When a plump young woman appeared at the door, William almost took a step back. Did he have the wrong house?
“Good afternoon. Is Anne in?” he asked politely.
“No. Are you here to fill in? I need to get going…” The woman turned around. “Evie! Put that down!”
William cocked his head to the side. “I’m not entirely sure I have the right house.”
“Anne Sutton, yeah. I’m Kristie. You can come in and put that down, if you want.” Kristie disappeared, leaving the door open.
William walked inside. At once everything was both familiar and foreign. He noticed the pictures on the walls. Same pictures, different places. They’d moved the sofa and coffee table around. Colorful toys were strewn around the living room.
“Evie! Where are you?”
“Are you a friend of Anne’s?” William asked. He hung the dress carefully by the door and went into the kitchen to put the flowers in water. They were really a pretense, in case anyone had decided to follow him. No one could say it was odd for William to be courting a woman, even if she worked for the police.
“A friend? No. I’m the babysitter.”
William was in mid-reach when he spotted a small head of golden curls peeking out from under the kitchen table.
“Babysitter,” he echoed.
Peals of tiny laughter came from under the table. William set the flowers on the counter and crouched down.
“Hullo, there.”
The child looked up at him with wide gray eyes. Her giggling stopped, and she stared at him with an intense curiosity.
“I’m William. Who are you? Are you Evie?”
Doubtless, she was, but she said nothing. William surmised that it was strange, maybe even frightening for some strange man to be in her house, towering over her. He sat on the floor, hoping someone had cleaned the tiles this year, crossed his legs, and folded his hands between them.
“Are you hiding from Kristie? Promise I won’t tell,” William said gently. “I’m not much for the authorities myself.”
Evie sat up, and her little brow furrowed as she looked up at him. Finally, she said, “You talk funny!”
William grinned. “I do, don’t I? I’m from England. Grew up there, anyway. Did you grow up here?”
“’S my house!” She pursed her lips and made a stubborn expression.
At that moment, there was absolutely no doubt that this was Anne’s daughter. Anne Sutton had a daughter. And Anne had not said a word. Well, why would she? She’d been keeping him at a distance. Why tell your ex about your family if you mean for him to disappear from your life the moment the case is over?
William swallowed hard. “You live here with you mum and sis?”
“Mum?”
“Your mommy?” William clarified, putting emphasis on the American “O” sound.
Evie bobbed her head and pushed herself up. She was so small she could stand upright under the table and still have room to reach her arms up.
“Oh, there you are! God, Evie! Every day!” Kristie huffed and went down to grab her.
“’S Willum,” Evie declared, pointing at William.
“Right. That’s a friend of your mom’s, and you’re gonna stay with him for a little while until your aunt gets home, okay?” Kristie set Evie down in a chair.
“She is?” William rose.
“I really have to go, and Michelle is late. Can you please watch her?” Kristie begged. “I’m sure it won’t be more than twenty minutes more, but if I don’t get going, my son is never going to forgive me for not picking him up.”
“Well. All right then.” William looked at Evie like she were a bomb about to go off. “Is there anything I need to do?”
“No, not really. She’s had lunch and a nap. If she gets hungry, there are some carrot and apple sticks in the fridge. She probably won’t though. It’s practically an act of war to get her to put things in her mouth that are food.” Kristie chuckled. “Just play with her a little. And make sure she doesn’t climb on anything. That’s her favorite game.”
Kristie narrowed her eyes at Evie, who giggled.
Then, Kristie was gone, and William was alone. Babysitting.
William stared at Evie for a few minutes. Then, she started giggling, looking away, and then giggling again.
“Lord, you’re just a ball of sunshine, aren’t you?” William went to crouch by her again, so he was on eye level with her. “What would you like to do? What would you do if your Auntie Michelle were home?”
Evie scrunched her face up like she was thinking. “Um... Um, um, um…”
William fought a smile. He offered her a hand, and she blinked at it for a moment before taking it. She hopped off the chair and followed him back into the living room, where William scanned the debris on the floor for something toddler appropriate. He had about as much experience with small children as he had with flying to Mars, but it couldn’t be terribly complicated, keeping a child occupied for twenty minutes, and Anne would appreciate the save.