"What are you going to do here?" He waved his hand around wildly.
"Exactly what I've been doing. Taking care of Piper and learning to live on a budget." When it was time to leave in September, she would make her way to New York and stay with Stuart for a while. She would find herself a job—hopefully in the art industry—and get herself on her feet.
"I can give you an allowance."
Her dad was starting to look panicked now. But Amanda didn't want the money between them for a change. She wanted to try and have a relationship with him that didn't rely on cold hard cash. "I'm fine for right now. But I'll let you know if I need some."
Danny and Piper were hovering by the truck, obviously waiting for her, and Amanda waved them over.
She introduced Danny, and her father had the sense to stick out his hand and shake, though he looked too bewildered to make conversation.
"You have a wonderful daughter, sir," Danny said, tossing her a smile. "She's been taking care of my daughter like she's her own, and I'm very grateful to her."
While Amanda contemplated kissing him for being so damn sweet, her father just nodded. "Good, good."
"Amanda, you can have the rest of the day off if you want to spend time with your dad. Piper and I can find something to do on our own."
"Actually, my father is leaving, aren't you, Daddy?" Amanda squeezed his hand. "I'll call you soon." Impulsively, she gave him a hug. "I… I love you."
He didn't say anything, but his arms came up in what could be called a loose embrace. Amanda figured that was progress.
She turned and started toward the truck. "Let's go. Brady's probably fallen asleep waiting for us."
Danny put his hand on the small of her back as they walked. He said in a low voice, "You okay?"
Nodding, she stopped and waited for him to unclick the door locks. She didn't trust herself her to talk, feeling a little raw and a lot like crying.
"Piper, come on, baby girl."
Amanda turned and watched Piper scramble to catch up with them. She shoved something at Danny.
"Amanda's dad told me to give this to her. He said it's all he had right now."
Danny took the wad of money from Piper. "What the… ?" He started shifting through it. "Jesus Christ, this is over four thousand dollars. I'm holding a freaking fortune in my hand in the middle of the street." He blanched. "Where the hell is your purse?"
"I didn't bring it."
Danny shoved the money in his pocket, patting it and smashing to make sure it was all in there. "Let's get home before a strong wind comes along."
Amanda looked across the street to where her father was pulling away in his Lexus rental car. "Bye, Daddy." She waved to him.
He didn't look back, but she suspected he was looking in his rearview mirror.
Money couldn't buy love, but maybe her father didn't know that.
Maybe she hadn't given hers any more freely than he had.
Chapter 20
Danny was going to ask Amanda to stay.
It was probably a huge mistake. She would laugh at him. Recoil in horror. Tell him no.
He knew the chances that Amanda would be willing to stay in Cuttersville on his farm as his wife were about as big as a dust mite. Sometimes even love couldn't make up for things like chicken shit. And he didn't even know if Amanda loved him or not. He was sure she cared about him, but love was another something altogether.
Plus seeing Piper shove that big wad of cash in his hand—a little afterthought from Amanda's father, and money he just happened to be carrying around—reminded Danny that Amanda was wealthy. He knew it, but sometimes he could convince himself it didn't matter. But he couldn't casually give Amanda four thousand dollars, not even if he saved half his life for it.
So while he would like to make Amanda his wife, he wasn't going to mention that to her just yet. First he had to get her to agree to stay on for awhile, and he didn't want to wait until the day she was leaving to talk about it.
As it was, they had yet to discuss the fact that they had had sex four days ago. At the time, they had agreed not to reveal their relationship to Piper, but in the days since it was becoming apparent to Danny there was no relationship to show.
Amanda treated him like a friend, and an extremely platonic one at that.
Call him stupid, but he had just kind of assumed there would be more sex coming his way. That since they'd started, there wasn't any reason to stop having sex, until she had to leave.
If she had to leave. Which he didn't think she did.
So the plan was to tell her how he felt, convince her to stay, then get to enjoy her company and her body forever. He'd let her on to the getting married thing later when she was good and used to him and the farm.
Simple.
Not really, but he was hoping. Or fooling himself.
Brady had finished in Piper's room, and Amanda was hanging the blinds and drapes. Danny had asked her that morning if she needed help, but she had refused. Now he could hear her muttering and complaining and reading the directions out loud. Piper was plugged in to Nick Jr. on the TV, the poodle asleep on her lap.
"Hey, baby girl." Danny paused to just look at her. He could stare at Piper for hours, amazed at the reflection of him in her features, yet at the complete uniqueness of her. Their appointment for DNA testing was the next day, as well as Piper's school screening, and he was anxious about it. Just wanted to get it done and over with it.
But when he watched Piper like this, the sun streaming across her cheeks, her fingers buried in the dog's fur, he didn't care about any of that red tape. He had a daughter, and he was blessed.
"Hi, Dad," she said, without even looking away from the TV.
His heart dropped down to his boots. That was the first time she had called him Dad. And that she did it without thinking just turned him into mush. Damn, he was a sap. She could ask him for anything, and he'd try and give it to her. Yet he knew he'd have to learn something from Amanda and her father.
Money and things didn't matter. Just being there did. Like his own parents had with him.
He tickled across the back of her neck as he walked past her, pulling a giggle from her. Then he tickled the air next to her. "Does Anita like it when I tickle her too?"
Piper nodded. "She's laughing." Then her attention went back to the TV, and he kept walking.
At least he'd picked the right side to locate Anita this time. Usually he found himself talking to nothing, only Piper would insist it was the wrong nothing.
Complicated business, imaginary friends.
Amanda was standing on a chair, hammer raised in her hand and aimed straight at the window. It made for a scary picture.