stay home from school.â
âI feel fine, Daddy,â Val said. âYou didnât have to come home early.â
âYouâre a lot more important to me than some jerk at HUD,â Rick replied. âBut I donât like this. Headaches, then not calling Bruno, but taking off on your own. Are you sure everythingâs okay?â
âNo,â Val said. âIt isnât.â
âI knew it,â Rick said. âYou want to tell me whatâs going on?â
Val stared at the man who was what, her father, her kidnapper, and tried to follow Jameyâs advice. Just ask him and wait for the happy answers. But the words were choked up inside her, and she realized that she was afraid. She had never been afraid of her father before, not even when she was little and had angered him. And now he frightened her the way he had frightened Terry.
âItâs Kit,â she said. âI told you Amandaâs in a clinic. She got drunk on Sunday and tore up the house. She broke just about everything in the kitchen, and she even ripped some of Jameyâs paintings.â
âSheâs a very sick woman,â Rick said. âI guess Kitâs real upset about it.â
Val nodded.
âAnd youâve been over there, helping her out,â Rick said. âHeadache and all.â
Val looked down at the floor.
âI hope Kit appreciates what kind of a friend she has,â Rick said. âThe way you stand by her, the way youâre always there for her. Sheâs a lucky girl to have you.â
âYeah,â Val said. âSheâs real lucky.â
Rick gave Val another hug. She felt her body stiffen, and tried to relax before he sensed her tension. âTell you what,â he said. âHow about you go to your room, get out of that uniform, and we have dinner out together? How does Chinese sound?â
âNot tonight, Daddy,â Val said. âI really should go to my room and catch up on my homework. I didnât do anything yesterday because of my headache.â
âYouâll get another headache if you donât eat supper,â Rick said.
âI have my period,â she lied, knowing Rick would be uncomfortable with that. âI feel kind of crampy.â
âPoor kid,â he said. âGo upstairs then, and Iâll have Connie make you some tea. If you feel up to it later, we can watch a movie together.â
âOkay,â Val said. She forced herself to give her father a quick kiss on his cheek, then turned her back to him, and walked away from him slowly, carefully, so he couldnât see how hard she was shaking.
Chapter 7
Rick was already in the dining room when Val went in for breakfast. He put down his newspaper and looked at her, awaiting his morning kiss. Val walked over to him and pecked him on the cheek. Sheâd avoided further contact with him the night before, but she knew sheâd have to see him in the morning and act as though nothing had happened. She didnât have the strength for a confrontation, not just yet.
âSleep well?â he asked. âFeeling better now?â
âMuch,â Val replied.
Connie came in and asked Val what she wanted for breakfast. Val hated the thought of eating in front of her father, but knew she had no choice. âScrambled eggs and toast,â she said.
âI have some nice melon,â Connie said. âI bought it yesterday. How about a slice?â
âSure,â Val replied. She glanced at her father to see if he had resumed reading the paper, but he hadnât.
âI made a few phone calls last night,â he said.
âOh?â Val said.
âFigured I might as well, let people know Iâm back a little early,â Rick declared. âGood thing too. Jamey tells me the shopping center in Hackensackâs run into some labor problems. Iâll have to go over there, talk things out with the boys.â
âI hope it
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