“You can’t. I know you don’t want to hear this, but she needs to be checked by a doctor before you bathe her.”
Kendall squeezed her eyes shut. He was right, but she hated that she couldn’t wash the twenty-four hours and whatever had happened in that time off her daughter.
“Do you have a doctor you can call now?”
“Yes.” God, she hated having to put Livie through an exam.
“We’ll need to call Rossi, but I’d rather get this taken care of first, and I’d also like you to see if she’ll tell you what happened before Rossi knows she’s back.”
“Okay.” She leaned away so she could see Livie. “Sweetie, Mommy needs to make a phone call. Will you sit on the couch for a few minutes while I go do that?”
“No, Mommy!” She pushed her face back against Kendall’s neck.
Kendall sighed. “I don’t want to explain things where she can listen. I’ll call, tell Dr. Townsend who you are, then you can go in the other room and talk to her.”
“Okay.” He glanced at the baggie he still held. “Do you have rubber gloves? We need to see what this says.”
“Under the sink.” She wished she never had to know what was on that note. While he was in the kitchen, she pressed her face against Livie’s. “Are you thirsty or hungry, sweetie?”
“Can I have ice cream?”
Tonight, she could have anything she wanted. “Yes. We’ll all have some.” Maybe she’d get comfortable with Cooper if he ate ice cream with them. She stood and carried Livie to the barstool. “You’re going to have to sit here while Mommy makes our ice cream.”
Livie tightened her hold and shook her head.
“I’ll make us some ice cream,” Cooper said.
He’d put on the gloves and had taken the note out of the baggie. She stared at it for a few seconds, then nodded and returned to the living room. She could see him from the couch, and his lips thinned as he read the note. He glanced up at her, and there was fury in his eyes. Her stomach rolled, and she swallowed hard, afraid she was going to be sick.
“What does it say?”
He shook his head as his gaze fell on Livie. “Later. Right now, let’s get something into her stomach, then you can call the doctor.”
She managed to get Livie to sit on the couch to eat her bowl of ice cream, and she didn’t freak out when Cooper sat at the other end from them. When they finished, Cooper took their bowls to the sink, rinsed them, then put them in the dishwasher.
When he returned, he sat on the sofa next to her. “We should bag up the clothes she’s wearing and give them to the police. It’s quite possible his DNA is on them,” he quietly said.
“I hate this.” What had happened to Livie while she was with the man? Livie lowered her head to Kendall’s lap and closed her eyes.
“I know,” Cooper said. “I’m not going to call Rossi until the doctor has checked her out. He’ll show up, demanding to talk to her, and she’s not ready for that.”
“Thank you. Can I tell you how much I hate thinking of a strange man having his hands on her?”
“Yeah, makes me want to hunt him down and show him just how much we hate what he did. Can I get your phone out of your purse so you can call the doctor? You can change her clothes while I do that.”
“Sure. Can you get her pajamas from the top drawer of her dresser?”
“Of course.”
Thankfully, Livie didn’t wake up while her clothes were changed. Kendall had never in her life known such rage. She’d never thought she’d want to physically hurt another person, but she would gladly go with Cooper to hunt the man down who’d traumatized her little girl.
After getting Livie’s pajamas on her, Kendall called the doctor. “Hi, Patty,” she said when Dr. Townsend’s receptionistanswered. “This is Kendall Hart. It’s urgent that I talk to the doctor as soon as possible.”
“Is Olivia sick?”
“No, I just have to talk to Dr. Townsend about a private matter, and it really is urgent.”
“Okay. She’s with a patient, but she’s almost finished. I’ll give her the message as soon as she comes out.”
