Page 31 of Guarded By the SEAL
“Sometimes grown-ups kiss each other. It doesn’t automatically mean they’re going to move in together.”
“Do you have to get married first?”
“No, not always.”
“Momma said we were gonna live with my daddy, but he said no.”
“Did you ever meet your daddy?”
Ivy shook her head, no.
He pressed harder on his brown crayon, coloring in a smiling prince with an elaborate gold crown. “Do you know his name?”
“Conger man.”
He grinned. “No, I mean, what did your mom call him?”
“Davies.”
“Like Davis? Or David?”
Ivy shrugged. “I need the red.” She reached across him and took the crayon from his side of the island.
He moved his pile closer so she could reach. The congressman from Georgia was Bernard Davis, and there had to be at least a few Davids in the Capitol Building, not to mention other variations of the name. They’d have to look at a complete list of all the congressmen and rule them out as potential Davies. Wyatt’s to-do list for Logan was getting longer by the minute.
Teslyn crossed the kitchen and put her bowl in the sink. “Ivy, do you want to take a bath? It’s almost time for bed.”
The girl dropped her crayon and bounced off her stool. “There’s a bathtub? I love bathtubs.” She took Teslyn’s hand and pulled her toward the hallway. “We have a shower at home, not a bathtub.”
Teslyn dropped Ivy’s hand and headed for the kitchen sink. “I’ll get you some bubbles.” She looked around and turned to Wyatt. “Do you have dish soap?”
He pointed to a short hallway. “There’s a new one on the shelf in the laundry room.” Teslyn went to get it, and Wyatt looked back at Ivy. Her cheeks had gotten red, and she looked like she was about to cry. “Are you okay, honey?”
Her mouth turned down and her chin puckered. “I miss my house. I miss my dolly. I miss my Momma.”
Suddenly, Wyatt was in unfamiliar territory. Tracking tangoes on a mountain in Bogata was easier than watching a five year-old child mourn the loss of her mother.
Just do what feels right.
He stood and crossed to Ivy, lowering himself into a squat and opening his arms to hold her. “Come here.” He half expected her to recoil, but she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and squeezed.
Wyatt stood with her in his arms. Had a child ever hugged him like this? Hell, had a child ever hugged him at all? “It will be okay, Ivy. Maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow or next week. But it will get better, I promise.”
Ivy’s voice was shaking. “Do you think she’s in heaven?”
“I’m sure she is.”
“Even if she did bad things?”
“We all make mistakes.”
Teslyn walked back into the kitchen. “What are we talking about?”
Wyatt looked up. “Heaven, and whether or not you go there if you’ve done bad things.”
Teslyn’s expression softened to one of understanding. She crossed to them and ran her fingers through the little girl’s hair. “I don’t think she wanted to do bad things, Ivy. I think she was doing the best she knew how.”
Ivy let go of Wyatt, her bottom lip trembling. “What if you’re wrong?”
