Chapter Twenty Three
“Are you coming to myplay tonight, Reece? Mommy, you said you’d bake cookies for the party after the play...” Prisha rattled off, seemingly ignorant of Aria’s abrupt shame.
Reece returned with her and Prisha from Trinity two days ago. She barely got into the swing of things. Now, as she finished breakfast, her daughter’s subtle reminder threw her momentarily.
“Shit,” Aria’s soft curse caught and held her daughter’s attention.
“You forgot?” Prisha’s lips came together in a fierce pout.
Aria glanced at Reece with a sheepish grin.
“Hey, sweetpea,” Reece said. “I’ll take you to the play while your mommy bakes the cookies. Then I’ll come back to fetch her with the cookies. What do you say?” Prisha squinted her eyes and wrinkled her nose. He chuckled. “I promise we won’t be late.”
“Reece, it’s the annual collaborative concert for all schools and hosted in Dubois. You’d have to take the ferry there and back,” Aria whispered. She earned a huff from the little girl. Of course, she’d forgotten all about the event. Given the current dilemma with Jay, her blunder wasn’t unexpected.
“No sweat,” he said. “I don’t mind the two trips if it would make our little girl happy.”
Aria loved his parental inference. She smiled then turned to her daughter with the only ace up her sleeve. “I’ll make your favorite chocolate chip cookies.”
At the suggestion, the little girl brightened. She straightened in her chair. “Really?”
Aria chuckled. It was one recipe she’d learned from her mother with coconut as a secret ingredient. The delicious taste hadn’t failed to impress Prisha as yet. “Only if you say yes to Reece’s suggestion.” Aria caught Reece’s perceptive smile. She bit the insides of her cheek as she waited for her daughter’s response. Pure blackmail described the moment best.
“Yes, Mommy.” Prisha nodded her consent.
Aria heaved a sigh of relief and stood. “I need to run into town to grab some ingredients—”
“But I have to rehearse my song and dance,” Prisha’s sharp cry cut Aria short.
Oops.God, she’d become a seriously bad mom. Her daughter looked forward to this annual event. Kelly had planned, prepared, and rehearsed with the girls for the better part of two weeks. She, on the other hand, brooded over Jay’s release. Her insides constricted in shame. “I’m sorry, sweetpea. C’ mon, lets practice now?”
She reached for her daughter’s hand at the same time Reece tugged gently at her wrist. “Give me the list. I’ll go into town for you.”
Aria studied his face while overt emotion spiked every cell in her body. The man proved too good to be true. He stepped into a role so not suited to him with the ease of a skate against smooth ice. “Thank you.”
He stood and dropped a delicious kiss to her lips. “Anythin’ for you,” he whispered, then stepped away to clear the table. “Go rehearse before Prisha breaks your arm.” He chuckled.
Vaguely aware of the insistent tug on her wrist by her daughter, heat-filled affection wrapped its warm fingers around Aria’s heart. God, she could get used to this. She blew him a kiss then followed her daughter to her room.
Three hours later, she waved goodbye to Reece and Prisha. Aria set the timer, slid a tray of cookies into the oven, and then eyed the basket of freshly laundered clothes on her kitchen floor.Might as well fold the clothes while I wait.She scooped the basket up under her arm and strolled toward her bedroom.
A minute later, her hands stilled in the act of folding a towel. She cocked her head and listened. Aria moved away from her bed to the room door. A frown etched her brow.
“Reece? Prisha?” She was sure the front door opened. Tossing the towel on her bed, she walked back down the passage. In the living room, she eyed the open door in confusion. “Prisha? Reece?” Panic simmered just below the surface, waiting to claw its way outside.
The eerie silence signaled impending doom. A cold, hollow ache settled in her belly. Even the usual twitter of birds searching for afternoon snacks disappeared as though they detected a menace. A creepy sense of dread stole over her as she slowly rotated.
Aria froze. Her heart skipped a beat the same time her brain stopped thinking altogether. The breath caught in her throat and threatened to suffocate her. Exactly the way it stuck the first time Jay hit her. A punch so hard, she hadn’t been able to scream or cry out until her body hit the laminated floor of her room. And then her lungs had filled so fast she thought it would burst.
“Hi, sweetheart.” Jay leaned casually against a kitchen cupboard. He smiled. A sharp scar, deep, and fresh, lent his smile a leer like theJoker. Probably the courtesy of an inmate Aria surmised with an inner grimace. He set the cookie he’d bitten into on the counter and stepped forward.
Her heart thumped harshly against her ribs. She forced herself to breathe lest her chest exploded. Her head spun, yet words defeated her as the one man she thought would never find her again, sauntered in her direction. His stride confident, his expression smug yet genuine affection couldn’t mask his true form. The amount of time it took to convince herself he wouldn’t find her; she should’ve trusted her instinct. It never failed her before.
