Read Tempting Taine for Free Online Page B
Authors: Kate Silver
invulnerable. Teen pregnancy was something that happened to other girls, not to her.
Until, of course, it happened to her.
She gave Aroha another fierce hug as she listened to the rain pelting noisily down on the corrugated iron roof of her comfortable villa. She would not be sorry about what had happened. She could not be sorry. Not when it had brought her Aroha, her precious daughter and the joy of her life.
The rain was still coming down heavily the next morning, now pushed sideways by the biting wind that had sprung up during the night. Verity tucked Aroha into her raincoat and gumboots and walked with her down the road to school. It was mornings like this she was extra glad she had chosen a house only three doors away from the local primary school. Less than two minutes in the vicious wind and pelting rain, and then her precious Aroha would be warm and dry again inside her classroom.
At the school gates she kissed Aroha goodbye and watched her run off into the wet playground before turning her steps towards the hospital.
She had just reached the corner when a Jeep barrelled past her, sending up a spray of water on to the footpath. She jumped back hastily to avoid getting soaked, biting back the curse that was on the tip of her tongue for the inconsiderate driver.
The Jeep braked to a halt just past her, and reversed up the road again until it was alongside her. The driver rolled down the window and fixed her with a stony stare. “Get in.”
Her stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch at the sound of Taine’s voice. He had been looking for her – he must have been looking for her. She could not believe it was an accident that he was driving down her road at this hour of the morning .
Her heart was beating so fast she could barely breathe. Had he deliberately waited until Aroha had gone into school before confronting her? Did he hate his daughter that much that he would not even speak to her?
She stood in the rain, just looking at the man who had the power to ruin the life of the person she loved most in the world. Before she let him hurt Aroha with his rejection, she would walk away from everything she had built up for herself: her job, her house, her quiet, comfortable life in Taupo. She would travel to the ends of the earth and built a life for the two of them there, where Aroha would never find out how little her father cared for her.
“Get in,” Taine repeated. “Or I shall have to get out into the rain and bundle you inside myself. Which wouldn’t make my temper any the sweeter,” he added in a warning tone.
Obediently she clambered into the front seat. The only thought in her mind was to get him away from Aroha as quickly as she could. If it meant getting into his car and driving with him a way, she could handle that.
“You don’t have a lick of sense, do you,” Taine said with disgust, as she spread her dripping raincoat over her knees.
“Am I dripping on you?” She moved her raincoat a fraction away from his knees so it did not drip on them. “I guess that’s what comes when you stop your car in the rain and order me to get in.”
“I wasn’t talking about your damn coat. I was talking about your damn foolishness in walking to work in this weather.”
“It’s only a bit of rain,” she said dismissively, not wanting to admit to him that the weather, the rain even heavier now than it had been through the night, had had her slightly worried. She had been more anxious about Aroha than about herself though – not that she would ever tell Taine that.
“The river’s running high with all the rain in the foothills. If the rain doesn’t stop, the river will break its banks and flood the streets. It’s not safe for you to be walking on them.”
“You’re driving on them,” she pointed out, annoyed at his tone of voice, as if she were a naughty child who should have known better. She suppressed the
Until, of course, it happened to her.
She gave Aroha another fierce hug as she listened to the rain pelting noisily down on the corrugated iron roof of her comfortable villa. She would not be sorry about what had happened. She could not be sorry. Not when it had brought her Aroha, her precious daughter and the joy of her life.
The rain was still coming down heavily the next morning, now pushed sideways by the biting wind that had sprung up during the night. Verity tucked Aroha into her raincoat and gumboots and walked with her down the road to school. It was mornings like this she was extra glad she had chosen a house only three doors away from the local primary school. Less than two minutes in the vicious wind and pelting rain, and then her precious Aroha would be warm and dry again inside her classroom.
At the school gates she kissed Aroha goodbye and watched her run off into the wet playground before turning her steps towards the hospital.
She had just reached the corner when a Jeep barrelled past her, sending up a spray of water on to the footpath. She jumped back hastily to avoid getting soaked, biting back the curse that was on the tip of her tongue for the inconsiderate driver.
The Jeep braked to a halt just past her, and reversed up the road again until it was alongside her. The driver rolled down the window and fixed her with a stony stare. “Get in.”
Her stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch at the sound of Taine’s voice. He had been looking for her – he must have been looking for her. She could not believe it was an accident that he was driving down her road at this hour of the morning .
Her heart was beating so fast she could barely breathe. Had he deliberately waited until Aroha had gone into school before confronting her? Did he hate his daughter that much that he would not even speak to her?
She stood in the rain, just looking at the man who had the power to ruin the life of the person she loved most in the world. Before she let him hurt Aroha with his rejection, she would walk away from everything she had built up for herself: her job, her house, her quiet, comfortable life in Taupo. She would travel to the ends of the earth and built a life for the two of them there, where Aroha would never find out how little her father cared for her.
“Get in,” Taine repeated. “Or I shall have to get out into the rain and bundle you inside myself. Which wouldn’t make my temper any the sweeter,” he added in a warning tone.
Obediently she clambered into the front seat. The only thought in her mind was to get him away from Aroha as quickly as she could. If it meant getting into his car and driving with him a way, she could handle that.
“You don’t have a lick of sense, do you,” Taine said with disgust, as she spread her dripping raincoat over her knees.
“Am I dripping on you?” She moved her raincoat a fraction away from his knees so it did not drip on them. “I guess that’s what comes when you stop your car in the rain and order me to get in.”
“I wasn’t talking about your damn coat. I was talking about your damn foolishness in walking to work in this weather.”
“It’s only a bit of rain,” she said dismissively, not wanting to admit to him that the weather, the rain even heavier now than it had been through the night, had had her slightly worried. She had been more anxious about Aroha than about herself though – not that she would ever tell Taine that.
“The river’s running high with all the rain in the foothills. If the rain doesn’t stop, the river will break its banks and flood the streets. It’s not safe for you to be walking on them.”
“You’re driving on them,” she pointed out, annoyed at his tone of voice, as if she were a naughty child who should have known better. She suppressed the