Alex’s forehead furrowed. “You do?”
“Yes . . . I spoke to her while she was in the office yesterday. . . .”
“And she said something to you?”
Lucy couldn’t quite make out Alex’s tone, whether he was surprised or disbelieving or even a little miffed. “It’s more what she didn’t say.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look, Alex . . . I know your wife died a year and a half ago. . . .”
He folded his arms. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Don’t you think losing her mother might have something to do with Bella’s problems?” Lucy asked. How emotionally clueless was this guy?
“Look, I know Bella and Poppy are grieving,” he answered, his voice tight. “But as I can’t bring their mother back, there’s not much I can do about it besides what I already do. And while I appreciate this illuminating psychological insight, I’m not sure what you’re trying to get at.” He glared at her, his arms still folded.
“Look, I’m not trying to offer someilluminating psychological insight,” Lucy told him, her voice taking on a slight edge. “I’m just pointing out that Bella hasn’t had a woman around to help her out with—some things.”
“She has me,” Alex said staunchly, and Lucy just about kept herself from rolling her eyes.
“All right, look, Alex, here’s the deal. Bella needs a bra.” Alex’s expression didn’t change. He blinked several times, opened his mouth, and said nothing. “I think that’s why she got suspended. She’d been avoiding PE because she doesn’t want to change her clothes in front of everyone.” The words came in a rush as she remembered her own miserable middle school years. Being bulliedsucked, and that, at least, was something she had no qualms telling Alex about. “I think kids are teasing her about it. I think maybe they’re taking her sweaters, too.”
“Her jumpers?” Alex sat up straighter. “She’s lost two since school started. I shouted at her about it, told her she needed to keep track of her things.”
“I’m guessing kids are hiding them—”
He turned to her, his expression now fierce. “You think some bully is nicking my daughter’s clothes?”
“I think,” Lucy answered, “that someone is making your daughter’s life miserable. She’s being bullied because she doesn’t have a bra. It might seem like a small thing to you,but girls can be vicious. Taking her sweaters and teasing her during PE could just be the tip of the iceberg. Why did she get suspended exactly, anyway? It wasn’t for missing just one class, was it?”
Alex didn’t answer for a moment. “She skipped PE,” he finally said flatly. “As you know. She hid in the bathroom and when the teacher found her, she refused point-blank to go. Said some nasty things about the teacher and the class and—damn. I should have . . .” He shook his head, then closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “She told you all this?”
“Not exactly.”
“What do you mean?” Alex opened his eyes and subjected her to a rather narrowed gaze. “You’re just guessing?”
“I’m a pretty good guesser when it comes to crap that happens in middle school,” Lucy answered shortly. “I was bullied myself when I was Bella’s age. I recognize the signs.” Although she hadn’t lashed out the way Bella was. She’d just kept smiling.
Alex was silent for a long moment. Finally he glanced up at Lucy, and the vulnerability in his eyes made something in her ache. She clamped down on the feeling, hard. She wasn’t going to go startfeelingthings for Alex Kincaid and dreaming of the way she could help him and his poor, motherless family. No, she really wasn’t.
“What should I do?” he asked, and there was that ache again.
“Buy her a bra, for starters.”
Alex winced. “I don’t . . .”
“Alex.Come on. You’ve got two daughters. You’re a single dad. They need you to do this kind of stuff for them.”
“Talking to Bella about undergarments would mortify her. As you’ve seen, our relationship isn’t that great to begin with.”
Undergarments?Seriously? She saw that the back of his neck and the tips of his ears had gone red. He was embarrassed, although to be fair she had started out that way. Now she waspossessed with a resolute determination to see Bella properly clothed. “Well, how is she supposed to get one, then?” she asked, exasperation creeping into her tone.
“I could buy it off the Internet—”
“She needs to try it on.”
His ears went even redder. “I can’t . . .” He glanced up at her. “What about you?”
