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Grace hadn’t taken any of his calls since the day he’d Skyped with her. He’d been so sure that they were working things out, but he’d seen how upset she was about his being in Deidre’s office. Still, he couldn’t do anything about that if she didn’t take his calls.
He knew she was living at Lucas’s condo. He also knew there was no way Grace would be happy living there for very long. She loved her gardens, her sewing room and all the other nice touches they’d built into their home specially to please her.
He would see Grace once he got home. When he got Emma and Lisa settled, he’d convince Grace to meet him somewhere, maybe for coffee or dinner. And this time he’d work on how to alleviate her fears about their relationship. Whatever it took to bring her home with him and Emma…
Emma stomped down the driveway to the back door of the SUV, her bear crushed against her chest. She stopped. “No! I want to go with Lisa.”
“Emma, I explained that you and I are going with your daddy today. We’ll be living in his house.”
“No!” Emma screamed, racing toward the house and crying at the top of her lungs. “I want Mommy! Mommy!”
He started toward her, but Lisa touched his arm to hold him back.
“I’ll get her. You stay here,” she ordered before walking up the driveway.
He watched in agony. Emma’s tears hurt like a physical blow. He waited while Lisa knelt in front of Emma and talked soothingly to her. In a few minutes, Lisa returned holding Emma’s hand.
“What do we do now?” he asked Lisa, trying to remain calm. “I suppose we could always put the seat in your car.”
“Not a good idea. Your car is bigger and safer. Besides, it will take even more effort to change the seat. I think it’s best if we simply go,” Lisa said.
Emma stood next to Lisa, her tiny shoulders shaking, her face buried in her bear’s neck. “I want Mommy,” she sobbed over and over.
Aidan could barely breathe over the anxiety knotting his chest. His heart hurt for his little girl but he didn’t know what else to do to help her.
“Emma, you and I are moving to your new home with your daddy. I need you to get in his car. I’ll be driving my car right behind you. Whenever you want, you can get your daddy to call me on his cell phone and you can talk to me. How’s that?”
Emma looked up at him, her tearstained face wrenching his heart. He saw an opportunity to convince her that she had to go with him, all the while fearful that he’d made a horrible mistake in insisting on moving home.
“Emma, if you’ll go with me, I promise you that we will stop at a McDonald’s and a park on the way so you can have fun on the trip. It isn’t just about going to my place. It’s about having fun along the way, isn’t it? And Blackie would like to go on a set of swings and eat in a restaurant, wouldn’t he?” Aidan asked, feeling an overwhelming sense of relief when his daughter smiled up at him.
“McDonald’s has toys,” Emma said, hugging her bear close, the beginning of a smile forming on her face.
“Well done,” Lisa whispered as she helped him get Emma into her car seat. “You’re catching on fast.”
The drive proved he hadn’t caught on all that fast. Emma talked, hummed or cried all the way. The only break Aidan got to make calls was at the rest stops and standing outside in the rain at a McDonald’s. Completely exhausted when he got home, he was pathetically grateful when Lisa offered to unpack the car and settle Emma in her new room. There was nothing to eat in the fridge, bringing home to him in no uncertain terms how big a role Grace had played in keeping his life operating smoothly. He’d never seen the fridge as empty as it was today.
