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The utterly delighted grin on the young girl’s face melted her heart.
This is the reason why you’re here,the voice in the back of her head reminded her.
It was true. She had a real chance to help this girl. To bring some warmth and love into an environment that was so clearly lacking. She tried to push her thoughts of the head of this household out of her mind. This girl needed some semblance of a family, and Katie believed she could give that to her.
After lunch, Katie and Ayla played with dolls. That is the dolls Ayla had made with things she had found around the house. She used towels, pieces of string for hair, and paper clips, to name a few.
Did this man even try to accommodate the new child in his life? Katie wondered angrily.
It wasn’t fair that a little girl should be deprived of something so simple. Especially since she knew the general could afford about anything.
As they played, the man in question came home. Ayla perked up and waved as he came through the door.
“Hi, Uncle!”
He nodded in acknowledgment like he was greeting someone he didn’t really want to talk to at a party.
“Ayla. Katie,” he said in his clipped military tone.
It was a tone Katie knew all too well. She tried to smother a plethora of unwelcome memories bubbling to the surface of her mind and smiled.
“Welcome home, General. Did you have a good day?”
A clipped nod. “A productive one.”
Productive.
Katie waited for him to ask about their day. Or at least Ayla’s since she was his niece. Instead, he gave them a once-over. “I have some paperwork to catch up on. Excuse me.”
He turned on his heel to leave, and Katie saw Ayla’s shoulders droop ever so slightly.
That does it.
Katie smiled at Ayla. “I’ll be right back, and then Wren and Ray can get ready for that big party they’ve been planning.”
Ayla’s face brightened, and she nodded enthusiastically.
Katie followed the general down the hall. “General,” she called out after him.
He paused and turned to her, brow raised. “Can I help you?”
Katie huffed and came to a stop before him. “Yes, you can, actually. Starting with you, maybe acknowledging your niece.”
The general furrowed his brow. “I greeted her when I came in.”
She crossed her arms. “I’ve read warmer greetings on condolence cards. She’s not one of your soldiers, and you’re not on duty. She’s a little girl who wants her uncle to say hi to her.”
“Surely she wants to be left alone. Besides, she has you now,” he insisted.
Her anger flared again like a rising tidal wave about to crash over the beach.
“She wants to feel like she matters to you, and she should. Ayla’s a little girl and more than anything, she needs people in her life who care about her and are interested in what she’s doing. So don’t treat her like she’s just some stray cat you put food out for on a rainy day and call it good.”
When she finished, Katie took in a calming breath. It was a lot more than she’d meant to let out.
General Axur seemed to be studying her intently. Katie couldn’t help but shiver a little under the intensity of those glittering amber eyes.
Finally, he gave her a clipped nod. “Noted.”
