Page 102 of Protecting You
Her enthusiasm visibly waned. “I haven’t asked him yet.”
“Why not?”
She shrugged but didn’t answer.
The more Peri talked, the better understanding Alyssa had of the situation. Callan lived and worked in Boston while his daughter lived almost three hours away in central Maine.
What kind of a man abandoned his child to pursue a career? She knew the answer to that. She’d been raised—ornotraised—by exactly that kind of man.
Alyssa didn’t have the full picture, of course. Peri hadn’t mentioned her mother, nor did she share any stories from more than a few months before.
Alyssa fought the temptation to pry. She could get the answers she wanted, if not from Peri then from the Internet. A quick search of birth records, family court records, death records… She could figure out Peri’s past.
But that wasn’t how true relationships were built.
Instead, she’d ask Callan and hope he told her the truth.
Not that she and Peri’s father had a real relationship. If they did, she’d have already known about his daughter.
Her phone vibrated. She glanced at it, then handed it to Peri. “Good news.”
She read it, then looked at Alyssa with those pretty brown eyes “Papi’s okay?”
“Looks like he’s going home tomorrow.”
She expected Peri to smile or cheer, but her face fell.
“Oh, honey.” Alyssa crouched to her level. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head and swiped eyes filled with so much emotion that Alyssa couldn’t fathom what she was thinking. Rather than ask again, she opened her arms. Peri stepped into them, and Alyssa comforted her, knowing one hug wasn’t about to heal all the child’s wounds.
“Your grandfather's going to be all right,” she soothed “I’m sure they’re ready for us to get back so we can all celebrate.”
Peri didn’t say anything, just stayed in Alyssa’s arms until Alyssa’s crouched legs shook.
A man called, “Wright?”
“That’s us,” Alyssa whispered.
Peri loosened her hold and backed up. Unlike an adult, who might be embarrassed by such a need for affection, the child just slipped her hand into Alyssa’s as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The action reminded her of Callan, who’d done the same thing countless times in the last few days. They were similar in that way—comfortable with physical contact.
Alyssa checked the bag to ensure everything she’d ordered was there, thanked the clerk, and headed to the door with Peri still holding on. “Let’s get back to the hospital and see your papi. I bet he misses you.”
The girl practically skipped to the door, her mood right back to the joyful one Alyssa had finally coaxed out of her.
She’d needed to know her grandfather was okay. And she’d needed some affection.
Affection her father had failed to provide. Not that it was any of Alyssa’s business, but Callan needed to get his priorities straight.
* * *
If Alyssaand Callan were driving in the daytime, she would have gotten a clearer picture of the little community where Callan’s parents lived. Outside the windows of Callan’s Mustang, all she saw was darkness, though streetlights hovered over a small part of town, illuminating a gas station, a local restaurant, and a strip mall containing a dollar store, a laundromat, and a veterinarian’s office. Other shops and businesses were housed in old converted homes. The area reminded her of where Aunt Peggy and Uncle Roger lived a couple of hours away, barely a blip on the map halfway between Portland and the New Hampshire border.
This town was farther north, thirty minutes from Augusta, which was the largest city around, though to call it a city was being generous, considering she doubted twenty thousand people lived in Maine’s capital.
“This is where you grew up?” She spoke over the soft rock playing a little too loudly.
