An image of the Leesons’ house dropped into his mind, and his skin went cold as snow.
She wouldn’t try to go home, would she?
There’s no way she’d leave without an adult.
Jesus, he lived high up on the mountain, miles from town.
He’d set the alarm to signal whenever somebody opened the front and back doors, but the music had been so loud in that game room it would’ve been impossible to hear.
His phone vibrated, and he pulled it out to see a text.
Hailey: Any luck?
Cole: Not yet.
A sound caught his attention, and he raced into the kitchen to find the pantry door ajar, the light on. He found his little Evvie with her hand inside a bag of chocolate chips.
Jesus. This kid. He drew in a deep breath to try and calm down. “What’re you doing?”
She peered up at him, not the least bit concerned she’d done something wrong, and she broke into the most adorable grin he’d ever seen. “Shocklet.” She held up a hand, streaked with melted chocolate.
“I see.” Gently, he took the bag out of her hands, sealed it up, and placed it on a higher shelf. “Hey, you know we’ve been looking for you, right? You left the dance party without telling anybody.”
“I hongry.”
“Sure. But we’ve got a big Christmas dinner planned.”
“I hungry now.”
“I get that, but you need to let me know if you’re going to leave the room, okay? We didn’t know where you were.” He squatted—not a good move for his knee, but he needed to get his point across—to look her in the eyes. “We were worried about you, sweet pea. I looked all over the house and couldn’t find you. Please don’t do that again, okay?”
Movement behind him had him glancing over his shoulder to find Hailey watching them.
“I dance wif Mommy.”
A sharp twist of sorrow had him rocking back on his heels. What did she mean? Was she referring to Hailey as her mommy? Or… “You mean you used to dance with your mommy?”
She nodded. “I dance wif Mommy.”
Hailey sucked in a breath, and Cole’s ass hit the floor. He crossed his legs so he could settle the little girl in his lap. “Come here, sweetheart. I’ll bet you miss dancing with your mommy.”
“Yes. I dance wif Mommy.”
“I’ll be that’s a really good memory, and we can write it down and put it in the stocking.” Ignoring the smears of chocolate on her hands and face, he pulled her into a hug. At first, her arms remained at her side, but he could feel her little body heating up.
She pulled away and gave him an earnest look. “I go home now?”
Ah, hell. “No, baby. You can’t go home because Mommy and Daddy aren’t there anymore.”
Hailey sat with them, wrapping one arm around Evvie and one around Cole. “Evvie, baby. Your mommy and daddy love you so much. You have to know there’s nowhere else they’d rather be than with you. But they can’t come back, sweetheart.”
Evvie pulled away, tears flooding her brown eyes. “I go home now. Pease, Cole? Pease, I go home?”
His heart grew too big and heavy for his chest. He’d never felt so helpless in his life. There was nothing he wouldn’t give this little girl, but he didn’t have the power to grant her one and only wish. With everything still up in the air, he couldn’t even talk about a replacement home.
“Baby, your mommy and daddy are gone, but they sent me and Hailey to come and take care of you.”
The little girl sat still for a moment. They gave her a minute to digest the information, not sure what she would make of it. And then, she looked up at him. “You mine, Cole?” That little baby voice, the sincerity in those brown eyes…