A Christmas Miracle for Daisy (Taming of the Sheenans Book 5) Read Online Free PDF Page A

having to face him. Apparently he wasn’t kind at all, because he waited for her instead, wanting to speak to her one more time before he left.
    Despite her earlier distress, she was calm now, and she walked towards him, chin high, expression fearless.
    If it weren’t for the two spots of color burning high in her cheekbones, making her warm brown eyes unnaturally bright, he could almost believe she didn’t know he was there. But the pink blush was a giveaway.
    She touched the elevator up button and stared at the bronze doors, shoulders straight, back stiff. He could see her face in the reflection and her expression was just as stern, lips firm, jaw set.
    It was obvious she was upset. He could feel her tension, and indecision. There were things she wanted to say to him, words she fought to hold back.
    He should just let her go. There was no need to speak to each other, and yet the air felt charged, vibrating with unspoken things that needed to be said. And not just by her, but by him, too.
    He’d wronged her all those years ago. The abrupt breakup. His silence and distance after the accident in Las Vegas. And then the abysmal mess he’d made of the custody arrangements for Daisy.
    He could have handled that so much better.
    He should have.
    And maybe he would have if he hadn’t been so stunned by Daryl’s and April’s death. Or maybe he wouldn’t have handled it better because he wasn’t one to show emotion, or be sensitive in the face of adversity.
    So say something , he told himself now, say something that would help her. Say something that would allow her to move forward with less anger and pain.
    But before he could speak, she glanced back at him, her troubled gaze meeting his and holding.
    Her hand went out to keep the open elevator doors from closing.
    “What is it?” he demanded roughly. “Just say what it is you want to say.”
    Her gaze met his then swung away. “How is Daisy? Is she okay?”
    Cormac heard the yearning in her voice and his chest tightened. “She’s good,” he said huskily. “She turned four in September.”
    “Yes, I know. I sent her a gift. Maybe it never arrived. It was a fairy costume. Periwinkle—”
    “Daisy loved it.” Had he not sent any kind of thank you or acknowledgment to Whitney for the gift? He felt like a cad. “It was her Halloween costume this year,” he added, without mentioning that the costume had been damaged in the craziness of the lockdown at school.
    Whitney’s fingers tightened on the doors and yet her expression softened. “Really?”
    He nodded.
    She smiled, and it was a real smile, unlike the frozen smiles of earlier. “I’m glad,” she said softly, before stepping into the elevator and letting the doors close behind her.

Chapter Four
    ‡
    “D addy.” A small hand reached up to pat Cormac’s chin. “ Dad .”
    He looked up from the open spreadsheet and turned his jaw into Daisy’s warm soft palm. “Yes, baby girl?” he answered, still distracted by the numbers he’d been studying.
    “ Dad ,” she repeated firmly, forcing him to pay attention.
    He looked down into her wide blue eyes. She’d been curled up on his lap watching TV while he read through a report, but she was determined to have his full attention now. “Yes, Daisy?”
    “Where’s Momma?” Her dark brows pulled into a flat line, and her eyes, fringed by the longest, thickest lashes, narrowed in concentration. She’d been precocious at two, and was absolutely fierce at four.
    He also adored her beyond words and couldn’t help the ache he felt every time she asked about her parents.
    “Your mom’s in heaven,” he said. “She’s an angel now, watching over you. And your dad’s there, too. But they love you, and they will always love you—”
    “No,” she interrupted impatiently. “The other one. My god-momma. The one who sent me the Periwinkle costume for my birthday.”
    Oh.
    Whitney.
    He felt a different pang now. One tinged with guilt.
    “Daisy’s