His stare latched onto hers, and his gaze softened and intensified at the same time as if he could see through her and read all the chaos racing through her mind. “Good.”
Such a simple word, and she’d never enjoyed it more than when he said it to her.
Just then, Addison came downstairs, delivering a world of relief. Her presence was like a window opening, shooting a breath of fresh air into Skylar’s constricting lungs. There was definitely something weird about this house.
Wearing the same mismatched outfit, she had on yesterday, Addison rocked a case of bedhead so bad there might have been a small animal living in her hair.
“Morning, sweetheart.”
“Morning, Daddy.” She climbed up his body like a monkey climbs a tree, and he hoisted her onto his hip.
The transformation in him fascinated Skylar as his unapproachable power suit conformed into nothing but thread. Seeing him through his daughter’s eyes, he was just a daddy—safe, dependable, a rock of a pillow and a shoulder to lean on.
Skylar smiled.
“Addy, you remember Skylar, right?”
“Hi,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder and pressing her little palm to his neatly shaved jaw.
Skylar wondered what it might be like to press her nose there and breathe deep. Did he smell like other men? She had a feeling he’d smell different. Better.
“I’m super excited to hang out with you today!” She needed to get control of her thoughts.
Addison nestled closer to her father, wreathing her arms around his neck. “I don’t want you to go.”
Skylar held her breath, waiting to see if he would brush her off or indulge her with some extra time. He did neither, and somehow delivered the best possible response.
He set her down and kissed her head. “Have to. I have an important meeting with the big guy at the North Pole today. It takes a lot of convincing to get him to come to our town’s holiday party when he has the rest of the world begging for his presence.”
Her mouth opened in awe. “Is he coming to the office?”
“No, he’s too busy. We’re having a phone meeting, but I don’t want to be late.”
“Will you tell him I’ve been extra good?”
“Of course, I will. And don’t forget that he’s watching, so be a good girl for Skylar, too.”
“I will.”
Skylar appreciated the help and took Addison’s hand as they walked him to the door. Another shift happened as he gathered his coat. First, was the dramatic reminder that it had started to snow. By the sound of his wincing groan when he opened the door and saw the world dusted in white, he really didn’t care for winter weather. But then, as he turned back and smiled at his daughter, and hesitated, Skylar saw the moment he wished he didn’t have to go.
She wondered if he ever took the time to actually play in the snow with his little girl. Maybe he forgot how much fun a winter storm could be.
She wasn’t sure if he was the type to take an afternoon off for a snow day or if he just didn’t care, but she suspected he loved his daughter very much and, like most parents, found it difficult to leave her each day.
He suddenly seemed more nervous than Skylar about the arrangement. She took pity on him. “You have my number if you want to check in and see how we’re making out.”
“Right. And you have mine—and Erin’s.”
“Yes.” She’d added the contacts into her phone during their tour.
Hesitating, he held the door cracked and let a few flurries drift in. Addison gasped at the sight of the snow. “I feel like I’m forgetting something.”
“Daddy, go! Santa’s waiting!” Addison practically pushed him out the door, and once that invisible line of connection was broken, he was off and on his way.
“So,” Skylar said, shutting the door and leaving the drafty weather outside. “What do you want for breakfast?”
“Cotton candy!”
“Try again.”
“I guess cereal.”
“Good choice.”
5
The pantry was pretty picked over and there wasn’t any produce in the house. Ketchup was the closest thing Skylar found to a vegetable. “Have you ever been to the farmer’s market in town?”
“Do they sell pigs and horses?”
Skylar laughed. “No, but they have all kinds of homegrown veggies from my aunt’s farm. We can go shopping and maybe make a fruit salad later.”
“Okay!”
Addison put up a little fuss when Skylar told her she had to eat breakfast at the table. But she stood her ground and kept control of the situation.
When she brushed the knots out of her hair, however, their relationship took a turn for the worse. Skylar feared she might need scissors to cut out the center of the knot, and she really didn’t want to go there on her first day.
“Doesn’t Daddy ever do your hair?” she asked as she carefully separated the baby-fine strands from the rat’s nest they formed.