“Now.”
Her upper lip curled as she pushed out of the chair and meandered to a closed door. She knocked, then entered. A moment later, the director walked over to him. “Hello, Mr. Luck. How can I help?”
“Sammy told me her teacher said she could drive her home. What’s that all about?”
The director paused, then flashed a canned smile. “She was probably just being friendly. Our staff know they can’t take students off the premises.”
“I’d like to meet her,” Dakota said
“Wasn’t she in the classroom?” the director asked.
“No.”
“I’ll go look for her.” The director left the front office and headed down the hallway. While they waited, Sammy said, “Daddy, I want to go home and play.”
“We will, Samantha, just as soon as I meet your new teacher.”
The director returned a few moments later. “I’m sorry for the wait. Liz wasn’t feeling well and left. I’ll speak with her about this first thing Monday.”
“Why not tomorrow?”
“She’s taking Friday off.”
Dakota glared at her. “This is the second incident with this new teacher.”
“I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding. We’ll get it cleared up soon. Have a good evening.” The director returned to her meeting, leaving Dakota exasperated as hell.
As he buckled Sammy in, he told her how proud he was that she knew never to leave with anyone besides him or Mrs. Morris.
“Can Provi pick me up?”
“No.” Dakota started the engine. “She’s not on the list. Only Mrs. Morris and Daddy can pick you up. Do you understand?”
“Uh-huh,” Sammy said, as Dakota pulled onto the street. “We had a girl party sleepover. It was so fun! There was a spider and Provi didn’t kill it. She set it free. She told me the spider is sooo tiny and I’m so big. Provi helped me be brave.”
He glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “I’m proud of you, Samantha.”
“Is she your girlfriend?”
“How do you know about girlfriends?”
“Because Noah asked me. I said no.”
“How come?”
“He spits. I don’t like that.”
“I agree. You can do better than a spitter.” He paused. “What doyouthink of Providence?”
“She’s nice. She plays with me. She showed me the poop pose.”
Dakota laughed. “Sheisnice. I’m glad you like her. I like her, too.”
He pulled up her favorite sing-a-long tune. He liked Providence so much so that he’d invited her to move in before he’d thought how that would affect his daughter.I need to slow things down. Way the hell down.
But he wasn’t going to. Providence was his second chance at love. A real love that had the potential to last a lifetime.
After parking in the garage, he and Sammy went inside and washed their hands in the bathroom. “Mrs. Morris has trained us well, hasn’t she?” Dakota asked.
