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She nodded and reached out both hands to be picked up. A familiar warmth spread across my chest, and I obliged, picking her up and placing her on my waist. The minute Ingrid saw Violet, her entire face went slack, her hands flying to her mouth.
“Oh my gosh,” she gushed. “She’s beautiful.” She hurried around the car to the other side. Violet reared back a little when Ingrid approached and then ducked her head in my neck as she got close, but Ingrid took one of her hands anyway and began talking.
“Well, aren’t you just precious? You look a lot like my sister, you know.”
Violet turned back curiously. “Really?”
Ingrid nodded. “Really. How old are you, hon?”
“Five.” She held up her hand to symbolize it, and I could see my aunt falling even more in love.
“Five whole years? Well, that’s amazing.”
“Thank you,” Violet mumbled with a smile.
“How about we celebrate by going in and having a little apple pie?”
“I love apple pie,” Violet said, and Ingrid smiled widely.
“I had a feeling you would, honey. Can I hold you?”
Violet nodded, and then I looked at Lisa, who had a deeply suspicious look on her face. Finally, she nodded, too, and I transferred my delightful daughter over to my aunt.
As we walked into Ingrid’s charming home, she immediately headed to the kitchen island to start cutting the pie while giving Lisa the third degree. She asked about her family, work, and a bunch of other personal things. While she wasn’t rude about it, I hadn’t warned Lisa about how nosy my aunt could be, and I could tell from Lisa’s face that she was starting to get panicked again.
“Oh shoot,” I said, getting up. “Didn’t you ask me to grab you some potatoes? I completely forgot. I’m going to run down to the store now and get it. Lisa, do you want to come?”
She blinked in confusion for a few seconds, then caught my intent and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll come.” She looked toward Violet, who was once again fast asleep on the couch.
Ingrid gave us both a knowing look. “Don’t worry. She can stay behind. I’ll take care of her until you both return.”
Lisa still seemed reluctant.
“It’s just a few minutes away,” I assured her, and she finally nodded.
The minute we were in the car, driving away, Lisa said, “You told her, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” I admitted. “But don’t worry, she won’t tell anyone.”
“That’s not the point.” She let out a frustrated breath. “The point is that you had no right to do that without my permission.”
“I’m Violet’s father,” I said, my annoyance also sparking up. “Look, I played by your rules and haven’t told Violet—and I wouldn’t until you were ready—but I don’t have to keep it from my aunt too.”
I could see the anger in her eyes as she stared at me, her lips pinched in a line. And then she shook her head and crossed her arms as if determined to give me the silent treatment for the rest of the trip.
“How mature,” I muttered under my breath, but at this point, I was pissed too, so I said nothing else.
When we got to the store, she barreled out of the car and was about to cross the parking lot, but then suddenly, she stopped as a car came out of nowhere, speeding toward her.
It all happened so fast. Before my mind could think, my body was moving to yank her out of the way.
A gust of force pushed her into my arms as the car zoomed past, continuing on its path.
“Are you insane?” Adrenaline and fear pumped through me. “You didn’t look before you crossed. Didn’t you see how fast that car was going?”
Lisa’s face was frozen in shock. “I didn’t—”
“You didn’t think. Fuck. Fuck!” My mind was going haywire, and my thoughts and emotions were completely scrambled. Fucking hell, I could have lost her. If I were a second slower, the car would have trampled her, and I would have lost her.
