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“Is that okay with you?” Grace asked Jaime.
“Anything my princess wants.”
“I want to have a pool party.” Kinny looked so tiny in that bed Grace couldn’t stand it. She wanted her home and chatting about what happened in daycare that day and playing with leftover dough. It was horrible to see her in pain.
“It might be a little cold in September,” Jaime said. “Why don’t we wait and see what the weather’s like?”
“But I want a princess swimsuit. Can we get one?”
“You bet we can,” he said.
“We should probably start looking now,” Grace said. “I’m not sure we’ll find them when the weather starts to change.”
“I want to go with you. Can I, Daddy? Can I go shopping with Gracie?”
Perspiration beaded on his forehead. “We don’t even know if we’re going to have a pool party. Let’s not worry about swimsuits. Right now, I want to get you home. That’s all I’m thinking about.”
He was losing his cool, and she’d never seen that happen. “I’m going to see if I can find you milk to go with those treats.” She kissed Kinny’s forehead again before smiling at Jaime. “Walk me out?”
It was the flash of annoyance that tore a corner of her heart. Sure, he didn’t want to leave his daughter alone.
But it’s me.
She started to lead him down the hallway, but when he resisted, she had to explain why she’d made him leave his daughter’s side. “She heard you tell your mom she might need surgery.”
“Shewhat?How?”
“She’s got owl ears.” She tipped her head. “Come on, let’s get a little farther away.” They found a quiet corner near the stairwell. “When do you think she’ll be able to go home?”
“They’re still watching the swelling. Her fingers are numb, so if it’s compartment syndrome, they’ll have to do surgery.” He tugged at the collar of his T-shirt, even though it wasn’t anywhere near his throat, and looked like he wanted to climb out of his skin and run screaming.
“Hey.” She reached for him, but he held up both hands. The rejection stung like a slap to the face.
“I’m sorry. I’m just…I can’t right now.” His furtive gaze landed on a bench by the door to the stairwell. “Can we go back? I need to be with her.”
“Jaime, I’m worried about you.”
He shoved his hands into the pocket of his jeans. “Look, I know I’m overreacting. I know that.” His troubled expression told her he had more to say, so she waited, her whole body on edge.
Because she couldn’t read him, and he wasn’t talking. She was afraid he’d go back to sheltering Kinny, and that would be awful. For all of them.
“But I also know I stopped listening to my gut,” he continued. “And that’s never a good thing.”
Here it is. “I wondered if you’d blame me.”
“I don’t blame anybody but myself, and you’re definitely not the only one who’s tried to get me to let her do things.” He grew agitated. “But I know her. Kinny’s a mini-me. If she’s on a balcony with a pool below, she’s going to want to see if she can jump.”
Don’t tell methat’swhy he hasn’t moved into the Dream House.
“I know that about her, which was why I wanted to wait until she had a little more maturity, so she could make better decisions.”
How was she supposed to make better decisions without experience? But she wasn’t about to get into that conversation. “I’m here. You know that, right?”
“Yeah. Sure.”
“Please don’t shut me out.” Not with the festival ending in two days.
He gripped the back of his neck, his gaze wandering to his daughter’s room. “I’m just trying to focus on Kinny right now.”
