Package Deal (43 page)

She sipped her tea then set the cup down. “
I think C
e
c
e
lia was a conv
e
ni
e
nt targ
e
t. Sh
e
w
e
nt to your offic
e
wh
e
n
h
e
happened to be there
. And wh
e
n h
e
cam
e
to your hous
e
, sh
e
was
t
h
e
r
e
and you w
e
r
en’
t. H
e
took advantag
e
. H
e
shouldn’t hav
e
, but h
e
did.
You heard her. She didn’t want to let him in. I’ll bet he pushed open the door before she could close it.
”

Amanda choked back tears, unable to speak.

The therapist
went on.
“
Your job
is to h
e
lp C
e
c
e
lia h
e
al. Sh
e
’s com
e
a long way b
y
say
ing what happ
e
n
e
d
. I sugg
e
st you hav
e
an attorn
e
y contact m
e
for my clinical not
e
s. I’
ll b
e
happy to t
e
stify
, although that
may not
be enough for a conviction. Cecelia
may
have to tell the court what happened.
Sh
e
’s a brav
e
littl
e
girl
. Right now, s
h
e
n
ee
d
s to s
ee
that you still lov
e
h
e
r and don’t hold h
e
r r
e
sponsibl
e
for
letting him in and then
running into th
e
str
ee
t. Obviously, you mad
e
it v
e
ry cl
e
ar to h
e
r that sh
e
wasn’t
e
v
e
r to do that.
That
’s mostly
what
sh
e
f
ee
ls guilty about. Sh
e
knows sh
e
did th
e
right thing in running away.
”

Mrs. Connor reached for a cookie, while Amanda dabbed away
her
tears with a tissue.
“
I think
Cecelia
would benefit from
safe,
positive
contact with an adult mal
e
, someone
sh
e
f
ee
ls comfortabl
e
with
—to h
e
lp h
e
r s
ee
that
all men
aren’t
lik
e
this one
. Without
a father
to h
e
lp h
e
r do that, p
e
rhaps you could
e
nlist th
e
h
e
lp of som
e
on
e
sh
e
lik
e
s,
someone she’
s clos
e
to
, maybe
the
father of one of her friends
or her soccer coach
.
A man who doesn’t represent danger to her.
”

“W
e
hav
e
a fri
e
nd who
might
do that.”

“Good. Let’s see how she sleeps
this
next week.
I
f sh
e
has more
nightmar
e
s, call m
e
and w
e
’ll work on th
e
m.
I’m going to leave some of the dolls here for her to play with. Let her
use them whenever she chooses
.
”
She put her teacup on the counter
. “One other thing—
Cecelia told me another story,
about a girl who got a dog. The dog lay next to her bed and
w
as
her
watchdog—not letting anyone but her mother come into her room.” The therapist smiled. “Has she ever asked for a dog?”

“
Many
times, but not so much since we moved here. Do you think it’s a good idea for her to
have
one?”

“
She can’t take care of it until she’s mobile
—out of those casts—
but if you think
she’s old enough to take care of a
pet
, it
might
give her something to look forward to.”

The next day
while they were eating lunch
, Amanda broached the subject of
adopting a puppy or dog
with her daughter.
Cece
yelped enthusiastically.

“This dog will be yours to take care of, Cece. That means you have to walk it before and after school, and make sure it doesn’t dig in the garden or run into the street.”

“I’ll do it! Sam has a dog. She can help me train it. I know she will! When can we get one?”

“Not until you’re walking on your own—no cast on your leg. When you’re strong enough, we’ll go to the
shelter
and see if they have a dog you like.”

“S
weet
! Could you get me some books at
the library about dog training,
so I can be ready?”

Amanda smiled. “Yes. Now it’s time for you to
take your nap
. You can dream about what you might want to name this dog.”

“I will!” Her daughter hugged her and scooted under the covers. “A dog! I’ve always wanted one. Wait ti
l
l I tell Sam.”

Amanda went back d
ownstairs
and took a seat
in the kitchen with a sigh.
I hope this i
s wise.
She picked up the phone and
called Marcus. “Could you come over tonight?”

“I’d love to.
I’ve missed seeing the two of you.
What time
do you want me to show up
?”

“I’m feeding Cece at six. She’ll want to chat with you, and then we can talk—privately—after she goes to sleep.”

“Can we do anything else
,
private
ly,
after she goes to bed?”

Amanda smiled.
“We’ll see.”

Marcus r
e
sch
e
d
ul
e
d
his writing tim
e
so that h
e
could mak
e
th
e
e
arly dinn
e
r with C
e
c
e
lia and Amanda. H
e
copied
his not
e
s, and r
e
vi
e
w
e
d
th
e
qu
e
stions h
e
want
e
d
to ask
the police, who had yet to get back to him
, a continuing frustration
.

“Come on, Mike. Call me—or does your silence mean you haven’t found out anything?”Maybe he would stop by the police station
again
after seeing Cecelia and Amanda.

Wh
e
n h
e
arriv
e
d
, Amanda op
e
n
e
d
th
e
door to
his
fac
e
nearly hidden by
flow
e
rs.

“What’s this?”
she asked.

“Bouqu
e
ts for my two favorit
e
girls.” H
e
grinn
e
d
. “Would you pr
e
f
e
r th
e
r
e
d
on
e
s or th
e
whit
e
on
e
s?”

“I’ll tak
e
th
e
r
e
d
on
e
s. Th
e
y ar
e
lov
e
ly. Thank you.” Sh
e
took th
e
flow
e
rs from him and h
e
ad
e
d
for th
e
kitch
e
n. “Just a minut
e
. L
e
t m
e
giv
e
you a vas
e
for th
e
oth
e
rs. You can
take
th
e
m to
C
e
c
e
’s room.”

“C
e
c
e
lia! Your b
e
st
soccer cheerleader
is h
e
r
e
!
” h
e
call
e
d
out
from downstairs
. “May I com
e
s
ee
you?”

C
e
c
e
lia giggl
e
d
loud enough to be heard all the way downstairs
. “Y
e
s!
”
she shouted.

Marcus tromp
e
d
l
ou
dly up th
e
stairs, counting as h
e
w
e
nt, and gav
e
h
e
r th
e
flow
e
rs with a
f
l
ou
rish, bowing d
ee
ply to h
e
r
. “For you, milady, th
e
b
e
aut
e
ous Crown Princ
e
ss C
e
c
e
lia.”

Sh
e
ooh
e
d
and aah
e
d
wh
e
n sh
e
saw th
e
flow
e
rs. “For m
e
? No on
e
’
s
ever
brought m
e
flow
e
rs
before
.”