Page 8 of Hidden Desire

She wiggled and giggled. “What?”

“We found a nanny for you.”

Hannah’s eyes widened. “Really. Is she nice?”

“Yes. I think the two of you will get along very well. Do you want to meet her?”

“Yes,” Hannah shouted.

He turned around. “Hannah, this is Grace.” He studied the woman and saw the happiness on her face. “Grace, this is my grem—I meanchild, Hannah.”

Grace smiled but didn’t say anything.

Hannah stuck her finger in her mouth and stared at Grace. Nothing was said for a long time as the girls stared at each other, and Robert had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.

The two girls started moving when Taylor loudly cleared her throat.

Grace held her hand out to the child. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Hannah shook her hand. “You, too.”

The other two adults smiled.

“Hannah, what do you think about showing Grace around? Just inside, though. Stay out of the solarium, too. You can show her the backyard tomorrow.”

“Yes, Daddy.”

He set her on her feet and watched her take Grace’s hand. The young woman didn’t hesitate and just followed his daughter.

“Oh, my, if that wasn’t the cutest thing I’ve seen in a while,” Taylor said and chuckled.

“It was like they had never seen a person before,” Robert said.

“Before you go, I wanted you to be aware of a few things.”

Robert gave her his full attention. She very rarely used this tone of voice, and when she did, it was serious.

“When I was helping Grace unpack, I found food in her shoes.”

Robert’s brows pinched together. “Why?”

“The only thing I can think of was she had to go without at her father’s house,” Taylor said.

“Jesus. I knew the guy was a jerk, but to starve his daughter?”

“There’s more. I cupped her shoulders, and she flinched. I asked her if she was hurt, and she told me she was clumsy and ran into a door.”

“Fuck.” He thought about the next step he should take but considered calling in a few of the men from the Society. “Find out more if you can. I want all the information we can get from her. Only then will we be able to protect her.”

Taylor relaxed and nodded. “Yes. She’s the sweetest thing, but she is terrified of her own shadow. She’s been abused for a long time. Don’t let that man close to her.”

“He won’t be. I’ll figure out the best things to do. I need to get her used to me and comfortable.”

“It will take time.”

“But we might not have any. If her father is the bastard I think he is, he’ll come for her eventually unless he has someone else to beat on. He’ll realize he has no power over her anymore and will fight to get it back.”

“I wish I had a bat and could get him into a room alone. I’d show him what pain felt like.”