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“Yeah?”

“Yeah…you give asms ”

I sucked in h that I choked, which in turn caused rin, and then handedof chocolate

I took it from her with my eyebrows raised

“You have to keep this,” she told me “I only allowthe minute you leave ”

“Fine,” I told her with a nod as I put the chocolates in the brown paper bag “You can have two tonight after dinner ”

“My hero, et,” she said as she rounded her desk again “I finalized all of theto set up a talk with one of the local high schools and want to know if you can go with me Sort of like a practice run ”

“Absolutely,” I told her as her phone started to ring on her desk “Let’s work it around my schedule and pick a time when I’ll be here a few days ”

Holding up her index finger for me to wait, she reached for the receiver with a smile and said, “What’s up, Minnie?”

I watched as the light in her eyes dih “Okay Go ahead and send him back ”

Placing the phone on the hook, she turned to me “My dad is here to see me ”

“Jim?” I asked with uncertainty, because I knew based on the way she talked about her stepdad that he practically walked on water and wouldn’t cause that look on her face

“No… in about ten seconds ” Her voice was heavy with resignation

The prospect of -addict father should have sent , not only because it could be aard but because it could remind me too much of my own father But a protective instinct reared up within and I kneould stay to make sure that Sutton was okay

A knock on the door sounded timidly and Sutton said, “Come on in, Cosmo ”

I turned to look at her and mouthed the word “Cosmo?”

She shrugged her shoulders at me as if to say, Hey, I didn’t name the man, then put a smile on her face that looked a little plastic as she turned to face her birth father

The ot her auburn hair and hazel eyes from her mother, and Cosmo had dishwater blond hair and soft brown irises He was average height but was trerotesquely and his cheeks gauntly hollow He earing jeans that were sed with dirt on the knees and a faded brown flannel shirt that looked about two sizes too big for him While his clothes looked dirty and threadbare, the rest of hih he clearly hadn’t shaved in several days

“There’s irl,” he said as he opened his arms up to Sutton

She didn’t move from behind her desk but allowed her eyes to rake up and down her father I didn’tof her lips and the ice that foraze

“What do you want, Cos Her voice wasn’t exactly mean, but it definitely sounded aloof The smile on his face faltered and his arms dropped to his side