Page 36 of Fake It True

As soon as we’d gotten into cell range when we were flying back, I’d called Dora and my parents and left Casey a message.

Me: Heading home to see Dora, then I’ll stop by the café. Might have her with me.

When I got home, Dora flung herself at my legs, hugging them. My heart squeezed tightly as I knelt down to hug her.

“You’re home!” my daughter exclaimed when she finally let go.

“I sure am.” I squeezed her shoulders.

“The cats are fine,” she announced.

I chuckled as I glanced down at the cats. One of them was sniffing my boots and the other was twining around Dora’s ankles.

“Looks like you took good care of them.”

She nodded, her braids swinging with the motion. She proceeded to talk in a run-on sentence for the next ten minutesstraight. I got a minute-by-minute summary of the last few days. My mom was in the kitchen, tidying up from a snack she’d just made for Dora. She smiled at me at one point, her eyes warm.

Eventually, Dora ran out of words and stopped to take a deep breath before asking, “Are you going to see Casey? Grammy took me to see her yesterday and I told her I missed you and she said she missed you too.”

I chuckled. “Of course. Would you like to go with me?”

Dora squealed, bouncing up and down and clapping her hands.

“I take it that means yes,” I teased.

My mom gave Dora a hug and a wave, and off we went.

A small downside to having a child was I wanted Casey all to myself tonight, but that wasn’t an option. As I held her close and breathed her in, I had to bite my tongue to keep from telling her I loved her.

Dora wasn’t even shy. She smiled up at Casey. “Are you going to have a slumber party with Daddy tonight?”

Janet was behind the counter and snorted, while Josie waggled her brows when Casey’s cheeks turned bright pink.

“I’m not sure about that,” Casey finally hedged.

“I’m sure Daddy’s gonna say maybe he shouldn’t, but I think you should just come stay. We can watch my favorite show together,” Dora said, swinging her arms back and forth.

I looked down at Dora. “We’ll figure that out later, okay?”

Janet walked around the counter, reaching for Dora’s hand. “I want to take her on a tour of the kitchen. We have fresh donuts.”

“Can I have a donut?” Dora promptly asked.

“You sure can,” Janet replied with a chuckle.

Josie handed me a coffee and shooed us over to sit at a table. When I sat down across from Casey, she blurted out, “Should I stay? That was a lot, and I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” I reached for her hands, squeezing them before leaning across and giving her a kiss. I wanted a lot more than a kiss, but we were in public. I reluctantly leaned back and took a swallow of my coffee after I released her hands. I couldn’t say why, but I sensed she was worried about something. “Everything okay?”

She lifted a shoulder in a small shrug. “Pretty much. You’re going to hear about it. Josie, Luna, and Janet know the whole story. An officer from North Carolina called. There’s a whole investigation involving Nathaniel, and he was arrested.”

“Oh? Is he in jail?”

“He’s out on bail. It’s just stressful.”

I studied her, taking in the tight lines around her mouth, the worry flickering in her eyes. I wanted to hold her close, to protect her, to make it all better.

“Is there anything I can do?”

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