“Let me handle this,” Will said.
Hammer gave an angry look at her but stopped.
“How about a trade?”
She stopped crying. “What do you have?” She looked down with interest as he dug into his pocket and pulled out a handful of different colored candies. “How many can I have?”
“You can pick one.”
Evangeline knew when she was being played. “Three.”
“One,” Will said firmly.
“Mine’s better.”
“Two.”
“Trade.” She slowly and distrustfully pulled her hand out from under her armpit, expecting him to snatch her wrist before she could open it. When he didn’t, she slowly opened her hand to show the shiny star. “It’s so pretty. Can I keep it?”
“I need it for my job. How about I find a store on the way back and buy you some new clothes and see if they have a plastic one?”
“Okay.” She lifted her hand so he could take the star as she picked out two candies from his palm.
“Rewarding her with candy isn’t going to teach her to stop.”
Narrowing her eyes at Hammer, she mimicked the mean look he was giving her.
“You’ve had your hands full with her, haven’t you?”
“You have no idea. I do believe in spanking, and she’s come close a couple of times. She swiped my watch when I was sleeping, and I about never got it back from her. I’m giving you fair warning; her favorite things to snatch are sunglasses, anything—”
She leaned forward in Will’s arms to put her hand on Hammer’s mouth so he would stop telling on her.
Will almost dropped her when Hammer pulled her hand away because he was laughing so hard.
“—shiny,” Hammer finished.
“Tattletale,” Evangeline said, sticking her tongue out.
“We’ll work on breaking that habit, won’t we?” Will said when he stopped laughing.
“Do we have to?”
“You better behave. Will has a jail that he can put you in for time-out.”
“What’s a jail?”
“The way you’re going, you’ll find out before you’re six.”
“Is jail good or bad?”
“I’m thinking jail would be good for you.”
“You two cut it out. The way you two are going at it, I’ll be lucky to be back in Treepoint before next week. And Hammer, I’m not going to use my jail to scare a four-year-old straight.”
“She’s four going on twenty, and don’t say I didn’t warn you. Make sure you keep an eye on her. She’s as slippery as an eel when she wants to get away from you to play.”
“I like to play.”
“You do?” She looked up from carefully opening one of the candies she picked, popping it in her mouth.
“Yes, I used to play games with my son when he was a little boy. Maybe I can teach you some of the games I used to play with him, and you can teach me the ones you like?”
“Okay.”
Hammer shook his head at them. “Obviously, I screwed up not keeping a steady supply of sugar to make her behave. I’ll put the car seat in your car. When you buy the clothes and the plastic badge, pick up another seat—”
“I know. I’ll ditch it.”
Contently sucking the strawberry candy, she held onto Will’s shoulder as he carried her to his car. It was only when the car seat was in the back seat that she truly realized she was going with Will and leaving Hammer behind.
The moment her bottom hit the car seat, she burst into tears and started struggling to keep Will from buckling her in place.
“Hammer!” she sobbed out.
Will placed a hand on her chest to keep her from falling out but moved to the side to let Hammer lean in.
“Kid, I told you that you wouldn’t be staying with me.”
“I’ll be good,” she promised.
“I know you will, but you need more than I can give you. I don’t know how to play. You need someone who will let you play and you don’t have to stay inside all the time. In a few weeks, you won’t even remember me.”
“Yes, I will.” Struggling, she tried to slip out of the car seat as Hammer buckled her in.
Once she couldn’t get away, Hammer turned to Will. “Give me a minute with her.”
Tearfully, Evangeline watched as Will moved away and Hammer bent down until he was eye-level with her. “Kid, I made you a promise, and I need you to keep yours. You told your sister that you could be brave, and so far, you have been. She’s just as sad as you are, but you know what makes her feel better?”
“No … What?” She hiccupped between sobs.
“That you’re safe. I told you that I’ll somehow figure out a way that you can see her again without anyone finding out, and I will. It’s just going to take some time. Until then, you have to be what?”
“Br-ave.”
“That’s right.” Hammer laid a gentle hand on her head. “I can’t fix a stupid ponytail. You deserve someone who can. Will can find someone who can.”