DALE
When I opened my eyes, I was in bed. I remembered falling asleep on the couch. Not because I’d been drunk, but because I was so exhausted. I even remembered thinking I should be going to bed, but…
I recalled Clare’s face in front of me, her hand on my elbow as I’d left the living room. She’d woken me up, assured me Sally was still asleep, and—
Holy shit!
I sat up so quickly, I needed to sit there a minute until my surroundings stopped spinning.
Sunlight filtered into my room, making me wonder what time it was. Sally’s nightmares hadn’t woken me, and I contemplated for a moment how Clare had been able to keep her so quiet, I hadn’t heard her.
Then again, she’d been with her, so maybe she’d stopped the nightmares when Sally had merely whimpered, only in the beginning stages.
Either way, my daughter had slept through the night.
Had I spoken to Clare? Had she said something besides telling me Sally was asleep? And when had I walked up the stares?
Rubbing my hands across my face, I forced myself to my feet. Taking off the jeans and shirt from the night before, I hopped into the shower. I wasn’t worried about Sally. She was six and used to occupying herself when I was cleaning or doing yardwork.
Still, I hurried and was in sweatpants and a t-shirt within minutes. I checked the clock, seeing it was nearly lunchtime, then made my way to Sally’s bedroom.
My daughter had dressed herself—shirt backwards—and was playing with her dolls.
“Good morning,” I whispered, not wanting to startle her.
She looked up, her mother’s eyes gazing back at me from the tiny face. It gave me a stab between the ribs.
I missed Jacky every day. Even though it got easier, it sometimes nearly knocked me on my ass because I still had a hard time getting used to being alone. There was something about sharing a life with a person, even if only for a few years, that made getting into new routines harder some days.
Seemed today would be one of those days.
“Daddy!” She jumped up with a smile. I crouched as she threw herself at me, hugging me tightly. “I had no nightmares! At all!”
I squeezed her to me, kissing the top of her head while processing this. Frankly, I couldn’t think about what had been different last night because it would give me more things to ruin my day.
“Why were you home anyway? And how did Clare get in with you?”
Sally wiggled out of my arms, then placed her hands on her hips. “Duh, Daddy. Your key is hidden behind the house number. So typical,” she explained, even rolling her eyes. I gritted my teeth as I recognized Delaney in her posture and tone.
However, I wouldn’t lie. I was glad they’d made it into the house; otherwise, I wouldn’t have known my daughter was home until I called Cane this morning.
Which reminded me…
“And why did Clare have to find the key in the first place?”
Sally’s face fell and she turned away, going back to playing with her dolls.
“Sal?” I prompted, touching her shoulder, but she just shrugged me off.
I realized I wouldn’t get answers from her today. Kissing the top of her head again, I stood. “I’ll go tell Clare thank you. Stay here, okay?” I ordered, and she nodded.
I made my way downstairs, pulling my cell from my pocket and dialing Cane, getting his voicemail. “Call me back. You have some explaining to do.” I nearly growled the order, but couldn’t change the fact that my best friend’s trusted nanny hadn’t been able to handle my child—and had just dropped her off.
I hung up and slipped into flip-flops, grabbing my keys and locking the door before making my way across the lawn and walking into the house next door.
The smell of cookies hit me. My mouth watered and my stomach rumbled. Clare, surrounded by platters full of the freshly baked goodness, stood with her back to me, her head hanging, the usually noisy house silent. I snuck a cookie from the batch closest to me and nearly groaned as the chocolatey, gooey decadence hit my tongue.
I couldn’t remember when I’d last tasted something this good. While chewing, I watched her, waiting for her to move. I wondered why she’d watched Sally. She didn’t owe me anything.
Inside me, anger, worry, and embarrassment warred. A stranger had to take care of my daughter, and I’d been so exhausted, I let her. She’d also invaded my house while I wasn’t there.
It was Jacky’s and my place, had been since we’d bought it before Sally was born, and I’d never taken any woman back there.
“You’re welcome, Dale. For the cookie and watching your daughter.”
Her voice lacked enthusiasm and the anger I was used to. However, I was surprised she’d known I was there.
“What happened?” I crossed my arms in front of my chest to keep myself from sneaking another cookie.
“Some woman banged on all the doors she could, demanding someone tell her where the crazy child’s dad was. I stepped onto the porch because I was curious. I saw Sally, grabbed her, and pushed the woman. She left. I took Sally inside. The end.”
She hadn’t moved, hadn’t looked up, and I had no idea what to do.
“That wasn’t the end.” From the little I knew of her, she wasn’t a person who’d watch a scene like that and not demand an explanation.
She sighed, then nodded, still not looking at me. Frankly, that made me all the more curious.
“I asked her what in the world she was thinking, handing off a child like that, and she…” Clare’s shoulders tensed. It took me a moment to realize it was because she was upset.
“She what, Delaney? This is not the time to play fucking games, okay? This is about my daughter and the one evening I thought I could maybe grab a beer, have a life. I wanted a break for one evening, then this happened.” I shrugged, although she couldn’t see it, and leaned against her counter, grabbing another cookie.
“Take some for Sally, too,” Clare muttered, then finally turned. She looked pale, her emerald eyes dull, her usually rosy lips in a tight line.
I’d ask any other person what was bothering them, but Delaney and I weren’t close enough.
“What happened, Delaney?”
She licked her lips. “I guess Sally fell asleep during a movie and woke up screaming when there was an explosion on the TV. Well, seems that freaky woman didn’t want to handle a screaming child, so she packed her into the car and drove her here. Your precious, terrified daughter. Instead of comforting her, she wanted to get rid of her.” She shook her head. “I swear, if your child hadn’t been in my arms, hiding her face against my shoulder, I’d have punched the so-called nanny.”
“Cane calls her a single dad’s nightmare. If this is how she acts, I don’t know why he has her. I mean… I guess Kelly is easy without nightmares and—”
“Your daughter is amazing, and so quiet. I mean, she’s no trouble at all. She has nightmares, yes, but all you have to do is hold her.”
I swallowed down an angry comment. More often than not, me holding her didn’t work at all.
“She was upset, so I figured it was better if she was in her own bed. I’m sorry I just came into your house, but I couldn’t exactly contact you.”
She waited, her expression neutral. I wanted to be flippant, but I couldn’t. Not when she’d given my daughter a quiet night. Not when she looked as if she’d soaked up my exhaustion.
“Thank you. Trust me, I won’t be going out again, so you don’t have to worry about a repeat happening.”
I hesitated, then grabbed a handful of cookies and turned toward the door.
“You can go out, Dale. Just drop her off here. Maybe it’s because you don’t go out that you’re a miserable prick most of the time. After a good night’s sleep, you’re surprisingly human.”
I spun around. “I’m a prick because I don’t get laid regularly? Is that what you’re saying?” I stepped toward her, but she didn’t back down. “Should I parade women around in front of Sally?”
“That’s not what I said and you know it.”
Finally, the spark was back in her eyes, and I ignored the way it shot right to my dick. If she weren’t such a pain in the ass, she’d actually be hot.
“What were you saying then?” I asked.
Yeah. What in the world had we been talking about?