Page 43 of Kissing Her Rescuer

“It's crap.” She motioned to the rusted blue hood. “Look at it. Seriously? Carrie can't even ride in that unless you got that seat belt fixed.”

“I know the law, Eva.” He looked down his nose at the person who invented the term busybody. “She rides in the police car if I need to take her anywhere.”

“Because that's how an eleven-year-old wants to ride around, in the back of a patrol car.”

“She's barely seven, and she thinks it's cool.”

“She might like it now, but she'll hate it in a few years.” She held her arms out and wrapped him up tight for a forced hug. “It’s time, Dewey.”

He leaned back, looking down into hazel eyes he knew were identical to his own. “Time for what? Since when do you talk in riddles?”

“Never. I'll just tell you. Buy a new truck. Suck it up and spend the money I know you've squirreled away.” Eva glanced around. “That brings me to my second point. What does Eliza drive? There wasn't a car here when I pulled up.”

“She's sharing a car with her dad.”

She pressed her lips together, twisting them to the side, arms crossed, tapping her foot.

“Damn, but you’ve gotten bossy with age. You really have that old lady, mean teacher, look down.”

“I don't look mean.”

Dewey tapped her nose. “You're not on this side of your face.”

“Or old.”

He shrugged. It was either that or get socked in the stomach. The bruises from Cameron had finally faded.

“Shut up. Be serious for once.”

He sighed. “I've been nothing but serious since this all came to light.”

“I know.” She patted his arm. “I'm proud of you for stepping up this way.”

“Did you expect some other reaction?”

Eva leaned against the door frame, blocking his entrance and settling in for a good, old fashioned big sister talk. One he didn’t want. That’s why he’d let his mom drop the news on her.

Dewey crossed his arms. “Spit it out. What are you thinking in that brain of yours?” Because, right then, he wanted to see Carrie and eat his lunch.

“I was wondering if you could buy a new truck, but then let Eliza use it when she needed it. Like sharing.”

For once, his sister's idea wasn't bad. It wouldn't work, with his schedule and their homes so far apart, but something else would. Like buying Eliza her own car.

Would she accept it? He hadn't told her, but he'd already contacted the lawyer. It wasn't about the paternity test or getting his name on the birth certificate. One thought had plagued him since the beginning.

How much did he owe in back child support payments?

No amount could make up the past eight years she'd spent alone. The lawyer gave him a firm number, though.

Eva nudged him. “I lost you for a moment.”

“No. You pushed my mind into an interesting direction. I just have to figure out the logistics of it.” And how to present it to Eliza.

She tugged his arm. “C'mon in. I hear Carrie squealing, which means she either found those cookies I brought of Becky's or she saw you.”

“Great. I have equal footing with cookies.”

Eva rolled her eyes and shoved him through the front door. “You know good and well that Becky makes excellent cookies. You should be shocked that I even put you in that comparison.”

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