Page 28 of Tempt Me-

“Kayla, go now.”

“Is there a problem?”One of the teachers strides over and asks.

“Yes,” I say.

“No,” Kayla replies.

I glance at the older woman.“I’m allowed to pick up Bailey.She isn’t.”I gesture to Kayla, refusing to call her Bailey’s mother out loud.She doesn’t deserve the acknowledgment, and I refuse to scare the little girl.

“I’m sorry, Ms.…?”The teacher glances at Kayla for an answer.

“Gibson.Kayla Gibson,” she says sullenly.

“Ms.Gibson, do I need to go to the office and check the parental forms?”Or will you leave quietly?The words are implied.

Keeping my grasp on Bailey and brushing her head soothingly, I hold her breath.

“I’ll go.”Kayla plops her sunglasses back down on her nose.“But this isn’t the end of things.You—” She points at me, almost poking at me with her finger.“—tell my ex-husband he knows what he has to do if he wants this to end.”

She glances at Bailey, almost as an afterthought.“I’ll see you soon,” she says, waving her fingers at her daughter… for show.There is no caring that I can see.

I wait until Kayla not only walks away but climbs into her car and drives off before taking Bailey and walking her to a quiet space on the grass.

I kneel down and glance at the little girl, who looks up at me with big, frightened eyes.“Are you okay?”I ask her.

“I don’t like her,” Bailey whispers.“She yells a lot.”

I swallow hard.I minored in psychology but nothing prepared me for this.

“You know her?”Better than sayingdo you remember her?I don’t know if it makes a difference.

“That’s Mommy,” Bailey whispers.“She hurt me.”

Oh, shit.That is the perfect answer to Austin’s custody problem, and the worst answer for this happy little girl.

“Don’t worry.She won’t ever hurt you again.”I kiss her cheek and take her hand.“Let’s go see Daddy,” I suggest, knowing I am out of my depth.

We drive home in silence, which is unusual for Bailey on any normal day, but today isn’t a typical day.

Austin is waiting for us in the kitchen when we enter the house, downing a sports drink.He obviously just worked out and timed his ending to see his daughter when she arrived home from school.

“Bailey Button!”he calls out.

Bailey trudges inside, dumping her backpack in the hallway.She doesn’t call outDaddy!the way she usually does, and she doesn’t jump into his arms.

“Mia?”he asks, obviously concerned.

I bite down on my lower lip.“Umm… Bailey, go get a juice box from the fridge, okay?I want to talk to your dad.”

The little girl shuffles away, and my heart breaks a little more.

“What happened?”Austin bites out.

“Bailey had a visitor outside school.”I quickly recount the incident with Kayla, including Bailey’s reaction of curling into me and her admission that she remembers the woman as her mommy, and as someone who not only yelled a lot but who hurt her.

“Son of a bitch!”Austin’s hands curl into fists, and I immediately reach out to soothe him.I grasp his tight hand and urge him to relax, rubbing my thumb over his straining knuckles.

“Bailey can’t see you like this,” I whisper, reminding him that his focus needs to be on his daughter.