Page 5 of Kissing Her Rescuer

“I think I know a little girl who loves them as well.” Eliza spun the office chair around to find Carrie pouting. She picked her up and sat her on top of the desk. Her dad looked up from his morning paper. “Sorry to invade the office, Dad, but Becky brought muffins, and I have to let Zach talk to Carrie.”

“Carrie told me he'd been bothering you again,” he grumbled as he patted Becky's shoulder and peeked inside the box.

“I usually put him on speakerphone to monitor the conversation. Y'all are welcome to be witnesses.” She unmuted the phone and switched it to the speaker. “Here she is, Zach.”

Carrie’s bottom lips stuck out further, and she crossed her arms.

“Carrie?” Zach’s deep voice came through the speaker. No wonder Carrie hated talking to him. He tried to speak to her like he talked to Eliza. Rough and loud with a bulldog voice.

Eliza nudged Carrie. Her little shoulders slouched. “I'm here.”

“How are you?”

“Fine.” At Eliza's wave to continue, she asked, “How are you?”

“I miss you.”

Carrie pressed her lips together and shook her head. Either she didn't miss him in return, or she knew it was a lie. Either way, Carrie didn't respond. Man, she was stubborn.

“How is school?”

“It's summer break.”

“Oh.” Zach was silent for a few minutes. Carrie started kicking the desk with impatience.

“Are you going to any summer camps?”

“No. Mama says I'm too young.”

“If you move back home with me, I'll let you go to summer camps.”

Zach's promise caused Carrie to look up at her mom with a shred of hope. Eliza mouthed the word “no” before she could even ask. She hadn't let Carrie out of her sight since the day she came home from the hospital. Trusting her into the hands of strangers for an overnight camp gave her far too much anxiety. Summer Vacation Bible School was as far as she let her venture.

“I got to go.” Carrie hopped off the desk, her eyes locked on Becky’s pink and white cardboard box. “Because I smell chocolate chip muffins, and I want one.”

“Fine.” He hung up, probably even angrier than before. He just lost out to a muffin.

Eliza tossed the phone onto the desk. She kept her real thoughts to herself and helped Carrie unwrap part of the muffin. Guilt that she might be keeping Carrie from the relationship always ate at her. “Do you want to see your father?”

“Nope.” She licked a chocolate chip off the end of her finger before licking the top of the muffin. “I don't want to go back to Alabama or Zach. Ever.”

Good. She didn’t want to go to Alabama ever again, too. “Don’t call him Zach.” Not that Eliza cared. Calling him a dad was a pretty far stretch.

Her own father watched Eliza with irritation. Not an unusual expression for him, but she knew it was because of Zach this time. She ran a hand over Carrie's soft, dark hair and focused on her dad. “Daddy, let it go.”

“That man will pester you for the rest of your life,” he said before taking a large bite of the muffin and chewing for a moment. “Are you sure that lawyer you hired knew what they were doing? He can't get custody?”

“Yes, I'm sure.” Zach would always be a pain in the butt, and that was her fault. She'd made the decision at eighteen to leave with him. A bad decision that brought her the best thing in the world: Carrie.

“Is Ms. Iris back at the diner for the day?” Eliza waited as Becky finished wiping Carrie's fingers. “Do you think she can watch Carrie for a couple of hours? I have that interview coming up this morning.”

Becky smiled. “I sent her home with about a pound of various wedding cake samples for her to try. I'm headed back to the diner. I hired two of the kids that just graduated high school to pick up some shifts with the wedding coming up. I'm sure Carrie would love to help Ms. Iris with the taste testing.” Becky winked at Carrie.

Carrie's head swiveled between Eliza and her dad, her face beaming with renewed hope that she'd get to eat nothing but sugar for the day. Her dad had stepped in as an authority figure in Carrie's eyes. Eliza was glad to have the support.

“Can I go?”

“I want you to eat some lunch before you stuff yourself full of cake. And at least one fruit or vegetable.” Eliza reached for her phone. “Let me check with Ms. Iris.”

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