Angel Mine by Sherryl Woods Page B

there had been on that soap opera.
    Fortunately it was so busy, she didn’t have time to dwell on any of it. It was eight by the time the crowd eventually thinned out. The three people at the counter, however, hadn’t budged. Henrietta had joined them. Heather suspected she had deliberately scooted onto the stool between Joe and Flo to keep them a safe distance apart. That left one stool for Heather, next to Todd. She was too exhausted not to take it. She was also too tired to do more than pick at the food she’d brought with her.
    “You have to eat more than that,” Todd advised. “Otherwise, you’ll insult Henrietta.”
    “I notice you cleaned your plate. Your appetite must be back. Did that have something to do with the fact that Angel was already upstairs when you got here?”
    Rather than admit that the absence of his daughter had been a relief, Todd frowned. “Who’s watching her?”
    “Sissy. They’re looking at The Little Mermaid. It’s Angel’s favorite.”
    “Sissy is too young to be baby-sitting,” he said, on his feet at once. “What the hell were you thinking, Heather?”
    Even as the angry words left his mouth, he headed for the door. She shot after him and caught up with him on the sidewalk. “Todd, Angel is perfectly fine with Sissy. Henrietta and I are both right downstairs.”
    That didn’t seem to appease him. He bolted for the stairs, not slowing until he was at the screen door and could see Angel and Sissy in front of the television.
    As Heather reached his side, she noticed how pale he’d gone. When she touched his arm, he jerked as if he hadn’t even realized she was beside him.
    “Todd, what was that all about?” she asked in a low tone that wouldn’t be overheard by the two girls.
    He turned away and braced his hands on the railing. He drew in several deep breaths before meeting her gaze. “I just don’t like the idea of Angel being left with a ten-year-old, even if you are nearby. If there was a real emergency, Sissy might be too upset to come and get you. She’s just a kid. You shouldn’t forget that.”
    “I’m not forgetting it. But Sissy is very responsible, and I explained before that Henrietta and I are both within shouting distance. We could be up here in seconds.”
    That clearly didn’t pacify him. His expression set stubbornly. “If you’re not going to keep her downstairs with you, then hire an adult to watch her,” he insisted.
    “Baby-sitters cost money. Why waste the precious little I’m making when Sissy is willing and Angel adores spending time with her?”
    “I’ll pay for it.”
    “Todd—”
    “I mean it, Heather.”
    “Maybe you’d like to come over here and spend time with her,” she suggested. “It would be the perfect opportunity for the two of you to get better acquainted.”
    “Absolutely not.”
    Heather knew there had to be more going on here than Todd was saying, but for the life of her she couldn’t figure out what it was. For a man determined to have no role in his daughter’s life, he was awfully insistent on how she should be cared for in her mother’s absence.
    Was that instinctive paternal protectiveness surfacing? If so, maybe it was a promising sign. Maybe when push came to shove, Todd wouldn’t turn his back on Angel. Maybe he would become part of her life by default, one tiny step at a time.
    If only he could do it enthusiastically, Heather thought, biting back a sigh.
    When she glanced his way, she saw that he had turned back toward the door, just enough so that he could see Angel reciting the dialogue from memory, and periodically bouncing with excitement. He seemed to watch her with total absorption.
    “Does she know every word?” he asked eventually.
    “Pretty much. I probably know most of them myself from watching it so often.”
    “If she’s that good at learning lines, maybe she’ll grow up to be on stage like her mother.”
    “And her father,” she pointed out.
    He scoffed. “I’m an executive, not