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“Again, I wasn’t asking,” I ended the conversation.
I left it at that, but secretly, I was relieved she didn’t fight me on it any further. The fact I was so attracted to her made me feel like I should pay her. At least if I did that, I could keep this in the realm of business. If I kept that barrier in place, I was a lot less likely to give into the temptation of doing something that wasn’t smart. But the fact was I had a difficult time keeping my eyes off her.
Everything about her was incredibly sexy. From her curves to her tattoos to her attitude about life. I was shocked with how good she was with Libby, and even Libby seemed to be taking it to heart.
“So, if you don’t have homework and your dolls are put away, then what are you going to do today?” Erin asked. “Or what do you do on a normal Saturday?”
“I don’t know yet,” she said. “I’m kind of going to play it by ear I guess.”
Erin laughed. “Oh, you are? Well then, do you mind if I play it by ear with you? I didn’t have a lot of plans myself today.”
“What do you normally do on a Saturday?” Libby asked.
“Oh, it just depends,” Erin said. “I like to hang out with my friends. Do you do that?”
“Not very often,” Libby said.
“She’s kind of a loner,” I cut in, feeling pressured to clarify. I didn’t know why, but I wanted Erin to know Libby enjoyed the time she spent by herself. I didn’t want to include that probably had a lot to do with the way I was overprotective of her.
“I kind of am, too,” Erin said. She turned back to Libby. “Do you want to be alone together?”
“That’s impossible!” Libby laughed. “If you’re together, then you’re not alone!”
“Oh okay, that’s fair,” Erin laughed, too. “I just figured if you like to be alone and I like to be alone then we might as well hang out and be alone because we both like the same thing.”
“You’re funny,” Libby said.
I relaxed some. I liked the touch Erin had with Libby. She seemed to know just how to handle my daughter, even if the two of them had barely met.
The rest of the day passed easily enough, and Libby herself suggested the three of us hang out in the living room and watch a movie together.
“Unless you have to work, Dad,” she said.
“I don’t,” I told her. “I wanted to spend time with you and Erin this weekend. I want to make sure both of you are happy with hanging out, so I know it’s going to be a good idea for Erin to come back here.”
“Pfft. If we weren’t happy hanging out, I would go to my room,” Libby said. “You don’t have to babysit me every time I do something.”
“I know I don’t,” I said. “I just have to remember you’re getting old enough to do things on your own. But you know how dads are. They like to know their kids are okay.”
“I’m okay,” she rolled her eyes. Erin laughed.
“My dad has always been the same way, even when I went to college,” she told Libby.
“My dad is probably going to go to college with me,” Libby said as she rolled her eyes again.
“Come on,” I cut in. “I’m not that bad, am I?”
The two exchanged a look and laughed, and I knew I had found the right person to take over Libby’s schedule while I got through the rest of the work I had to do on my book. I already felt entirely relaxed with Erin being in charge of her, and I realized my friend was right when he said that Erin was responsible enough to handle this.
By the time we had to take Erin back to the airport on Sunday afternoon, Libby was already attached. She didn’t want Erin to leave, and true to form, she was being difficult about getting ready.
“Don’t you want to put on something with shorter sleeves?” Erin asked, and I cringed. Libby liked to wear her long sleeves to cover the scars on her arms, but I hadn’t told Erin this, and I didn’t want to embarrass my daughter in front of her, so I didn’t say anything.
But I was relieved when Erin didn’t push it.
I drove us all to the airport, and Libby even seemed remarkably chill during the ride. It wasn’t very often she was so relaxed in the Jeep these days, but there was something about Erin being here that seemed to make a real difference in her life, even if she had only been here for a couple of days.
“Are you sure you have to leave?” Libby asked when we reached the airport.
