Pop’s face darkened, and a scowl pinched his eyebrows together. “Her mother is a leech plain and simple. She uses people, including her own daughter, and when she’s gotten what she wants, she’s on to someone else.”
“So Faith has nothing to do with her?” Gray asked.
“No, and that’s a damn good thing in my book. Faith is too kindhearted for her own good. She spent a lot of years taking care of Celia. Years she should have spent being a normal kid with a parent who looked after her, not the other way around.”
Anger boiled from Pop’s voice. He swallowed and took a long drink of his coffee.
“I married Celia when Faith was fourteen. She was such a sweet kid. Quiet. It took her a while to warm up to me. Connor had just gotten out of the service. It was obvious it wasn’t going to work out between me and Celia, but I wouldn’t end things because I was concerned for Faith. I wanted her to have a good home. But then her mother up and left in the middle of the night and took Faith with her. I went crazy trying to find her. It wasn’t until five years later that I got a call in the middle of the night. Celia had overdosed. Connor and I went to collect Faith. She’d spent the last years working her tail off to support herself as well as Celia. I brought her back home with me, and she’s been here ever since.”
“That’s tough,” Gray murmured.
“Yeah,” Pop muttered. He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his graying hair. “I shouldn’t be boring you with all this. It’s just that I’ve been worried about Faith lately. I want her to be happy.”
“Would she tell you if something was bothering her?” Gray asked carefully.
Pop narrowed his eyes. “Of course she would. She tells me everything. It took a while to gain that little girl’s trust when Connor and I first brought her home, but she’s come a long way since then.”
“So her mom just disappeared after that and never contacted her? That seems pretty low.”
Gray found himself holding his breath. He hoped Faith had confided in Pop. Then it wouldn’t look so much like she was trying to hide something.
“Last time her mother called was over a year ago.” Pop leaned forward, fixing Gray with a hard stare. “Faith doesn’t know this, so don’t go telling her.”
It was on the tip of Gray’s tongue to ask why he was telling Gray, a veritable stranger, if he didn’t want Faith to know. But Pop seemed upset, and maybe it made him feel better to get it off his chest.
“When I learned Celia was calling Faith and bugging her for money, I tracked her down and paid her off. Told her not to come anywhere near Faith again.” Pop rubbed a hand wearily over his face. “Not my proudest moment, I’ll grant you, but I wasn’t about to let her step in and ruin Faith’s life after Faith finally started living for herself.”
“So she took the money and agreed to back off?”
Pop nodded. “Hell of a note when you view your only daughter as a meal ticket and nothing else.”
Gray grimaced. If Mom had gotten money from Pop before, no way she’d back off now. Which could be good for him and Mick, because with Samuels pulling Celia’s strings, her desperation would only increase with each passing day. Desperation made people sloppy.
Mick’s report of Samuels being seen in Huntsville came back. In all likelihood they were on their way to Houston. If Celia had been successful in getting money through Faith’s connection to Pop, then she’d be quick to exploit that angle. There was also a possibility she’d forgo Faith and go straight to Pop.
“I don’t want her hurt,” Pop continued. “She’s had enough hurt in her young life.” His voice took on a more purposeful tone, and he leaned back, surveying Gray with keen eyes. “You seem interested in Faith.”
Ah, here it came, and now Gray understood that the long spiel was all a lead-up to the “warning.” Don’t f**k with his daughter. Gray didn’t rise to the bait. He merely sat and waited for Pop to say his piece.
“You’ll go back to your job at the end of your leave. I’ve seen guys like you. I admire you. You make a damn fine cop. I have no doubt about that. But I don’t want you messing around with my daughter or using her as a diversion then leaving town to go back to Dallas.”
Pop’s way of putting it irked Gray. “You make her sound like a damn toy. I like Faith. She’s a sweet girl.”
Pop nodded. “That she is. She’ll make some man a damned fine wife. Have a passel of kids. A nice home and security.” His emphasis on security drove home to Gray what Pop wanted for his daughter. And to his credit, it was what most fathers wanted for their daughters.
“I understand,” Gray said calmly.
Pop’s expression softened. “I like you, son. I like you a damn lot. I don’t want you to take it the wrong way. Faith could certainly do a lot worse than a man like you. I just don’t see your pathways paralleling each other. That’s all.”
“Not a problem,” Gray said, not wanting to point out that he’d never expressed the desire for a relationship with Faith. No sense pissing the old guy off.
CHAPTER 12
Faith bopped around the office with ill-contained excitement. She was nervous, excited and petrified, all rolled into one, about her appointment tonight. Sex on the brain made for some interesting daydreams, and she could only be grateful it had been a slow day in the office.
The sexual tension between her and Gray simmered like a cauldron, and it made her even more determined and anxious to explore her most secret desires. He brought out every lustful fantasy she’d ever thought of, and even some she hadn’t.
She wanted him. That was certainly not one of her most secret desires. There was nothing secret about it. And he’d have to be awfully thick not to realize she wanted to have sex with him. But. There was always a but.
She wanted a strong, masterful man. From all outward appearances, Gray was that man. He talked the talk, but then she’d had a few talkers in the past. They’d promptly fizzled in bed and out.
Which is why you’re going tonight. To identify, to own, to take what you want. She sensed this was the first big step, and once she embraced this change, this desire to be her own person, there would be no looking back.
She emitted a tiny sigh as she arranged a pile of contracts on her desk. Then she logged onto the internet and opened an e-mail from Damon, the man who’d set up her appointment at The House.