And then he’d shown up at her house, Erin thought. She flashed Wanda a smile and went toward her office. She’d told him she didn’t want to see him. Now he was circumventing her authority, and there was nothing she could do about it. He’d found her weak spot, the kids. She’d do anything to keep them happy. She couldn’t fly out again today on the pretext of errands that needed running.

  He showed up as she was serving coffee to the men. She saw his Bronco skid to a stop in the parking lot. Erin spilled coffee on the tray. She righted the cup and apologized to the man she’d planned to hand it to. Digger didn’t even glance at her. He spoke to Jackson Wright, exited the lot and went around to the front of the building.

  Erin was there to meet him as he reached the walkway. He stared at her. “If you want me to go, I will.”

  “You promised the children. You should never break a promise to a child.”

  She stepped back, and he passed her. She heard the cheering roar of the kids a few seconds later, time enough for him to cross the common room and go into Wanda’s classroom. Erin stood in the doorway a second later. She couldn’t get his words out of her head. He wanted to make love to her. How had she had the fortitude to tell him no when every cell in her body craved his? She wanted to touch him so badly it hurt.

  Erin entered the room and saw Sam clinging to Digger. She regarded him as her own personal find and she let the other kids know it. He looked up at Erin, and she felt the electricity cross the room and shock her. How could he be this potent? No man should have that kind of magnetism.

  “Sam, time to come back,” Wanda called the little girl.

  Sam looked up at Digger. She hooked her index finger, and he hunched down to her level. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Digger lost his balance, and he and Sam sat down on the floor. Just like that first night, Digger protected the little girl.

  Sam laughed with the high-pitched sound that penetrated the school on a daily basis then ran back toward her teacher. Digger got up. He looked at Erin again and went through the door.

  She let out the breath she’d been holding. Straightening her shoulders she told herself she’d made the right decision yesterday.

  Erin returned to her office and spent the rest of the day going through the motions. She checked the stockroom for chalk and paper, went over the medicine log, cleaned out the refrigerator, looked at the broken toy bin to see if she could repair anything.

  Finally, the parents started to show up and take their kids home for the night. Tonight, Erin would be glad for them to leave. She wanted to go home and nurse her wounds. Usually the kids were all gone by six. If someone was going to be late they called. Now, Sam was the only one left. She was happily playing with a hard hat Digger had provided for the whole class. She was building walls, using the school blocks.

  By seven o’clock Erin was worried. She made a light meal for the little girl and called Sam’s parents’ house. Getting no answer she tried the school where they worked.

  “Mommy coming?” Sam asked when she realized the other kids had been gone a long time.

  “I’m trying to call her, Sam.” The little girl crawled into Erin’s lap.

  By eight o’clock Sam had asked fifty times for her mother and father. She fell asleep at eight-thirty. Erin lifted her. She felt heavier than usual. All the cots had been put away. Erin would have to lay Sam down while she got her purse and locked up the building.

  The door opened and she turned. Digger stood there.

  “I saw the light. Are you all right?”

  “I’m so glad to see you,” Erin blurted out before she thought of what she was saying. She knew Digger came by at night to look at the construction. He came toward her.

  “Sam’s parents never came to pick her up.”

  “Is she supposed to stay with you?”

  “We didn’t plan on it. I’ve tried to reach them at their home and at the school, but no one answers.”

  “What about an emergency number?”

  “I checked their application. There isn’t an emergency number.”

  Digger saw her struggling to hold the child and he took Sam in his arms. “I was going to leave a note on the door and take her home with me.”

  “Go write the note.”

  Erin did as she was told. She got her purse and checked that everything was all right. They left, and Digger followed her to the van.

  “There’s a pull-down seat that converts to a bed.” Erin set it up and Digger laid Sam on it. Erin strapped Sam in and turned to get out of the van. Digger was behind her. He moved back.

  “I’ll follow you.”

  Erin didn’t argue.

  He pulled out of the lot just as she passed it. She was home in a few minutes. She pulled into the garage. Digger’s lights followed her. He was at her side as she opened the door. He went in ahead of her and brought Sam out.

  Erin led the way to Sam’s bedroom. She got a nightgown the child had left on an earlier occasion, then they dressed the sleeping child and put her to bed.

  “She’s so small,” Digger said. “Rosa was about her age when she was abandoned.”

  “She hasn’t been abandoned. There’s a logical reason for her parents being late.” She didn’t know what it was, but she hoped it was something that would be cleared up by morning.

  Digger lifted the small picture frame next to the bed. It held a photo of Sam’s parents. He said nothing, but stared at the photo a while before placing it back where he’d found it.

  He looked back at the sleeping child. Erin wondered what he was thinking. After spending Sunday with his brothers and sisters she understood a lot more about his feelings for children and what some parents could do to them. This was not Sam’s fate. Her parents loved her to distraction. She was one of the happiest children Erin had ever met.

  Digger continued to look at Sam. Erin could see the softness in his eyes. It was almost as shining as love. For a man who didn’t want to be around children, he was certainly acting like someone who loved them.

  Erin took his arm and led him from the room.

  “Have you eaten?” Digger asked in the hallway outside Sam’s room.

