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“Maybe she hates being dressed like a rabbit,” she said. After Diane had been photographed wearing a pink dress, they’d put her in a little bunny costume.
“It’s not that,” Jim said confidently, as if he and Diane had chatted on this very topic.
“Come on, Diane,” the young male photographer urged as he continued to wave the toy in the air. “Look at the camera and smile so Mommy can have a nice picture of you. Come on.”
Diane sat propped up against a pile of powder-blue pillows in front of a backdrop painted to look like puffy white clouds and a broad expanse of sky. She wore the terry-cloth bunny jacket and hat with great style, but she didn’t seem the least bit interested in having her picture taken.
Heather leaned against the front counter and figured she’d have to step in herself at some point to see if she could get Diane to look toward the camera.
“Are you glad you’re doing this?” Jim asked.
“Actually, I am.”
He’d asked her help in picking out a wedding present for Rick and Lupe, then had suggested that they stop by the department-store photographer so that Heather could have pictures taken of Diane. It was, he told her very seriously, important to have a record of her daughter’s changes over the months. Heather hadn’t had the heart to tell him that she already had dozens of photos at home. However, the idea of a more professional photograph had been appealing. She could pick out a couple of different poses and send them along to her mother.
“Come on, Diane,” the photographer coaxed once more.
Diane seemed fascinated by a loose thread on one of the pillows.
“I’ll fix this,” Jim said in that tone of voice that announced he was a man about to solve an important problem. Women and children should step aside.
Heather did just that. Jim moved to the box of toys and picked out a stuffed purple puppy. He shook it a couple of times as if checking the flexibility of the animal, then walked toward Diane. He crouched down and checked to make sure he wasn’t in the way of the camera.
“Hi there, sweet cheeks.”
Diane turned toward the sound of his voice and gave him her best toothless grin. Her entire face lit up, her little eyes scrunching together and her hands waving in delight.
“Got it,” the photographer said as the camera flashed several times in a row. “Just a couple more.”
“You want a puppy?” Jim asked, holding up the stuffed animal. “Can you say puppy?”
Diane’s expression remained thrilled. She was getting attention from the favorite guy in her life. Heather watched her daughter and realized the situation had just gotten more complicated. It had probably been that way all along, but she hadn’t been aware of it. Here she was trying to keep the possibly perfect Jim Dyer at arm’s length while not noticing how her daughter had bonded with him. In Diane’s very simple world, Jim fulfilled all the functions of a father.
Heather reacted first with panic, then forced herself to stay calm. She didn’t have to change anything just yet. Jim was great with her daughter, and until she found a reason to worry, she should just be happy that her child was surrounded by people who adored her.
Her own concerns were different. Because she was an adult, her relationship with him was more complicated…especially because she still couldn’t find any serious flaws in his character. Even so, she couldn’t escape the suspicion that he was hiding something pretty big. What was it? Had he robbed banks in his youth? Did he practice extortion? There had to be something because no one was that good.
“That should do it,” the photographer said. “You can pick the pictures up in ten days.”
“Thanks,” Heather said, but made no move to collect Diane. Jim was already taking care of that, first removing her costume, then holding her close.
“You were brilliant,” he told the infant as he cradled her in his arms before setting her into the stroller and carefully securing her in place. “Very lovely. The pictures will be beautiful because you’re beautiful. Yes, you are. And smart and fun. Did I mention you were my favorite little girl in the whole world?”
He straightened and gave Heather a quick smile. “She says she’s ready to go, but she wants us to leave via the toy department.”
Heather settled her purse strap over her shoulder and motioned for Jim to push the stroller. “She did not say that. You said that. And she doesn’t need any more toys.”
Jim looked hurt. “She did so tell me. She whispered it. I know the books say kids can’t talk yet, but she does. She’s a little worried about upsetting you, so she doesn’t want me to tell you.” He lowered his voice conspiratorially. “You need to pretend you don’t know.”
He looked completely serious, Heather thought, trying not to laugh. As if he believed every silly thing he said. How was she supposed to resist a man with a perfect sense of the ridiculous?
Perfect. There was that word again.
She sighed. “Fine. We can go through the toy department, but you are not allowed to buy her anything.”
“Of course not.” He looked hurt at even the suggestion.
Heather knew better than to believe that expression. They would get into the middle of the doll aisle and he would go crazy picking out a half-dozen things for Diane. She’d seen it happen before.
