The QEW was clear, at least as far as the QEW was ever clear.
Eleven minutes.
How long had Kaira been outside before Jordy called? Had she dressed warmly enough? Was she—
The ring of the phone sent Rowan stabbing for the Answer button. “Hello!”
“She’s got her,” Jordy said thickly, all in a rush. “She’s—she’s in Clem’s treehouse. Anna just had to follow the footprints—”
“Thank fuck it snowed,” Rowan blurted. Without thinking about it, he eased off the accelerator. Thank fuck they hadn’t used all of the snow on that snowman. Thank fuck it hadn’t all melted into a slushy mess already.
“—but Rowan,” Jordy said, still urgent, “Anna can’t get her to come inside.”
“Okay.” Rowan took a deep breath. “Okay, it’s fine. I’ll be home in, like, ten minutes, I’ll get her to come inside. Anna’s not going to let her freeze to death.”
“I know. Iknow.” Rowan was pretty sure Jordy was repeating it to make himself feel better. “Just—fuck, I can’t—I have to play a game in an hour.What if I hadn’t looked at my phone?”
Rowan’s hands shook. “Jordy, uh, I can’t—I’m driving right now. Okay? So you need to not, uh. Not freak out on me.” Heexhaled. That shook too. “Not freak me out. I’ll call you when I’m with Kaira.”
“Yeah, okay—sorry. Fuck. Sorry.”
“I’ll call you soon,” Rowan promised, and he hung up.
He didn’t bother parking in the garage. He left the SUV crooked in the driveway, blocking Anna’s vehicle.
He didn’t bother grabbing a coat from inside either, or changing out of his dress shoes. Not three steps into the yard, his feet had turned to pre-popsicles. “Kaira!”
The neighbors’ yard had a gate. Enough snow had drifted up against it to stop it from opening more than a foot or so. Rowan squeezed through. “Kaira!”
“Here,” came Anna’s voice. As Rowan’s eyes adjusted to the dark, he made out her form at the base of the playhouse. She wore a long coat pulled on over pajamas and boots with the laces untied. She looked especially small and pale in the moonlight reflected off the snow. “She won’t talk to me—I can’t get her to come in—”
Rowan caught her by the elbows. “Go back to the house and put the kettle on, okay? And run a bath for Kaira.”
She nodded, obviously grateful to have someone to defer to. “Okay. I’ll—okay.”
Rowan heaved out a breath and climbed the ladder to the treehouse.
Kaira sat curled up in the corner, hugging her legs for warmth. In the dim light cast by her tiny Cars flashlight, her cheeks were red with cold, her eyes swollen and puffy.
Rowan’s heart twisted, but something else came out ahead of the sympathy. “Poppet, what were you thinking? You scared me half to death.”
Kaira’s lower lip trembled.
Unfortunately that didn’t stop the next words from popping out. “Your dad is beside himself, you could have beenhurt—”
Kaira let out a sob and curled up farther into the corner.
Oh hell. Rowan wiped a hand over his face. “Oh, poppet. Come here, please. I’m sorry, I was just so worried about you. Will you come inside, please? It’s freezing out here.”
She sniffed. “I wet the bed again. Like a baby!” The words came out in a wail. “I’m not a baby! I don’t need a babysitter! I don’t need a nanny! I want my dad!”
Ohhell. Rowan swallowed and held out his arms. “Right now you need to come inside before you get sick, poppet. Aren’t you cold? I know I am.”
She wiped her nose. “How come you’re not wearing a coat?”
“I forgot it,” he admitted. “I was so worried about you I couldn’t think. My feet are icicles. Please come inside?”
Finally she capitulated and let Rowan lead her back to the house.
