Two days after the incident on the beach, Carter finished his workout impatiently and hurried to dress and shower. His mother would be arriving with Addi at any moment, and he wanted to get through as much business as he could so he could spend some time with her. Wearing casual slacks and a blue polo shirt, he went down to the wing of offices on the second floor. Brenda was already at her desk, so he was able to jump right in.
“Did we hear back about my offer on that house?”
Brenda shook her head. “Rejected.”
“Of course.” Carter went to the mini fridge and got a bottle of water. “I can’t just keep throwing bigger offers at her. Whoever this Leah Parker is, there has to be some way to entice her. See if you can find anything out about her that we can use. Also, have the legal team look into it. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find she hasn’t paid her taxes or something.”
“Who can afford beach front property but doesn’t pay their property taxes?”
Carter shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m grasping here. I have a meeting with the investors in a couple of weeks. How are our bookings for opening day?” Though the majority of condos were sold to private owners, he’d kept thirty percent of the units to use as hotel rentals.
“We’re at eighty-percent capacity. And we’ve heard back from your friend Nate Haverton. He’s agreed to come down with his family for your soft open.”
“That’s great. I’d love to have his opinion on things, especially since he was the one who encouraged me to do this.”
Brenda refocused on her laptop. “I’ve got the Presidential condo reserved for them.”
“Great. I’m going to go check my email, so if you could…”
But before he could finish, the door to the office flew open and the sweet little voice he loved said, “Daddy, I’m here!’
Carter swung around and a big smile lit his face when he saw Addi rushing toward him. He held out his arms to her, and as soon as he grabbed her to him, he swung her around in a circle. “Addi, my girl!” He kissed her cheek and set her down. “Well, what do you think of the place?”
Addi smiled. “It’s bigger than Grandpa’s. And I saw three swimming pools.”
Laughing, Carter nodded. “I guess that means you like it.”
A haughty voice he knew all too well spoke from the doorway. “Personally, I thought three was excessive. And swimming pools do not make this a better home for her.”
Carter glanced at his mom and tried not to roll his eyes. “They do if they make her happy.”
His mother turned her face expectantly, so Carter walked over and kissed her cheek. She smiled, a slight, reserved stretching of her prim mouth. It had been years since he’d seen a genuine smile on her face—not since she’d learned about his dad’s affairs. “Well, you’ll have to give us the grand tour later. For now, Addilynn and I need to rest.”
“I want to see my room,” Addi said, clasping his forearm with her small hands.
“Let’s go then.”
He led the way back to the nearest elevator and punched in the code that sent it to the exclusive top floor. The walls of the elevator were glass so Addi leaned against the handrail and watched the view as they rose up twenty floors. “Wow.” She said, looking down at the lobby that was now so far below.
As he led them into the condo, he watched Addi’s expression carefully. She’d grown up in luxurious accommodations, so he didn’t expect her to be impressed by the decor so much as the view. Sure enough, she ran to the wall of windows and pressed her nose against the glass. “Is that the ocean?”
Carter laughed and slid open the glass door to take her out onto the balcony. “It sure is. That’s the Gulf of Mexico and we’ve got the best view in the place.”
Addi moved over to the rail and rested her chin on the top of it. All of Carter’s protective instincts surged into over-drive as he looked at the drop below them. He forced himself to relax. “Want to go see your room?”
“Yes,” she said, her eyes lighting up.
He led her back through the condo and opened the door. She walked inside and he followed her, looking around as he tried to figure out what she thought of it. She didn’t whoop for joy or bounce on the high princess bed or climb up in the swinging chair in one corner. She walked around carefully like a little adult, quietly inspecting everything.
“Well?” he prompted.
“It’s smaller than my room at Grandma Ellis’ house.”
“Well, that’s because she lives in a big house and this is a condo. But there’s a lot more for you to do here.”
Addi walked over and pushed the swinging chair so that it swayed back and forth. “This is cool. When can I go swimming?”
“Later today. I have some work to get done first. Maybe you can get unpacked and have lunch with Grandma Ellis before we go.”
