19
WILLIAM
WILLOW DIDN’T EVEN MAKE IT A MILE DOWN THE ROAD BEFORE SHE WAS SOUND ASLEEP. EVERY TIME I
came to a red light, I’d turn and check on her. The kid was amazing. She’d been leery of me at first,
quick to tell me her dad didn’t like her talking to strangers. Luckily, he’d told me enough about her
since we’d met that I was able to prove I wasn’t a stranger, simply someone who she hadn’t met.
I decided to use my drive across town to call Jack. Might as well get that out of the way since
there was no way Corey would be going to work tonight, and I’d be staying by his side if at all
possible. He’d be busy taking care of his girl, which meant I wanted to be there to take care of him.
“Hey William, Jack will be here in just a minute,” Slade said as soon as the call connected.
Willow stirred and grumbled in her seat, so I turned down the volume. It wasn’t hard to figure out
where she’d gotten the grumpies from. Her dad hated anyone disturbing his sleep, too.
I reached back, gently rubbing her leg until she quieted again. Little kids were one of the few
things I felt ill-equipped to deal with, but I didn’t think I was doing too bad of a job so far. And I was
grateful Corey had suggested I take her to my place since I’d be able to call Vivvie to rescue me if I
got in over my head. Of course, knowing her, she’d laugh her ass off the entire time she handled
whatever might come up.
“William, I thought we were going to chat later this afternoon?”
“Yeah, well something’s come up.” The light turned green, so I turned my attention back to the
road. I stuck to the right lane, certain drivers behind me were impatient. I knew I would have been if I
was stuck behind someone driving like they had a live bomb in the back seat and the slightest bump
might cause detonation. That was probably a bad analogy, but I was working with what was familiar
to me. “Corey’s daughter is sick and I’m keeping an eye on her.”
“He let you babysit? Either the two of you are more serious than you’ve admitted, or he was
desperate. Does he know you’re not a kid person?” Jack teased. I scowled, flipping off my phone
even though he couldn’t see me. It wasn’t like I was going to tell him he was an asshole when I had
Willow in the car with me. Knowing my luck, that would be the exact moment she’d wake up and it
would become her new favorite word.
“Probably a little bit of both,” I admitted. Things were definitely more serious than Jack knew
because it wasn’t any of his business unless it affected work. And Corey was desperate, even if he
