Page 18 of Second Chance

“Of course,” Tony agrees hurriedly.

“Anyway, I didn’t think I’d be having my grandkids living so close. Let me enjoy it.”

Tony kisses the top of her head. None of them counted on Lia, but she’s still perfect. There will be plenty of time to talk about Rhinebeck and all the T-shirts Tony left there some othertime. He should probably cool it, anyway. Who knows if Daniel’s on the same page? Maybe he’s sick of Tony’s stuff ending up in his laundry.

“Do you mind if I head over to the shop for a while?” Ma asks when they’ve finished their coffees. “Kyle’s wife has a doctor’s appointment, and he wants to leave a little early.”

“Go for it. Lia and I are doing fine on our own.”

One cool thing about dating a professor is Daniel’s massive collection of books, both in his office and at home. It’s ridiculous, and if he ever wants to move house, it’ll be a pain in the neck, not to mention the one bookshelf in the living room Tony’s been eyeing for weeks, fully expecting the shelves to crack under the weight any day. Still, Tony likes to browse Daniel’s shelves and choose readings at random. He started something by Faulkner the other day, and it’s been pretty interesting so far. Tony hasn’t read many books that change who’s telling the story partway through.

He settles in to read on the comfy chair in the living room while Lia naps, but only a few minutes later, the door slams shut. His head jerks up on instinct, and the baby starts crying.

Tony curses under his breath and then curses himself for cursing in front of Lia as he goes to pick her up and shush her.

“You woke up your daughter,” he hisses to Gianna when she comes in.

“Sorry.”

“I thought your class went till four?”

“I thought so too.” Gianna frowns. She re-dyed her hair recently, and it’s completely black. In conjunction with her expression, it makes her look very bleak. “Apparently, Professor Lawrence is in the hospital.”

Tony blinks. “Wait, what?”

“Yeah. We all turned up for class at two, and no one showed up, and then Lily went to check her office and didn’t come back. Next thing I knew, the police and an ambulance pulled up outside.”

“Holy shit.”

Lia loudly protests Tony’s sudden pause in bouncing her, and he rocks her up and down again.

“Yeah.” Gianna drops her bag in the corner and holds out her arms for Lia.

Tony hands her over reluctantly, and she quiets instantly. Of course.

It drove Gianna nuts at the start how Lia was attached to her at all times and rarely calmed down for anyone else. “I thought I was getting my body back,” she complained once, six weeks in at four in the morning when nothing would soothe Lia but cuddles from mom. At the same time, Tony can tell she takes a little pride in being needed. She gets impatient when Lia starts to cry in someone else’s arms and takes over immediately. And she always smiles just a little when Lia quiets for her.

Tony stuffs his hands in his pockets. “Are you okay?”

Gianna shrugs. “I’m not the one in an ambulance.”

“I mean with…um…” He’s not entirely sure how to broach that the last time she saw the police, she was taken in for questioning about the murder of Lia’s dad.

“I’m fine. I gotta call Lily though.”

Gianna hoists Lia over her shoulder and pulls her phone out of her pocket.

As she heads for the stairs, scrolling for Lily’s number, Gianna says over her shoulder, “You can go now if you want. I got her.”

Tony blinks at her retreating back. “I live here.”

Already on the phone, she doesn’t hear him. Or doesn’t want to.

With his babysitting duties over more than an hour before he thought they would be, Tony’s free afternoon is at loose ends. He could sit in the living room and read some more, but he’s not calm enough anymore.

Instead, he does the mature thing and follows Gianna up the stairs, ignoring her previous brush-off. He wants to ask about the professor who was hurt and whether Gianna finds out anything on her phone call, whether Lily is all right. He wants to ask again whether Gianna is all right, and again and again until she tells him the truth.

Except he can hear her voice on the phone, and the cadence does not sound like she’ll keep this short.

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