her chin, pulled the dark shades down to the bridge of her nose and stared. “That’s supposed to mean something?”

“It’s my lucky number.”

“Why am I not surprised,” Abby deadpanned, and then hesitated before righting her glasses and collapsing against the lounge chair, stretching out her legs, pointed toes and all.

Her friends giggled. Their dismissal stung. Casey took a step backward, determined to walk away with head held high, but then the twins scurried out of the pool and quickly jumped back in, side by side, causing a spray of water to hit the patio and the edge of the lounge chairs.

“Knock it off, you two!” Abby called out, kicking one perfectly manicured foot at her brothers. “We don’t want to get wet.”

Casey eyed the trio of American beauties with their perfectly tanned limbs and perfectly coiffed hair. She dropped her stuff onto the last remaining chair, toeing off her shoes. Pulling her shirt over her head first, she reached for the zipper on her shorts.

“Hey, Casey!” the boys called from the water. “You coming in?”

“Of course.” A quick shimmy and her shorts fell to the ground. She stepped out of them and before she allowed herself to think twice, raced toward the pool. “Budge up!”

Launching into the air, she tucked her body into a tight ball, wrapping her arms around her knees seconds before she plunged into the water—kersploosh!—making what she hoped was a spectacular splash with far-reaching effects.

Her feet touched the bottom and she opened her eyes, did a swift five count and pushed off, breaking the surface to find the twins cheering for her.

Abby and her crew? Not so much, as their outraged shrieks filled the air.

“Casey.”

She spun, surprised to find Liam standing at the edge of the pool.

“Pretty impressive. But was that really necessary?” he asked as he went to rejoin the adults.

She blamed the sudden stinging in her eyes on the chlorine. Pushing her hair back from her face, she schooled her features into a practiced air of innocence. “Oh, bugger, did I do that?” Casey called out. “Sorry, mate.”

Abby’s glare was lethal, and her friends didn’t look too happy either as they toweled off, but then a male voice called Abby’s name and the girl’s transformation from a wet hen to a purring kitten was striking.

As was the bloke heading toward her.

He was tall and had a killer smile, his cropped straw-colored hair and wide shoulders making him stand out from the two boys with him.

“I found this on the bleachers,” the cutie said, holding out a sweatshirt to Abby. “You must’ve forgotten it after cheerleading practice.”

“Really?” Abby reached for the item with what looked like a genuine smile. “I have no idea how that could’ve happened.”

Sincere smile or not, Casey rolled her eyes at her cousin’s sickening sweet tone. She climbed out of the pool, the water dripping from her body. “Practice? Don’t tell me rodeos have cheerleaders.”

Six pairs of eyes swung in her direction. Interest flared from the boys while the girls’ combined glances bordered on wicked.

“We cheer for our school’s football team,” Valerie said.

“Ah, right.” She strolled forward and held out a hand toward the tall lad. “Hello, I’m Casey. Abby’s cousin from England.”

“Hi.” Confusion crossed his face as he glanced between her and Abby, but then he took her hand. “I’m Nathan Lawson.” After a quick elbow from one of his friends he added, “This is J.T. and Cody. Abby never said anything about having family from the UK.”

“Believe me, she’s a surprise. Sort of an oops, you might say.”

“So, football.” Casey ignored Abby’s dig and smiled at the boys after releasing Nathan’s hand.

“Well, not the kind of football you’re used to,” Nathan said. “We’re talking American football, not soccer.”

“I understand.” Casey smiled as a shiver raced through her. “But I did enjoy a game of American football at Wembley. Those Patriots certainly played a good match.”

“You went to the NFL game between the New England Patriots and the St. Louis Rams in London?” Nathan asked.

“Oh, yes. My mum and I had box seats thanks to—well, someone she worked with.”

“Sweet. What does your mom do that she gets perks like that?” J.T. asked.

“She’s a costume designer for a movie studio.”

“Really?” Jannie stepped closer, not seeing how Abby’s eyes narrowed in her direction. “Have you met anyone famous?”

Wrapping a towel around her waist like a sarong, Casey pushed the water from her hair, squeezing out the ends. “I met Johnny Depp once.”

Both Valerie and Jannie gasped.

“You’ve met Johnny Depp?” they asked, voices in harmony.

“Last summer. On a film location in Paris. He was the one who gave us the tickets to the football game.”

“Oh, my God, really?” Valerie asked.

Casey nodded. “He and Emma Watson were—”

“Wait, you met Emma Watson, too?” Cody interrupted her. “That hot chick from the Harry Potter movies?”

“Yes, she was there, too.” Her gaze collided with Abby’s dark stare and she knew what was coming. “Would you like to see pictures?”

Surprise flared in Abby’s eyes. Feeling victorious, Casey got her phone. The kids gathered around as she showed off the images and answered their rapid-fire questions.

Abby joined the circle, but remained silent.