He was winning Livie over faster than Kendall thought possible, and if that made her happy, she could only imagine how it made him feel. Normally, she and Livie ate at the kitchen island, but she only had two barstools, so she pushed her classroom papers and laptop to the end and set the seldom-used-for-eating table.
“Mommy.” Livie tugged on the hem of her blouse.
“What honey?”
“Is the man going to eat with us?” she whispered.
“He is.”
“Okay.”
Well, that was a surprise. Livie needed a booster seat to sit at the table, and Kendall put it in a chair. After getting her settled in it, she said, “His name is Cooper, okay?” They were going to have to tell her that Cooper was her father, but not today. Maybe when they were in Myrtle Beach, after Livie got to know him.
“Pancakes are ready,” Cooper called.
She helped him take the plates and their orange juice to the table. “This looks great, Cooper.” He’d also cooked bacon. “Letme pour that for you, sweetie.” She took the syrup from Livie before she could drown her pancakes.
“I want—” she gave Cooper a shy smile “—you to do it.”
“Say, ‘Please pour my syrup for me, Cooper.’ Then he’ll do it for you.”
“Please, will you do it, Cooper?” Livie said, then giggled.
“It would be my pleasure, Princess. Say when.”
“When,” Kendall said when there was enough. “She’ll have her pancakes swimming in syrup if you let her.”
“Mommy, Cooper said I’m a princess.”
“Of course you are,” Cooper said. “Did your mommy not know that?”
Kendall ate her pancakes as she listened to father and daughter get sillier by the minute. It wasn’t long before they were trading riddles, one of Livie’s favorite things.
“What’s black, white and blue?” Livie asked. “A zebra,” she yelled before Cooper could answer.
Cooper chuckled. “Good one. I’ve got one for you. What do you call a cat that likes to swim?”
Livie scrunched her eyebrows, then shrugged. “I give up.”
“A catfish.”
Livie laughed. “I like that one. My turn. What do you call a fairy that doesn’t like to take a bath?” Again, she answered her own question. “A stinkerbell.”
“That’s the best one yet,” Cooper said.
“Okay you two, eat your pancakes.”
Cooper winked. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Livie parroted and tried to wink.
“Detective Rossi will be here in an hour,” Cooper said after breakfast and the kitchen was cleaned up. “We need to get Livie prepared for that.”
“Can we just run away instead?”
Chapter 10
Cooper would give anything to be able to run away and not have to question Livie about the bad man, but it was unavoidable. “I think it would be best if you asked the questions. I’ve made a list of some I know the police will ask.”