He set down his chisel, touched the wood with one scarred thumb, then placed the carving on the table, too. As he made his way quietly through the house he chastised himself for not being a better father. Maybe Serenity Bay wasn’t the best place for his daughter to grow up. Sure, his mom was here and she’d gladly offered all the mothering one small grandchild could want, but Serenity Bay was the back of nowhere. There was no ballet school or children’s theater here. Maybe Tati was missing out on something.
He pushed open the door of her room, ready to tease her awake.
His heart dropped like a stone.
The bed was empty.
He scanned the room, noticed her shoes were missing, as well as her doll. The window was pushed up, curtains fluttering in the warm autumn air. Surely she hadn’t gone outside by herself?
Oh, Lord, keep her safe.
He raced through the house, then outside around the back to the window of her room. Tiny footprints had rearranged the flowers he’d so painstakingly planted last spring, but Michael didn’t care about that.
“Tati?”
His heart hit overdrive as he pushed through the woods, found her hair band on the other side of the bridge. Thanks to a dry summer the creek down here wasn’t much more than a trickle, but farther up… He raced along the trail until he came to the old stone church he worshipped in every Sunday.
Where was she?
He stood for a moment, eyes narrowed, assessing the view. Finally his heart gave a bump of relief when he spotted the familiar dark curls beneath the apple tree. She had her doll with her, the one her mother had given her. A red wagon, the one Tati dragged everywhere she went, was turned upside down, forming a stool for her bottom.
Anxious not to scare her, he fought to control his breathing as he listened to her discussion with the beautiful bride doll she never let out of her sight.
“You mustn’t run away again, Princess,” she said in soft admonishing tones. “Daddy doesn’t like it and Mommy can’t follow you. I know the other children come here sometimes and you want to play with them, but you have to ask me first.”
His words exactly. So she knew she was in the wrong.
“Tati?” He stepped closer, crouched down beside her. “What are you doing here?”
“Playing. Princess and I like to catch the leaves. You know, Daddy, for our book.” She pointed to a stack of curled up reddish leaves spread out at her feet.
He remembered the big books she’d stacked on the floor. Ah. Presumably there were leaves between the pages. He’d have to take them off the shelf and put them back before she discovered he’d moved them.
At the moment there were more important concerns.
“Yes, your book is nice. But Tati, you know very well that you are not allowed to come here by yourself.”
“I wasn’t alone, Daddy. Princess was with me.” She blinked that guileless expression that punched him right in the gut. “You didn’t say Princess couldn’t come, Daddy.”
“I didn’t say you could come. I said you had to ask me before you went anywhere. You didn’t ask. That’s disobeying.” Michael struggled to keep himself from weakening when those big brown eyes met his. Staying firm with her was the hardest part of being a father. “I was worried about you when I saw that you weren’t in bed, Tatiana.”
“I wasn’t tired anymore and a bird was calling. I’m sorry, Daddy.”
“I know you are. But that isn’t the point.” He brushed the curls off her forehead, tipped her head up so he could look into her eyes. “It’s dangerous to go through the woods yourself, especially in the fall. Sometimes there are animals around. That’s why I said you have to ask me.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
He’d have to get a fence up around the yard, fast.
“That’s not enough. I told you not to go outside by yourself.”
She kept staring at him. Michael reached down, grasped the handle of her wagon, praying she’d move, that he wouldn’t have to physically force her to comply. He wasn’t good at the battle of wills she occasionally set him.
“Come on, now. We have to go home. And next time you may not come here unless you ask me first.”
He hated bawling her out but many more disappearances and he’d be grayer than the oldest man in Serenity Bay.
“I’m not finished playing.” Her chin butted out in that determined way that told him she was ready for a battle.
Michael’s heart sank but he knew he couldn’t give in.
“Yes, honey. You are finished. We’re going home. Now.” He waited a moment, and when she didn’t move he gently lifted her off the wagon, turned it right side up and stacked her leaves in it. “Climb in. I’ll pull you back.”
Tati shook her head, curls flying. She began picking at her doll, tugging off the tiny socks. Before he could react she’d headed for the brook—and it wasn’t a trickle there.
“Princess wants to wash her feet in the water.”
“Stop!” He gasped as he fought to control his breathing. “Tatiana, you may not ever go in that water without me. Do you understand?” Panic assailed him in a wave that sent his hand out to grasp her shoulder. “Never. Come on. We’re leaving. Now.”
“No!” She jerked away from him, her dark eyes blazing with temper. “I don’t want to go.”
“I’m sorry about that but we have to. Get into the wagon, Tati. I’ll give you a ride home.” Before she could argue any further he wrapped his arms around her forearms and lifted her off the ground.
“No!” she bellowed, her face a rich angry red. “I won’t. Leave me alone.”
She struggled against him, her shoes making painful contact with his midsection while her elbows dug into his chest.
“I don’t want to go with you. Let me go!”
“Stop this right now. You’re coming with me if I have to force you—”
“Put her down!”
The fury in that voice commanded his attention. Michael glanced around, saw a tall, slim woman with a cascade of silver-gilt hair glaring at him. She stood a few feet beyond his reach, her stance alert as if she might race away any moment. Or attack him.
“Excuse me?” Michael frowned, noted the way her hands curled into fists at her sides.
“I said put her down. And I meant it. Do it now. Otherwise I’m calling the police.” A cell phone appeared in her fingers, flipped open.
Tati had gone completely still. Michael took one look into his daughter’s curious face and knew he had to get this settled, fast. Before the little girl found a new way to create chaos in his once-normal world.
“Look, Miss Whoever You Are. You have no idea—”
“My name is Ashley Adams, if that matters.” She stepped an inch closer, touched Tati’s hand with a gentle brush. Her eyes rested on his child, softened for a moment, then returned to him.
The softness dissipated. Now her eyes glittered like rocks. Her other hand slid into her purse. She looked like a city girl, which meant she was probably carrying some kind of protection. He prayed it wasn’t a gun.
“You’re the one with no idea, buddy. Put that child down on the ground and do it fast. Then get out of here. I don’t care how you leave, but you’ll only take her with you over my dead body.”
She was serious. So was the can