Just for Now (Sea Breeze #4)(45)

His feet were bare and tanned. I hadn’t paid much attention to them before, but now I knew even his feet were sexy.

“Should I stand still until you’re done?” Preston teased. I snapped my head up and met his amused gaze. “Don’t let me stop you. I was enjoying it. Please continue.”

I couldn’t help it. I laughed. He’d caught me ogling him.

“You dress like that, and it’s hard not to look,” I replied, and turned away from him to unload the dishwasher.

“What’s wong with his clothes?” Daisy asked, confused.

I opened my mouth to tell her nothing, but Preston beat me to it.

“Nothing, Daisy May. I just think Manda may like the way I look in my clothes.”

My head shot up and his twinkling eyes met mine.

“If she does, then you should weah them all the time. She’s sweet and fun and pwetty, and you can bwing hewah with you when you come see us.”

The excited little voice made me want to go hug her tightly and assure her she’d see me again. She still hadn’t said a thing about her mother or even mentioned going home. That said more than any words she could have said. It broke my heart.

“That’s a good idea, Daisy May. Maybe I should wear this every day. Might get Manda to stick around a little while. She and I could come get you and the boys and take you to get a burger sometime.”

Daisy jumped up excitedly on the balls of her feet. “Yes, yes, please.” She turned back to me. “Do you like him in otha clothes, owah just those?” The sincerity of her question made me smile. She was really going to campaign to get Preston to wear that outfit every day just so she could see me again. If she hadn’t already edged her way into my heart, she’d have done so then.

“Actually, Daisy, I think he looks nice all the time. He just caught me looking this time.”

Daisy’s eyes went big, and a grin broke out on her face when she looked back at Preston. “She likes you, and she’s weally, weally pwetty and fun.”

Daisy was selling me to Preston. That might have been the sweetest thing ever.

“She smells real nice too, and I have a thing for that pretty blond hair of hers,” Preston added, leaning back in his chair and studying me.

“She does smell good,” Daisy agreed. “And hewah sweet tea is yummy.”

Preston nodded. “Yeah, she has all kinds of stuff that is yummy.”

I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing, and leaned a hip against the counter to watch the two of them study me.

“And she can sing, too. She singed me all kinds of songs.”

Preston’s eyes went wide at Daisy’s statement. Dang it. I hadn’t meant for her to tell Preston

I’d sung to her. She’d asked me to, and I figured no one had ever sung to her before. I’d let her crawl up into my lap, and I’d sung her every song she’d asked me to.

“Really?” Preston asked with a mischievous smile on his face. “Hmm. I didn’t know that. I guess that will be the deciding factor for me. Amanda will have to sing for me before I decide if I want to keep her around.”

Daisy seemed pleased with this. “Yay! You will keep hewah. She sings weal pwetty.”

I already dreaded the moment he got me alone.

Preston’s phone rang, and he tensed up immediately. The playful look on his face was gone. Who was he expecting?

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, then let out a sigh. “I’m bringing her home in a little while. Let me eat first.”

Oh no. It was his mom. I wasn’t ready to give Daisy back to that woman.

“Thirty minutes.”

He put the phone down and looked over at Daisy. “Momma is ready for you to come home, Daisy May. Why don’t you go get your stuff together while I finish up?”

Daisy’s little face fell, but she didn’t argue. She nodded and went to the bedroom.

I watched her until she was out of sight, then looked back at Preston. “Does she have to go?” I asked in a low voice.

Preston frowned and nodded. “Yeah.” He didn’t like it either.

“You think she’ll be okay? Will your mom remember to give her the antibiotics every day? Because it is real important that she take them until they’re gone.”

“Jimmy will make sure she gets all of it. He’s good with stuff like that.”

Tears stung my eyes, and I had to walk away before I started crying and Daisy saw me. I went to the bathroom and turned on the faucet to mask my sniffling. The idea of sending Daisy back to that old, dirty trailer with a momma who didn’t care was horrible.

“Hey.” Preston opened the door to the bathroom and stepped inside. “Come here.” He pulled me into a hug and rested his chin on my head. “I know this sucks, but I promise you, she’ll be fine. I’m going to make sure you get to see her again. Heck, if you’ll stop crying, I’ll get her a phone too so you two can talk.”

I nodded. I liked that idea. “Okay.”

“Okay you want me to get her a phone?” he asked.

“Yes.”

Preston chuckled. “Done. Now stop crying. I check on them more than once a week.”

I didn’t want to make him feel like he was failing them when it was obvious he was doing everything he could to take care of them. If he had a real job, I didn’t know what it was. He had school and baseball. Over the years he’d had some side jobs, but nothing that stuck around long. Somehow he got money. I’d started to ask him about it when the bathroom door opened and Daisy stood there frowning up at us.