LITMIR.BIZ

       Chapter Seven

      Kendall opened the front door and found Heath leaning against her SUV. One hand held a donut with sprinkles, and the other had a large coffee. Skylar Dawn ran past in her pink jeans and matching jacket.

      “Daddy!”

      Heath set the coffee cup down on the hood and lifted their daughter to his hip. He received his hug and smooches, then set their almost-four-year-old on the ground.

      “Is that for me?”

      “Yepper doodles.” He smiled like Kendall hadn’t seen him smile in months. “Jump inside and buckle up first.”

      He opened the door, got Skylar Dawn settled inside and handed her the donut, complete with a set of napkins to cover her favorite blue bunny shirt she wore in honor of Bumble the rabbit.

      Kendall stood there, finishing the last bit of coffee in her travel mug before setting it on the front porch. Without looking, she knew her mother disapproved behind the curtain. She didn’t care.

      Heath was a great father.

      Their baby girl had cried herself to sleep the night before. The tearstains had been apparent on her plump little cheeks. It had been a rare occasion that Kendall hadn’t made it home to tuck her into bed. Then she’d noticed her phone battery had gone dead. When she plugged it in, there were numerous messages from Heath.

      They’d ranged from upset about her mother to extremely worried about where she was to wondering why she was ignoring him and offering to pull himself from the Public Exposure investigation. She’d texted that her phone had died and received a Great in response.

      Of course it wasn’t great. Their situation was far from great.

      But watching him with their daughter made her knees melt. He showed so clearly how much he loved Skylar Dawn. It brought tears to her already puffy eyes. She hadn’t slept. A recurring vision of what could have happened at that intersection had kept her awake most of the night.

      “Come on, Mommy,” Skylar Dawn said between bites.

      “That better be a double shot, skim with a dash of vanilla,” she answered from the porch before joining them.

      “Why would I order you anything else?” He smiled at her, too.

      But as he handed it to her, he glared at the window where the curtains moved slightly. She didn’t blame him. Her mother had no right to decide Skylar Dawn shouldn’t speak with her father.

      That was a direction in which Kendall never wanted to head. No matter what happened between her and Heath, their daughter would never be used to hurt him. She’d made both of those points clear to her mother as soon as they’d gotten up.

      “How did you know to bring the donut this morning?” she whispered as she passed him.