Daddy Lessons

All morning the little girl had been unable to concentrate on even the simplest problems. Maybe a different method of teaching was in order. And Hailey had just the idea of how this was to be done.

“First I have to put on my wings,” Natasha said.

Hailey didn’t bother to stop her. One step at a time, she reminded herself.

A few moments later, wings firmly in place, she and Natasha were headed down the narrow stairs inside the apartment leading to the store below.

“We have to be quiet,” Hailey whispered. “We don’t want your daddy to get angry with us.”

Hailey pushed open the door and was greeted by the buzz of conversation and the chiming of the cash register as Dan’s mother rang up another sale.

The wooden floor creaked under her feet as she and Natasha crept toward the bins at the back of the store, where Hailey knew they wouldn’t be in anyone’s way. She couldn’t see Patricia or Dan. So far, so good.

“The Makita is a good choice,” she heard Dan’s deep voice say on the other side of the aisle. “You won’t regret it.”

“That’s my daddy,” Natasha called out and pulled her hand free before Hailey could stop her. Natasha’s glittery wings bounced as she jogged down the aisle. As she rounded the corner, one wing caught the edge of a toolbox and stopped her headlong rush. As Natasha lost her balance, the box toppled toward her and knocked her over. She sat a moment, looking shocked, and then her wounded cries reverberated through the store.

“Natasha. What are you doing here? Where’s Miss Deacon?”

Hailey caught up to Natasha at the same time as Dan, not surprised at the suppressed anger in his voice. Hailey pulled the box off Natasha and Dan pulled his now-sobbing daughter up into his arms. He brushed her tangled hair off her face, looking her over as she kept crying.

“I think she’s more scared than hurt,” Hailey said over Natasha’s wails, trying to put the box back on the shelf.

“What is she doing down here?” Dan asked as he tucked Natasha’s head against his neck. Then, behind Dan, Hailey caught the curious glance of the customer Dan had been helping. Great. Carter’s gray eyes sparkled with mischief and the smirk on her cousin’s face told her that whatever happened here would be reported posthaste to Nana, her sister Shannon and Carter’s fiancée, Emma.

“Thanks for the help, Dan,” Carter said. “I’ll go pay for this.”

“Let me know how that drill works out for you,” Dan replied, the scowl on his face showing Hailey how bothered he was at this interruption.

Carter winked at Hailey, then left, his cowboy boots echoing on the wooden floor.

“So why are you here?” Dan set Natasha on the floor, his scowl deepening. “I hired you so I wouldn’t have to deal with these kinds of distractions.”

“Natasha has been having difficulty staying focused, so I thought we could try some hands-on problem solving.” Hailey strived to sound as though she was in control of the situation.

“I thought your job was to get her to stay focused?” Dan growled.

Hailey put on her most pleasant expression and nodded. “This is a transition time.”

Dan’s hazel eyes narrowed. “I still don’t see how bringing her down here and disrupting things will help her.”

Hailey forced herself to stay calm and not get pulled into the challenge she saw in his gaze. “I’ll make sure she stays out of your way and doesn’t bother customers. It’s just for a few moments, to give her a bit of a break.”

Dan shook his head. “I prefer if you keep her upstairs. She has to learn to stay on task. That’s what I hired you for.”

“You also hired me to use my judgment, right?” She forced a smile, hoping she didn’t sound as contrary as she felt.

Dan didn’t return her smile. “I hired you to do what I want. Right now I want you to take her upstairs and work with her there. Goofing around in the store won’t help her make the transition.”

He held her gaze a beat, as if to reinforce what he’d said.

Though every part of her rebelled, Hailey guessed this was not the time and place to argue with him.

Natasha pulled on her hand. “Can we go do my schoolwork now?”

Lowering her shoulders Hailey took a deep breath to relax. She’d have to find a better time to have this discussion with Dan. But they would have it. He had hired her to do a job and if he didn’t like her methods, then he would have to find someone else.

“We’re going back upstairs, sweetie,” Hailey said, putting her hands on Natasha’s shoulders.

“I don’t like it in the ‘partment. I want to be here with my daddy.”

Well, your daddy doesn’t want you to be here with him.

Hailey knew that wasn’t entirely true. Dan had his own ideas of how Natasha should be schooled but, unfortunately, they didn’t coincide with hers.

“I like this sandwich.” Natasha grinned as she looked up from the plate Hailey had set in front of her. “How did you make it look like a rabbit?”

“Your grandmother has a great big cookie cutter in the shape of a rabbit,” Hailey said. She remembered when Dan’s mother had brought the cookie cutter up from the store. Dan and Austin had teased Mrs. Morrow about the humongous cookies she would be making with them and how fat they would all get eating rabbit cookies.

The memory teased up other emotions, which she fought down with a sense of dismay. Was this how it would be for the rest of her time teaching Natasha? Old memories and old emotions constantly assaulting her?

She took a quick breath. Just get through it.

“Aren’t you making a sandwich?” Natasha asked, swinging her feet as she picked up her rabbit.

“Not for me. I’m going to eat with some friends at a café,” Hailey said, just as the stairway door creaked open.

Dan stepped into the apartment, talking on his cell phone. “I needed that order yesterday,” he said as he bent over Natasha’s head and gave her a kiss.

When Hailey got back from the kitchen with the sandwich she had made for him, he had finished his phone call.

“How was your morning, munchkin?” Dan asked, sitting down beside Natasha as Hailey set a plate in front of him. “Did you get lots of work done?”

“I got bored and then I got sad.” Natasha delivered the comment with a sorrowful look Dan’s way, and just in case he didn’t get that, she added a dramatic sniff.

“What were you sad about?”

“My mommy.”

Dan pulled the corner of his lip between his teeth, then pointed to the plate in front of her. “But look at the cool sandwich Miss Deacon made for you. It looks like … a rabbit?” He shot Hailey a puzzled look.

“I used that old cookie cutter of your mother’s.”

“She still has it around?” Dan’s mouth quirked up in a grin, which didn’t help Hailey’s equilibrium around him. She’d thought he would still be upset with her for taking Natasha downstairs. It appeared she’d been forgiven.

“I thought it would make her sandwich more interesting,” Hailey returned, wrapping her purple sweater around herself. “So, if you guys are good, I’m heading down to Mug Shots for lunch.”

Dan’s puzzled expression held a touch of relief. The awkwardness between them was palpable and she guessed he would be more comfortable if she left.