tissue paper and glitter for the decorating committee.
Finally, the talking was over. Everyone milled around, catching up on gossip as they waited to sign up on the clipboards on the front table. He started that way, easing through the crowd as best as he could, given that everyone there seemed to want to greet him personally. He’d exchanged small talk with half a dozen people and was less than halfway across the room when he felt a tug on his sleeve.
“Deputy?”
It was the chairwoman, now sporting rhinestone spectacles and wielding a clipboard.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“You’re new in town, aren’t you?” The question was just shy of an accusation, and the shrewd eyes behind the glasses were every bit as sharp as a seasoned detective’s.
“I am.” He extended a hand. “Alex Santiago. Nice to meet you.”
She gripped him with a wiry strength, then spoke over his shoulder. “Hold on, Tom, I’ll be right there.” Turning her attention back to him, she smiled. “I have to go handle that. But don’t worry. I’ll get you signed up myself.”
Grateful that he wouldn’t have to fight the crowd, he backtracked to the front door. He was almost there when it hit him. “Mrs. Rosenberg?”
From across the room she turned. “Yes?”
“Which committee are you signing me up for?”
“Oh, all of them, of course.”
Of course.
Cassie spent most of the drive home trying to figure out what to say to Emma about her valentines. She still wasn’t sure how to explain things in a way a four-year-old could understand, but she’d come up with something. She always did.
She set her purse down on the counter and put the old-fashioned kettle on the stove. “Emma, go put your backpack in your room, and get ready for your bath, please. I’ll be right there.” It was so late she was tempted to skip the bath part of bedtime, but changing the schedule would undoubtedly backfire and keep the tyke up later in the long run. Besides, after an afternoon romping on the beach and exploring the Sandpiper’s sprawling grounds, her daughter was in dire need of a scrub-down.
Enjoying the brief quiet, she kicked off her sensible shoes and opened the sliding door to the patio. The screened room was her favorite part of the house, especially at this time of year. The air was chilly by Florida standards, but still comfortable. Right now she would have loved to curl up on the old chaise with her tea and a cozy mystery, but tonight, like most nights, there just wasn’t time.
“Mommy, I’m ready for my bath.”
“Okay, I’m coming.” Duty called. Taking a last breath of the crisp night air, she caught the scent of the Lady of the Night orchid she’d been babying. It would bloom for only a few nights; hopefully she’d get a chance to enjoy it. But for now, she closed the door and went to find her daughter, stopping to fill her mug with boiling water and an herbal tea bag.
Emma was waiting in the bathroom, stripped down to her birthday suit and clutching her favorite rubber ducky. “Bubbles?” she asked hopefully.
“Bubbles. But only a quick bath tonight. It’s late.”
The little girl nodded solemnly. “Okay, Mommy.”
Cassie’s heart squeezed. No matter how stressed or tired she was, she never got tired of hearing the word Mommy from her baby’s lips. She couldn’t say she’d done everything right, but this little girl—she had to be a reward for something. She was too good to be anything but that. There was nothing Cassie wouldn’t do for her. Which was why it broke her heart to know she couldn’t give Emma her biggest wish.
“So did you have fun today at the Sandpiper?” She watched the water level rise around her daughter, the bubbles forming softly scented mountains.
“Yup. I played with Murphy and ate brownies, and we saw a butterfly, and Mr. Nic pushed me super high on the swings.”
Nic was Jillian’s husband. He had bought the Sandpiper for Jillian just a few months ago, and the playground was one of the first things he’d added to the grounds. He and Jillian were hoping for a child of their own soon, but in the meantime the paying guests—and Emma—made good use of it. “That sounds like a real adventure.”
“Uh-huh. And then Miss Jillian helped me make my valentines. I made one for her, and you, and for a daddy. We just need to get one so I can give it to him.”
Darn. The child hadn’t forgotten, not that Cassie was surprised. Emma had perfect recall when it came to what she wanted. Now to figure out a way to let her down without breaking her heart. “Honey, I can’t just go get you a daddy.”
Emma frowned up at her.
Okay, that didn’t work. “You are going to have a wonderful Valentine’s Day. You’re going to have a party at school with cupcakes and candy and everything. And then we’ll go to the big dance. It’s going to be great, you’ll see.”
“It would be better if I had a daddy. Then he could be our valentine. Like Mr. Nic is Jillian’s valentine. I heard him say so.”
Cassie blinked back the sudden sting of tears. She’d tried to be everything for Emma, to provide enough love for two parents, but the older Emma got, the more she realized something was different. Something, someone, was missing.
“A daddy would be nice,” she conceded. “But you have me. And we’re a great team, you and I. So if you don’t have a daddy right now, that’s okay, because we have each other, right?”
Emma looked thoughtful, her nose crinkling as she considered. “But why don’t I get to have a daddy? Lots of kids at school have one.”
The pounding behind Cassie’s eyes returned with a vengeance. Rubbing her temples, she tried to explain to her daughter what she still didn’t understand herself. “That’s just how it is sometimes. Some kids have mommies, and some kids have daddies, and some kids have both.”
“Oh, and some kids don’t have a mommy or a daddy, right? That’s why we get to have the Share the Love party, to help them, right, Mom?”
Cassie sighed in relief. “Right, honey. Those kids are in foster care with people that take care of them until they get a new mommy and daddy. Every family is different, and we just have to be happy about the one we have.”
Her face falling, Emma nodded slowly. “Okay.”
Watching her daughter’s solemn expression, Cassie felt like she’d kicked a puppy. The guilt sat heavy in the pit of her stomach, reminding her of how her choices had led to this. Her impulsiveness, her recklessness, had created this situation. For the millionth time, she fought the instinct to regret ever meeting her lying ex. But of course, without him, there would be no Emma. And that was simply unthinkable. Being a single parent was hard, but it was worth it.
That didn’t mean that she didn’t sometimes wish she had a partner in all of this. As she toweled Emma off and got her ready for bed, she wondered what it would have
