Sierra smiled through her tears; her daughter was sharp. “Yes, sort of like that.”
“She shared the crayon with me after that.” She gazed up at Sierra and smiled, looking cute with her one missing tooth.
As Kaitlyn shared her thoughts, Sierra unconsciously moved closer to her daughter. She didn’t notice until Kaitlyn had to crane her neck back to look up. Then she lowered her head and a curl fell into her eyes. Not thinking, Sierra grazed her fingers across Kaitlyn’s forehead to move it and the girl let out a frightened wail.
Sierra flinched back, holding her hands as far from her daughter as possible. “I’m sorry Kait, I didn’t mean to touch you. I’m—”
Kaitlyn got up of her chair, putting distance between them and shouted. “Don’t touch me!”
What felt like shards of glass pierced her heart. The fright on her daughter’s face left her struggling to breathe, her heart racing. “I’m sorry, I should go.”
She turned toward the door, which swung open. Jacob stood there like an avenging angel; he shot Sierra a furious glare before his face softened when he looked at Kaitlyn.
“It’s okay, baby.” He strode past Sierra and gathered Kaitlyn in his arms, who was sobbing.
Sierra stepped away, reaching for her purse. “I will call a cab.”
“Yes, that sound like a good idea.” His voice was tight with emotion, and he kept his face aimed away from her. Picking her cane up, Sierra fought to see anything, her tears escaping. However, a quiet voice stopped her retreat.
“I don’t want you to touch me, but I don’t want you to go yet.”
Sierra wiped the tears from her cheeks, leaning on her cane as she turned toward them again. Jacob stared at Kaitlyn, concerned. “Kaitlyn, you don’t have to—”
“It’s okay, Daddy. Mommy says she wants to make amends, and I want to let her, just like Cecilia let me make amends.” She nodded her head, looking proud that she’d said a big word. Jacob lifted a confused look at Sierra.
“Something happened at a birthday party she attended.” As if that explained it all.
“Would you like to have tea with me and my friends?” Kaitlyn wiped the tears from her eyes and then used her arm to wipe her running nose.
She nodded, knowing that she would be in pain afterward. The chairs were low to the ground, and she would have to fold her legs a bit to get them close to the table.
“Yes, I would love to have tea with you.” Her heart swelled with hope that this could be something new with her daughter. Even though she was undeserving of the title, Kaitlyn even called her Mommy.
Jacob stood up and gave her a warning look; it wasn’t subtle, he didn’t want her getting any ideas. Kaitlyn took his hand and pointed at a nearby chair. “Daddy, help Mommy with her chair, please.” Then she walked to the other side of the table to her seat.
“At your service, madam.” He bent in an exaggerated bow and tickled her collarbone, making her laugh.
The sound of her laughter made Sierra smile. Jacob pulled out her chair and offered a hand for support as shelowered herself to the seat. A gasp escaped her when he picked up the chair with her in it and placed her closer to the table. He then reached for one of the other chairs, pulling it out for himself.
“Daddy, you can’t sit there that is Jennifer’s chair. She is sitting in it.” Kaitlyn chastised him, her young voice adorable, pointing to her teddy bear.
“Can I sit over there?” Jacob gestured at the other chair on the far side of the table.
Kaitlyn rolled her eyes. “Don’t you see Beth sitting there?” They both glanced at the empty chair.
Then he smacked his head as if to say “what was he thinking” and Kaitlyn giggled. Sierra grinned at playfulness between father and daughter.
He then stood back and looked at the table, a questioning look gracing his features. “Where do you want Daddy to sit?”
“Sorry Daddy, but the table is full. We can have tea another day together, okay?”
Nodding, Jacob reached out and ran his hand through Kaitlyn’s curls. Then he leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Are you hungry?”
“Yes, but I just want to play a little first.” She reached out and gave him a sideways hug.
“Okay, I will have everything on the table when you are ready to eat. Don’t play too long, okay?”
Kaitlyn pushed her hands into his leg, wordlessly urging him to go. Her tiny, delicate hands then plucked up a teacup, poured some “tea” into it and handed it to Sierra. Sierra felt his eyes burning into the back of her head, but she ignored him, picking up the cup to take a sip.
