I guess I should tell you all that I have this whole story planned out; beginning to end.

Ugh I hate begging for reviews but if you want me to update everyday, I will need 'em. Cause they make me feel important.

Thanks to all the reviewer's who commented on my mistake. I think I corrected all of Arthur's name.

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Arthur Carlin pulled up in the front of the house at 10:15. He parked next to Ash's Jeep and turned off the engine. The lights in the main section of the villa were off.

She must already be sleep, he thought. He frowned and shook his head. He hadn't wanted Spencer's arrival to go this way. He learned about the meeting he had to attend with the Aruban governor's only yesterday. That was why he'd e-mailed Spencer that Ash would pick her up from the airport.

Still, Arthur had hoped to get back earlier than this. He's planned to take her out for dinner. Maybe a little celebration after not seeing her for so long. Some kind of welcoming gesture. So much for that idea.

The problem was that his job ruled his life. It always had. It was the nature of the beast. His chosen profession dictated not only his daily schedule but where in the worlds he lived and for how long and when it was time to move again. Not too good for a steady family life. Definitely not too good for raising a daughter.

We make our own choices in life, and then we live with them.

But that didn't make it any easier.

Arthur was still frowning as he grabbed his briefcase out of the car. When the meeting was still going at 7:30, he knew there would be no celebrating tonight. He called to tell her. Four miles or four thousand miles, the distance didn't matter. He heard the same old chill in her voice, the frosty disapproving tone that sounded so familiar to that of his ex-wife. Spencer had flatly refused his suggestion to order take out and to have it delivered. Whatever Arthur had in the fridge would be good enough, she told him coolly.

Unfortunately, he didn't remember what, if anything, he had in there. He hardly ever had a meal at home. A housekeeper came through there once a week. She was usually good at checking the shelves and stocking them once in a while. So maybe there was something Spencer could eat. He hoped.

He made his way around the car and was heading for the gate leading into the courtyard when he saw the flame of a citronella torch flickering beyond the bushes. As he opened the gate, a chair scraped on the brick, and Arthur saw Ashley's face appear over the fence separating the two sets of courtyard.

"Long meeting," Ash remarked.

"How did it go this afternoon?"

"We missed each other in the luggage area, so she had to wait around a little bit. But I managed to find her."

Spencer had said nothing about this to him when they'd talked on the phone. He looked at the main house and then back at Ash.

"You have a couple of minutes?" Arthur asked.

"Sure."

Arthur cast another glance toward the darkened windows of the villa before opening the gate into the smaller courtyard. Ashley was dressed in green plaid boxer shorts and a gray wife beater along with some black sandals. It was a humid night.

She grabbed a cushion off the porch and put it on one of the metal chairs for Arthur.

"So what's up?" the young woman asked.

Arthur put his briefcase down on the chair. He had to search around for the right words. Finally, he gave up and just asked straight out. "What's she like?"

She's hot, Ash thought. "She's seventeen."

"I know that."

"She's probably changed a lot since you last saw her."

"I figured that, too."

"She has a broken leg.

Arthur loosened his tie. "Really? She didn't tell me that."

"She said the cast should come off in a couple of weeks."

Already a complication. His schedule over the next few weeks wasn't exactly flexible.

Damn it.

Right after christmas, his ex-wife, Paula, had called to tell him she was getting married that spring. She'd let him know in her usual pointed way that this was Arthur's "opportunity" to ask Spencer to come and stay with him for the summer. But she had also mentioned that their daughter had her driver's license and was quite independent. While living in Aruba, Arthur had never seen a more enticing place for a teenager. Why, Spencer could probably even get a summer job. He and Spencer could each do their own thing, and he could still "pretend to be a father."

Paula had never lost her way with words.

"Which leg is the cast on."

"The right leg."

"How mobile is she?"

"She can't drive, if that's what you mean," Ash said, apparently reading his mind.

"Is she on crutches?"

"Yeah," she said sitting down. "And she definitely doesn't seem to be looking fo rany sympathy or special favors because of it."

"How did she break it?"

"I didn't ask. I figured there'd be a couple of things you'd want to ask her yourself."

It was definitely a zing, but Arthur let it pass. He'd known the twenty-year-old kid since she was a kid. Ash's father and Arthur had started their careers together and became good friends. Arthur knew that Ash understood the problems that went along with being raise by one parent. Even though her parents never divorced, Ash never saw much of her father while growing up. It was understandable that she'd take Spencer's side.

Arthur pulled off his tie and stuffed it in his back pocket. "I have a meeting in Caracas tomorrow at noon. I'm flying out around nine."

"Does Spencer know that?"

"Not yet," Arthur said. He paused." I need a favor. I want you to take tomorrow off. Spend the day with my daughter. Show her the island, do touristy stuff."

"I don't think she's flown all this way just to hang out with me."

"I'm taking Saturday and Sunday off, so I'll be here for her to hang out with. Tomorrow I can't though."

"Tomorrow's Friday. I'm almost done with those spreadsheets you asked me to put together. You said you wanted the reports ready by the end of the week. That's tomorrow."

"They can wait until next week." He picked up his briefcase. "How about it?"

Arthur stood waiting till the young woman nodded.

"Thanks," he said, turning away.

