Barbara's Plea by Stacy Eaton, Dominque Agnew Page B

and I wanted to scream at the injustice. Why couldn’t her father have been like this? Why couldn’t he hold his daughter and feed her? My God! This man had known my daughter for a whole fifteen minutes and he already had a nickname for her.
    I wanted to throw myself on the floor and cry till I had no tears left; instead I stepped into the room and watched Allie drag her hand once more over his cheek. What did it feel like? I wondered.
    What did she think of him? She had never been around men. In fact, when men approached, she shied away. What was different with Grey?
    “All better?” Gigi asked as I grew closer.
    “Yes, thank you.” I sat down next to Grey. “Is that good, Allie?”
    She nodded happily, but I could see how tired she was. It has been such a long day. “Come here, sweetie, Mommy can finish feeding you.”
    “No,” she said imperatively, and took a bite of her bread.
    Grey laughed, “Gloria put a fresh plate of food in the microwave. Why don’t you heat it up and eat? She’s fine here.”
    “I’m really not hungry,” I said, afraid that if I tried to eat, my shaking hands would drop food on my clothes again.
    Gigi directed a stern look my way and pushed up out of the chair. She went to get the food, and I noticed she moved more slowly than I remembered. She’s getting older, I reminded myself.
    She set the food down in front of me, and I cut a piece. My stomach was tossing, but the smell of the food might have been the cause. I hadn’t eaten all day.
    I took a bite and allowed the sweet sauce to coat my tongue as I watched Allie turn in Grey’s lap and get up on her knees so she was almost nose to nose with him. She put both of her hands on his face and stared at him. I held the food in my mouth, waiting.
    “Yes?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
    She didn’t seem to want anything other than his attention, and she ran her fingers over both sides of his face.
    “You like my whiskers, huh?” he asked her, and she pulled on a hair.
    “Ow!” he jumped, and she tensed, her eyes wide.
    I almost spit my food out and grabbed her from him, but then he spoke, “Silly girl, that hurts, you can’t pull on that. It’s attached.”
    The surprise in her eyes faded, and she went back to patting his face.
    “That’s better,” he smiled at her and turned his attention back to me. “What?”
    I almost couldn’t speak. “Nothing.”
    “No, that look was not nothing. Did you think I was going to do something to hurt her?”
    I looked down at my plate, not able to confirm or deny, but my body language must have said it all.
    “Barb, you don’t know me, I get that, but let me just tell you one thing.” I flicked a look at Gigi who was watching me with interest. “I will never, and I mean, never, do something to hurt a child.” He paused. “Or a woman,” he added softly.
    I scooped another fork full of food into my mouth hoping that it would keep my tears at bay. My God, I am tired and a complete train wreck.
    “I’m sorry,” I said after I had chewed and swallowed. “It’s been a long day.”
    Gigi was the one who replied, “I’m sure it has, and I think you are way too tired to get into all the details, but tell me this, how long are you staying?”
    I held her questioning look for a moment. “As long as I can, I have no place else to go.”
    Her lips pursed, “You stay as long as you want, or need to. My home is your home, and you know that.”
    I glanced at Allie. She had slid back down into his lap, her back resting against his wide chest—a very wide chest covered in a charcoal gray t-shirt that looked a size too small for him.
    When I returned my scrutiny back to his face, I found him watching Allie as she studied his hands.
    “Thanks, Gigi. I didn’t know where else to go.”
    “You came to the right place. You’re safe here. I’m going to assume that you are running from your husband, correct?”
    Grey’s strong gaze seared me, and I fought not to meet his eyes. My