"Daddy!"

I couldn't help but smile as I watched Evan's daughter run from the car and into his arms. She covered his face in kisses, and seemed beyond ecstatic to finally be seeing her dad again. Darla was an adorable little girl with her father's blue eyes and dark hair.

"Dee!" he said, holding her close and twirling her in the air.

Standing near the car was a stern-faced, middle-aged woman who I guessed was the nanny who would be staying with us during the week that Darla was here. She was a stock, blond-haired woman with tight curls of blonde hair and didn't look like she had a single curve to her body.

"Mr. McCall," she said in a thick Slavic accent, approaching Evan and Darla. "I am Lana."

"Thank you so much for taking this assignment on at such short notice; my sister was originally going to come, but she had some family issues to attend to."

"It is nothing," Lana said. "However, today I can only bring her to you from the airport. Tomorrow I can begin."

"That's perfect," said Evan. "I only have a little work to do today, so I can bring her to the site with me."

Lana nodded and left.

"Ugh!" said Darla. "Do I have to go to work with you? It's so boring."

Evan's gaze flicked to me, his blue eyes sparkling in the late morning sun.

"As you can see, interest in archeology isn't a heritable trait."

I smiled.

"Wait," I said, thinking, "we only have to do a couple of quick things on site today, right? Why don't I hang out with Darla today so you don't have to drag her to the ruins?"

"Yeah!" said Darla. "There was a pet store in town that I want to see. Can she take me there? Please, please?"

"Kid's obsessed with kittens," said Evan.

I looked over Darla's shirt which, sure enough, was covered in small drawings of cats.

"Why don't you introduce yourself to Roxanne, since she's offering to do something so nice for you?"

Darla scrunched her face and prepared to introduce herself.

"Hello," she said, her voice taking on a prim tone that was clearly practiced. "My name is Darla McCall. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Next, she extended her small hand towards me.

"Why, it's a pleasure," I said, flashing Evan an impressed expression. "My name is Roxanne James."

We shook, her hand tiny in mind.

"What a polite young woman," I said.

But Darla was quick to revert to her normal self.

"OK, daddy, can we go now?"

"Let's get you settled inside first," said Evan, grabbing her bag from where it sat on the porch and heading in.

After a few minutes, Evan and Darla were back out.

"OK," said Evan. "I'll be done by noon, so you won't have to play babysitter for too long. And here-"

He fished a credit card out of his pocket that had the Missouri State logo on it and handed it to me.

"Grab some lunch if you're hungry. But don't let her talk you into getting a kitten."

I smiled and slipped the card into my pocket as Evan turned to Darla.

"Be nice," he said, squatting down to her level. "What do I not want any of?"

Darla sighed. "No shenanigans, no tomfoolery, no nonsense," she said, repeating lines that it was clear she'd had to say many times before.

"Perfect," said Evan.

A little later, Evan was off, and it was just Darla and me.

"Can we see the cats now? Please-oh-please-oh-please!"

I was a little impressed that her desire to look at some kitties as greater than her need to eat or sleep after her long flight.

"You got it, kid," I said.

We took the spare car that Evan had rented in advance of Darla's visit and drove down the winding road into town. Darla looked at the passing buildings with eager eyes, anxious to get out and see these cats she was so obsessed with.

"I'm hungry," she said.

There we go, I thought.

"You want to grab some food before we look at the cats?" I asked. "Probably more fun when you're not starving."

"Yeah!" she said. "I want waffles, and pancakes, and cereal."

"What's a pretty carb-heavy breakfast," I said.

"What?" she asked, scrunching her little nose in confusion.

I smiled and shook my head as we pulled into the town center. I parked, and we made our way to a little breakfast place where Darla happily destroyed an entire plate of waffles with blackberry syrup. It was a nice day out, so we walked the length of the main road down to the pet shop, stopping at little shops here and there. My phone buzzed with a text from Evan, and I was surprised to see that he'd already finished on site and was asking where to meet up. I told him we were heading to the pet shop now, the text filled with plenty of cat emojis.

"They're so cute!" shouted Darla, looking on through the window of the pet shop and the kittens and puppies playing in their little pens.

We entered the store, and the shopkeeper, a woman in her thirties, helped Darla look at each kitten that caught her eye. After a time, the door chime sounded as Evan entered.

"Hey," he said, looking over the scene as Darla played with an adorable little Calico. "All good with the wild beasts?"

"You weren't kidding about her loving cats," I said, watching with Evan as Darla petted her kitten happily.

"It's a thing," he said. "One of these days she's going to wear down my defenses, but not when we'd have to bring the thing back in our carry-on luggage."

He walked over to the puppy pen and pulled out a small beagle puppy with floppy ears.

"How about a dog?" asked Evan, clearly trying to talk her into the pet he preferred. "This guy's pretty cute."

"I don't like dogs," said Darla, not even looking up.

"Girl knows what she likes," said Evan.

"Here, Dad," said Darla, handing the kitten to Evan.

"Um, I'm good, kiddo," he said.

"Come on! He likes you."

The little kitten reached out a small white paw towards Evan as Darla held it in the air.

"Sure, sure," he said, knowing he was beaten.

He took the cat and sat down on a small stool behind him, the little animal meowing and mewling as it tried to swipe up at him with little paws. I let out a laugh at the sight of a big guy like Evan holding such a tiny little animal. He dangled his finger in front of the cat, talking to it in a funny baby voice.

"OK, that's enough kitty-cats for one day," said Evan, clearly realizing he was close to getting talked into buying it.

The rest of the week flew by. I had fun with Darla around town, and Evan was more at ease now that his daughter was with him. It was clear that he loved her dearly, and seeing him with his little girl gave me a new appreciation for the man he was. But soon, the week was up, and it was time for Darla to leave. Evan's face was in an expression of restrained sadness when she left, and I soon missed the energy and fun that the little girl brought to our tiny cottage.