Page 78 of Operation Protector
God, he loved his girl. “I know. But now we’re going to use it against her. Lull her, then come up from behind and shock her. But part of that is I have to act like she’s won. Like I gave up.”
Again he could almost hear that clever brain churning away. “How should I act?”
“How do you think you’d react…if it were true?”
She shook her head. “I wouldn’t believe it.”
“Then act that way. Like you don’t believe it.”
Grace went very still for a long, silent moment. Then she looked up at him, with an expression he could only describe as mischievous on her face. “Can I call her a liar?”
Despite his tension, Colby nearly laughed at her glee. “I don’t think so, honey. That might tip her over the edge, and she might really lose it. Lose her temper, I mean. She might even try to hit you or something.”
Grace shrugged. “She’s done it before. It wasn’t so bad.”
Colby went rigidly still, all humor vanished. In his ear he thought he heard someone swear. “She what?”
“Well, she slapped me once, when I told her I wanted to go live with you. It hurt, but only for a little while.”
“You never told me that.”
“It was while you were gone, working up on that island.”
His jaw tightened. Last year he’d been on a crew repairing storm damage on an emergency clinic on one of the San Juan islands north of here. He’d hesitated about being gone that long; it had been a monthlong job. But it was the only medical clinic on the island, so it had needed doing, and the money had been good and steady.
“You should have told me,” he said, a little tightly.
Grace looked up at him, and for one of the few times in her stubborn life he saw actual fear there. “I was afraid you’d get really mad at her, maybe do something… She always talks about that, that someday you’ll do something stupid and she can keep you away from me forever.”
He pulled her into his arms, hugging his beloved girl tight. “You might have been right, if I’d known she dared to hurt you.” Then he pulled back enough to look into her eyes again. “Why did you tell me now?”
“Because now you’re going to fight her anyway,” she said simply.
He gave a wondering shake of his head. “What am I going to do when you’re the genius out there saving the world and I’m just your dumb ol’ dad?”
“I don’t wanna save the world,” she said, hugging him back rather fiercely. “I just want us.”
“So do I, Gracie.”
“Then so be it,” came Quinn’s determined voice in his ear.
“Amen,” Colby muttered.
But hope was burgeoning, because he had the feeling that if it could be done, Foxworth could do it.
Chapter 36
Ali blinked rapidly, but it wasn’t enough to stop the tears. One trickled down her cheek, then another, until she had to swipe at them before they fell onto the paper she was holding.
It was a simple story, in a child’s simple hand.
It was also simply beautiful.
“Have you read it?” she asked Colby, not even caring that the powerful emotion she was feeling had tightened her throat and made her words a little shaky.
He put the mug of coffee he’d poured for her down on the counter in his kitchen, then sat on the stool next to her. She’d watched Liz and Grace leave early this morning, and confirmed that Irene was still in the house. That had started Foxworth moving. Quinn and Teague would be tracking them on the other side, keeping in touch, while Colby prepared for the engineered meeting on Monday. He had an appointment with Gavin de Marco tomorrow morning to go over the plan, but had asked her if she would come here today so he could give her Grace’s gift.
“No,” he answered now. “She said you had to read it first, since it’s your present.” He seemed to hesitate before adding, “After that, it’s up to you.”
