Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
TOBIAS BARRETT
I let out a sigh and rub my temples, my headache back. The figures on my spreadsheet blur together, and I shut my laptop. No matter how I run the numbers, the gallery just isn’t cutting it. If I don’t do something now, I’ll just have to close them down in another six months. I hate to pull the plug on them, but I’m not a philanthropist and this is becoming a huge financial suck.
The thought of telling Josephine and Ellie that I’m pulling their funding makes me a little sick. I grab my water bottle and take a long swig. Maybe I can help bring more traffic to the gallery. If I can create traffic, it’s possible we won’t have to shut it down.
Noah walks into my office. He’s in his police uniform, his hands on his hips, and my daughter hangs from his forearm, giggling. “I’m heading out for my shift. I just don’t know what to do about this growth I have.”
Skyler’s giggles escalate as she swings from his arm. She’s changed out of her Sunday dress and is now wearing purple leggings and mismatched socks. “I’m not a growth.”
“Yeah, well you can’t come to work with me,” Noah teases. “I have bad guys to catch.”
“I wanna catch the bad guys, too!” Skyler yells, dropping from his arm. She jumps up and down. “Please? Can I go catch some?”
“Thanks for watching her.” I stand and walk to the door. “Come on, Sky. Let’s give Uncle Noah a break.”
Skyler wanders over to my desk to play with my office supplies. Noah hitches up his pants and scrutinizes me. “I heard you turned down a nanny today.”
I scoff. Of course everyone in town is going to know about the newcomer, and what happened at church. I unbutton the top of my white dress shirt because it’s suddenly hot in here. “What nanny? I think the woman is a drug dealer. Sorry, but I know nothing about her. I’m not inviting her into my home to take care of my daughter.”
Noah gives me a flat look. “You need some help around here. You can’t do everything yourself.”
“I can try.” I grin at him, but he doesn’t return my smile.
“You’re a control freak. I’m sure the woman is a fine, upstanding citizen.”
Skyler climbs on my chair and starts swiveling it back and forth. I raise my eyebrows at Noah. “Did you see her?”
“She was at church. How bad can she be?”
I roll my eyes. “So, you didn’t see her.”
Noah shoots me an exasperated frown. “You need someone. I heard she could use a job, and that she’s good with kids.”
Skyler stands on my office chair. Before I can tell her to get down, it jerks back and she topples forward. She shrieks as she falls and hits her chin on the desk. I rush to her, scooping her up in my arms.
“Are you okay?” Even as the words come out, I know she’s not. Her wails fill the air as blood drips from her lip down her chin. “She’s bleeding,” I shout to Noah.
He’s next to me in a flash. “Where is she hurt?”
I find a bite mark on her lower lip. “Here.”
“It doesn’t look too deep. I’ll get some ice. You calm her down.”
I hug her to my chest. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Daddy will take care of it.”
Her cries subside as she clings to me. “You’ll make it all better?”
The faith she has in me tugs on my heart. What if there comes a time when I can’t make it all better? I couldn’t even give her what every little girl deserves. A mother who loves her. Despite everything I did, I couldn’t make Courtney stay. “Yes,” I say, shoving the disturbing thoughts away.
Noah brings me a washcloth with ice wrapped inside. “Hold this to her lip.”
I do as he says, already noticing the swelling. “Here, sweetie. This will make it feel better.”
Noah stands back and leans on my desk. “You don’t need anyone’s help, huh?”
I frown. “This could have happened even with a nanny watching her full time.”
“Just admit you’re in over your head here.”
I stand, cradling my daughter to me. I don’t care if I get blood on my shirt. “We’re fine. We’ll find someone.”
“You’ve shot down every applicant. There’s no one else.”
Anger rises in my chest. “Well, I’m not hiring some streetwalker named Kiki, that’s for sure.”
Noah huffs and raises his hands in the air. “Fine!”
He storms out of my office, and I take in a deep breath. As much as I hate to admit it, I do need the help. My brothers are here for me as much as they can be, but Skyler needs more attention than they can give her. And I’m swamped with my investments and trying to keep Levi from failing out of college. I’m drowning.
I hold the ice to my daughter’s lip and think about the decision I made ten years ago, when my parents died. I was just eighteen, but I couldn’t let my brothers go into foster care. I was all they had left. So, I fought for them in court—and won. It was a lot to take on. My three younger brothers were a handful for sure, but our parents had left us a sizeable inheritance, and I made it work.
I pull the ice away and study Skyler’s puffy lip. The bleeding has stopped, but it looks like she was in a bar fight. “Is it feeling better?”
She nods. “Yeah.”
“Good. Let’s not climb on the furniture, okay?”
“Okay, Daddy.”
I set her down and she runs off. I grab my laptop. I have more work to do, but there’s no one to watch Skyler. Micah’s finishing up his homework, and today is Violet’s day off.
I follow my daughter’s giggles through the old house. The floorboards creak as I walk. This house is over a hundred years old, but I couldn’t bear to sell it after my parents died. This is the home I grew up in. It’s been in the family for three generations. It’s a six-bedroom, five bath monster of a house, and that’s why I have Violet to help keep it clean and cook for us.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out and look at the screen. A message from Josephine pops up.
