Page 29 of Healing Hope

“Of course.” Jess flipped through the phone until she came to a picture of a young girl with thick, black curly hair and brown eyes. The huge smile on her face showed exactly how happy she was as a tall African American man held her on his big shoulders. A woman, smiling almost exactly the same as the little girl, leaned into the man’s arm.

“They look very happy.”

“Yes, they are there. Her father was deployed for a long time and her mother was having some health issues. So, I was hired to go in and help out for a few weeks.”

Hope nodded, still looking down. “But you left.”

“Well,” Jess said slowly. “The father came back and they didn’t need me then.”

“But what if I need you longer,” she asked, just above a whisper. “That girl has a mommy and a daddy.”

Jess sighed, wondering what she’d done to be given the care of this little girl’s heart. “I will stay as long as you and your daddy need me to, Hope.” Reaching forward, she drew Hope into her arms. The child crawled up her like a spider monkey and latched her arms around Jess’s neck, and Jess rubbed her back in calming circles.

They stayed like that until Paul walked into the kitchen. He paused at the doorway, and Jess met his eyes. She had a feeling he’d heard every word, which was probably a good thing. He could start thinking about what he’d need to do for Hope when Jess left.

There was a curious burning in her gut. Or maybe it was her heart. As she stroked her hand down Hope’s narrow back, she worried this job would not end easily.

Paul settled into the chair Hope had been in, and reached out to stroke her back as Jess held her. Jess’s breath stalled in her lungs. Yes, he was touching his daughter, but he was so close to touching her as well. She thought about what she’d told him the night before, about going to bed with him, and she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she would sleep with Paul Jameson before she left.

His eyes flicked to hers, and he must have seen or sensed something, because his eyes darkened, and his hand went still. Paul stared at her for a long moment, before a frown took his face. Jess knew she wasn’t going to like whatever came out of his mouth.

“They’re at a dead end,” he said softly.

It figured. “No leads at all? The security footage didn’t help?”

Paul had security cameras outside the house, but they must not have picked up any identifying markings or cars or anything. Damn.

Paul turned his focus to Hope. “Hope, can you look at me?”

Hope turned in Jess’s arms, but she didn’t leave her lap. It was like she needed the security, and Jess would give her that.

“You thought the man that broke in and tried to take you was Viktor,” Paul said softly. “Remember?”

Hope nodded. “Viktor was tall like that. But maybe it was just another tall man.”

Paul tilted his head in consideration. “Maybe. Was he your mother’s boyfriend?”

Hope made a face, her little nose scrunching up. “Kind of. He was around, but not all the time. He would bring Mom her medicine, then they would do the sex stuff, and he would go away.”

Jess fought not to react at the child’s words, but inside she was reeling. Tara had been getting medicine from Viktor, for sex. What kind of medicine?

“What kind of medicine was she getting, Hope?” Paul asked, his voice very deep.

“Some kind of pills. She called it candy, but it didn’t taste like candy when I ate one.”

That time Jess did gasp. She couldn’t help it. She turned Hope in her arms. “You took one of her pills?”

Hope blinked and her eyes went to her lap. “She spilled them, once, all over the kitchen floor. I just wanted to see. They didn’t look like candy. It made me really sick.”

Jess blinked and instinctively pulled the child into a hug, as if she could protect her from her past decisions. If Hope had taken a narcotic and had a reaction, or the dosage had been too high, she could have been killed or permanently damaged.

One glance at Paul’s face and she could see he was furious. Before he spoke and drew Hope’s attention, he calmed himself. He looked at her over Hope’s shoulder and shared the horror they both felt. Then he took a deep breath, and another. “Did she take a lot of these pills, Hope?”

Hope turned her head, nodding. “She took them all the time. And when she didn’t get them, she…”

The girl hesitated, glancing between them.

“Remember what I told you, Hope?” Jess asked her. “I won’t get mad at you for telling the truth.”