I laugh at her, swiping her hair behind her ear and pulling her onto my lap. “In a minute.”
“Yes!” She’s so damn excited to go to kindergarten this year. It will be her first time in school, and although I’m excited for her, I’m also scared as hell. She’s never been in the care of anyone she wasn’t related to before.
“It’s just to meet your teacher this evening though. You know that, right?”
Her little bottom lip pokes out like it does when she’s thinking hard about something. “Yeah. That’s okay. My teacher is going to be awesome.”
I laugh, I can’t help it. I’m definitely not a laugher, but when it comes to Hailey, I laugh. I joke. I play. Hell—I’m a princess when she tells me I’m a princess and we’re going to have a tea party with her dolls. I’ll do anything for the kid. “Yeah. I’m sure she’ll be really nice, sweetie.”
Or at least, Ms. Burke had better be nice or my ass will be out of that school so fast. I try to shake away my nerves. I know this is part of the whole parenting thing, but I’ve come to terms with this being the hardest part of parenting for me a long time ago.
Trusting someone else with Hailey.
Other than my Aunt Jo, I don’t let anyone watch her.
Guess that’s all changing now.
I move Hailey to the floor in front of me so I can try to wrangle her hair into a ponytail. It’s a mess of curls—just like her mother had. My heart clenches in my chest when I think about Heather, but I try my best to put a smile on my face by the time Hailey jumps up, turns around, and grabs my hand. “Okay, Daddy. Let’s go.”
“Yeah? You sure you want to go to school?”
She puts one hand on her hip, cocking it at an angle and giving me the stink eye. “Yes. Let’s goooooo.”
I chuckle, and we walk outside of our small apartment. I lock the door before Hailey drags me down two flights of stairs to my car. I unlock the car, buckle her into her car seat, and drive to the school. We’ve driven past it several times in the last two days since we moved to Shawnee, a Kansas City suburb.
The school is close to our apartment, so it doesn’t take long to get there. As soon as I pull her out of her seat, she’s already dashing toward the entrance. “Hailey!” I holler after her, remotely locking my car while catching up with her and taking her hand with mine. “Don’t run off, okay?”
“I’m just so excited!”
I grin. I know I shouldn’t. I should lecture her on how dangerous it can be running in a parking lot, but damn those blue eyes and blonde curls . . . The kid is just too damn cute. “Okay. Just be careful. Hold my hand.”
She agrees, and we walk inside. We’re greeted by the principal—an older, but friendly woman who directs us to Hailey’s new classroom, which we find easily. When we walk inside, I’m suddenly frozen in place, struck by the sight of the hottest man I’ve ever seen.
I stare.
Hailey squeals as she looks around.
The man stands with a bright smile on his handsome face. He probably has a year or two on me, but he’s still pretty young. His light brown hair is perfectly trimmed and styled, cut short on the sides but with thick waves on top. He has a manicured, short beard that is immaculate. And his eyes . . .
Fuck, his eyes.
They actually sparkle. I’ve heard of that but always thought it was bullshit. But his brown eyes? Yeah, they have little flecks of gold that actually sparkle when he smiles. Which so far, has been always.
We’re about the same height, although he might have an inch or two on me. And he’s broad-chested, stretching out his crisp lavender button-down to the max. His muscles strain against the sleeves, and I can’t shake the thought of wanting to see him out of his starched, perfectly fitting dress clothes.
He clears his throat and holds his large hand out for mine. “I’m Mr. Burke.”
“Mister?” My brain finally catches up, and I can feel my eyes widening. “Mister Burke?”
“Yes,” he says, his lips curling with amusement. “I’m sorry about the mix-up. I know the enrollment form said ‘Miss.’”
“You’re a boy,” Hailey says next to me, and I can’t tell if she’s sad or happy about that fact.
Me?
Yeah, I’d rather it was a “Miss” and not an insanely hot “Mister.”
Once again, the universe is fucking with me. I clear my throat and shake his hand firmly. “I’m Rafe Scott. You can call me Rafe though.”
He smiles and nods politely, releasing my hand. “Okay. Then you must be Hailey, right?” He looks down at my daughter with a fondness I didn’t expect.
I know it’s sexist, but I never saw a male kindergarten teacher coming. “Yup! I’m Hailey Eileen Scott.”
Mr. Burke grins at her and holds his hand out, leaning down so they’re eye level. “Well, it’s great to meet you, Miss Hailey.” She giggles, but her eyes are scoping out the classroom and not her new teacher. Unlike her father, who cannot make himself look away. He’s still crouched down at her eye level although he’s released her hand. “How would you like to play with some of the cool toys we have here while I talk to your dad about boring stuff?”
“Yes!” She bounces off, not needing another invitation.
Mr. Burke directs me to a small table and two ridiculously small chairs. “Sit?”
I stare at the chair. “You kidding?”
He chuckles. “I promise, a chair has never given way on me. You’ll be fine.” He takes a seat in one of the tiny chairs, and I shrug, taking a seat across from him.
He pulls out a folder full of papers with Hailey’s name on it and starts going over some of the basics, mostly a mission statement for the year.
“So, this will be her first year in school?”
I nod. “Yeah. She was with my aunt last year. I didn’t think she’d need preschool.” I grip the back of my neck, suddenly embarrassed that I let my kid down or something.
“Not a problem.” He doesn’t seem to be judging me.
“She’s really smart.” I have no idea why I feel the need to defend my decisions. “And I uh, worked nights. So I wouldn’t have seen her at all.”
Those brown eyes meet mine with curiosity but again, no judgment. “Makes sense.” He looks down at the papers in front of him. “And will she be riding the bus? Or will you be dropping off and picking up?”
“The bus in the morning. My aunt’s friend, well, her daughter—she’s going to be putting Hailey on the bus for me because I go to work at five, but I’ll be there to pick her up every afternoon.”
He nods, and I wish I could just shut up. I’ve never had a problem with being quiet before, but something about him unsettles me. Like I need to defend myself. “That’s perfectly fine. I just need to know so I don’t put her on the bus in the afternoon.”
“I’ll be here.” I give him the clipped answer and feel like a dick. That part, I’m used to. Most people assume I’m an asshole from the get-go, and I suppose I can be one.
“Can I ask about her mother?”