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“You’re fine.”

He moved to the other side of the elevator, giving me plenty of room. I sent my text and then held the phone in my hand.

“Long night?” he asked.

“A little. I was with some friends.”

I had the habit of talking too much sometimes. This man didn’t even know me, and I was running my mouth.

“That sounds like a good night.”

“It was,” I smiled politely.

He nodded, and I looked up at the floor numbers as the elevator began moving. A moment later, I glanced at the button panel and noticed that nine was the only floor lit up.

“Oh, you didn’t press a floor,” I said.

He looked at the panel.

“I’m going to nine too.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Appreciate you for checking,” he said.

“No problem.”

I leaned against the wall and looked at my phone again. Daddy had texted earlier to say he’d see me in the morning, but he still hadn’t told me what time he planned to come by. I made a mental note to set my alarm before bed. The elevator chimed when we reached my floor.

I stepped out first.

“Have a good night,” I said without looking back for a response.

“You too.”

I started down the hallway toward my apartment. I heard the man step off behind me, but he passed me a moment later and continued toward the other end of the hall.

“See you around,” he said.

I stopped at my door and reached into my purse for my keys. It took me a while, but I had finally found my keys at the bottom of my purse and unlocked the door. Once I was inside, I closed it behind me and set the grocery bag with my leftover cheesecake on the entryway table. I was about to turn the deadbolt when I heard footsteps in the hallway. I paused and looked through the peephole. It was the man from the elevator. He was walking back in the direction we’d come from, and a few seconds later, he disappeared from view.

That was a little weird. He had said he was going to the ninth floor, but maybe he’d forgotten something downstairs or gone to the wrong apartment. I didn’t give it much more thought. I turned the deadbolt, secured the lock above it, and slid the chain into place. Then I checked the handle to make sure the door was shut all the way. I crossed the living room to the alarm panel and entered my code, disarming the system’s entry alert before setting it to stay mode for the night. Once the panel confirmed it was armed, I checked the balcony door and made sure it was locked too. Only then did I take off my shoes.

My phone buzzed while I was carrying the cheesecake to the kitchen.

Daddy: I’ll be there by 10 tomorrow morning. Love you.

I smiled and typed back.

Okay, Daddy. Love you too. Drive safe.

I put the cheesecake in the refrigerator and leaned against the counter for a moment. Daddy had gotten so much better about making time for me. These days, he called just to see how I was doing, stopped by when he could, and remembered little things I mentioned. If I told him I was having a rough week, he’d ask about it the next time we spoke instead of forgetting as soon as he got off the phone.

It hadn’t always been like that. There was a time when his work consumed him. His company was growing, and it seemed like every time I turned around, he was leaving for another meeting, checking another property, or taking a call that couldn’t wait. He loved me. I’d never doubted that. But when I was little, there were days when I saw more of the people who worked for him than I saw of him.

After Mama died, I think he believed keeping busy was the only way to get through losing her. I was five, too young to understand why he was always working and old enough to miss him every time he left. Then I was kidnapped. I could still remember how badly I wanted my daddy. I didn’t understand what ransom meant back then. I only knew that somebody had taken me, I wasn’t allowed to leave, and the people holding me kept talking about my father’s money. I cried for him until my throat hurt. Every time I heard a door open, I hoped he’d be on the other side of it. I didn’t know whether I would ever get to go home.

I eventually did, but I wasn’t the same little girl who’d been taken. For months afterward, I wanted Daddy close enough that I could see him. If he left the room without telling me, I went looking for him. I couldn’t sleep without checking my bedroom door, and I hated waking up to find the house quiet. Daddy changed after that too. He still worked. He had a company to run and people depending on him. But he started coming home when he said he would. He made it to school events. He learned to put his phone away when we were having dinner. And when I woke up frightened in the middle of the night, he came to my room and stayed until I fell asleep again.