Destined to Be a Dad. Christyne Butler
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to her daughter. Sharing the news about Casey’s real father had to wait until they were together again, face-to-face.
“Ah, hello, sweetie. Why aren’t you calling me from your mobile?”
“It died. Completely. I’ve got it charging at the moment.”
The airport’s loudspeaker came to life, blaring out information. Missy turned to the wall and ducked her head in hopes of muffling the noise. She quickly figured the time difference between California and London. It was after dinnertime there. “Are you home now? You need to start packing.”
“Not...exactly.”
Two words—and the nervous hitch in her daughter’s voice—sent a shiver of maternal alertness through Missy. “Laundry might be your least favorite chore for a Friday night, sweetie, but you can’t wait until the last minute to figure out what to bring for our holiday—”
Her daughter’s words cut her off midsentence. “Mum, I don’t have to worry about packing because I’m already here.”
Here? In Los Angeles?
Missy jerked to her feet, her leather tote swinging from her shoulder. She scanned the gate area for an airport map. “What do you mean, here? Are you at the LAX international terminal?”
“No, I’m in Wyoming.”
What?
Missy’s precarious hold on a reality that had been spinning out of control over the last few weeks slipped away. She dropped to the unyielding airport seat beneath her, the ability to stand gone as the blood drained from her head.
“Mum? Did you hear me?” Casey asked. “Mum?”
“How did—why are—” Missy pushed the words past her lips, unable to complete either question. She finally managed to squeak out, “Why on earth would you fly to Wyoming? Alone?”
“I was planning to fly to LA alone, wasn’t I? Blimey, it’s not like it’s the first time I’ve traveled by myself.”
Yes, Casey had started joining her at film locations during school breaks a few years ago, but those were always nonstop flights around Europe.
“Of course, but again, why—” Missy’s heart pounded in her chest, the truth already settling like a rock in her belly. “Why are you in—”
“Why do you think? I overheard bits and bobs when you and Grandmum fought the night before you flew to California. About what you found in Granddad’s desk. I can’t believe they did that to you! To us!” Her daughter’s words came fast. “And you didn’t talk to me before your flight or the few times we’ve chatted since. Not one word!”
Oh, this was not how she wanted this to go. “Sweetie, I—”
“Not that I blame you, really. I mean, it’s not exactly a topic for casual conversation,” Casey barreled on. “I heard you say a man’s name and a town in Wyoming during your argument, so after some online searching I decided to change my flight plans. I arrived in Cheyenne this morning.”
Missy tried to keep up, but her daughter’s words blended with the loud rushing in her ears and the announcement that her flight was boarding. She gathered her items and got in line, the boarding pass shaking in a mad fit in her fingers.
Casey was in Wyoming. She knew about Liam.
Fix this! Fix this! Fix this!
The words thundered inside Missy’s brain as she made her way to her first-class seat, trying to think of what to say—what to do—next.
Casey could wait for her at the airport. They’d get a hotel room and talk. She’d figure out a way to get in touch with Liam tomorrow.
Slightly calmer after her hastily thought up plan, Missy said, “Okay, I want you to stay at the airport. I’m on a flight—”
“Mum, I’m not in Cheyenne anymore. I’m in Destiny! And guess what?” Casey’s voice rose in excitement before it dropped to a loud whisper. “I found him.”
Destiny! Missy’s impetuous daughter had traveled from London to a small ranching community in the American West and found the man who was her true father.
Missy dropped into her seat, staring numbly at the seat in front of her.
“Mum? Are you still there? Mum?”
She needed to answer her daughter, needed to know what had happened in the last twenty-four hours. Needed to know how Liam had reacted to the bombshell her—their—daughter had dropped at his feet today. But there wasn’t time. She would have to end this call soon and Casey still didn’t know Missy was making her way to Wyoming.
Pulling in a deep breath through her nose, she released it in a soft wisp past her lips. By the third one she was able to speak. “Honey, we need to talk.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
Missy gasped. The same deep, gravelly, sexy voice she remembered from her youth filled her ear and stole her breath. A heated flush that made no sense at all started in the center of her chest and rushed to every part of her body.
How could he sound exactly the same after all this time?
“Liam.”
She heard a swift intake of breath, and then silence filled the distance—both in miles and years—that stretched between them.
Up until the last few weeks, she hadn’t spoken his name aloud in a long time. Not when she and her girlfriends would gather for drinks and a chat, not to her daughter when they talked about things like boys and dating and growing up, and never to her parents.
Sometimes it felt as if that year in her life had happened to someone else.
“Casey tells me you’ve been in Los Angeles for the last few weeks.” Liam’s voice was clipped and businesslike now. “If you let me know where you’re staying, I’ll make arrangements to get you to the airport and on a flight to Wyoming right away.”
Bristling at his authoritative tone, she said, “I’m on a flight to Cheyenne scheduled to depart in a few minutes, actually. I land at half past five, local time.”
There was more silence as he processed her news. Was he surprised she’d already been on her way? How much had her daughter told him about the night Missy—and she—had learned the truth?
“I’ll be there when your plane lands,” he finally said.
Of course he would. And since she hadn’t thought far enough ahead to figure out how she would travel to Destiny, she wouldn’t fight him. Getting to Casey was the most important thing at the moment. “May I speak to my daughter again?”
His voice dropped away, and then Casey’s voice came back on the line. “You’re flying here? Like right now?”
“Yes, sweetie, and I promise we’ll talk about everything when I see you.” Missy tried to keep her voice light. “Including you changing your transatlantic flight. Please don’t cause any trouble for...for Liam in the meanwhile.”
“You’re a tad late for that bit of advice, Mum.” Casey offered a staged sigh, an expression the teen had perfected in the last few years. “I’d say me showing up out of the blue is just the start of trouble.”
* * *
Missy popped a breath mint into her mouth and made stopping by the loo her first priority as soon as she landed in Cheyenne.
After using the facilities and washing her hands, she redid her hair, making neat the messy chignon style she favored. When she found herself leaning toward the mirror to reapply her lipstick, she froze.
Did she care what Liam Murphy thought of her after all this time?
Not wanting to answer that question, she hurried to the baggage claim