Page 53 of Free to Fall

“Intellectually, you might not think she shouldn’t need to.”

“You think differently?”

“For your daughter’s sake. Laura’s going to be in her life; it’s something you may want to discuss with her. She’s a doctor.” He places the frame down and makes his way to the door.

Just as he’s about to pass me, I catch his arm. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Jonathan shoots me a piercing look before he shakes off my grip. “My sister’s mission in life is to heal people—everything about them. She took an oath to do just that. It almost got her killed. She won’t hesitate to use everything in her arsenal to heal a little girl—especially one who suffered the same trauma she did.”

With that, he saunters out of my office. Confusion spiking my temper, I drop back into my office chair and clasp my hands behind my head.

“Christ, why do I have to share with my nanny the circumstances of how Bailey came to live with me full time?” I bitch at the ceiling. I never did with Mrs. Destry.

But Laura isn’t Mrs. Destry, is she? my conscience taunts.

Giving myself no wiggle room and no solid answers appearing out of thin air, I return to work. I’m neck deep in pulling the data for a government audit when there’s a knock on my door jamb. My head whips to the side, and Tony stands there. He frowns, “You were on do not disturb when I received a call from someone who indicated she’s your nanny? Hearing what she said with the background noise was tough, so I didn’t recognize the voice. I barely understood you have her number.”

Panic crashes over me like a tidal wave. I lift my cell phone up to see that Laura indeed tried to call seven times. “Christ. What could have happened?”

Tony grunts but leaves me to my privacy as I scroll through my contacts for Laura’s info. Pressing Dial, I wait for the call to connect. Panic surges through me as I think of all the possibilities. My baby girl.

The most precious part of my heart.

Laura wouldn’t have called unless something happened.

Chapter

Twenty-Five

When the call connects, I recognize the sounds of a crash made by the cresting of a wave and my little girl’s giggle. I demand frantically, “Bailey, where are you? Is everything okay?”

Her joyous sounds are cut off. Voice warbling, I hear her say, “I think you’d better tell Daddy where we are, Laura. He sounds unhappy.”

Huh? I barely have time to assimilate anything before Laura comes on the line. Apologetically, she explains, “Bailey was so excited to share where we are. I didn’t think you’d be upset at us calling.”

Trying to get my heart rate under control, I reach up and undo the knot in my tie so I can suck some air into my lungs. It also gives me a moment to not blast my nanny from here into kingdom come for scaring the shit out of me. “I thought there was an accident.”

“Why would you think that?” Laura wonders.

“Why would you call seven times?” I challenge. My heart rate slows when I hear Bailey giggle again.

Thank god nothing has happened to her.

The sounds of my daughter’s laughter fade as Laura obviously takes a step away from her so she doesn’t overhear her next words, which take the wind out of my sails. “Because your daughter wanted to share her joy with you.”

Her words make me feel like shit. “Laura, I—”

She goes on to say, “If there was a true emergency, Liam, and I couldn’t get through you, I would have called 9-1-1. Then I would have had Tony connect me to a member of my family who easily could have raised the alarm with you without causing an overwhelming amount of panic.”

Before I can form a retort to her calm, cool logic, she finishes with a stern, “Check your texts, Liam. Bailey is pleading with me to send you a few photos. We’ll let you get back to work.”

Jonathan Lockwood’s words ring through my head. I was taking my fear of Ashleigh’s actions out on Laura without realizing it. Shit. “Laura? I jumped to conclusions.”

“Apology accepted.”

I hadn’t apologized, but I appreciate her letting me off the hook with her swift understanding. Raking a hand through my hair, I expound a bit, “For the last year, it’s just been Mrs. Destry watching her. I knew what to expect when the phone rang.”

Beyond Laura’s silence, I can hear my daughter’s laughter mingled with another girl’s, making me wonder where Laura took her. Her voice softens into a tease when I question her. “Check your phone, Dad. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised in just a minute.”

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