handsome face, Candy felt a sharp pang of disappointment.
“Gail wanted Angelica to have good influences in her life. Strong women to help guide her. She made me promise I’d make sure it happened.”
“It is important. And your aunt and sister are wonderful influences.”
“They are, and they love Angelica nearly as much as I do. When Milly left, Angel was missing that. Mil was the main female influence in her life. I think her leaving reminded me of my promise to Gail.”
He looked away and Candy’s curiosity was piqued.
“What did she want, specifically?” she asked when it looked as though he might not continue.
“She wanted me to make sure a black woman was a part of Angel’s life.” His face flushed.
Candy carefully considered her words before she spoke. She didn’t want to offend Davis, his deceased wife or her request. It wasn’t for her to make any judgment on what the woman wanted for her child.
“I can see where that would be important for her. Particularly if she knew she wouldn’t be there for Angelica, as she grew up,” she said as gently as she could.
“She did know. That was the hardest part. For Angelica.” She heard the sadness in his voice, although his face was carefully blank. “She had very specific things she wanted for Angelica. A lot of those suggestions came from her grandmother.”
His square jaw tightened. He stood from the chair and walked over to her large window, staring out into the outdoor basketball court.
“Does Angelica have close contact with family members on her mother’s side?”
“No,” he said abruptly. “It’s complicated.” He continued staring out the window for long moments, before he turned back to face her. “Like I said, Gail was pregnant when we met, although she says she didn’t know it at the time.” Candy kept her face neutral, although she caught his slip.
“Gail was raised by her grandmother. She was a strict old woman. Her grandmother cautioned her about me raising Angel alone when she knew of her cancer. ‘That man has no business raising Angel alone’ was how it was put by a few well-meaning friends. Yet none of those well meaning friends stepped up to help raise her. Not that I wanted any of their help.”
“And her grandmother…?” she allowed the sentence to dangle.
Davis returned to his chair and sat. “Her grandmother is elderly. She doesn’t see Angel often.”
When he said nothing more, Candy dropped the subject. She was surprised he’d told her as much as he had.
“I have to meet with her principal, her teacher and the school social worker this coming Tuesday…and I don’t want to do this alone.”
“Can your sister or your aunt go with you to the school?”
“They could and would, but I think I want to go another route with this.”
“What do you have planned?”
He squinted his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes never leaving hers. Candy sensed his unease.
“Would you consider coming with me? I think it would help the situation, if you were to be there.”
Her surprise, she knew, showed on her face. Davis mistook her shock for reluctance.
“Look, I’m sorry. This probably wasn’t a good idea. I told Milly—” he started, rising from his chair.
“No, wait. I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it—you spoke about this with your sister?” she stopped her explanation to ask.
“She thought it would be a good idea to ask you if you’d consider helping—look, I know this isn’t your problem. I shouldn’t have involved you in this.”
“No, it’s not that. I don’t mind helping. It just surprised me that you asked. That’s all. I consider it a part of my job to help any child or parent in need. You, Angel, and your family are important to Girls Unlimited. So anything I can do to help your family, I am happy to do.”
“Thank you. It means a lot.” He sat back down.
“Anything I can do to help, I will. The well-being of my girls at the center is important to me.”
“I appreciate it, Candice. I know you take your job seriously, as well as the girls, here. I admire you for that.” His steady regard roamed over her face, looking for what, she didn’t know.
Whatever it was he must have been satisfied. His once-taut features relaxed and he sat back more easily into his chair.
“It sounds like an interdisciplinary team approach to the problem.”
“What is that?” he asked.
“Nothing major, just the way most schools and social agencies work to help resolve an issue. You said her teacher as well as her principal and social worker are coming to this meeting?”
“Yes,” he confirmed.
“Then it seems as though this has gone to the next step. Which isn’t a bad thing,” she quickly interjected when she saw the instant look of worry cross his handsome face.
“You don’t have to try and make me feel better. I know it’s not a good thing when you have to meet with your child’s entire school network,” he laughed humorlessly. “Maybe with you there they’ll see I’m trying to correct the problem.” He glanced down at his watch.
“What time is the meeting and when do you want me there?”
When he smiled widely and the slashes appeared on either side of his cheeks, Candy’s heart lurched in response.
“Tuesday after school, around three o’clock…can you make that?”
“Of course. I just hired a new assistant, Pauline Rogers. Sister Pauline is what most of us call her,” she laughed lightly, thinking of her eccentric new assistant. “She’ll be here to help the other staff. It shouldn’t be a problem.”
“That sounds great. Thank you, Candice.”
“Call me Candy. Most of the kids do.”
“I wondered if that was your real name or not. You don’t mind the kids calling you by your first name?”
“Not really. Most of them call me Miss Candy Cain, which sounds even sillier,” she laughed with self-deprecating humor.
Davis laughed a low husky laugh that sent goose bumps racing down her arms. She knew she was beyond help when even a laugh from him gave her the shivers.
“I’d better go,” he said after glancing down at his watch again. “I didn’t know it had gotten so late.”
At the same time he stood from his chair, Candy jumped down from her perched position on the desk. She lost her balance enough so that she fell against his hard body.
