Read Someone Like You for Free Online

“Is she doing that? I’m so sorry. I’d hoped she’d let it go. We talked about it.”
    â€œYou and she talked about it. You didn’t say squat to me.”
    â€œI should have.”
    â€œHow long has she been doing this?”
    â€œAbout six weeks. I talked to the pediatrician. She thinks it’s a way for Emily to have some control in herlife, and maybe a way to get us to do what she wants. She didn’t get a say in the divorce or having you gone. She’s punishing us.”
    â€œCouldn’t she just throw a tantrum and be done with it?”
    â€œTell me about it.”
    He sat on the corner of the desk. “So how does this work? She ate last night.”
    â€œSure. She wore red. I brought spaghetti, a salad made of red-leaf lettuce and we had strawberry short-cake for dessert. What’s she wearing this morning?”
    â€œPurple. I made pancakes and bacon. So far she’s ignoring it.”
    â€œBlueberries are good on purple days. Al though…when I saw the doctor last week, she pointed out that if we were willing to hold out against her and not give her what she wanted, eventually hunger would force her to eat.”
    Starve his daughter? He couldn’t imagine it. “Did it work?”
    â€œI was too chicken to try.”
    â€œGreat. So I get to be the bad guy?”
    â€œIt’s only a suggestion. You have to do what you think is right.”
    His gut told him that the doctor was on to something—Emily would eventually get hungry and eat what was served. But was that how he wanted to start their summer together? There was also the matter of the social worker. He could only imagine that interview as Emily complained that her bully of a father hadn’t fed her in two days.
    â€œHow the hell am I supposed to know what’s right?” he asked, more to himself than Carly.
    â€œYou were always a good father, Mac.”
    â€œAbsolutely. Right up until I disappeared from her life. Some kind of hero, huh?”
    Carly was silent for a couple of seconds, then she said, “Emily doesn’t know I’m seeing anyone. Brian and I have been dating about two months, but I haven’t introduced them. I want to be sure it’s going to last.”
    He didn’t care about his ex-wife seeing a guy, but he hated the thought of his daughter having another father in her life.
    â€œI won’t tell her,” he said.
    â€œThanks. I wish I could be more helpful on the food thing.”
    â€œI’ll deal with it. I suppose in some courts, the judge would say I earned it.”
    â€œYou need to give both of you some time,” Carly told him. “That’s what this summer is about.”
    â€œI know. I’ll send you an e-mail in a couple of days and let you know how things are going.”
    â€œI appreciate that. Take care, Mac.”
    â€œYou, too.”
    He hung up the phone and returned to the kitchen.
    Emily sat where he’d left her. The only change was the stuffed rhino in her arms.
    â€œElvis have any advice for me?” he asked.
    Wariness filled her wide blue eyes as she shook her head.
    â€œJust like a rhino. I can’t get him to shut up when I’mdriving. He’s always telling me what lane to be in and where to turn. But now, when I need some instructions, he doesn’t say a word.”
    Emily bit down on her lower lip. Mac hoped it was to keep from smiling.
    He gave an exaggerated sigh. “Purple, huh?”
    She nodded.
    â€œOkay, kiddo. Let’s hit the grocery store and get you some breakfast.”
    â€œCan I have Pop-Tarts?” she asked as she slid off the chair. “They’re purple.”
    â€œUnless I can find some purple bacon, we may end up there.” He made a mental note to get some kid vitamins. The multicolored kind. And wondered what on earth he was going to cook on the days she wore blue.

CHAPTER THREE
    J ILL CAREFULLY LOCKED the BMW before