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“Okay,” Delilah said softly, standing up. She walked over to Cassie with her stuffed animal still in one hand. The other reached for Cassie’s and Cassie took it, squeezing it reassuringly, because the little girl still looked scared. Maybe she should find something to keep her busy – wasn’t that what she used to do when she felt alone? Fill her mind until she didn’t think about it any more?
“How good are you at tidying up music?” Cassie asked, leading her to the piano. The sheet music was all over the place. It would probably take Cassie a minute to straighten them up, but she wanted to distract the little girl.
“I’m really good at it,” Delilah promised, looking hopeful. She let go of Cassie’s hand and reached for the papers. “I’m the best.”
Damn, she was cute. She still hadn’t let go of the giraffe, though.
“How about we put this little guy on the piano,” Cassie murmured. “He can watch you work.”
“It’s a she. Lola,” Delilah told her.
“Of course she is.” Cassie looked at the giraffe with a serious expression. “I’m sorry, Miss Lola.”
Delilah giggled and damn if that wasn’t a good sound.
Ten minutes later and the studio was neat and swept, and Delilah’s dad still hadn’t arrived. And if she was being honest, Cassie was getting a little furious.
Only a little – not a lot. And not because she was being inconvenienced, she didn’t exactly have much to run home for. But because the little girl kept looking hopefully at the door that never opened.
Why was it that some parents always put their kids last?
“I’ll tell you what,” Cassie said, smiling at Delilah. “Let’s grab a couple of drinks from the staff room.” And while they did that, she’d ask Gemma, her boss and friend, to call Delilah’s dad. Wherever he was, it couldn’t be more important than being here to keep his kid from getting upset.
Delilah nodded. “Yes please.”
Okay then. Cassie grabbed Lola from the piano and passed her to Delilah before they walked out of the studio and down the hallway to the front of the dance school. A drink, a phone call, and hopefully Delilah would get home before it was time to go to bed.
But before he took her home, Cassie intended to give Delilah’s dad a piece of her mind.
Chapter
Two
“Hey Pres!” Marley called out from the ground. Presley was on the roof, checking out the areas they’d fixed yesterday. It was due to rain overnight, and he didn’t want any leaks. He’d spent half the morning calming Mrs. Clancy down, and he didn’t want a repeat of it tomorrow. Good thing he could be a sweet talker if he wanted to be.
All words and no action.
He blinked at the sudden memory of that being screamed at him. He pushed it away and looked down at his brother, who was staring expectantly up at him.
“Yeah?”
“There’s a call for you. From Delilah’s dance school. You’re late picking her up.”
Fuck. What time was it? A glance at his watch told him it was half an hour past the time he could be considered a responsible parent.
“Shit.” He tried to extricate himself from the short lead he’d clipped to his harness for safety. “Christ, I can’t believe it. I set an alarm and everything.”
“And left your phone down here,” Marley pointed out.
Presley climbed down faster than he should have, unclipping the harness and looking around for his keys. If any of the crew had done that he would’ve been shouting at them.
“Here.” Marley pressed them into his hands. “It’s a few minutes, man. Don’t look so worried.”
“It’s half an hour. And you know what Delilah’s like about me being late.”
She hated it. She always had since the day her mom didn’t pick her up from daycare. Yes, she’d had counseling, and they’d had family therapy since then, but some wounds ran deep.
And he’d shoved a damn knife in it to open it up.
