Page 29 of Vicious Cycle
“When you’re playing games with her, are you completely and totally there with her in the moment?”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Deacon demanded.
“Are you distracted, or are you focused on her?”
“You have no idea what all I’ve got on my plate right now.”
“While I can understand that, Willow can’t. You have to give her your undivided attention.”
Deacon appeared to be weighing my words. “Fine. I can do that.”
“Besides games, you can color with her.” At his skeptical expression, I replied, “Art is very therapeutic. If you want to know more about her life before she came to you, then get her to draw it.”
“I’m not sure I want to know about that,” he gritted out.
“That’s understandable. So maybe just stick to asking her to draw happy things.”
Scratching the stubble on his chin, Deacon replied, “I can do that.”
I smiled. “Even if she doesn’t talk to you, she’s a very good listener.”
“What the hell would a man like me talk about with her?” he demanded, as he swept his hands to his hips.
His usual scowl was back, and he looked at me like I had asked him to solve a difficult equation, rather than something as simple as talking to his daughter.
“Tell her about when you were her age.”
Sneering, he replied, “Those aren’t happy little stories to share, Miss Evans. I wouldn’t want to give her nightmares.”
The intensity of his stare, along with the tormented look in his eyes, caused me to look away. “I’m sure if you just sit down and try, the right words will come to you,” I said softly.
At the sight of Willow, he grumbled, “We’ll see.”
As I watched his retreating form I couldn’t help but wonder about all the demons he held within him. Willow interrupted my thoughts by skipping up to me with a handful of papers.
“Are you ready to see our classroom?” she asked.
“I’d love to.”
With a squeal, she grabbed my hand and then dragged me across the room. We reached a long hallway that was filled with doors on both the right and left sides. When we got to the fourth on the right, she flung it open. “What do you think?”
I gazed around the room. There were two old desks in the middle—one larger one for me and a smaller one for Willow. I don’t know how he had managed it, but Deacon had set up a white board on an easel. There was even a multicolored rug on the floor for story time. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. “It’s wonderful. Your daddy did a great job setting it up.”
As Willow beamed at my praise, I motioned to her desk. “Now, I think it’s time we got to work.”
CHAPTER SEVEN: ALEXANDRA
Two hours later found Willow finishing up on the last lesson of the day. I’d worked her hard, but she had enjoyed every minute of it. You never would have imagined she had missed any school at all. As I rose out of my chair, I smiled down at her. “Okay then, school’s over for today.”
Her lips curved down in a pout. “But I’m not finished.”
“We’ll finish tomorrow.”
“Okay,” she reluctantly replied, rising out of her seat. She took my hand, and we started into the hallway. When wereached the last door on the right, mortification filled me at the unmistakable sounds of a couple having sex.
Glancing down at Willow in horror, she merely smiled. “Uncle Bishop must be exercising again.”
“Exercising?”
