The Broken One (Corisi Billionaires, #1)(8)

Christof answered, “Leave it here.”

I didn’t turn to see what they did with it; I had more important things to think about: walking straight and not throwing up.





CHAPTER FOUR



* * *



HEATHER

Late the next morning, dressed in a dark-blue skirt, matching blouse, and sensible flats, I zipped Ava’s lunch box closed. “Ready?”

She looked ready. Ava was particular about how she looked. Her hair needed to be neatly braided. She liked dresses with matching tights and owned more pairs of shoes than I did. I smiled. It was easy to forget we didn’t share the same gene pool. She was a mini me, but a more colorful version. “I want to help you look for Wolfie.”

“No, hon, you need to go to preschool.”

“Why? I’m good at finding things.”

“Yes, you are, but I’m going to be in the road. It’s not safe.”

Wrong thing to say. Ava teared up. “Not safe?”

“For small children. For you. I’ll be fine. I’m taller.” I hugged her, then picked up her lunch box. “Come on—the sooner you go to school, the sooner I can look for him.”

Bottom lip quivering, she placed her hand in mine. “Can you drive the long way? Maybe he’s on the road waiting for me.”

Doubtful, but I agreed. People said miracles happened every day. I didn’t have firsthand experience with that, but Ava’s concern for him was so pure—that had to count for something, didn’t it?

Silly me, since she’d shown determination to find Wolfie, I had expected her to climb into her car seat without protest. The inner workings of a child’s mind were more complex than that. I pleaded. I warned. If I’d had a million dollars, I would have considered bribing her with it. Eventually I turned and leaned against the car, shaking my head.

She stopped crying and looked at me. “What are you doing?”

I shrugged. “Giving up. I’m not going to wrestle you into the car seat again. If you don’t get in on your own, I guess we’re never going anywhere again.”

Sniff. Frown. Sniff. “We have to look for Wolfie.”

“I want to look for him, but I don’t really have a choice, do I? If I can’t get you in the car, how can I go anywhere? Luckily I have the kind of job I can do from home.” I pushed away from the car. “I can probably find someone to come over and watch you. Let’s go back inside.”

“No.” She put her hands on her hips and planted her feet.

“I suppose I could bring my laptop out here and work in the driveway.”

She squared her shoulders. “No. I’m getting in.”

Please. Yes.

I opened the back door. She walked toward it, then stopped. Those big blue eyes of hers met mine, and my heart twisted in my chest. “I’m scared.”

I put a hand on her shoulder and hugged her to my side briefly. “But you’re also very brave. Brave doesn’t mean never being afraid. Brave is being stronger than what scares you.”

She nodded. So solemn. So much like me when I was that age. My father always said I knew how to put on a brave face no matter what I was up against. I’d definitely made my share of mistakes raising Ava, but I needed to believe I had done as much right. Watching her climb into her car seat and secure herself went a long way to reassure me I had.

We drove down the road we’d lost Wolfie on, but there was no sign of him. I didn’t promise her again that I’d find him, because I was beginning to doubt I would. Drop-off went surprisingly smoothly. I spoke to her teacher on the side and rushed out of there before Ava had a chance to remember that she didn’t want to stay.

Two hours later I was sitting at my desk in my small office, trying to motivate myself to dig into emails I was sure were waiting for me. Fighting a headache, I released my hair from its clip and ran my hands through it.

“Knock, knock,” Teri, my assistant, said as she walked in. “Hey, you should wear your hair down more often. It’s really pretty.”

I forced a smile. “Thanks. Now what can I do for you?”

Her smile was much brighter than mine; she’d probably slept the night before. “You have a package. A courier brought it over. It’s light.”

My heart was thudding in my chest. She handed me the box, and it was indeed light. I shook it, and the contents sounded like they were something soft . . . could it be . . . had someone found Wolfie? I read the card. “Hope this is what you were looking for—Mr. and Mrs. Eddy.”

Barely breathing, I tore off the ribbon. Blue glass eyes looked up at me from the face of an exact replica of Wolfie—a perfectly clean, beautiful copy. My shoulders sagged as I put the box down on my desk. “What a beautiful gesture.”

Teri pulled the stuffed animal out of the box. “Is it the exact same wolf?”

I nodded. “That’s what he used to look like.”

“You could tell Ava you gave him a bath.”

“I’d also have to tear up one of his legs, sew it back together, and mark up the bottom of his feet with nail polish”—I sighed—“then lie to her.”

“Everyone lies to their kids. I would to mine if I had any.”

“There’s enough in her life that will be confusing as she gets older. I want to be a person she knows she can trust.”