unless there’s just no way to make it safe. So if I tell you it’s not, I’ll need you to listen to me. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” she said instantly.
10
That night, Tara dug out a large box from the hall closet and set it on the living room floor in front of Ashley.
“What’s that?” Ashley asked, her blue eyes wide.
“This,” Tara said, sitting cross-legged beside the little girl on the large Persian rug, “is one of my favorite toys from when I was a kid.” She opened the box and pulled out a Lego set. “It’s a fairy castle. I thought you might like to put it together with me for a photo shoot, since it’s rainbow colored.”
“Yes!” Ashley clapped excitedly and looked over at her dad, who was busy working on his laptop on the sofa. “Look, Daddy! I’m going to build a castle!”
Clint glanced up and gave Tara a warning look. “That’s probably a mistake.”
“Huh?” She frowned. “Why? Because you’re anti-fun?”
“No.”
Ashley giggled and proceeded to dump the entire box of Legos out onto the floor. “Daddy’s anti-fun.”
“No. I’m not. I’m plenty fun.” With a sigh, Clint went back to work on his computer. “You’ll see.”
Tara wasn’t sure if he was talking about her and Ashley or himself, but whatever. She started sorting the bricks into the different colors to make it easier to put them together and encouraged Ashley to do the same. But about forty-five minutes into the project, it became clear that the little girl was struggling. Tara picked up the lid of the Lego box and looked down at the intended age for the thing, and could have kicked herself. She hadn’t really thought about it when she’d ordered it online. She’d built a similar one herself when she’d been little and had enjoyed it, so she’d thought it would be fun for Ashley. Except now that she watched Ashley getting frustrated, Tara realized she’d been about twice Ashley’s age when she’d put it together. Crap. Six-year-olds probably hadn’t developed the fine motor skills yet to put together a set this complex yet.
“None of these things fit right,” Ashley grumbled, tossing a couple bricks back on to the rug in frustration. “It doesn’t look like the picture on the box at all. Stupid castle.”
“Told you,” Clint said from behind her, his tone notching Tara’s annoyance higher. Not at Ashley, but at herself. She probably should have listened to him when he’d first warned her, but she wasn’t going to let him know that.
Instead, Tara gathered the small plastic bricks into a pile and pushed them away, reaching over to grab a pen and pad of paper off the coffee table she’d set there earlier. “Why don’t we forget about this thing for a while and you can help me think of ideas for more social media posts, since you did so well with the one today?”
Ashley’s scowl slowly transformed into a bright smile. “Yes! Okay.”
As the little girl rattled off an assortment of ideas, involving everything from composting to cake decorating, Tara scribbled them down, far too aware of Clint in the background. He’d set his computer aside now and moved down to the floor with them and was tinkering with the Legos they’d left behind. Those long, strong fingers of his had begun fitting those bricks together precisely and perfectly, making Tara wonder about just how perfectly and precisely he might use those same fingers on her body, stroking her and caressing her and making her cling to him as he brought her to orgasm over and over and…
“Did you do this stuff with your mom?” Ashley asked, taking the pad and pen from Tara’s hand to start scribbling a drawing on it.
It took Tara’s brain a second to shift attention from her erotic thoughts about Clint over to his daughter’s question. She blinked at Ashley a second, Clint’s steady gaze weighing heavily on her as she answered. “My mom?” Tara laughed derisively. “Involve me? Nope.”
Family playtime was something she’d only ever seen on TV. But as she sat there, brainstorming with Ashley, while Clint quietly put the castle together himself in the background, Tara had to admit it was nice. Having a family around, even if it was only temporary. Her chest ached a bit. Honestly, having them here only made the coldness of her own childhood stand out in stronger relief.
Sure, she’d never lacked for anything material. But love and affection? Well, both of those had been in short supply, unfortunately. Her father was a