He’d been chopping the apples into chunks instead of the thin slices she preferred. “Sorry, Charlie-Bear.”
After stirring the eggs, he started over with a fresh apple, forcing himself to concentrate on turning the fruit into wedges, then smearing them with peanut butter. Apple sandwiches, an Aylett family tradition. Until Charlotte had come to live with him a few months before, she’d never even heard of apple sandwiches.
The smallest of Jasper’s many failures as a father.
In the foyer, the grandfather clock chimed quarter after nine, reminding Noah of the conference call he was supposed to join in fifteen minutes. Plus, he had to review documents before the afternoon meeting. And he still hadn’t returned a call from his attorney.
Somewhere in there, he’d have to call Jasper. Again.
Instead of taking care of all that stuff, he fixed a late breakfast and tried not to think about a beautiful creature who smelled like cigarettes and looked like every mistake he’d ever made.
He needed to find Charlotte a nanny—today. Things had been spinning out of control ever since she’d come to live with him. As if he hadn’t already been busy enough, he now had an intruder to deal with and a security system to upgrade.
Food prepared, he settled Charlotte in her seat at the kitchen table, then sat beside her, munching the chunks of apples he’d cut accidentally and trying not to think about his to-do list.
Noah’s phone vibrated, a staccato buzz on the table.
Seeing his brother’s photo on the screen, Noah stood and grabbed the phone before the second ring. He swiped to answer. “You’re alive.”
“Shut up.” Jasper’s voice sounded rough, as if he’d only just remembered thatmorningwas a thing that happened to other people. “You texted like it was DEFCON one.”
Good thing Noah hadn’t needed his brother for anything, considering he’d texted hours before, right after the cops left.
“Hold on a second.” He kissed Charlotte on the forehead. “I have to take this. Can you finish your eggs, please? Then come find me and we’ll decide what to do next, okay?”
She nodded, the only response he expected.
He stepped out of the kitchen and toward his office at the front of the house. “What time is it where you are?”
“Early,” Jasper said. “What’s going on?”
He didn’t have time for Jasper’s hangover or whatever he’d gotten into, wherever in the world he was. “Someone broke into the house.” He kept his voice low so Charlotte wouldn’t hear. “Any idea who might do that?”
“Whoa. What?” A rustle sounded through the phone, probably Jasper dragging himself out of bed. “Someone broke in? A burglar? Did they steal anything?”
“The alarm scared them off. But it was four thirty in the morning. We were home.”
“Aw, man. Poor Charlotte. That must’ve scared her to death. Is she okay?”
Noah sat at his desk. He was already having a bad day. Adding a conversation with Jasper didn’t help.
He gave his brother a rundown of events. “I wondered if you had any idea who might’ve done it. Enemies? Former friends? Or maybe someone who thinks we have valuables?”
“I’m not an idiot.”
He managed to swallow a dark chuckle. Any man who abandoned a little girl to gallivant around the world was worse than an idiot. “What about”—he lowered his voice even more—“Violet?”
Jasper made a sound, a sharp laugh that bordered on a cough. “No way. She’s in New York—last I heard, anyway. She promised to stay away.”
“Maybe she wants to see her daughter.”
“If she did, she’d contact me, not break in.”
“Unless she wants her back.” He couldn’t imagine how she’d ever get custody legally. Maybe she knew her only shot was to kidnap her.
“She doesn’t,” Jasper said. “She only had the kid to get money out of me.”
“Charlotte.” Noah ground out his niece’s name through gritted teeth. “Her name is?—”
