Chapter 9
Kendall was torn. Cooper was right. It would be impossible to be separated from Livie while the man who’d taken her was out there.
The thought that he’d been watching them sent a chill snaking down her spine.
He’d proved that he could steal a child without a trace, and knowing he was out there, watching, waiting…
Was he watching the house right now? Cooper was right. She couldn’t stay here.
“Okay, we’ll go home with you.”
He squeezed her hand. “Thank you.”
“When do you want to leave?”
“As soon as we can, but we have to deal with the police tomorrow, and you need to arrange for a leave of absence. When those things are done, we’ll go. Two or three days.”
“I’ll talk to my principal tomorrow. I wish Livie didn’t have to talk to the police.”
“Yeah, me, too. I spoke to Rossi while you and Livie were with the doctor. He demanded that we immediately bring her to the police department. I refused. Told him she was too upset right now. I also told him if he wanted to talk to her, that he’d have to do it here.”
“Thank you. She would’ve had a meltdown if we had to take her there.”
“We do need to ask her questions, see how much she can tell us. I think it would be better for you to do that in the morning before Rossi comes over.”
“You’re right. I just hate this.”
“I know. We’re going to be busy tomorrow. Why don’t you call it a night?”
“Probably a good idea. I’m sleeping with Livie, so you can have my bed again.”
“Are you sure? The couch is fine. Trust me, I’ve slept in much worse places.”
“Even if you weren’t here, I’d sleep with her tonight.”
“All right.”
She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for being here, Cooper. I don’t know how I could have gotten through this without you.”
“There’s no place I’d rather be.”
Later, as she lay beside Livie, she thought about the man sleeping in her bed. That he was in her life again was something of a miracle. If she hadn’t seen that article with his picture, she would have been alone through the horror of the past two days.
He’d dropped everything to come as soon as she’d called him.
Instead of questioning that Livie was his as she thought many men would, Cooper had trusted her.
Although she’d only known him for that one night, she had sensed his inherent goodness.
That wasn’t even taking into consideration that the man was yummy.
Gorgeous face. Hot body. Full lips that knew how to kiss.
And his smile. That was the thing she’d loved best about him. When he smiled, his eyes did, too.
Now that he knew about Livie, he’d be in their life, maybe on a regular basis.
She hadn’t dated much since finding out she was pregnant.
The few times she had, she’d compared the men with Cooper, and they’d come up lacking.
Now she was going to be seeing the man who’d rocked her world one night, a man she’d never forgotten, and how was she supposed to ignore these fluttery feelings she got whenever he was near, and especially when he touched her.
Did he have a wife or girlfriend? He must not if he was taking her home with him, but what if he did? And if he didn’t, how was a man like him unattached? She shifted slightly, careful not to disturb Livie. With a sigh, she closed her eyes, willing sleep to come.
It took a while, but she finally dozed off. It was still dark when screaming penetrated her sleep. Heart pounding, she shot up in bed. Livie was thrashing and crying. She gathered her daughter in her arms.
“Shh, baby. It’s okay. Mommy’s here. You’re safe.”
“What happened?”
Cooper’s voice coming out of the dark startled her, and she yelped.
“It’s me,” he quietly said. “Is she okay?”
“Nightmare.” Livie quieted as Kendall rocked her. “She didn’t wake up, so maybe she won’t remember it in the morning.”
He stepped out of the room, and the hall light came on, then he returned.
There was enough light now to see him, and all right, then.
He wore sleep pants that rode low on his waist and no shirt.
His short hair was mussed…bed hair. Sexy.
She had the urge to smooth it down. He eased down next to her, and she also resisted the urge to lean against him and soak up his warmth.
“Can I touch her?”
There was longing in his voice. Livie’s rejection had hurt him, but he’d understood the reason for it and hadn’t blamed Livie.
She nodded, giving him permission. This would be his first time touching his daughter, and wonder lit his face as he gently trailed the tips of his fingers over Livie’s cheeks.
“She’s so soft.”
“I’m sorry you missed so much of her life.”
His eyes lifted from Livie’s face to hers. “Me, too, but no one’s to blame. We never considered that we’d create a baby that night. I’ve thought about you a lot over the years, always regretted not finding out your name.”
Her heart did that fluttery thing at hearing he’d thought about her. “Me, too. Thought about you, that is.” There was that smile that kicked up her heartbeat.
“I like hearing that. I better go before I decide kissing you is a good idea.” He left as silently as he’d arrived.
“Wish you’d kissed me,” she whispered.
She fell asleep reliving the time he had kissed her.
Thankfully, Livie wasn’t as clingy as she had been the day before.
The aroma of coffee drifted into Livie’s room as Kendall got her daughter dressed.
Anticipation at seeing Cooper this morning had her smiling.
She carried Livie into her room so she could get dressed.
If she took a little extra time with her hair and choosing an outfit, it didn’t mean anything.
It was probably better to prepare Livie for Cooper still being here. She sat on the edge of the bed and turned the TV off.