Can you come over for dinner tonight? Everyone’s invited.
I smile and tap out a response.
Sure. What time?
Josephine and Ellie like to take care of me. They were a godsend when my parents died. Now that Courtney is gone, they do their best to make sure Skyler and I are fed.
Josephine sends me the time, and I sit on the living room couch as Skyler pulls out her ponies and barbie dolls. “Want to eat at Aunt Josephine’s house tonight?”
Skyler grabs a doll by her hair. “Her house smells funny.”
“Hey, that’s not nice to say.”
“It’s true.”
She’s not wrong. I rub my face to hide a smile. “Don’t tell her that, okay?”
“Okay.” Skyler spends the next hour undressing every doll she owns and playing with them naked. I wonder why I buy her outfits for them if she prefers them without clothes.
Micah comes in the room and runs his hand through his hair. It’s grown out quite a bit, but he refuses to get a haircut. I’ve stopped saying anything about it. It’s not the hill I want to die on. He’s seventeen and old enough to make decisions about his own hair. He sits cross-legged on the rug next to Skyler. “What are you doing?”
She smiles at him. “I’m playing dolls.” She hands a Barbie to him. “Want to play with me?”
He grins. “Sure.”
I watch him playing with Skyler on the floor and my heart warms. He’s a good kid. He’s so gentle with Skyler. I just wish he’d talk to me. We’re on two different planes of existence, moving parallel to each other but never meeting.
“Josephine invited us to dinner tonight,” I say. “Want to come?”
He shakes his head. “Naw.”
“Why not?”
He doesn’t look at me. “She just wants to set you up with another girl.”
I shake my head. “Who would she be setting me up with? I’ve already turned down every single woman on the island. Josephine knows I’m not interested.”
He shrugs. “I already put a pizza in the oven.”
I nod and let it go. “Did you get your homework done?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you hear back from the University?”
“Not yet.”
He’s applied to several colleges, but I know he’s hoping for Georgia University. He’s got several friends going in the fall. He plays with Skyler until his phone alarm goes off, then he disappears upstairs with his cardboard pizza.
I change into a clean, white shirt and grab a bottle of wine as a dinner gift for Josephine. Skyler climbs into the car and buckles herself into her booster seat. Guilt rises in me when I see her little fat lip. Her injury is my fault. I should have been paying attention. The weight of everything presses down on my shoulders, and I try not to think about hiring a nanny, or the gallery and how I might have to tell Josephine it’s time to stop pumping dollars into it.
I pull into Josephine’s driveway and cut the engine. I get Skyler out of the car and grab the wine. I let Skyler press the bell, and the door opens a moment later. Josephine’s mouth pops open when she notices Skyler’s fat lip. “What happened to you?”
“A small accident. She’s fine.” I shift, trying to take the attention away from Skyler’s unfortunate injury. I give the bottle of wine to Josephine. “Here. This is for you.”
She smiles and ushers us into her home, which is a typical southern plantation style with columns on the porch and doilies on every surface. “This will go great with dinner. I’m so glad you could come.”
I walk into the dining room and balk when I see Kiki sitting at the table. She’s wearing the same two-sizes too large for her blouse and ripped jeans she wore to church. She’s far too skinny, but I admit, there’s something about her large, blue eyes that strikes me. She’s not horrible to look at.
Her gaze slides over me and pink flushes on her cheeks. I guess Josephine kept my dinner invitation as a surprise. I feel a set up coming on.
“You’ve met Kiki, right?” Josephine says sweetly. “Please, have a seat.” She points to the empty chair next to Kiki.
I take in a deep breath to calm myself before sitting down. Micah was right. I should have known. There’s fresh blood on the island.
Josephine pulls out a chair for Skyler and she climbs up. Josephine must have put a phone book on the chair because she sits taller than normal.
“I’ll go get the roast,” Josephine says. “You two can chat.”
She leaves and I’m left to make small talk with the woman sitting next to me. Except Kiki is staring at Skyler, her face draining of color. “What happened to her?”
I cringe. Of course she’d ask about her purple lip. “A small accident.”
Kiki jumps up from her chair and rushes over to Skyler, examining her face. “Are you okay, sweetie? That looks painful.”
Embarrassment threads through me, which makes me grumpy. “She’s fine,” I say, which comes out sounding about as annoyed as I feel.
Kiki glares at me. “Did you put ice on that?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Is she questioning my abilities to take care of my own daughter?
“I think it needs more.” Kiki hurries off to the kitchen, and I’m left to stare after her feeling like a rotten parent. Did I not hold the ice on long enough? Am I messing up this fatherhood thing that badly?
Kiki comes back into the room holding out a red Popsicle. “Here, sweetie. Suck on this.”
Skyler’s face lights up. “Okay!”
A Popsicle. Why didn’t I think of that? I feel dumb. But I’m not about to admit that Kiki is smarter than me. “And now she gets more sugar,” I say under my breath.
Kiki doesn’t have time to respond. Josephine comes in the room with a roast and potatoes on a platter. “Here we are,” she says brightly.