Page 120 of Daddy's Naughty List

Nori’s eyes lit up and she smiled.

“Nori! Your first real smile. We have to tell Dadd—Auntie Winnie and Uncle Reid.”

Connor wouldn’t want to know. Blinking back the tears that stung her eyes, she smiled as Nori blinked slowly and ground a chubby fist into her nose.

Bliss placed Nori back into her sleeper and set the vibration to the setting she liked the best. Within minutes she was asleep. Glancing at the clock, she was stunned to see that it was now two o’clock in the afternoon. That clock had to be wrong. How had it gotten so late?

Bliss caught her reflection in the mirror and scrunched her nose at the brown stain on her top where Sophie had tried to share her teething biscuit with her. There was nothing she could do about that now since the twins weresleeping in the room with all her clothes. She might as well get some cleaning done.

Before she made it to her supplies, someone knocked on the door. Who in the world? She never got visitors out here in the boonies. It was peaceful and quiet, and Bliss loved it. But Winnie’s house wasn’t on the way to anywhere. No one came by without calling first.

For one brief second, she wondered if it might be Connor, but she shoved that thought out of her head. It wasn’t Connor. It would never be Connor. She needed to move on.

Wishing she had a peephole, she cracked the door enough to see who had shown up unannounced. A woman she had never seen before stood stiffly on the front porch, her hair pulled back in a tight bun, a clipboard cradled in her arm, and an expression that hinted she had a corncob stuffed up her butt.

“Can I help you?” It occurred to Bliss she should have brought her phone with her. Why was it so hard to find pajamas with pockets?

The woman swept Bliss with a judgmental glare, sniffed her disapproval, and marked something on her clipboard.

Unease skimmed up Bliss’s spine.

“I certainly hope so. My name is Mrs. Talon. I’m an investigator with Child Protective Services. CPS has received allegations that the children here are being neglected and possibly abused. I’m here to investigate the claim to determine whether the allegations are true or false.”

Bliss’s lungs ceased to function. Her knees buckled, and she gripped the doorframe so she wouldn’t fall to the floor.

“Wh-what? Wh-who told you I was neglecting my children? I would never… My girls are my life.”

“Hmm. I’ll see about that. Our reports are strictly confidential and have the promise of anonymity. Now if you’ll step aside, I can get started with my investigation.”

Bliss didn’t move. What should she do? Slamming and locking the door sounded good. Did CPS people have badges?

“Mrs. Carpenter?—”

“Miss.” Bliss corrected the woman out of habit.

“I see.” The woman made a notation on her clipboard. Bliss wanted to throw up. “MissCarpenter, if there is nothing to hide, you shouldn’t mind if I come in and have a look around.” Mrs. Talon tried to look past her into the house.

Bliss’s thundering heart sank. Her house looked awful. She looked awful. The last thing she wanted was for this woman to come in and see it in this state. But she hadn’t done anything wrong. Sadie, Sophie, and Nori were all happy, healthy babies. Mrs. Talon would see that and go away, right?

She didn’t know what to do. Her vision grayed around the edges. That wasn’t good. How bad did the state of her house have to be before they tried to take her girls? They couldn’t take her children away. They couldn’t!

“Um, can I call someone first?”

Mrs. Talon sniffed again and looked at her watch. “If you must, but I don’t have all day. I’ll have to make a note that you were reluctant to allow me into your home.”

Bliss nodded. “N-no, I mean yes, I want to call someone. If you could just take a seat in one of the rocking chairs, I’ll be right back.” She didn’t wait for the woman to agree. Shutting the door, she raced across the room to her phone, grabbing at toys and dirty glasses as she ran.

Winnie. She needed to call Winnie. Her big sister always knew what to do. Blindly, she tapped the numbers on the phone with trembling fingers and waited for the call to connect.

“What’s going on, trouble? Is everything okay?” Connor’s voice, deep and concerned, was not what she expected, but was exactly who she needed. Because she was stupid and couldn’t let go of fantasies.

She was speaking before she could even think what to say. “Daddy? I need you.”

So stupid! He was going to think she was crazy. The last person he’d want to see right now was her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called. I didn’t mean to; I was trying to call Winnie. Hanging up now.”

“Belissa Jayne. Do not hang up this phone. I’ve been trying to get out to your place all morning. Now tell me what is going on.”

How could he sound like he cared when he absolutely did not? But he was big. And he could be scary. “I don’t know what’s going on. I mean… She’s here at the door and she wants to come in. Someone reported that I hurt my girls. You know I’d never do anything, but they’re going to take my babies?—”

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