Page 35 of His Daughter

"I tried all of that. Nothing is working. See for yourself." I pointed at Lena in her arms. “You’re the only one who can quiet her down.”

She shifted Lena in her arms. The baby stirred, nuzzled deeper into her neck. "That doesn't mean I'm the answer."

"What else could it possibly mean? Look…I don't usually do this, but my daughter needs you, and I’m going crazy."

Thea's face changed. The amusement drained out of it, replaced by a solemn look. And then, her eyebrows pulled together, and her lips turned downward. "Absolutely not."

"Thea — "

"No." She stepped back into the doorway. "You should go."

"I'll pay you. Whatever you need. You run a nonprofit. I'm sure the funding is — "

Her eyes went dark. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I didn't mean — "

"You show up at my door at three in the morning, and your solution is to throw money at me? Like I'm…what? A service you can purchase? I am not for sale. My time is not for sale. You can take your money and your penthouse and your entire world and…"

She reached forward and put Lena in my arms. Lena started screaming. I barely heard it over the sound of my own disappointment.

"Go."

"Thea, I'm sorry. That came out wrong. I wasn't trying to — "

"Go."

I hesitated, but Thea wasn’t backing down. She raised her hand and pointed toward the street. I had no option but to turn around and head back to the car.

Thomas saw me coming, got out, and opened the back door without a word. I buckled Lena into her car seat. My hands were clumsy on the straps. She screamed the entire time.

I got in beside her and closed the door.

Thomas looked at me in the rearview mirror. He didn't start the engine. "Sir?"

"Just…give me a minute."

I sat there. My daughter was screaming three inches from my face. I didn't know how to hold her, didn't know how to calm her, and didn't know how to do a single thing that mattered at that moment.

“Thomas, maybe we should — ”

A knock on the window cut me off. I looked up. Thea was standing outside the car in her robe. I opened the door.

She reached past me, unbuckled the car seat straps, and lifted Lena out. The crying stopped.

Thea glanced at me. Her eyes were red. Her jaw was set. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for her."

She turned and walked back to the house. I sat in the car, watched her go up the porch steps and through the front door. I was still sitting there when she came back out five minutes later, carrying a bag over one shoulder and Lena against her chest.

I got out to take the bag. I put the bag in the trunk. She climbed in the back seat with Lena. I climbed in beside her. There was a foot of space between us on the leather seat, and neither of us crossed it.

"Thomas, take us home, please."

The car pulled away from the curb. I saw Thea looking out the window. I looked straight ahead. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was thinking about that night. If walking into the same apartment where she unraveled beneath me would trigger memories.

That was why I watched her closely when we walked into my living room, but there was no hint on her face. Her body revealed nothing.

The night nurse appeared from the hallway. Dominique — mid-thirties, recommended by the pediatrician. She took one look at Lena asleep on Thea's chest, and her mouth pressed into a line.