“And used them properly,” I muttered. “I’ll talk to her. She’s fine, Sunny.”
I heard her muffled sob.
“Sit down. I’ll be there in a moment,” I instructed gently. “I’ll talk to her first.”
“Okay.”
I sat down heavily, still holding Mandy. Her wide grin faded as she looked at me. “What’s wrong, Daddy?”
I sat her on the desk in front of me. Then I stood, needing to be the scarier Dad for this conversation.
“Baby, you can’t leave the bakery without an adult. Ever. Do you understand?”
“But I’m a big girl. You said so.”
I had. On many occasions. I praised her. Cajoled her.
“You don’t need a sippy cup. You’re a big girl now.”
“You did that all on your own? What a big girl you are!”
“No, you don’t sleep in a crib. That’s for Chase. You’re a big girl and a big sister.”
Now those words had come back to bite me in the ass.
I improvised.
“You can’t leave anywhere without an adult until you’re this high.” I held my hand off the floor to my shoulder. “It’s the law.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh.” Then she pursed her lips. “Mommy isn’t dat tall, and she leaves all da time!”
She was too freaking smart.
“Mommy is an adult. The law changes when you are twenty-one.”
That shut her up—for a minute.
“Sometimes Jesse comes to da bakery, and he isn’t dat tall.”
“He’s a boy. It’s different.”
“It always is,” Sunny sighed, walking in holding Chase’s carrier. I could see the lingering panic on her face. Her eyes were bright with tears and rimmed in red.
I took the carrier, and she sat in front of Amanda. “You scared Mommy,” she said quietly. “You shouldn’t have left the bakery alone. Even to go see Daddy.”
The sight of my wife’s tears did way more than my warning for Amanda. Her little face was shocked. “Mommy, why you cry?”
“Because I couldn’t find you, Mandy. You have to promise me never to do that again. Ever.”
“I promise.” Amanda flung herself into Sunny’s arms. “I promise, Mommy!”
I watched the little tableau with a lump in my throat. We knew Amanda was adventuresome and brave. And far too smart. Everyone in town knew who she was, and being off-season, the town was quiet. Which was one reason she’d skipped along undetected. I doubted she had been in much danger, but Sunny was right. She couldn’t be slipping out to see me or anyone else. We needed to nip this in the bud.
“You need to be punished for this, Amanda,” I said.
Her eyes grew round with worry. I’d never used that word before now. I swallowed hard.
“No dessert tonight,” I proclaimed. “And no TV either for the rest of the day.”
She looked at Sunny, who nodded in agreement.
“Okay.”
“You go sit at Abby’s desk while I talk to your mother.”
She slipped off Sunny’s knee and shuffled past me, gazing up in sorrow. “I sorry, Daddy.”
I stroked her head. “I know, baby.”
“I play with Chase?”
I took the carrier to the desk and set it beside the table. “I’ll be right over there.”
“Okay.” She bent over, whispering to Chase. She always did that, and I often wondered what secrets she was sharing.
I pulled Sunny into my arms and held her. “You okay?”
She sighed, burrowing closer. I sat down and tucked her onto my lap. We both needed to be close.
“That hurt?” she asked. “Saying the word punishment?”
“Yeah, it did.”
“Pretty lame punishment, Daddy. She got off easy.”
“It was all I could come up with on the spur of the moment. It’s my first time, you know. Cut me some slack.”
She smirked. “I think we’ll find we’ll need some more, ah, guidelines.”
“Christ, she’s too smart. All happy and proud, walking in, clutching your pass, coming to see me,” I muttered. “Telling me how she waited for the little man before crossing the street.”
Sunny covered a laugh behind her hand. “Lori said the back door buzzed, so she went to let in the supplier. She told Mandy she’d be right back. She’s sat there having her snack numerous times—she’s never done this before.”
I sighed. “I’d never waved to her before and said I missed her. I’m sure the idea popped into her head. I think we’re entering new territory here.” I glanced over at Amanda and groaned. “And she’ll teach Chase. She’s already started.”
Sunny followed my gaze. “You said no TV. She’s streaming.”
I put my lips close to her ear. “She’d tell us it’s a computer, therefore different.”
“We are so screwed,” Sunny sighed.
I watched Amanda as she sat on the floor, pointing out funny things on the screen to Chase. She’d pulled Abby’s laptop down with her, signing in, no doubt using the password Abby shared with her at some point.
Amanda knew she was bending the rules, and I tried not to find delight in my little rebel of a daughter. She knew I would take away the computer, and she would surrender it with no fuss, but until then, she would enjoy her time with her brother.