Page 10 of Doctor Frost

“Come, sweetheart,” I said, gently placing my arm around her and guiding her toward the locker room. I knew if I gaveDalton time to answer, she’d more than likely have a meltdown. I knew how the man worked. He took pleasure in saying no.

“Amelia, she’ll be fine. She’s overreacting,” I heard Dalton say as we walked away.

I ignored him as I heard him call my name again. We continued on to the locker room, where I helped her climb up on the counter before getting my things from my locker. I quickly started working on her hair. Twenty minutes later, I had her cute new hairstyle brushed out and styled.

“Wow!” she said excitedly as she hopped off the counter and glanced at herself in the mirror.

“You like?” I questioned.

“Very much. Thank you, Amelia,” she said, wrapping her arms around my waist. “You should be a hairdresser!”

“You are welcome. Now for one finishing touch. How about a spritz of hairspray?”

The young girl looked up at me. “I’d like that, doubt my dad will.”

I smiled and carefully sprayed her hair with a couple of spritzes. A part of me cheered inside, knowing that Dalton would probably hate it.

“There you go.” I smiled before carefully putting my things back into the small bag I carried them in for emergencies.

The young girl studied herself in the mirror and then turned to me. “Thank you, Amelia.”

“You are welcome, Claire. Now, how about we head back to where your father is and you can show him?”

“How did you do this?” she questioned, while I quickly washed my hands.

“Ah, just things you learn as a girl.” I smiled. “You will learn eventually as well.”

Sadness fell over her face as Claire looked in the mirror. “Oh,” she whispered.

“What is it?”

“Did you learn those things from your mom?”

I smiled and nodded. “I did.”

It was then I noticed her eyes watered. “Oh. I wish I had a mom to teach me those things.”

A wave of guilt and shock rolled through me at the same time as I looked down at this little girl, who finally looked up at me and smiled. Was Dalton divorced? Was their mother not a part of their lives? Did she run out on her children? Then I thought back to the other night, at the words I spewed at Dalton, and I swallowed hard, for once feeling guilty at how horrible I’d been in that moment.

“Well, Claire, if you ever need anything, I’d be happy to help you. I work with your dad, so you can always reach me at the office.” I winked.

I opened the door and held it while Claire ran out and right over to Dalton, who was standing across the hall from the women’s locker room. He took a couple of moments with Claire, hugged her, and watched as she ran off toward an older woman who stood there with a young boy.

I smiled as I watched their exchange and then turned to head back to the cafeteria and finish my lunch just as Dalton locked eyes with me. The look in his eyes differed this time from how he normally looked at me. It was softer, lighter, almost as if he were smiling.

I gave him what I was sure was a confused smile. It was almost as if there was now a human component to him for the first time since I’d met him, and I was really unsure how to take it. As we stood there looking at one another, I almost felt as if he were looking into my soul. I swallowed hard, nodded, and walked back to the cafeteria when I heard him call my name.

I stopped and glanced over my shoulder at him.

“Amelia, I just want to say, thank you.”

Shock at his words ran through me.

Without another word, he opened the door to the stairwell and was gone. I stood there, not sure what to do or how to accept what had just happened. In those mere seconds, for the first time, I finally glimpsed a completely different man.

Dalton

I staredat the wall in front of me, the tip of my pen resting on my lip. I’d not been able to get this afternoon out of my head. Watching Amelia deal with Claire had done something to me.

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