Page 31 of Wrong Number

He grinned as if he was enjoying how uncomfortable she was. “You know, I figured since this is my first job for my daughter’s workplace, I’ll give your boss a really fair price.”

Tana’s big brown eyes turned to me, already glittering with tears. “I’m sorry. I was trying to find a way to tell you.”

My jaw cracked on the left side as my teeth ground together for a second. “You are his daughter?” My hands clenched, digging into my thighs. “And you called him about a project?”

“No, I didn’t! I don’t want to talk to him, but he keeps calling here even though I tell him to leave me alone.”

“Don’t be like that, sweetie,” Jim slurred, still grinning. “I called yesterday and got the nice Doc himself. Once I told him who I was, he told me to come on over.”

The doctor came out of one of the offices, looking confused at the three of us, especially since Tana was clearly upset.

“Hey, Doc,” Jim said, turning away from us, “Let’s talk about your shelving system.” The doctor was so flustered that he followed Jim back into the room immediately.

Tana turned to me, wiping away a tear. “Dr. Brannigan said that he wanted some new shelving, but he was still making up his mind how much he needed and where exactly it would go. I was going to ask him if I could have you come take a look if he wanted proper cupboards. I didn’t know that he was already talking to my dad.”

“But you didn’t tell me who your dad was.”

Her bottom lip quivered. It was maddening that she was still so damn gorgeous when I was so frustrated I could have chewed through a steel cable.

“I’m sorry. I really meant to.”

“You let me call your father a drunk piece of shit, and you didn’t say anything.”

Her hands were twisting in on themselves. “That’s because I agree with you. I barely know him, honest.”

Forcing myself to keep my voice low, I said, “If you were honest, you would have said something at the beginning. As soon as his name came up.”

“He left us,” she whispered. “He was never a real father to me. I don’t even think of him like that. He’s just some weird guy who showed up two years ago, wanting connections to get more work.”

“If you’d told me that from the beginning, we could have sorted it out,” I said, trying desperately to keep my voice calm. I couldn’t look her in the eye, focusing on a photograph on the wall behind her.

“I’m so sorry,” she sniffled, reaching her hand toward me, but I flinched away.

“Can you get yourself home?” I asked. “You won’t take a ride with Jim, right? He’s drunk.”

“I would never get in a car with him,” she said sadly. “I can take the streetcar.”

Swallowing hard, I spoke quietly. “I’m angry. Seriously furious. So I’m going to leave before I say something I regret.”

I turned and walked out, driving across town to pick up some specialized cabinet hardware before I went home. I wanted to talk to her, wrap my arms around her. But I was so cranked on adrenaline that I didn’t trust myself not to slip and say something nasty just because I was hurt.

Tana was obviously a sensitive girl, and I knew that she would forgive my silence for a few days. If I snapped at her, I didn’t know if she could forgive a rude outburst. At the moment, that was all my mind was screaming.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

* Tana *

I couldn’t believe Tyler left. I could, but I couldn’t, at the same time.

I still didn’t know how Tyler dealt with stress, I suppose. In some ways, we still didn’t know each other very well yet.

We needed more time. Much more time.

My father came out of the side room, alone, thank goodness. Turning to him, I couldn’t believe that he was standing there chuckling to himself.

“You don’t want to be with a loser like that, honey,” he sneered. “Don’t worry, I’ll do a great job here, then we can go talk to the manager at your apartment building and see if they need any help.”

“Get out!” I screamed right in his face, shocking myself, and obviously startling Dr. Brannigan who was coming out of the exam room.

---