“I was watching that, Mommy.”
“Well, I need you to listen to me for a minute. You remember my friend Cooper?” Livie nodded. “He’s going to spend the day with us.”
She shook her head. “No bad mans.”
“Cooper’s a good man. He helped me find you. He wants to be your friend, too.”
“Does he like to play?”
“I’m sure he does.” He’d love to play with his daughter.
“He’s a good man?”
“A very good one. I promise. Come on, let’s go see him.”
Livie held her hand as they walked to the kitchen, and when they reached it and found Cooper standing at the stove, she hid behind Kendall’s leg. “Livie, can you say good morning to our friend?” A little head shook against her leg.
“Someone’s shy this morning.” He peeked around Kendall. “Guess Livie doesn’t want any pancakes with chocolate chips in them.”
“I want pancakes,” Livie said, peeking back at him.
Kendall poured herself a cup of coffee. “You’re cooking us breakfast?” A man had never made her breakfast, not even her father, who loved her to the moon and back.
“Is that okay? I found the pancake mix and a bag of chocolate chips, so I thought it might be something she liked.”
“Her favorite breakfast. I only make pancakes on the weekend or special days.”
“Well, today’s a special day, so pancakes it is.” He squatted in front of Livie, who was still peeking around Kendall’s leg at him. “Good morning, Livie. I wonder how many pancakes you can eat. Just one?”
Livie shook her head and held up four fingers.
“That’s how many I can eat, too.”
“Really?” Livie said.
Cooper grinned. “Yes, really.”
“She can eat two.”
“On a normal day sure, but this is a special day, right, Livie?”
Livie nodded.
He smiled at his daughter. “Then four it is.” He stood, leaned close to her and said, “I’ll make her small ones.”
“Okay.” He smelled like minty soap and something spicy, and she wanted to press her nose against his neck and breathe him in.
“What do you want to drink, Livie?” he asked.
Livie mumbled something. Before Kendall could tell him she wanted orange juice, he said to Livie, “Can you tell me that again, just a little louder? You see, I’m way up here.” He held up a hand near the top of his head. “That’s a long way up, isn’t it?”
Livie nodded, and Kendall marveled at the fascination in her…their daughter’s eyes. It was a big difference from yesterday’s fear of all men.
“So, tell me again what you want to drink so I can hear you, okay?”
“Orange juice.”
“Now that’s funny, because I want orange juice, too.”
Livie’s eyes widened. “You do?”
“Yep.” He pointed at himself and then her. “Same, same.”
“Same, same,” she parroted as she pointed at herself and then him.
“That’s right.”
He was winning Livie over faster than Kendall thought possible, and if that made her happy, she could only imagine how it made him feel.
Normally, she and Livie ate at the kitchen island, but she only had two barstools, so she pushed her classroom papers and laptop to the end and set the seldom-used-for-eating table.
“Mommy.” Livie tugged on the hem of her blouse.
“What honey?”
“Is the man going to eat with us?” she whispered.
“He is.”
“Okay.”
Well, that was a surprise. Livie needed a booster seat to sit at the table, and Kendall put it in a chair.
After getting her settled in it, she said, “His name is Cooper, okay?” They were going to have to tell her that Cooper was her father, but not today.
Maybe when they were in Myrtle Beach, after Livie got to know him.
“Pancakes are ready,” Cooper called.
She helped him take the plates and their orange juice to the table. “This looks great, Cooper.” He’d also cooked bacon. “Let me pour that for you, sweetie.” She took the syrup from Livie before she could drown her pancakes.
“I want—” she gave Cooper a shy smile “—you to do it.”
“Say, ‘Please pour my syrup for me, Cooper.’ Then he’ll do it for you.”
“Please, will you do it, Cooper?” Livie said, then giggled.
“It would be my pleasure, Princess. Say when.”
“When,” Kendall said when there was enough. “She’ll have her pancakes swimming in syrup if you let her.”
“Mommy, Cooper said I’m a princess.”
“Of course you are,” Cooper said. “Did your mommy not know that?”
Kendall ate her pancakes as she listened to father and daughter get sillier by the minute. It wasn’t long before they were trading riddles, one of Livie’s favorite things.
“What’s black, white and blue?” Livie asked. “A zebra,” she yelled before Cooper could answer.
Cooper chuckled. “Good one. I’ve got one for you. What do you call a cat that likes to swim?”
Livie scrunched her eyebrows, then shrugged. “I give up.”
“A catfish.”
Livie laughed. “I like that one. My turn. What do you call a fairy that doesn’t like to take a bath?” Again, she answered her own question. “A stinkerbell.”
“That’s the best one yet,” Cooper said.
“Okay you two, eat your pancakes.”
Cooper winked. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Livie parroted and tried to wink.
“Detective Rossi will be here in an hour,” Cooper said after breakfast and the kitchen was cleaned up. “We need to get Livie prepared for that.”
“Can we just run away instead?”