Page 46 of Shattered Secrets

By the way the cats circled Daisy, nudging her for attention, her daughter wasn’t wrong. “Sorry, sweetie. We’ll stay longer tomorrow. I promise. But we do have to get going.”

The second her daughter’s lower lip began to tremble, Matt made a strangled noise.

Glancing at him, Scarlet had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing.

“Hey, Otter Pop. How about I take you to the playground while your mom has her meeting?”

Daisy’s head shot up, her eyes wide. Before Scarlet could blink, Daisy wiped her tears on her good forearm, shouted a hurried goodbye to the cats, grabbed Mr. Slothy off the couch, and ran to the front door.

“Uh . . .” Matt’s forehead scrunched. “What just happened?”

She chuckled and grabbed her purse. Ensuring the lights were turned off, she motioned for him to follow. “The playground is one of Daisy’s most favorite places.”

As they neared the front door, Matt stopped dead in his tracks, mouth agape. “She’s waiting by my truck?”

Scarlet snickered. Sure enough, her daughter was standing in front of Matt’s passenger door. With a giant smile, Daisy hopped from foot to foot as she clutched Mr. Slothy to her chest. “Like I said, the playground is her favorite. Pretty sure she’d already be in the truck, but she’s too short to reach the door handle.”

“Holy shit, she’s so fucking cute,” he murmured, before ushering Scarlet outside. “Let’s go, slowpoke, we can’t keep her waiting, can we?”

Scarlet laughed. Yup, the man was definitely a sucker for Daisy’s pouty lip.

The drive downtown was quick, and now they stood in front of Hudson Island Antiques. Well, technically, they stood in front of the boarded-up door next to Hudson Island Antiques that led to her second-story apartment, but whatever.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” she asked Matt.

He peered down at Daisy, then crouched so he was at her eye level. Scarlet’s heart pinged at the small gesture.

“What do you say, Otter Pop? You sure that you and Mr. Slothy want to go to the playground with me while your mom meets with Mr. Wayland?”

Daisy nodded in excitement, practically bouncing in her sneakers.

Thank you, Scarlet mouthed to Matt before eyeing her daughter. “Same rules, miss. You need to listen to Mr. Matt,andyou have to hold Mr. Matt’s hand on the way to the playground. Okay?”

“Yes, Mama,” Daisy said, still nodding. She turned to Matt, and with Mr. Slothy clutched tight in her good hand, held up both arms.

It was on the tip of Scarlet’s tongue to remind her daughter that she could walk, that Matt, in fact, was not her personal carrier. But her words died when he immediately scooped Daisy up.

“I have my cell,” he said, settling Daisy on his hip. “Text me when you’re about to wrap up, and we can meet you back here.”

“Oh, that’s okay. I can just meet you two at the playground when I’m done.”

He shook his head. “Depending on how long it’s going to take to fix your place, you may need to pack more stuff for you and Daisy. I don’t want you to have to lug everything to your car by yourself.”

She cleared her throat, smothering a chuckle. “My car is just down the stairs from my apartment, Matt.”

“I know you’re a perfectly capable person, Scarlet, but I’d still like to help. Humor me. Please.”

The chuckle won out, and she nodded. “I’ll text you. Daisy can pick out a few more things to bring over, too. And remind me to pack her headphones.”

“Headphones?”

“They’re pink with sparkles,” Daisy chimed in. “They have a unicorn horn on it!”

“Wow,” Matt said, awe in his voice. “That’s the fanciest headphones I’ve ever heard of.”

“They sure are.” Scarlet grinned. “But trust me, Matt, you’re not going to want to listen toBlueyfor the next however many days we’re with you.”

His brow furrowed. “That’s the blue Australian dog cartoon?”