He reached for a clean rag and dipped it into the chilly water. He squeezed it out and placed it into her hand. “Can you do it? Do you remember the last time?”
She simply stared at him.
He took her arm, and with the wet rag still in her grip, he began to scrub at her skin. “Like this, see?” He took the tiny soap and lathered the rag. “This helps break loose the grime.”
He worked with her, going through the motions, scrubbing her little body clean. She began to move her arm without his coaxing and after a few moments, Trevor sat back and watched as she stood on the mat and scrubbed. “You’re getting the hang of it.”
He reached for another rag and dipped it in the water. He used it to rinse off the soap and she watched, her mind trying to comprehend why he would have her put the white suds on, just to wipe it off. “You don’t want to leave the soap on. It will irritate your skin.”
He grabbed a towel and laid it by her feet, letting it soak up the water that ran down to the floor. “As hot as you feel I don’t know how you keep from freezing doing this.” He looked up at her and smiled.
She did her best to emulate his action, her face pulling into a forced smile. Trevor chuckled as he rinsed the soap from her. “We’ll work on it. You’ll be smiling at everyone before you know it.”
She lifted her foot and stepped into the tub. Trevor stepped back, waiting to see what she would do next and was shocked when she sat down. The splash soaked his arms and he laughed, shaking the water from his hands. “Yeah, yeah. I had a dog that used to shake water at me.”
She smiled and this time it wasn’t forced. She splashed the cold water and he hopped back to keep from getting wet. “Okay, silly girl…” he gave her a mock mean face, “…knock it off or—” She threw the wet washcloth at him, causing him to fall back into the doorway.
He froze when he heard her squeal. He stared disbelievingly at his little girl playing in the bathtub and laughing. He sat up and wrapped his arms around his knees. “You play all you want, Peanut.” He leaned against the doorjamb and watched her. “I’ll be right here.”
Chapter 16
Roger grabbed Hatcher by the arm and pulled him toward his office. “What the hell?”
“Sit down.” Roger pointed at his chair.
“Something wrong?”
Roger leaned out the door and nodded. Hatcher raised a brow when Vicky, Candy, Hank and the new guy, Cooper, stepped into his office, making the space feel really small, really quickly.
“We need to talk, Daniel.” Vicky pulled a chair out and sat across from him.
Hatcher raised a brow at her. “What is this? A coup?” He glanced to Candy. “You can take the reins whenever you want.”
Candy crossed her arms and stared at him.
“Sorry, buddy.” Roger sat on the desk and toyed with a stapler. “This is more of an intervention.”
Hatcher chuckled as he sat forward. “Sure it is. Everybody back to work.”
Vicky pushed him back into his chair. “You’ve been a negative Nancy lately. And we’re not the only ones who are picking up on it.” She lowered her eyes and sighed heavily. “Danny, the people can sense it from you and it’s making them uneasy.”
Hatcher slumped in his seat. “I’ve told you all what’s going on.” He shrugged. “I just have this really uneasy feeling that we’re missing something. Something important. I can’t shake it.”
“Be that as it may,” Candy began, “it’s got to stop.”
Hatcher clenched his jaw and fought the urge to yell. He took a deep breath and tried to look each of them in the eye. “Look, guys…it’s just a feeling. Maybe it’s unwarranted, but my gut rarely fails me.”
“Change isn’t easy, man.” Cooper pushed off of the doorframe. “Trust me. When the world took a shit on itself, I was pretty messed up. I didn’t want to hook up with Simon and his dirtbags…” He trailed off, glancing at Roger. “No offense.”
“None taken.”
“But it was a necessary change. Now we got this.” He swung his arms expansively. “This is like heaven compared to living out of tents and camper trailers.”
“I understand that, but I have this nagging feeling that—”
“We get it.” Hank interrupted. “But the truth is, you walking around here nervous as a cat is rubbing off on folks. You’re making them feel that this is all temporary and they need to feel that we can put down roots.”
Hatcher hung his head and nodded slowly. “I understand.”
“So, even if you still feel all weird about it, you need to hide it. For their sake.” Hank stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Seriously, man. Take a chill pill, learn to relax a little. Let yourself live.”
Hatcher nodded, hoping that agreeing with them would get them out of his office sooner. “Understood.” He looked up at Candy. “We done now?”
She huffed and came to her feet. “Yeah, I guess, as long as you take to heart what we’re saying.” She stepped closer and gave him a quick hug. “Trust me, Hatch, if we see something that looks even remotely like a security risk, we’ll let you know.”
Will Stanton knocked lightly on the door frame. “Sorry to interrupt your meeting, but I’d like you to look at something.”
Hatcher came to his feet almost too quickly. “If you’ll all excuse me, I really need to take care of this.”
Roger snorted. “You don’t even know what it is he’s talking about.”
Hatcher shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. It’s important.” He rushed from his office and gave Will a pat on the back. “I owe you one.”
“Okay…” Will had no idea why, but he’d accept it. “We moved the security cameras
