AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I shook my head, hearing a knock at the door. “Nothing. Look, I’ll give you a call back later. Harper will be up any minute and I think my grocery delivery is here early.”
“Okay, but stop watching your phone. And if he hasn’t called by ten, you take that little girl out and have a good day. That’s an order.”
“Yes, ma'am,” I grunted. “Call you later.”
I hung up the phone and grabbed my wallet, opening the door as I looked through for my card. “Sorry, I didn’t think you were dropping off the order until later.”
“Well, I mean, I can take the coffee back,” Daniel’s voice said.
I chuckled and looked up, finding him standing there at my door in a pair of blue and yellow striped swim trunks, a white, tight fitting t-shirt, and a pair of flip flops. His hair was messy and he was wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses. In his hands was a tray with two coffees and a chocolate milk, and a bag from the bakery.
“If I hadn’t had a lapse in sanity, forgetting to make the coffee this morning, I might send you back. But you bring the elixir of life, so I’ll keep you.”
He grinned his perfect smile at me as I stepped aside, quickly smoothing back my wild ponytail while he wasn’t looking. “I thought you were on vacation. Don’t people sleep in on vacation?”
I shut the door and followed him in the kitchen where he handed me my coffee.
“Who can sleep on such a beautiful day? Besides, I have so many awesome castles to show Harper. We gotta start early. And today there are all kinds of vendors and dancers in the streets, and music. It’s like a wild carnival. Plus snow cones.”
I rolled my eyes. “And sugar tantrums and crashes, and lots of stain remover.”
He smiled like a kid, nodding excitedly. “Exactly. Sounds great.”
“Danny,” Harper yelled from the hall, her little feet slapping the tile as she ran out and around the corner.
He laughed and bent down, swiping her up in the air. “Hello munchkin. Hungry? I brought you some chocolate milk and a strawberry croissant.”
“Mmm,” she cooed as he set her down on the seat at the kitchen island. “And we can see all the camels today!”
I snickered and he smirked at me as he turned around with her food. “Yep! Camels galore!”
Every time he interacted with her every bit of my resolve faded. I melted like a chocolate bar on my car dash in the heat of summer. There was no palpable defense against the absolutely heartwarming way he was with her.
He turned to me and handed me a small bakery bag. “And mom, take this muffin, your coffee, and go get ready for today. As soon as this small human finishes smearing croissant all over her face, we set out for adventure in the sandy camel dunes. Aka sandcastles.”
I laughed and did as I was told, changing into some shorts and a tank top before heading to Harper’s room to get her bathing suit, sundress, and two changes of clothes because she was my daughter after all. By the time I got Harper changed and my pack full and strapped to me, Harper and Daniel were bursting at the seams.
I shook my head as I locked the door, watching Daniel immediately put Harper on his shoulders. We only lived three blocks from where the castles started and there were people everywhere. I could hear music from down the street, smell all sorts of fried culinary confections, and as always, the simmering crashing of the waves in the background. The hot sun wasn’t even bothering me that day.
We started out with a walk down the beach, Daniel keeping Harper snuggly on his shoulders to avoid her head diving into one of the intricately built designs. She was in complete awe, and quite frankly so was I. I had never seen anything like that close up before. I could never have the patience or discipline to created such small details with grains of sand. I barely could make the castle with a cup and bucket. And when I did, it was definitely collapsing within fifteen seconds.
The day was amazing, and it didn’t bother me a bit that it was all about Harper. She was used to attention from my parents but she hadn’t really had special treatment since we moved all the way to California. Not to mention that the attention she was getting was from the one man I never thought she would meet, or even know the name of. Guilt began to riddle me as I watched them, realizing that I had perhaps robbed both of them of the opportunity to have that kind of connection. I knew first hand how important the father role could be in a young woman’s life. And every time he looked at me, I felt worse, knowing I was lying to him.
In order to keep my wits and enjoy the day I had to put it to the back of my mind, but it was imperative that I started to really think about what I was doing, and what choices I needed to make. Whether it was telling Daniel or cutting things off with him, I could tell it was reaching, if not already far passed that moment of decision.
“Come dance with us, mommy,” Harper said.
I looked up and laughed, watching as Harper danced in front of Daniel, who was also doing something that could be considered dancing to the musicians performing in the street. Everyone was wearing masks and the music was beautiful, telling a story of Mexican heritage. He put his hand out to me and I smiled, taking it. He whirled me in his arms and pulled me close swaying me from side to side. I laughed wildly, letting loose of those stressful emotions for just a minute.
“We’d never find this in Ohio, huh, Harper?” I looked to my left but she wasn’t there. “Harper?”
I looked to the other side but she wasn’t there either. Backing away from Daniel I looked all around me, panic immediately setting in. “Harper!”
Daniel began to panic too, I could tell. “Harper! Sweetie! Where are you?”
I took several steps away from the music and stopped, my eyes shifting through the droves of people. Suddenly, I heard her little voice whimpering in the distance. “Mommy.”
My eyes shifted up about fifty feet away. A person stood, dressed all in black. They had black gloves, black pants, boots, black turtleneck, and wore a mask with what looked to be a devil painted on it. I screamed out and dropped my bag, taking off toward them. The person covered her mouth and ran, glancing back as I chased.
