Page 55 of Sweet Poison

"Well, Winnie, that is a fantastic idea. Go ahead and invite her," I replied.

“Can I ask her to bring Tolstoy too?”

Now I understood why she wanted to have Miss Moore over. I grinned at her. “Sure.”

Her eyes instantly lit up at my agreement. "Thank you," she cried and ran into the house.

While she had her bath I quickly checked the perimeters of the house to ensure that everything was exactly as I had left it. Then I turned off the lights and reviewed some of the surveillance clips from the day.

So far, no one had come around or stopped in some car and watched from a distance. They were still unaware of where I had moved to, but I didn’t expect that to continue for too long. Paganini was not a man to just give up. His motto was if you fail, try and try again, until you find the motherfucker and make him pay.

Anya called out to me and I headed over to her bedroom. I tucked her in, read to her, and going through our ritual of telling her not to let the bed bugs bite her, I returned to my own room for a shower.

Then I called my mother’s nurse for an update. I got to speak to the Hungarian woman and I was pleased to hear that my mother was settling in well. I was even happier to hear that she finished a second portion of her favorite meal. I asked to be put on speaker phone and for a few minutes, I spoke to my mother. It was a monologue of course, but I lived in hope. That she could hear me and know that I’d never stopped loving her. That I’d always be there for her, no matter what. As long as there was breath in my body, I would never let her go.

I was lying propped up in bed and closing off some of my old clients’ accounts when there was a knock on my door. I didn’t think. My survival instincts immediately went into overdrive. Flinging the computer aside, I jumped out of bed and rushed to open the door.

Anya standing there, desperately clutching her favorite stuffed animal close to her body. I didn’t need to ask her to know that something had terrified her.

“I didn’t die. I just... I had a bad dream,” she whispered.

Relief washed over me. It was just a nightmare. It would have been abnormal if she didn’t have nightmares. So many changes had happened to her within the last few days, and so far, she had adjusted, and I loved her for it, but she was still just a child, it was too much too soon.

“Want to sleep here with me tonight?” I asked.

She nodded.

“Come on then,” I said and brought her into my bed. Soon her little body was tucked cozily in my arms, but she didn’t fall asleep right away. I could hear her heart still beating erratically.

"What was your dream about?"

"I'm not sure," she whispered.

I knew it was a lie and it saddened me, but I had to accept as she grew older, she would keep even more secrets from me.

"Goodnight, sweetheart. Don’t let the bed bugs bite you.”

She nodded against my chest. "Goodnight, Daddy.”

Chapter 34

Montana

”He’s not here?" Pearl asked. She was leaning against a table edge in the Pottery room and munching on a bag of popcorn.

I heard the question alright but I ignored it because I didn’t really think I had any business answering for Cole.

Pearl refused to take the hint. "Most parents are here. Everyone looks forward to these Friday events. Did you call him?"

I pulled my head out of the oven I had been so diligently cleaning and turned to her with a wry expression. "Thanks a lot,” I muttered.

"Why?" She popped another handful into her mouth.

"I just hit my head."

She looked entertained. "That's not my fault.”

"He should be here, though. Do you think he didn’t get the message? The moms are all waiting for him."