Caitlin's Choice Read Online Free PDF

investigate the commotion.
    “What’s going on?” he demanded.
    “It’s all right, Mr. Sinclair. The young woman was just leaving,” the security guard said.
    “The hell she was,” Caitlin snarled. “Andrew, tell your rent-a-cop that this is not the shootout at the OK Corral.”
    Andrew stepped around the guard and smiled. “Ah, Caitlin. I’ve been expecting you.”
    She turned her head and looked at the large gathering of people. She was too angry to care that she was making a scene. “Is this your idea of a welcoming party?”
    She hadn’t meant the comment to be amusing, but the office staff got a big kick out of it. To her immense aggravation, so did Andrew.
    “Why don’t we step into my office?” He looked down the corridor at the large group of spectators they had attracted. “Don’t you all have work to do?”
    Andrew spoke and people jumped. The crowd dispersed quickly. She stormed past him into the office and dropped the diaper bag on the nearest chair. She needed a pacifier to calm Tyler, but she was having difficulty searching through the bag while Tyler flailed his legs. She turned to Andrew and unceremoniously dumped the baby in his hands.
    He held Tyler awkwardly under the arms, away from his body. Caitlin furiously pulled things from the bag. When it appeared that she wasn’t going to find what she was looking for any time soon, Andrew gingerly cradled Tyler against his chest and gently stroked his back until the crying stopped.
    She halted her search and looked up. “I’ll take him.”
    “I’ve got him. Have a seat.”
    She grabbed a clean diaper and took a step toward Andrew.
    “I said I’ve got him,” he repeated.
    “I’m not deaf. But the wool from your suit will irritate his skin.” She slapped the diaper on his free shoulder and pointed for him to move the baby to the other side. He shifted Tyler and sat down in a chair.
    Caitlin prowled the room nervously. Without Tyler in her arms to keep her focused, she began to feel caged by the office. The hairs on the back of her neck stood straight up.
    “Have a seat, Caitlin. I think we have a few things to discuss.”
    She threw herself into the nearest chair. Her body trembled with rage, but she bit her tongue. Often her mouth spoke without consent from her brain. She could not afford to lose control. “What do you want?”
    “You know what I want.”
    “You want to take him from me,” she accused him.
    He shook his head and spoke softly. “No.”
    “Then what was the purpose of the subpoena?”
    “You wouldn’t return my calls.”
    Caitlin dropped her jaw in disbelief. He sounded like a jealous adolescent who’d been ignored by the homecoming queen. “So you decided to sue me?”
    “You didn’t leave me a choice. I want to see my son. If you’ll be reasonable, we can come to some kind of agreement without the court’s intervention. I’m not trying to hurt you. I just want time with him, too.”
    Even as Caitlin searched for a response, she knew she had to accept whatever terms he set down. She couldn’t afford to have him drag up things from her past—a past she had tried too hard to forget.
    “All right. You can visit him sometimes.”
    “When?”
    “It’s not like you can take him anywhere. He’s still nursing. He can’t be away from me for more than a few hours.”
    “So I’ll visit him at your apartment. How often?” Seeing that Caitlin had refused to return even one of his messages, he figured she’d make sure she was out every time he planned to see Tyler.
    “I don’t know. We’ll work out some sort of arrangement. Maybe on a Saturday, when I have to do shopping.”
    “So what you’re saying is that I can see my son when you need a baby-sitter, and only if it’s convenient for you.”
    She inhaled slowly, as if trying to contain her temper. “That’s not what I said. But I work, too, Andrew. Not all of life revolves around your schedule.”
    “One day a week is not enough.”
    “Well, how