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As closely as possible she watched Alice interact with the other students. Observed her mannerisms and listened to her speech in hopes of noting something familiar. Her voice sounded vaguely recognizable,but it had been more than four years since she’d been in the same room with the child of Eduardo Osorio.
Her dark eyes ... the shape of her nose and chin were Eddie. No question. But he wasn’t the only Hispanic man with big brown eyes and full lips to pass along to his offspring. If this Alice was Isabella, she was still as beautiful as she had been as a much smaller child.
Just then Alice whirled around and said something to the girl behind her. That move, the little ballerina-like twirl was so familiar.
Dark eyes bumped hers, and Sadie looked away. She definitely did not want to get caught staring at one of these kids.
She should get the hell out of here. She’d seen enough.
As quickly as possible, with her fingers suddenly fumbling, she mounted the thermostat back on the wall and hit “Reset.”
“What’s your name?”
Sadie froze.
The other kids were still chattering and laughing, but not Alice. Alice stood right next to her. Sadie had no idea where the teacher had gone. What kind of teacher left a stranger in the room with her class?
Knowing she couldn’t pretend she hadn’t heard the girl, Sadie kept her focus on the device and said, “Mel. What’s yours?”
“Alice.”
The girl stared at her as if expecting some response.
“I like your eyes.”
The words radiated through Sadie, through time ... she had heard those words from this girl before.
“They’re so gray, they’re almost blue. Like a stormy sea. I love the sea. Do you?”
“Sure.” Sadie grabbed her tool bag and backed away. “Have a nice day, kid.”
She was almost to the door when a hand tugged at her sleeve. Sadie froze again, her hand wrapped around the doorknob. She’d almost gotten away.
“Do I know you?” Alice asked.
“Doubtful.” Sadie opened the door and walked out.
If the girl followed her into the corridor, she was going to run.
Thankfully she did not.
Sadie walked as quickly as possible toward the stairs. She didn’t want to break into a run, but she was damned tempted. Sweat had broken out on her skin. Dread clawed at her throat. Her heart thumped a frantic drumbeat.
She hadn’t gone into all-out panic mode in more than a year. She was damned well headed there now.
The girl had recognized her on some level.
Sadie gritted her teeth and slid into the borrowed truck. She spotted the security guard headed across the parking lot as she rammed into drive and burst out of the parking slot. Rather than keep going, she braked, took a breath, and powered the window down.Stay calm. Do this right.
“System checked out fine. There was one thermostat offline, but it’s all good now.”
The guard narrowed his gaze, then nodded. “Thanks for the update.”
She powered her window up and rolled away. He wouldn’t be so thankful when he reported to the office and no one could recall a work order for the HVAC system.
Still struggling to get the panic under control, Sadie drove the ten minutes required to reach the building where her friend and his team were installing a new system. She shed the coveralls, tossed them into the seat, and left the truck. She waved a thanks to him and climbed into her Saab and drove away.
She needed to know for sure who this girl was.
