Page 50 of Free to Fall

“Bailey, I need you to remember something really super important.”

“What’s that?”

“You can always come up and say hi no matter where I am or who I’m with.”

“Promise?”

I hold out my pinky and vow, “Pinky swear.”

That’s when I hazard a glance at Liam to find him focused on the two of us during our exchange. But long after he says his goodbyes and leaves for the office, I feel his gaze burning through my body, causing parts of me to throb.

Chapter

Twenty-Three

Shoving those emotions to the side, I focus on Bailey’s list before frowning. “Why don’t you have going to the beach listed? Do you not like it?”

Her head drops, and her small fist hits the chair she’s still bound to. “I can’t do it with my casts.”

With an impish grin, I grab an aqua crayon and write “B-E-A-C-H” on Bailey’s must-do list. “Nothing is impossible.”

I’ve been reading Bailey’s re-named “Summer of Fun” wish list to ensure there are enough indoor and outdoor activities. Despite her concerns about venturing outdoors with her casts, the first item on it makes me grin from ear to ear. “You want to learn to sew?”

She nods emphatically. “I want to make a pillow.”

I wonder, “Do they still teach that in school?”

“But not for years and years, Laura, and I need one soon.” Her little fist clenches on the crayon so hard I’m afraid it’s going to break.

I fold my fingers around hers to settle her frustration. “Why?”

“Because Daddy’s always complaining about how bad his pillows are. If I made him one, it would be better for him to sleep on.” Her child’s logic for something that would likely take Liam twenty minutes of online shopping simply melts my heart.

I remind her, “You know I’m a doctor, right, Bailey?”

She nods. I go on, “Well, I’m pretty good at stitches, so we can practice them.”

Bailey throws up her arms. “Yay!”

“Besides, when we’re ready, I know an expert who can help us.”

Her head cocks to the side. “Who?”

I tap my crayon next to her request to “Feel like a princess” and murmur, “Oh, I know one or two—” Or six. “People who could help us with a few of these items. Now, tell me. If you had to pick one you wanted to do today—right this minute—which one would it be?”

Mournfully, her little fingers trace over the word beach. “Daddy said the doctor was worried about my legs.”

I wink at her before slipping my cell phone out of my pocket. “Aren’t you glad I have connections?”

“What’s con-nessions?

“Connections. Make certain to pronounce the ‘T,’” I correct gently before explaining, “It’s a relationship—like friends—that is associated with an idea, like going to the beach.”

“Like you know someone who could suck up all the sand on the beach and move it to our backyard?” she yells excitedly.

“Even better than that. But before I see if we can do this, how would you feel if you had to wear garbage bags over your casts?”

She scoffs. “I have to do that every time I take a bath.”

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