  “I made a sandwich for Sam.”

  He took her hand and led her to the kitchen. She sat at the table as he rifled through her cabinets. Erin didn’t know what he was looking for and she didn’t ask.

  “I’m supposed to call Child Welfare. I should have notified the police.”

  “Child Welfare is closed.”

  “There’s an emergency number.”

  “Erin, you did what you had to. Sam is safe and tomorrow everything will be explained.”

  He found a can of soup in the cabinet and heated it in the microwave. Setting it in front of her he ordered her to eat. Erin did what he said without argument. She didn’t know where he’d gotten the soup. It had vegetables in it and tasted homemade, but she didn’t have any homemade soup. It was delicious and filling. She ate it all, along with some crackers, and drank the orange juice mixture he fixed, another concoction she couldn’t identify as coming from her kitchen.

  “You look tired.”

  She hadn’t slept in three days. Not through the entire night anyway. She didn’t tell him he was the reason she’d been awake. When she finished eating her soup, Digger cleaned the dishes and suggested she go to bed.

  Erin went into the living room and sank onto the sofa. Digger followed her. “This isn’t where you sleep. So you want me to carry you to bed, too?” The last was a joke, but Erin didn’t laugh.

  “I saw how you looked at her,” she said.

  Digger sat down.

  “I watched you hold her, place her carefully on the bed. Even that first day when she jumped into your arms, the emotions were evident on your face. They nearly choked you. You hugged her, smelling her hair, and I saw the tears.”

  He didn’t deny it as most men would have.

  “She’s so small, so vulnerable at this age.”

  “Wanda thinks you’ll make a great father.”

  “Wanda?”

  “The teacher of the class you interrupted.”

  He nodded absently.

  “You’re very good with kids, Digger. You should have one of your own.”

  Digger stood up then. He turned his back on her. Erin noticed the stiffness of his back. She got up and started for him. He whipped around as if he knew she was coming toward him.

  “I had a kid,” he said. “He died.”

  She was unprepared for that. She heard the emotion in his voice. It nearly choked him to say it. It knocked her back a step. She stood looking at him, lost for words. “I’m sorry,” she finally said, knowing the uselessness of the phrase, how it couldn’t convey her sympathy.

  She took a step toward him, her arms raised to comfort him. Digger moved away in anger. He said nothing, only stared at her as if she’d accused him of something. Then he turned and left her.

  What was wrong with her? How could she even think of touching him? He wasn’t a child needing comfort. And after what she’d said to him just twenty-four hours ago, how could he interpret her actions as anything other than pity?

  She knew his family background, knew he and his siblings were abandoned as children. Tonight must have been heart wrenching for him, and he obviously didn’t need her attempt at comfort.

  The note was still on the door when Erin arrived in the morning. She snatched it down and went inside. Sam bounded into the empty school as if it were a typical day.

  Erin had an uneasy feeling. She’d left more messages on George and Claudia Pierce’s answering machines about Sam but she had yet to reach a person. They had never been late without calling or making arrangements. Something had happened that kept them from calling. Erin didn’t like the feeling that skidded up her spine. They were conscientious, loving parents and would never abandon their daughter.

  She kept Sam close, even allowing her to go outside when Erin served the men coffee. Sam thought it was wonderful to have a special privilege and see everything that was going on up close. No one else got to do it. And after Digger had spent two days at the school telling them about construction, in her four-year-old mind she knew it all.

  Erin tried the phone at the university again when the children were eating lunch. At Claudia’s office there was only an answering machine. The same was true of George’s. Erin looked up the main number and dialed the switchboard. Someone had to be in the office by this time.

  “Dr. George Pierce’s secretary please.”

  She was connected and a voice immediately answered the phone.

  “This is Ms. Taylor at the Country Day Nursery School. May I please speak with Dr. Pierce?”

  There was a silence. Erin heard a muffled voice in the background as if someone was holding a hand over the receiver. Then a different person came on the line.

  “Ms. Taylor, this is Dr. Anita Wize. I work in the same department with Dr. Pierce. Is Samantha with you?”

  “Yes. I’m calling about her.”

  “Is she all right?”

  “Yes, this is not an emergency. Sam is fine.”

  There was a sigh on the other end of the line. “I’m afraid I have bad news for you.”

  Erin was sitting down, but her heart sank anyway. She’d been expecting bad news, but hoping against hope that it wouldn’t be anything serious.

  “Go on,” she said.

  “Yesterday as Dr. Pierce and his wife were returning from a seminar in Austin they were involved in a car accident.”

  Erin gasped. “Are they all right?”

  Again there was that sigh through the line. Erin felt Dr. Wize was struggling to get the story out.

  “Dr. Pierce died in the collision. Mrs. Pierce was taken to a hospital in Austin. She died early this morning.”

  “Oh,” Erin’s comment was more a moan than a word. She was going to have to tell Sam.

  “We didn’t know how to get in touch with you,” Dr. Wize went on. “We only found out an hour ago and everyone here is understandably stunned.”

  Erin understood. She was numb, too. What would happen to Sam now?

