AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Go. I’ll clean up here,” his brother urged. “Take her for an ice cream or something. She’ll be fine.”
Pres nodded at his brother, thankful as always to have Marley on his side. His brother worked with him part time on his days off from the fire house where he was a firefighter.
He was so used to having his brother around. They used to play together in a band, too, before he’d mostly given it up because being a single dad and playing gigs in bars really didn’t mix.
It took him a lot less time than it should have to drive to the dance school. And yeah, he might have broken the speed limit but only barely and with a good reason. It was only ten minutes later that he was parking The Beast – Delilah’s nickname for his huge truck – in the mostly deserted parking lot of the Forsythe School of Dance and climbing out of the cab in a hurry, his long legs speeding across the blacktop to the building.
When he strode into the reception area he could see that all the lights were off.
And Delilah was sitting on a chair, Lola crushed against her chest, her little legs swinging.
“Daddy.” Her entire face lit up as she jumped down from the chair and threw herself at him. He wrapped his arms around her, stroking her silky hair.
“Mr. Hartson?”
He hadn’t noticed the woman sitting with her. Was that Delilah’s teacher? He had a vague memory of his mom mentioning the old one had left, but he hadn’t paid that much attention. His mom did nearly all the pickups from class, so it hadn’t been at the top of his mind.
He glanced over at her again. She was wearing a black leotard that clung to her curves, and her legs were encased in white tights that emphasized the tone of her muscles. Not that he should be looking at those.
He swiftly brought his eyes up to her face, hoping she hadn’t noticed.
Her lips were pressed together. Her eyes narrow. But damn she was attractive if you were a douchebag who spent too long looking at somebody you shouldn’t.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” he said. His words were aimed at Delilah, but the teacher nodded.
“Could I have a quick word with you?” the teacher asked. “Alone?”
He glanced at Delilah as if to point out that it was almost impossible to be alone.
“Honey, why don’t you grab a couple of those donuts from the staff room for you and your daddy to eat once you get home?” Delilah’s teacher suggested, smiling warmly at her.
“Can I?” Delilah breathed, looking excitedly at Pres.
“Sure.” He nodded.
Delilah skipped off, clearly happy now that he was here and her world was right again, leaving Pres alone with her teacher.
“Miss…” Damn, he didn’t even know her name.
“Cassie Simons.” She squared her shoulders but somehow she did it gracefully. It was like watching a bird move across the water. Every part of her seemed fluid. Light.
Such a contrast to his own body. Pres was built for strength, not grace. Her eyes dipped to his arms, no doubt taking in the tattoos he had inked from his shoulder to his forearm.
All covered in dust from a day working on a construction site.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” he said again. “My mom usually picks Delilah up.”
“Delilah was very upset when you didn’t arrive. She started crying, so I did my best to distract her,” Cassie said. She had this soft voice that wrapped itself around you.
But her words felt like a slap.
“Crying?” Pres swallowed hard.
“She thought you weren’t coming for her. You can’t just leave a six-year-old waiting like that. It’s not fair.” She lifted a brow at him and he felt like he was being scolded by the teacher.
Annoyance rushed through him. “I didn’t mean to. It was a mistake, that’s all.”
“Yeah, well mistakes to adults can feel like trauma to kids.”
