Free Lone Star Millionaire by Susan Mallery

again his attention strayed to the seat across the aisle where Anastasia lay curled up, asleep.
    â€œYou can’t solve all the world’s problems today,” Sabrina said, repeating a phrase he often used on her.
    â€œI hate it when you throw my words back in my face,” he muttered. “And I know it’s true. I can’t. But what about her?”
    The first-class section of the aircraft had two seats on either side of the aisle. Sabrina had taken the single seat across from the two together, but Anastasia had wanted to switch. Obviously she wasn’t interested in sitting next to her father.
    Cal tried not to take her actions personally. The kid had known about him only a few days, and they’d been in each other’s company for less than five hours. She was alone andscared, and the past year of her life had been hell. It made sense that she would do her best to protect herself against what she saw as threats to her safety. But telling himself was one thing, while believing it was another.
    He looked at the child he’d fathered, at her dirty hair and thin face. He wondered what Anastasia thought of her first plane trip, of the amenities of first class. Then he reminded himself she had nothing to compare any of it to. At least he knew she’d enjoyed the food. She’d gobbled her dinner with a haste that had made him wince.
    â€œWhat are you thinking?” Sabrina asked.
    He forced himself to relax a little. “I was wondering how long it had been since the kid had eaten.”
    â€œShe was enthusiastic about her meal,” Sabrina agreed.
    She glanced down at her list and crossed off another item. Since the meal service had ended, Sabrina had been making arrangements and ordering things for his daughter. He was, Cal realized, pitifully unprepared for the arrival of a child into his life. Just thinking about the professional but impersonal decorations in the guest room made him wince.
    â€œNo,” Sabrina said quietly. “You’re not allowed to think that you made a mistake.”
    â€œI wasn’t thinking that.”
    â€œSomething close.” She laid her hand on top of his forearm. “You’re not to blame for Anastasia being so unhappy, nor are the circumstances of her life your responsibility. You never knew about her. If you had, you would have done something. As soon as you found out, you took measures to get her.”
    Her touch comforted him. He looked at his daughter. “She’s not exactly what I imagined.”
    â€œRemember what you told Jack. That she’s been through a terrible year. No one would thrive living with Mrs. Sellis. Add the loss of her parents and you have a recipe for disaster.”
    â€œAre you saying there’s nothing to be done? That she’ll never come around?”
    Sabrina shook her head. “Of course not. But she’s going to need a lot of time and love. If there isn’t some progress in the first couple of months, counseling might not be a bad idea.”
    Cal grunted. Counseling he could handle, but the love part… What was that? To the best of his knowledge, his parents had never loved him or Tracey. He knew he’d never really loved anyone, and none of the women in his life had ever felt that emotion for him. Love. Maybe it was all a fantasy.
    It was his fault. He’d pictured the meeting between him and his daughter as something of a cross between a television sitcom and the musical Annie. The thought of his daughter being someone like Anastasia had never occurred to him. Of course he probably wasn’t what she wanted, either.
    He looked at his daughter. Curled up in the wide seat, she seemed so small and painfully thin. “I don’t know what to do with her. I don’t know what to say.”
    â€œSay that. Tell her you’re just as confused as she is. When a child loses his or her parents, everything in the world changes. One minute you’re secure and