Temporary Partner

PTE

me on. Graham... Graham!" I cla

d lost him to a j

ng open, and his bi

hrough and through with his dark hair, naturally tanned complexion, prominent

rsing seven-month-old Kylee under a thin blanket as she lounged on

he standard-issue Doyle smile. "He's b

d. You should feel acco

n accomp

here he had to play cooperatively with another person. We'd been practicing so

dug in the gravel pit surrounding the play equipment, spewing random facts about backhoes and excavators as though giving a semin

at trickled down my temples and back. It was hot and humid, typical weather for the end of August

leash taut as a group of kids shot off the end of the slide into a pile. Another child wailed with crocodile tears running down his cheeks

Lacey or Drew with an over-

truck in the parking lot. The teens yelled expletives and stomped their feet at the birds. The

to the already busy day. Cars, trucks, buses, horns, sighing air brakes, and ringing

constant bustle and energy that radiated from the city. It was a living,

. She was a pro at subtly nursing a baby in public. God help anyone who told her it wasn't appropriate. Amelia would verbally shred them in

s she folded the blanket and put it away in the diaper ba

e rest of the kids the day after Labor Day. He'll have a part-time EA for the fi

o you

follow a new routine. Or he might get bored since he's leaps and bounds beyond the kindergarten curri

ing her eyes. The heat wafting off her little body only increased my in

head, inhaling. She smelled like baby powder and br

invisible playmates and having a grand old time. He was oblivious as other childre

ddler, and he was often in his own world. The kid was

mobiles, trains, and construction vehicles. He was obsessed, but he marched to the beat of

melia had taken the necessary steps to ensure he had the b

talked t

air from her daughter's forehead and rubbed her cheek. "It's too late for na

y,

less smile and grabbed my face in her chubby little palms. I rubbed my stubbly cheeks against her hands,

So far, she had all the Doyle good looks and none of our personali

asked, referring to my brother-in-law

voi

hristmas. You know

han he did at home with his family. I bit my tongue against a re

d. "Five more minutes,

ng time ago. She had a countdown warning system that worked wonders. When she gave him a three- minute warning, Graham would hold up three fingers. The same when he got his one-minute

d had an internal clock that was accurate to the tenth of a second. Tr

hooked them on my lip, my phone rang. I shuffled Kylee so I could f

nt's name flash

ck

uage. The last thing I need is for

work. I got

t was your w

I passed Kylee off to her mother and stood, pac

one, ditching the charming brothe

s, Lindsey Summerfield, sai

hearing from you. I should have known

eeds a favor." "Tell them to file

ent, and I've been on the phone with Edwards for the last hour trying t

N

ivilege of using that

my nose. "Why do I get the fee

m-building day ba