Page 98 of Tequila Tuesdays

She walked over and gingerly sat down, clasping her hands in front of her. She resembled Connor except for the broken nose.

Connor put his arm around her, and she leaned into him. “I need to show them a few things outside. Are you okay inside alone for a few minutes?”

Elodie looked around at the large room. “I guess.” She didn’t sound too confident.

I raised my hand. “I can hang out with her if you’d like.”

Connor looked relieved. “You wouldn’t mind?”

“No, as long as Elodie is okay with it.”

“You can stay with me,” Elodie said quickly.

Connor gave me a grateful look, and Damien and Connor headed outside.

I turned to Elodie. “How long have you lived here with your dad?”

She shrugged. “A long time. Maybe a week. Or a day?”

“How old are you?”

She held up four fingers. “Five.”

“Huh. I’ve got a friend in Palm Springs with twin brothers who are around your age, I think. Do you have any friends around here?”

She hung her head and rubbed her pant legs. “No. Daddy doesn’t know any kids.”

The neighborhood was gorgeous, but it didn’t seem like the type to have many kids in it. Most of the residences in Connor’s neighborhood were probably second or third homes and used as golf retreats.

I thought about Lennie and Willie. “Maybe I can talk to my friend and see if you can meet her twin brothers.”

She looked up at me. “Can you help me find some friends?”

“I can try.” I pulled out my phone. “Sit here.”

I sent Laurel a quick text. Over the next half hour, Elodie told me about her Grammy in Vancouver, her dance class, and her worry about making friends.

“Have you met Javier yet?” I asked.

She smiled. “Yes. He’s my best friend. And guess what?”

“What?”

“He has candy sometimes. And one time he gave me a cookie.”

Javier obviously knew how to win a five-year-old’s heart. “Would you like to meet his daughter?”

She nodded. “Is she my age, or old like you?”

Ouch. “Closer to my age, but she’s awesome.”

Elodie put her hand on my thigh. “Okay. ‘Cause you and Javier are my only friends so far.”

My heart broke a little. “Do you have any leftover Christmas candy we could take to Javier and Isabella? She’s probably over at his place right now.”

“I think so. There’s lots of stuff in the kitchen. We could see.” She looked up at me with those big dark brown eyes.

“Great. Let me teach you the fine art of regifting. And let’s go see if we can find you another friend.”

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