“I missed you, Bucket!” she said, when he settled her on his hip. “Mama says you’re busy.”
He felt a pang of guilt. “I’m sorry, shortcake. I miss you, too.”
She had little pink mittens on her hands and her ponytail was askew. “I’m hungry, Bucket. Can I have a snack?”
Beckett wished with all his might that he had a snack squirreled away in a pocket to give her. “Sorry, kiddo. I don’t have anything with me.”
Her face fell, hungry devastation.
“Where’s your mom?” he asked, realizing that a panicked Gianna should have come running by now.
“She’s at da school wiv Evan for somethin’.”
“Did you run away from the school?” Beckett was already digging for his phone before realizing it was still at home.
“No! Silly!” she giggled. “I’m wiv Daddy.”
“Okay, then where’s Daddy?” Beckett asked. Darkness was starting to fall and the park, even in Blue Moon it was no place for a five-year-old by herself.
“I dunno. His phone rang and he says ‘Rora, you hang out here!’” she said in a deep voice. “So I hopped, hopped, hopped on one foot, but I think I hopped too far. Can I go home wiv you?”
Beckett wanted that more than anything. “How about we find your dad first and then we’ll figure it out, okay?”
Aurora sighed. “Okay. Thanks for finding me, Bucket.” She patted his shoulder. She stared at him cocking her head from one side to the other. “I like your face blanket,” she said, bringing her mittens to his cheeks. “Scratchy!”
Face blanket? God love this kid. He hugged her a little tighter to him.
Five long minutes later, during which Beckett began to wonder if Aurora had been abandoned, they spotted Paul pacing in front of a park bench having an animated phone conversation.
He paused when he spotted them and raised a hand that held a cigarette in greeting. “Yeah, yeah. Listen, just do what you have to do and we’ll figure it out in a couple of days, okay? No, man, I’m still in. We’ll figure it out. Cool, cool. Okay, listen, I gotta go. There’s a gorgeous redhead making eyes at me. Ha. Yeah. Later.”
Paul hung up and took one last drag of his cigarette before stubbing it out on the trashcan.
“There’s my Rora Borealis,” he said, holding out his hands to her.
Beckett paused for just a second before handing his daughter over.
“Thanks for entertaining her. Business call went a little longer than expected.”
“No big deal, I just found her across the street in an alley,” Beckett said, stone faced.
“Oh hey! You’re Beckett, Gia’s —”
“Landlord,” Beckett supplied.
“Cool.”
The guy was way more excited than he should have been.
“I’ve been hearing a ton about you from the kids. Haven’t I, Rora?” he tickled her until she giggled.
“Daddy, I’m hungry,” she said between fits of giggles.
“Okay. We can fix that. Is there any food at home?”
“Daddy! I don’t know. Can you make pancakes wiv chocolate and bananas?”
Paul frowned. “I don’t know how to make that. Sorry, kid. What’s next on the list?”
Aurora was starting to look concerned. “Can I have Fruity O’s and soda?”
Paul looked at Beckett. Beckett shook his head imagining the fit Gianna would have if Paul were to pump her daughter full of eight thousand grams of sugar before bed.
“Uh, sorry princess. No on the Fruity O’s. Oh, shit. Don’t do that.”
Aurora’s lip was out and her eyes were tearing up. “Daddy said shiiiiiiiit,” she said on a tearful wail. “I’m so hungry.”
Paul jiggled her up and down, looking left and right like he was looking for a place to stash her. Beckett swooped in and pulled her out of his arms. “Hey, shortcake, do you and your daddy want to come have pizza with me?”
“Yes!” Her eyes cleared, her lip stopped trembling and now she was bouncing up and down on Beckett’s hip. “Yes! Yes!”
“Dude, you’re like the Kid Whisperer,” Paul said with admiration.
Beckett almost cracked a smile. Almost.
Paul’s phone rang again, of course it was a Led Zeppelin guitar riff.
He looked at it. “Oh, I gotta take this. Would you mind?” He tilted his head at Aurora.
Beckett looked at the bouncing Aurora. “Uh, sure. Just head over across the park to Peace of Pizza when you’re done. I’ll get a table.”
Beckett had a splitting headache after dinner with Paul and Aurora. The guy was charming, interesting even. Beckett would give him that. But holy mother of God, he should not be allowed to play a role in raising children. Not even his own. Especially not his own.
Not only had he let Aurora wander off into the night in a park by herself, he’d tried to put hot pepper flakes on her cheese pizza, let her order a soda and a chocolate milk, and then expected her to find the restroom by herself.
Instead of coloring on the placemat with her like she’d asked, he’d taken two more phone calls.
Band business, he’d mouthed to Beckett.