Sebastian Cole knew the situation waiting for him was complicated. He rested a broad palm gently on the little girl’s head.
“Lily, Uncle has something urgent to handle. Stay careful at home, alright?”
He added one more instruction, voice firm but warm.
“Don’t open the door for strangers. Wait for your mother to come back.”
Lily Blackwood nodded obediently, her soft voice like a whisper. “Okay.”
The moment Sebastian stepped out, noise rose at the front door.
Lily’s head snapped up. The second she saw the disheveled woman in the doorway clothes wrinkled, hair tangled her eyes flooded red.
“Mommy!”
The storybook hit the floor. Lily launched herself across the room and crashed into Naomi Hart’s arms as hard as her small body could manage.
“Lily, don’t cry.”
The sound of her
