The Miles Between Us Read Online Free PDF Page B

repeated. “No naughty words in front of Emma.”
    His daughter stared at hi m with the absolute certainty that he was deranged. “Mum,” she said, and a fat tear trickled down her cheek.
    This situation was rapidly deteriorating. He thought about calling Paige, putting Emma on the phone with her sister, but then he’d have to answer questions he wasn’t ready to answer. And it might make things worse instead of better. Emma still didn’t get the concept of how a telephone worked, and she’d probably be looking for her sister once she heard Paige’s voice. She’d suffered enough trauma today. Besides, he didn’t want to ruin Paige’s camping trip. She’d been there since Saturday with her friend Tina’s family. He had the phone number for the campground, but he’d probably scare the kid half to death if he had the office track her down with a message to call home. Besides, there was no point in spoiling her week by telling her that Casey had lost the baby. When she came home would be soon enough to give her the news.
    So h e was on his own. He took Emma out of her high chair, washed and changed her, and cleaned up the remains of her supper. When he was done, he tried rocking her in Casey’s favorite Boston rocker. That usually did the trick. But Emma squalled and squirmed and refused to close her eyes.
    The phone rang . He rose, propped Emmy on his hip, crossed the kitchen to the wall phone, and answered it.
    “What in bloody hell are you doing, disappearing like this?” said an all-too-familiar voice . “We have a record to finish, in case you hadn’t heard.”
    Phoenix Hightower, teen idol and all-around pain in the ass , had been a London guttersnipe with a modicum of talent when he was “discovered” and turned into a pop star a couple of years ago. He had a pretty face and great hair, a sweet, girlish voice, and a truckload of attitude. Teenage girls adored him. Record company executives feared him. He’d sent more than one record producer into meltdown mode.
    And right now, he was all Rob’s.
    In resignation, he said, “Hey, Phoenix.”
    “ Hey, Phoenix? That’s not an answer, mate.”
    Bouncing his daughter on his hip in an unsuccessful attempt to silence her, Rob squared his jaw and said into the phone, “I had a family emergency.”
    “This is very unprofessional behavior ,” Phoenix said. “And what’s that god-awful, bloody noise?”
    “That god-awful, bloody noise is my daughter.” And if Phoenix Hightower wanted a picture of unprofessional behavior, he needed only to look in the mirror.
    “Well, for the love of Christ, shut her up.”
    On his hip, Emma continued wailing. “Was there something you wanted, Phoenix?” he said. “Because I really don’t have time for this right now.”
    “I want you back here. You disrupted my plans. I need to be recording tomorrow.”
    “Not gonna happen, buddy . I told you, I had a family emergency.”
    “What sort of family emergency?”
    “Not that it’s any of your business, but my wife had a miscarriage this morning.”
    With utter disbelief, Phoenix said, “And you went all the way home to—wherever the hell home is—for something like that?”
    “Home is in Maine. And yes, I did. I suppose you think I should’ve blown it off?”
    “I’ve never heard of Maine, and you need to think about your priorities.”
    Rob’s eyebrows went sky high . With a calm he was far from feeling, he said, “This is my priority. There are times when family comes first. This is one of those times.”
    “I need that album finished on time.”
    “It’ll be done on time. I already talked to the record company. Who gave you my home number, anyway?”
    “ The record company’s run by a bunch of wankers. I need this done now. I have things I need to be doing, places I need to go, and the longer this drags on, the more of a time squeeze it places on me. I have a tour coming up. I need time to get ready for it.”
    A headache sprang to life beneath his