He held his daughter differently now.
Less like a problem he might drop.
More like a person he needed to hear.
Lily slept on his chest.
Amara watched to make sure his arm supported the neck properly.
“You’re doing it right,” she said.
Andrew looked at her.
That sentence should not have affected him.
But it did.
No expert had said it like that.
No nanny.
No doctor.
No relative.
Everyone gave instructions.
Amara gave reassurance.
“Thank you,” he said.
She nodded and picked up her backpack.
“I should go back.”
Andrew wanted to ask her to stay.
He did not.
Instead, he reached into his jacket and took out a business card.
It was thick, black, embossed with silver lettering.
Andrew Carter
Carter Aeronautics Group
Amara stared at it.
Then at him.
“You’re that Carter?”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Depends what you’ve heard.”
She looked at the card again.
“You own the company that canceled the Phoenix wing prototype.”
Andrew blinked.
That was not the usual response.
Most people mentioned money.
