Page 24 of Risky Game

“Reanna.”

“Reanna. Thank you again for watching over her.”

Her smile was genuine. “My pleasure. Bye, Amelia, you have a super fun time with your daddy and new friends, okay?”

“I will! Bye, Reanna!”

Reanna gave us a low wave before she turned back to the plane’s boarding ramp. Passengers were still unboarding, so I grabbed the handle of Amelia’s suitcase and pulled us out of everyone’s way.

I set her in a chair, crouched down in front of her, and plopped my hands to her cheeks. Pulling her, I peppered her chubby cheeks with kisses until she laughed and squealed and cried out for me that it was too many.

“I can’t help it. They’re kisses for every day I missed you so much.”

“Mommy’s in Itawy.”

“I know. But you’ll see her on the screen like you and I had to do, and she’ll be back before too long.”

“And then she’ll be back here?”

Back here? Did she think Vanessa was moving back with me when she came back? The airport wasn’t the place to have this talk, and I might have misinterpreted, but in case that’s what she meant, I stood and held out my hand. “How about we get your things and then we can get home and you can finally see your new room?”

Her little hand clamped onto mine, so small she could hardly wrap around my palm. I squeezed her tight.

“Yep. Mommy said it’s big enough for everyone to live in. She said it was pretty.”

Another frown pushed at my lips. And again, I ignored it. A crowded airport was not at all the kind of place to question Amelia. She’d had a long day and a wild few months. She had to be confused. I knew Vanessa thought the home was pretty because she’d told me, and even if she hadn’t, she would have made sure to have a positive attitude about it for Amelia’s sake. Trip to Italy aside, we were both fixated on doing what was best for our daughter.

“It is pretty, and I have a friend staying with us for a while for you to hang out with while I’m at work.”

“Like Brownie?”

Brownie was the neighbor’s dog in California and every time Amelia stepped outside, he came to the fence, wagging his tail and panting with excitement. He’d stay in one single spot until Amelia came back in. Never barked, never scared her or ran up and down the yard, just sat, waiting for her to come say hello to him and keeping an eye on her while she played.

“Um. Well, sort of? But she’s a person not a retriever. And maybe you shouldn’t compare Miss Ruby to a dog when you meet her.”

“Why not? Dogs are great!”

Yes, yes, they were. And so was Ruby, but I still doubted she’d be excited about that.

Small, quick feet dashed through the house and all the irritation and sadness I’d had over the last months about living alone evaporated as Amelia’s squeal bounced off the high ceilings and walls and her feet thundered straight to the backyard.

Her hands slapped the glass doors and made a squeaking noise as she tugged her hands down the glass. “Wow! Daddy! That lake is so much bigger than on the phone, and the pool is so pretty! Can we go play in it? Can we? Can we?”

She jumped on the floor and kept squeaking her hands against the glass. A forty-minute car ride home of her constant chatter and now all this excitement and I was desperate for a nap.

Yeah, I loved my daughter and her excitement, but I was far out of practice with the constant energy she had zipping through her. I scrubbed a hand through my hair and fought off a yawn.

“What if I show you the house first? Maybe we can have a snack or some dinner? See your room? Then after we eat, we’ll go swim.”

“I wanna swim in the lake!”

“I think the lake is more for boats and stuff right now.” I hadn’t even checked to see how deep it was. But I didn’t have a dock or a safe swimming area. That was put on my to-do list in the spring. She turned to me, shoved out her bottom lip, and her gray eyes turned to saucers. “But I never swam in a lake before.”

“No pouting.” I reached for her, picked her up, and threw her in the air. She squealed and I settled her on my hip and bopped her in the nose. “I need to make the lake safe for you first and it’s not ready. But maybe we can get a canoe or something so we can be out on the water sometime.”

“Today!?”

“No. Not today. Maybe when Papa and Nana come to see you?”

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