  “Do you know if the Pierces have any relatives close by that I can call?”

  “I don’t know and since the news is so recent, no one has been able to discover anything.”

  Erin gave the doctor her phone number and asked to be contacted if they found out anything. She replaced the receiver and stared at the wall. On the other side of it the children were happily eating and playing. In a few minutes they would take naps. Sam was doing what she did every day, not knowing that her parents had left her and wouldn’t return.

  Digger had thought she’d been abandoned and Erin had rejected the idea. But that was exactly the effect of the accident. The child was alone.

  There were procedures to follow for day-care providers in the event of child abandonment. Erin had books, supplements, rules she’d had to learn in order to get a license to operate the school. She’d never had to exercise them. Parents had been late in arriving before, but they always managed to call and alert her. Never had someone not shown up and not called. There had been no need to pull out the regulations.

  Erin didn’t want to pull them out now. She didn’t want Sam sent to some stranger until relatives could be located. Telling her her parents weren’t coming for her would be bad enough, having her go to strangers would be insensitive.

  Erin jerked around at the knock on her door. None of the teachers ever knocked like that.

  “Come in,” she called.

  A blue-uniformed policeman and a woman dressed in a gray suit came inside and closed the door.

  “Ms. Erin Taylor?”

  She nodded.

  “I’m Officer Garland of the Cobblersville Police Department and this is Ms. Lawrence of Child Welfare. We’re here to take Samantha Pierce.”

  Erin hugged the little girl. Sam had grown small in the last hour. “Don’t be afraid, honey. It will be all right.” Sam’s eyes were the largest part of her face. They looked huge and frightened.

  Erin insisted on going to Child Welfare and taking the little girl with her. Sam didn’t know her parents were dead, and she might not even understand what death meant. Erin couldn’t let these two people take her away with no explanation. After twenty minutes of wrangling, they agreed to let Erin drive Sam.

  Outside the school the flashing lights of the police car were imposing and menacing to a four-year-old. Sam clung to her hand, squeezing her fingers.

  “Where you going?” she asked from the car seat.

  “We have to go downtown.” Erin told her. “Don’t worry. I’m going to be with you.”

  At the courthouse, Erin lifted Sam into her arms and took her to one of the park benches that lined the side of the building. She raised her hand to halt the policeman and the social worker.

  “I have something to tell you, Sam.” The big, trusting eyes looked at her. “What is your favorite movie?”

  “Lion King.” She said it quickly without having to think.

  “Who’s your favorite character in the story?”

  “Simba.” She stuck her chest out the way the lion does at the end of the movie and prepared to roar.

  “Remember in the beginning of the movie when Simba gets in trouble and—”

  “Mufasa comes.” She smiled thinking this was a game. Erin hugged her tighter.

  “You know what happens to Mufasa?”

  “He died.” An expression of sadness covered her expressive face. A lump rose in Erin’s throat.

  “Do you know what died means?”

  “Go away, can’t come back. Made Simba sad.”

  “That’s partly right. He went away from Simba. Not because he wanted to, because an accident took him away.”

  Sam stared across the courtyard. The uniformed man watched her. “Last night your mom and dad had an accident when they were coming to pick you up.”

  “Gone away?” she asked simply.

  Erin nodded. “They loved you Sam. They didn’t mean to go away.”

  Tears started rolling down her face before Erin could finish. The four-year-old might not understand many concepts, but she’d already closed the gap between the story Erin was telling and why her parents hadn’t picked her up.

  “Gone away?” she repeated a little louder as she threw her arms around Erin’s neck and cried in earnest.

  Erin’s throat was choked with tears. She comforted Sam while the little girl cried, not attempting to stop her. The officer turned away as did the social worker. Erin couldn’t turn away. She felt the small child against her breast, felt her sorrow and her pain as she cried hot tears against Erin’s neck. Tears ran down Erin’s face and she tasted the salt as they reached the corners of her mouth.

  Reaching into her purse, she pulled out tissues and wiped Sam’s face.

  “We have to go inside now and talk to some people.”

  “About what?”

  “Where you will live now.”

  “Home.” A stubborn streak that appeared occasionally popped up in the little girl.

  “We’ll have to find one of your relatives.”

  Sam didn’t speak. Erin wasn’t sure she understood. They went inside. The third floor corridor was full of people. Policemen, people waiting outside doors or lines waiting to get in. Child Welfare was at the end of the corridor where several benches had been placed. There were two other children sitting there. They looked about ten or eleven years old.

  The social worker who’d come to the school went inside. The policeman stood a few feet away as if to keep the child from running away. Erin sat Sam on the bench.

  “It’s all right, Sam.” The huge eyes looked unsure. “I have to go in there and talk to these people. Will you be all right here?”

  “I come,” she said, clinging to Erin’s arm.

  Erin shook her head. “I have to talk to them alone.” Sam grabbed Erin’s sleeve. “It’s all right, Sam. I’ll be back and then we’ll go home.”

  She didn’t know what she was promising, but Sam released her hold. Erin watched tears flood Sam’s eyes. Erin fished in her purse for a game and handed it to the little girl. Sam took it but didn’t find it as fascinating as she often did.