Page 191 of Papa's Bébé
“I cannot believe it!” her father thundered as he started pacing again. “Why would Vince try to hurt Maya? That’s . . . that’s not even possible! Vince likes you. He wanted to date you, but for some reason you didn’t want that and made up that ridiculous story about him assaulting you.”
“It wasn’t something that she made up,” Matthieu told him in a dark voice. “That happened. It was real. And you didn’t believe her. You, the chief of police, ignored a claim from your daughterabout sexual abuse. Why? Because he was a cop? Because he was one of your cops? Why would you believe him over her?”
Her breath caught in her lungs, her heart skipping a beat. And she knew in that moment that she could fall in love with this man. That she might nearly be doing that.
He cared for her babies as much as she did. Well, maybe not the chickens . . . but Princess Priss adored him. And he’d figured out a way to get through to Tank.
He protected her. Stood up for her. Supported her. Heck, she even liked the fact he gave her some rules, but wasn’t a dick about it. He was generally calm and caring. Feeding her, driving her around, putting up with the fact that most of the time she struggled to look him in the face.
Yeah, she could love this man.
She might already.
Which was a scary thought since after this was over, she might never see him again.
Kathryn sighed with a fake-patient and somewhat condescending look on her face. “It’s obvious that you don’t know Maya well. She’s very sweet, but she’s also known for making up wild stories and exaggerating things. She doesn’t mean to upset anyone. It’s just her way of getting attention. It’s quite sad, really. I know it started after she lost her mother and I tried to give her all the attention she needed. But nothing ever seemed to work.” Kathryn gave a sad sniff.
Wow. She really should have pursued an acting career.
Her father put his arm around her. “It wasn’t your fault, dear. Maya is my daughter. I should have gotten her into therapy after Maggie’s death. But I was too caught up in my own grief.”
“Yes, so caught up that you moved Kathryn in less than a year after Mom died,” Maya spat out.
She knew she would be better off keeping quiet. But she just couldn’t do it. “And most of those ‘lies’ were the truth. You just didn’t want to believe them, Dad.”
Her dad scowled at her. “Maya, your mother wouldn’t want me to grieve her forever.”
“Ten. Months,” she said.
“You know, I’m not sure which one of you is more concerning,” Matthieu drawled. “The liar or the person who believes her lies so easily.”
“I don’t understand,” her father said. “Who are you calling a liar?”
“Your wife.”
Her father puffed up. “I won’t have you stand here in my home and insult my wife. You need to leave and you’re fired from your protection duties. I’ll be calling your boss as soon as you’re gone.”
“Really, Dad?” Marlin said. “Is that what is most important here? Maya could have been killed tonight and by one of your cops.”
Her father shook his head. “I still don’t believe it. Not of Vince.”
“What would it take for you to believe that Vince is capable of doing terrible things? For him to attack me right in front of you? You’d probably still come up with some excuse for him. Maybe it would be my fault, huh? For provoking him?” Maya asked, her anger bubbling up.
He was never going to believe her. He wouldn’t even believe clear evidence.
This was pointless.
“Well, you do like to provoke people, don’t you, dear?” Kathryn said. “Perhaps you should try guarding your words more. Being a bit less dramatic and rebellious.”
She clenched her hands into fists as Tank let out a small growl.
“That dog just threatened me!” Kathryn said, pointing at Tank. “He’s a menace.”
“He only growled at you,” Matthieu said. “And you think Maya has a flair for the dramatic? She’s twenty-six-years-old and you don’t get to talk to her that way. And before you can tell me to get out and that I’m fired, you can hold your breath. Callahan Security no longer wishes to work with you.”
They didn’t?
But . . . but . . .
