The Next Little Thing (Jackson Falls #4) Read Online Free PDF Page B

into."
    "We've talked about having two kids," he said, "but
I just don't know. To put her through that again—”  His voice broke.
    "She'll be fine. Casey's strong, and she's resilient."
    Paige burst through the door from the shed, looking breathless and
anxious. He gave her a wink. Said into the phone, "I love you, Ma."
    "And I love you, my son. Your father and I will be up on the
weekend to meet the new wee one. In the meantime, give my love to Casey. And
congratulations to both of you. This one's been a long time coming."
    He hung up the phone, swiped at a tear. "What's wrong?"
Paige said.
    "Nothing's wrong. You have a beautiful new baby sister."
    "And Casey's okay?"
    He tried to make sense of her anxiety, realized she'd already lost
one mother and was probably terrified of losing another. He stood drinking her
in, amazed by her beauty, crushed by the knowledge that if Sandy hadn't died,
he might never have known he had a daughter.
    "Casey's fine. Tired, but that's to be expected. I think that
right now, she's walking on air." 
    Paige wrinkled her brow and said, "Then why are you
crying?"
    He shook his head slowly. Blinked, and took a step closer to her,
while she looked at him like he was some kind of alien life form. "Um,
Dad?" she said.
    "S'okay."  He reached out, fingered a single blond curl,
studied her blurred face. "I am so sorry. So sorry I wasn't there for you.
So sorry I missed everything. Your birth. Your first tooth, your first step.
All those birthdays."
    "It wasn't your fault. We've already established that. Not
your fault that my mom lied to me, not your fault that she never told you about
me. I've come to terms with it. I think you need to do the same thing."
    He wiped his flooding eyes on his sleeve. And let out a choked
laugh. "Count on you," he said, "to get right to the heart of the
matter."
    "We're okay. It took us a while, but we're okay now." 
She stepped forward and gave him a hug. He clung to her, completely annihilated
by this uncharacteristic show of affection.
    "Have you eaten anything?" she asked suspiciously.
    "Just a cold chicken leg."
    "Jesus. That was like, three days old. If you can give me a
half-hour, I'll make you something decent."
    "That would be great, kiddo. I have a few calls to make
anyway."
    First, he called Will Bradley, Casey's dad, and reassured him that
all was well in spite of the unexpectedly early delivery. Next came his twin
sister, Rose, and his sister-in-law, Trish. He chatted for a few minutes with
Casey's brother Travis, in Boston, then called his sister Maeve and his brother
Michael. His mother and Rose could take care of the rest of the MacKenzie clan.
He would have phoned Colleen, Casey's younger sister, if he'd known how to
reach her. She lived somewhere in Florida. But he was sure she'd get the word.
Bill, the oldest of Casey's siblings, stayed in touch with his baby sister,
even though the rest of the family hardly ever spoke to her.
    Once he finished the calls, he went upstairs, peeled off his
clothes, and took a long, hot shower, letting the heat work its magic on his
knotted muscles. He felt better afterward. He brushed his teeth and his hair,
threw on clean clothes, then stood for a moment studying the stranger who
stared back at him from the bathroom mirror. He still hadn't adjusted to the
new Rob MacKenzie. It was still a shock every time he passed a mirror and
wondered who the hell that guy was. It had been one of those impulsive,
spur-of-the-moment things that might have led to quick regrets after the fact.
But he'd been closing in on forty, with a teenage daughter and a baby on the
way, and it had just seemed the right thing to do. It was time. So he'd called
Jesse one Saturday afternoon and asked where he could get a decent haircut, and
Jesse had pointed him to a downtown salon called Shelley's Cut 'n Curl and told
him to ask for David.
    There, he sat in a swivel chair and watched in the mirror as a
flamboyant, purple-haired freaking genius lopped