“Look,” she said, “we’ll bring her here and put her in the day care center. And if that doesn’t work, we’ll put our heads together and come up with something else.”
The elevator stopped on the ground floor and opened. Silas tipped his hat at Darcy as she stepped out of the elevator and walked rapidly to the doors that led to the parking garage.
“Why do you care?” Eli asked. He almost had to trot to keep up with her.
“Why do you care that I care?” she asked, shoving open the door.
Cool air, with a hint of moisture and a promise of snow, surrounded them. He didn’t like her butting into his business, but he didn’t know how to keep her out. She was like a hurricane with two legs and enough power to knock a fifty-story building down.
She walked to the nearest car and clicked on her remote. A Mercedes beeped and as he approached he saw that it was a brand-new hybrid. He didn’t even know Mercedes produced a hybrid.
Darcy’s cell phone chirped. She answered and listened for a moment. Then closed the phone. “That was Mabel,” she said as she sat down and put her key into the ignition. The car purred to life. “The officer arrived and is with your daughter.”
“Nice car,” Eli said, feeling relieved that Roo was safe, as she backed out of her spot and he saw her name, Ms. Darcy in large letters on the wall of the garage.
“Thanks. It’s a Christmas present to myself.”
“Don’t you think it’s in poor taste to spend this amount of money in this economy?”
One elegant eyebrow rose and for a second he was back in second grade with a teacher who’d used the same “we are not amused” look.
“I bought this from Hanson’s Mercedes-Benz. Mrs. Hanson and her five daughters are some of my best customers. If we are going to get out of these recessions, we need to spend money and since I have money to spend, I did. Eventually I’m going to get it all back when Mrs. Hanson and her daughters show up today for their annual Christmas shopping spree. And finally, we should all be driving a hybrid.”
She paused at the stop sign at the exit, and made a right turn when a break in traffic allowed.
I’m not going to feel guilty about my Escalade. I’m not going to feel guilty about my Escalade… I’m going to feel guilty… Great, now she had him worried about the environment.
She’d programmed his address into her GPS and as they slid through the downtown traffic the voice-activated directions took her directly to his house.
Chapter 3
Darcy parked in the circular drive that curved around the front of a pleasant two-story house with a veranda that completely surrounded it. Lush gardens flanked the house and spreading oak trees shaded the veranda. At the bottom of the stairs leading up a wide front porch sat a police cruiser. Before she’d even put the Mercedes in park, Eli opened the passenger door and was sprinting up the stairs to the front door.
Darcy turned off the motor and jumped out, racing after him.
He left the front door open and she stepped into a tidy foyer with marble tile on the floor, solid wood paneling on the walls and a round table in the center with a floral arrangement on top. She stopped in the archway leading to the living room and found herself smiling.
A little girl, maybe seven years old, sat on a sofa clutching a pink teddy bear to her chest. Her skin was a beautiful golden brown and her eyes were brown with hazel flecks. Next to her sat the officer. He held a storybook on his lap and was reading, his voice changing as he spoke each character’s dialogue. The little girl giggled when his voice rose up and down and she giggled again when he growled. “You sound just like my daddy when he reads to me.”
“Roo,” Eli said.
Roo looked up. “Daddy!” she cried, and jumped to her feet. She wore dark blue pants and a light blue T-shirt with a bow on the neckline. She ran to Eli and he swept her up into his arms and kissed her.
Darcy watched enchanted, surprised at the tenderness in his eyes and careful way he handled her. The bullheaded businessman had been replaced by a caring father and Darcy was impressed even though she didn’t want to be.
“Sir, I’m Officer Mike,” he said with a grin.
“Thank you, Officer,” Eli said.
“My pleasure, sir.” He picked up his cap, smiled at Darcy and headed out the front door.
“Hello, Roo,” Darcy said.
Her head appeared around her father’s neck. “Only my daddy calls me Roo. My name is Sophia.”
Darcy repressed a laugh. “Of course, Sophia. My apologies. I’m Darcy Bennett.”
Sophia struggled out of her father’s arms, and Eli set her down.
Darcy stooped to kneel on the floor. “Hello, Sophia. Would you like to come with me and your daddy to…m—the store?” She’d almost said “my store,” but managed to stop herself in time. “We have a nice area for playing and even story time. And Santa is arriving at noon.”
“Santa!”
“Yep!”
“My daddy says there’s no such thing as Santa.” Sophia slanted a glance at Eli from beneath her lashes.
Darcy rocked back, surprised. This little girl was too young to have her dreams taken away. She fought the desire to glare at Eli. “If that’s the case then why would he come to Bennett’s?”
“But…”
Darcy leaned forward. “You know, Sophia, sometimes daddies are a little confused.”
Eli glared at Darcy, but she shrugged it off.
“I’ve never gone to work with Daddy before,” Sophia said as she slid her hand into his.
“I used to go to work with my daddy all the time. Why don’t you get what you need and we’ll be on our way.”
Sophia tugged on her dad’s hand. He leaned down and she whispered in his ear. Then she trotted off.
When she was gone Eli turned to Darcy. “Don’t you toy with my daughter’s affections,” he growled.
Darcy pushed herself back up on her feet. “I didn’t know being nice to a seven-year-old was toying with her affections. Your opinion of me is a little skewed. I’ll be waiting in the car.” She turned around and walked out.
* * *
With Sophia safely with the day care staff and playing with another little girl around her age, Darcy took Eli on his first official tour of Bennett’s as the new owner.
Darcy was proud of what her family had done. She took him down to the first floor and started introducing him to the staff who weren’t with customers. Darcy felt a little pang seeing how many people weren’t shopping. Though the doors continued to open and close, only one or two entered instead of the crowds they’d had in the past.
As they made their way through the store, working their way up floor by floor, Darcy explained each department, who headed it and even introduced him to customers. Every few moments he made a note in a small notebook he held in one hand and Darcy wondered what he was writing down. What was he planning on changing in her store? She took a deep breath to control her racing emotions. Darcy promised herself that when her mother and her gigolo got back from their vacation, she wasn’t going to hit them with the heel of her Manolos.
She knew things weren’t great at the store, but they were holding on. Darcy was hurt that her mother let her stepfather do this to Darcy. She had wanted to be a fine artist but her passion was greater than her talent. Coming back to run Bennett’s had been the smartest choice she’d ever made and