“Doing okay?”
“I’m still here on planet earth. Aliens haven’t abducted me and I’m breathing. You?”
He wanted to ask about Providence, but they rarely discussed women. “Good. I’m good.”
“Why don’t I believe you?”
Sammy started crying and Dakota leaned around the corner. “Hold on,” he said to Stryker. “What’s going on in there?”
“My house fell apart.” More crying.
“I have a LEGO disaster. Later.”
Kneeling beside his child, he eyed the remains of her structure. “Sammy.” He waited while she continued crying. “Samantha Lynn.” She threw a piece of LEGO across the room.
As much as he wanted to laugh at her temper tantrum, he did not. “Okay, so when you’re ready to fix your house, let me know and I’ll do what I can to offer you some structural engineering ideas.” He’d thrown in some big words, knowing that would snag her curiosity and disrupt her tantrum.
“I don’t know what that is,” Sammy replied, still indignant. “What’s ructure neering?”
As he explained the importance of a strong foundation, the frustration in her eyes faded away. He showed her the difference between a tower and a solid structure. Once she got the hang of it, she started to rebuild. He wished life’s traumas were as easy to fix.
“Samantha,” he said with an authoritative tone, “you threw a piece of LEGO across the room. We don’t throw our toys.”
Big blue eyes stared up at him. “Can you get it for me, please?”
While he was a total sucker for his four-year-old, he wasn’t budging. “I wasn’t the one who threw it across the room. Please pick it up and don’t throw your LEGO again.”
The Samantha Lynn stare down began. “I’ll get it later.”
“No. Now.”
Silence. He was not budging on this one. He would win this one if he had to wait there all morning. After a moment, she walked over to the leather chair in the corner, picked up the block, and returned to her building.
One lesson down, a million more to go.“Thank you,” he said. “Do you need my help?”
“Uh-uh.”
“I’m going to make us breakfast. You want to add the blueberries to our pancakes?”
With her attention glued on her rebuild, she shook her head.
Fifteen minutes later, he spooned out scrambled eggs, then cut up her pancake. He poured a small amount of syrup into a plastic bowl as she climbed onto her booster seat.
His cell phone rang with a call from his real estate partner, Juanita Goode. “Hey, Juanita. What’s going on?”
“Daddy, I’m thirsty,” Sammy said. He poured milk into her sippy cup and handed it to her. “Thank you,” she said. He winked at her, then ran his hand down the back of her hair.
“My Larke cohost has the flu and can’t attend,” Juanita began. “There’s no way I can do it solo. Any ideas?”
“No worries. I’ve got your back and can fill in.”
“Thank you. By the way, I spoke with Matt and asked him to swing by the office at two.”
Dakota sighed. He hated having to let an agent go, but he had no choice. “I’ll see you then,” he said and hung up.
After dumping the rest of the eggs onto his plate, along with the waffles, he smiled at his daughter as he sat beside her. “You were hungry.”
“Uh-huh.”
