Free The Summer House by Susan Mallery Page B

“I’m heading back to Los Angeles for a couple of days. I received a call last night from Daisy, Eva’s foster mother. Eva’s the little girl I told you about.”
    “I remember. Is everything all right?”
    “Yes. I have official permission to spend time with Eva, so I thought I’d start by going to the Long Beach aquarium with her. Eva really likes the ocean and things that live in it.”
    “Sounds like fun.”
    “I hope it will be.”
    Mandy tried to act casual about the whole thing, but she was pretty excited. Although she still wasn’t sure that she would have the guts to adopt a special-needs child on her own, she wanted to seriously consider the possibility. Rather than simply spend time with Eva, she’d gone through the process of receiving official clearance so there would be no holdup if she did go forward with the adoption. Better to be prudent than make waves.
    Rick leaned back in his chair. “Want company?”
    She stared at him. “What?”
    “I’m not doing anything for the next couple of days. We could go down in my car. Spend the night in some fancy hotel.” He held up his free hand. “Separate rooms. I know. No fooling around in the name of closure.” He shrugged. “I thought it might be fun.”
    She didn’t understand. No man in her acquaintance had ever been willing to get within throwing distance of Eva. “Are you talking about coming to the aquarium with us?” she asked cautiously.
    “If you wouldn’t mind.”
    His obvious acceptance of the situation surprised her. But then she reminded herself that they were nothing but friends working on the past.
    “Um, that would be great. Thanks.”
     
    As there was going to be a young child to worry about, they drove down in Rick’s sedan rather than his convertible.
    “Safety versus flash,” he said as they pulled into the modest Torrance neighborhood. “She doesn’t need a car seat or anything, does she?”
    Mandy shook her head. “She’s eight. She’ll be fine in the back seat.”
    She directed him to turn right at the corner, then left at the stop sign. Although she spoke calmly, he could feel her tension. It filled the car until he wanted to take her twisting fingers in his and promise that it would be all right. However, he didn’t think she could believe him.
    He could see that this was a big deal for Mandy. Obviously she cared about the kid a lot. He was interested in meeting Eva and seeing how the afternoon went. No one had defined the term “special needs” so he didn’t know what more Eva might need as compared with a child who wasn’t categorized that way.
    While Rick would never admit it to Mandy, he wasn’t keen on labeling kids. He’d been badged as “gifted” before he was five. The word—both a blessing and a curse—had followed him right into high school, which he’d entered at eleven. He’d entered college at thirteen. It had taken him the full four years to graduate because he’d double majored in computer science and physics. He’d finished his first master’s and Ph.D. by the time he was twenty and was on to his second when he’d met Mandy. He knew all about being different.
    He pulled up in front of the one-story house by the corner. Mandy was out of the car before he’d done much more than put it in park. She hovered by the passenger door. As he watched, a child flew out ofthe front door of the house and raced down the walk. Rick had a brief impression of long blond hair, a wide, happy smile and open arms before the two flung themselves at each other.
    “How are you?” Mandy was asking as he climbed out of the car. “Are you having a good summer? I’ve missed you.”
    “I missed you. We’ve had fun. Daisy took us to the pool twice and we saw fireworks on the Fourth of July and—”
    Eva’s happy chatter came to a halt as Rick circled around the rear of the car. She gave him a quick glance then ducked behind Mandy.
    “Eva, don’t be scared. This is Rick.”
    Before she could say more,