He could feel the kids eyes on his back as he went out the gate. He crossed the larger courtyard to the sliding glass doors leading into the open living area of the villa.

Arthur trusted Ash. He knew the woman saw a lot of her own father in him, so Ash still had some vestiges of respect and desire to please. But there was still some latent distrust and even hostility there.

With good reason, Arthur said. But he could live with that.

Spencer locked the sliding glass doors, but Arthur had his keys. The kitchen and dining areas were all part of the same open arrangement. Two bedrooms with their own bathrooms and an office completed the layout. She had turned off all the lights, and he stood in the darkness for a moment before turning on the lights nearest to the door.

Arthur looked around the room. Everything was very neat. He walked into the office and unlocked the door. Inside, he opened his briefcase and put some appears into the safe under the desk. Locking it up, he took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves as he made his way to the kitchen.

He looked again at the open living area. He didn't know what hews expecting, but the place looked exactly the same as he'd left it. The kitchen was the same. No dirty dishes. The counters were spotless. No pairs of shoes kicked off carelessly off to the corner of the red tiled floor. No books or magazines left on the coffee table. Not a single pillow out of place on the furniture. If he had known better, he would have thought that no one had even been here.

Arthur was surprised to feel a knot growing in his stomach as he walked toward Spencer's room. He turned to on the hallway light outside the door and knocked once, softly.

He waited a couple of seconds. Hearing no response, he knocked again.

"Yes?" He could hear the sleepiness in her voice.

"Hi Spencer, is it okay if I come in?" He didn't know he was holding his breath until she said okay.

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"Are you okay?" Even in the half light from the hall, he could see her eyes were puffy from crying. Her nose was red. The trashcan next to the bed was filled with used tissues. He grabbed a chair by the desk and dragged it next to her.

She plucked out another tissue as he sat down.

"What's wrong Spencer?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. I'm just tired."

He knew she was seventeen, but Arthur found himself thrown back in time. What he saw was the little blue eyed girl with the freckled nose. The little girl who always cried when he came back from long trips. She use to accuse him of not loving her. But those were the days when he knew how to win her affection back. She had never cared for gifts. She just wanted time with him. He'd given her all the time he had.

However, Spencer's teenage years had changed that. Paula's growing resentment of their situation had poisoned the air. Her influence had made Spencer bitter. His last visit had coincided with her middle school graduation. That had been their worst time together, ever. During the two weeks that he'd stuck around in Cincinnati, Spencer showed him that she no longer had time for him.

She no longer cared if he stayed at home or left. He was on the outside from then on. There weren't any tears, only attitude. And the attitude was understandable.

You make your choices.

Arthur watched as his daughter lay her head back on the pillow, pulled up the sheets, tucking them around her.

"I'm here," she said.

"I'm glad you're here."

"Thanks."

He paused. "Listen, I have a meeting to go to tomorrow morning. Do you think you could wake up early enough to have breakfast with me?"

"Maybe."

"Ash is going to hang around here tomorrow. She'll take you anywhere you want to go. Maybe you two can become good friends."

Yeah. Friends. If only Arthur knew that the blond was usually more than friends with girls. "I don't need a babysitter," she said flatly.

"I know, but I don't want you to feel stuck inside here."

He motioned toward her cast. "I would have left you the car, but I hear you're gonna be out of commission for a couple more weeks."

"Please tell her she doesn't have to hang around. I mean it," she stressed.

"Ash has been working pretty hard since arriving here. She could use a day off."

"But I don't want to put anyone out."

Arthur held her hand. "You're my daughter, Spencer. And I don't care how long it's been since we've had any time together. This is your house. You're not a guest. You won't put anyone out."

It was difficult to see her expression in the dark, but Arthur thought they had a silent understanding since she didn't respond.

"So breakfast tomorrow, and I have the whole weekend booked solely for the two of us to spend time together."

"Okay."

Arthur left the room, actually feeling a slither of hope. Maybe they had a chance. Probably since Paula wasn't around, they could get a chance to get use to each other again. He would have to make most of it this time. Arthur's only regret in life was not having a good relationship with Spencer.

Once Spencer heard Arthur's door close, tears flowed effortlessly down her face. She couldn't stop them. She didn't know how to stop them. It has always been like this. She guessed it would be like this forever.

Ever since third grade, she stopped caring when Arthur left. She had her mom. She knew that not caring was her way of dealing with it. But seeing him again-the anticipation- still crushed her. It made her remember how much she loved him. But she always remembered how short of a time they had together. When he came home, it was only a matter of time before he went away.

So far, this year had been a monumental disaster. First her mom had an announcement of her marriage to Ben. Then her boyfriend found out she was gay, then broke up with her. Then her parents wanted to go to India to adopt a child(that's why she had to go to Aruba with Arthur). And to top it off, When Spencer went with her mom to buy a dress, her mom made a rude comment to her about staring at the assistant lady. Spencer stormed out of the building only to trip over her own dress and fall off the sidewalk into the street.

So now she was here with Arthur, but things would be different now. Sh was older now. She didn't need him. Still he was her father and he said he was glad she was there. Maybe he meant it.

If he didn't, it would be easy enough to close the door again. But this time, she would shut the door and throw away the key.