If I Didn't Know Better (The Callaways #9)(57)

"That must have been really scary," he said carefully.

"A bad man hurt Mommy."

"Yes, he did." He wasn't sure whether he should keep her talking or tell her not to think about the past. But she'd been silent for weeks and that hadn't been helping. Maybe she needed to get it out.

She stared back at him. "I wanted milk. She took me to the store to get milk."

He suddenly understood why she'd refused to drink the milk he'd offered up at every meal. He let out a breath as she stared directly at him. He'd wanted her eyes on his for weeks, but now the intensity and the pain was almost overwhelming. He didn't want to screw this up. He wasn't a psychologist, but he was a father, and he sensed that Ashlyn needed to say it all.

"Can you tell me what happened?" he asked.

"We went to the store. Mr. Robinson was working. I went to pick out a candy. He said I could have whatever I wanted. Mommy went to get the milk. Then the bad man came in. He hit Mr. Robinson and then he started shooting. It was so loud. I covered my ears and got on the ground. I wanted to run to Mommy, but I didn't know where she was." Ashlyn swallowed hard. "When I found her, she wouldn't wake up."

It was all he could do to keep it together, her words painting a horrific scene in his mind. "I'm so sorry, baby."

"They wouldn't let me stay with her. The policeman made me get in his car."

So much had suddenly become very, very clear. Ashlyn had not only witnessed the robbery, she'd seen her mother die, and she felt guilty for wanting milk, for not being with her mother when the shooter came in, for not being able to stay with her mom and make her feel better.

"The police officer was protecting you until I could get home and get to you," he said. "He was trying to help you, Ashlyn."

"I wanted to go home, and no one would let me go back to my room. They made me stay in a house that smelled bad, and I didn't like the other kids."

"You're never going back there. It's you and me now."

She stared at him, measuring his words. "What if the bad guy finds us again?"

"That won't happen. He's in jail. He's never getting out."

She let out a breath. "Never?"

"Never," he said, hoping that was true, but while the man was currently in jail, he had not yet been to trial. Still, the police in San Francisco had assured him that they had eyewitness accounts, the gun and DNA evidence. There was no way the guy was getting off.

Ashlyn looked relieved by his confirmation.

"What did your mom tell you about me?" He needed to get as much information as he could just in case Ashlyn shut down again.

"She said I didn't have a daddy. Why didn't she tell me about you?"

"I don't know. I wish she had. I'm in the Army, Ashlyn. I'm a soldier. I fight for our country, and I've been doing that since before you were born. I didn't stay away from you because I didn't want to be your dad, or because I didn't love you. I didn't know about you. I guess your mom couldn't find me," he said, deciding it was better to give Justine a break for Ashlyn's sake. "I wish I'd known about you sooner, but we're together now, and that's all that matters."

"Are you going back to the Army?"

Her question was a difficult one to answer. He opted for the truth. "I don't know yet, but before I decide anything, you and I will talk about it. You'll be part of the decision, okay? Whatever we do from here on out, it's going to be you and me."

She nodded. "Okay."

"Are you hungry? Do you want some dinner?"

"Can Mia come over?"

"I don't know what she's doing, but we can ask her."

"Is the policeman gone now?"

"Yes, he is."

"Can we go to Mia's house?"

"We can," he said, as she crawled off his lap. "Why don't you wash your face and then we'll go?"

As Ashlyn ran up the stairs, he blew out a breath, feeling as if a weight had just come off his back. Ashlyn had accepted him as her father. She was talking to him like a normal kid, and maybe now that she'd spoken about her mother and what she'd seen, the nightmares would go away.



*



What a mess, Mia thought, as she cleared out one corner of the studio. She'd already filled two huge trash bags with splintered frames, broken pottery, and empty paint containers. She was making a little headway, but it was slow. Whatever wasn't broken, she had taken out to the patio and started making a pile of things she could save.

The paintings that hadn't been damaged went into that section as well, and she'd managed to find eight pretty good paintings that had not been destroyed. She'd also discovered some rolled-up canvases in a large cardboard tube at the back of the studio closet that hadn't been touched.

It was a start. Plus, she still had the paintings that she'd found in her aunt's closet. Maybe she could put those in the show, too.

Frowning, she tied off each of the trash bags and then dragged them out to the curb. Tomorrow was trash day, so at least she could get rid of some of the mess.

Jeremy and Ashlyn came out of their house as she walked back down the driveway. Ashlyn had her hand in Jeremy's, and there was a smile on her face that Mia was more than happy to see.