Maybe This Time (The Educators Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

was ever going to have her own happily-ever-after. She guessed they just didn’t exist for people like her.
    o0o
    The atmosphere in his Lexus was like the inside of a morgue. Stephanie hugged the passenger door as if she was being kidnapped. Gage hid his impatience as best he could. “I wish you’d talk to me.”
    “You don’t wanna talk to me. You want to tell me what to do.”
    “I have no choice in the matter. You keep getting into trouble. And when you aren’t, you sulk and keep to yourself.”
    Part of which was his fault. They’d been close the first seven years of her life, but then he’d taken a high powered job. Even before he moved out of their home in an historic part of Crystal Corners, he worked a ton of hours and didn’t spend enough time with her. “Can’t you help me out here, Steph? I’m trying.”
    “Now you are.”
    Hell. They arrived at his condo on the outskirts of town. He liked the modern space with its ribbon of windows overlooking a golf course, the high ceilings with oak beams, the state-of-the-art kitchen and bathrooms. Stephanie had accused him of moving to a place totally opposite of where he’d lived with her and her mother—and she was right. He’d wanted to leave the nightmares behind.
    Once inside, he held out his hand. “All right. Give me your cell phone.”
    “You gotta be kiddin’ me.”
    “You told a teacher to fuck off. That can’t go unpunished. You’re grounded without the cell to text or talk on. I’m also taking your laptop computer with me to work. And don’t walk anywhere.”
    “Geez, Dad, you’re such a sweetie. I can see how much you want to get close to me.”
    His temper spiked. “I’m trying to be a good father!”
    She said, “Good luck with that,” and bolted up the steps. He watched as she made her way to her room.
    After retrieving the laptop he’d bought for her to keep here, Gage drove back to Rochester in a snit. Not all of this was his fault. He wished he could get through to his daughter. He wished he could get her to communicate with him, but she flatly refused. Maybe Delaney could help with that when they met today.
    He was glad when he reached the courtroom so he could concentrate on Anderson Dobbins. The guy was a crook, but it was Gage’s job to plead his case. Dobbins had evaded paying taxes with the help of a creative accountant and now Gage had to make a case for leniency. He was not looking forward to it.
    What do you do for a living?
    I’m a lawyer.
    What kind of law do you practice?
    Corporate. I was in Legal Aid. Actually, I preferred the variety of that kind of law.
    Why don’t you do that again?
    As he stared at the judge who seemed as disgusted as Gage felt, he thought of all the mistakes he’d made in his life. Sometimes they overwhelmed him and the notion of changing so much now seemed impossible.
    o0o
    Delaney opened the door to her apartment and was poleaxed by the sight of Gage. She thought she’d been prepared to see him again, as he was this morning in the crisp blue business suit, light blue shirt and striped tie. But his shoulders filled up the doorway and he seemed taller, more imposing, maybe because he was in her personal space.
    Or maybe it was because she wanted to jump his bones.
    “Don’t look at me like that, Delaney.”
    The low rumble of his voice laced with concern sobered her enough to shut down whatever was in her expression. “Sorry, this is hard for me.”
    A male chuckle. “I won’t even go there.”
    She stepped aside. He entered and Delaney wondered if he’d recognize the hint of jasmine from the incense she’d burned. She tried to see her decor through his perspective. A big hammock hung between two beams of the loft she’d rented on the top floor of a building on Park Avenue. Stacks of books filled the shelves behind it, with similar bookshelves scattered around the room. Two white couches with big fuchsia flowers took up the center of the huge space, and a chaise longue of the