Addi frowned. “You said we’d spend the whole day together when I got here.”
“I know, and we will spend the whole afternoon and the whole evening together. Just give me a couple of hours to get some things done.”
She sighed and went to look out the window. Carter almost wished she’d whine or argue. She was way too adult in the way she reacted to things. He hoped that having a whole summer where she was free to play would help break her out of her shell.
Carter turned to his mom. “Where is the nanny? Is she coming later?”
“No, I didn’t find one I liked.”
“Oh,” Carter said. That was weird. It was a rare thing when his mom didn’t get what she wanted. “Well, don’t worry. I’m sure I’ll find someone. Or rather, Brenda will.”
“I didn’t say I’d given up. I’m still looking. In the meantime, I decided I’d stay to take care of her.”
Then the pieces clicked together in Carter’s mind. When he’d been left with an infant daughter to take care of before he was even twenty, he’d needed her, but now he was ready to take back control—to raise his daughter the way he wanted.
After his dad had broken his mom’s heart, she’d turned her attention, almost obsessively, toward Addi. It had gotten to the point where she’d assumed more influence and control than he wanted her to have—especially since Addi was a withdrawn, subdued shadow of what he knew she could be. But his mom had resisted his move from the beginning, and this was just another tactic in her attempt to run their lives. Well, he wasn’t having it. “Mom, you promised you were going back home tomorrow.”
“Yes, but in these circumstances, I don’t mind staying longer.”
“It’s okay. I can have a nanny in here by tomorrow morning.”
Her mouth opened slightly, as if she was appalled by what he’d said. “You can’t just hire some random person. You need to do interviews and background checks and get recommendations from people you trust. Why do you think it’s taking me so long to find someone?”
“Because you aren’t really trying,” Carter said.
She huffed and walked out of the room. “Of course I’m trying. Addilynn’s welfare is of paramount importance to me.”
“For me too. But mom, this is my job. She’s my daughter. I’m making this decision, and you are going home tomorrow.”
“We’ll see.” She caught sight of Addilynn unpacking her suitcase, scattering her clothes around the floor as she searched for something. “Good grief, Addilynn. Let me do that. You’re making a mess and getting your clean clothes all over the floor.”
Moving quickly, his mom gathered the clothing back into the suitcase and took it into Addi’s room. Addi looked at Carter. “I was trying to find my swimsuit.”
Carter bent and hugged her to him. “Don’t worry. There’s time for that later. I’m glad you’re here with me. I’ve hated only seeing you on weekends while you finished school.”
“I missed you too.” Then Addilynn wrapped her little hands around his neck and whispered, “I don’t have to live with Grandma Ellis anymore, right?”
A lump formed in Carter’s throat. “Nope. It’s just you and me now, baby girl.”
She smiled and wrapped around him like a monkey on a tree. “I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, too. Now, I’m going to go hurry up and get my work done so we can go swimming. And since the resort isn’t opening for over a week, we’ll have the whole place to ourselves. Maybe try out all three swimming pools. What do you say?”
She smiled and her eyes even sparkled. “Yes, please.”
Carter ruffled her hair and hoped that someday she would Wpump her fists or do cartwheels when she was excited. But this was a start.
By the time he got back to his office, his jaw hurt from how hard he’d been clenching it. He went straight to Brenda, saying, “I have an important task for you.”
She blinked in surprise. “Aren’t all my tasks important?”
“Not like this one. I need a nanny. And not just any nanny. I need a primo, world-class, top-of-the-line nanny. By tomorrow morning. And if she’s a local, I’ll give you a bonus that will make your eyes pop.”
She laughed. “I don’t need a bonus. But I’ll do my best. Do you mind filling me in on what’s going on here?”
“My mother.”
“Enough said. I’ll have the perfect candidate here first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you. And you do deserve the bonus regardless, so don’t argue with me. I’m darn well going to get my way about something today.”
“Yes, sir,” Brenda said, her voice shaky with the laugh she was fighting to hold in.