Kara watched the adult in front of her. She was pretty and she smelt nice but she was a stranger to her. And there was a distinct possibility she was the reason her father left Malawi to Nigeria. The reason she was left behind.
She wiped the snot off her face to bring out her brave face. McKenna opened her bag and took out a neatly folded handkerchief and handed it over to the little girl on the floor beside her.
She watched the little girl for a moment and McKenna knew Kara was still trying to make up her mind whether she hated her new stepmother or not because she took the folded hanky from her.
It was a good start.
She didn't say any other thing to the little blue-eyed girl. McKenna wanted to stare at Jason's daughter; she was a beautiful little girl.
An adorable child with the power to make her life a living hell if she chooses to. She had just barely made her marriage to the love of her life work without the complications of a spiteful step child.
But then, the more she looked at the little girl, with two braids by both side of her shoulders and tears stained eyes, the more it reminded her of herself when she was about her age and missing her father. Maybe instead of thinking about her as a potential enemy, she could try treating Kara with respect and a potential addition to her family.
"This is a good hiding place" McKenna observed as she looked around the room.
"It's not; it should have been the first place mama should have looked for me. it's my favorite hiding spot" Kara answered truthfully.
"Yeah, adults can be dumb sometimes"
"Yeah, sometimes" Kara agreed with her.
"But you shouldn't judge them too harshly. After all, their kid is missing and they are probably not thinking straight right now" McKenna reminded her.
"I know i shouldn't have wander off because my daddy missed my presentation. I am not a kid anymore" She said in a gruff voice.
"You have every right to be angry, Kara. It must be hard for you that your father lives in another country. I understand that feeling" McKenna tried to sympathize with her.
"You can't possibly know how it feels" Kara muttered. She hated that the stepmother was pretending to know her and her little feelings.
"I didn't know who my father was until i was seventeen years old and truthfully, i spent my whole teenage years looking for him" McKenna had no idea why she conversing with the little girl like she was an adult but with the way she talks she knew Kara was a smart girl.
"So, we both have bad fathers" Kara muttered to her.
"No. you and I, Kara we are not the same. Our fathers are very different from each other"
"Because your father is currently combing the entire country looking for you while mine...never showed up for once. Jason loves you and he might make mistakes but you can rely on the fact that he will always show up. He will always find you. It might take a little while but he always shows up, Kara" McKenna smiled reassuringly at the little girl.
"Why hasn't he found me yet, it been an hour already?"
"Give him a minute, Kid. He just got here five minutes ago" McKenna touched her braids.
"Do you think your father will find you one day?" Kara asked out of nowhere.
"I don't know, Kid"
McKenna didn't add that her father wasn't looking for her. Jackson Donna knew exactly where she was yet he never made the effort to get to know her. it stung a little bit , it would probably sting for the rest of her life but taking contracts from her biological father's company made it sting a little less. Bankrupting the man that abandoned her with an abusive grandmother was a step in the right direction. She was a Yagazie now and Yagazies and the Donna's hated each other.
"There is someone i am hiding from" Kara whispered to her.
"I know...your parents" McKenna almost chucked.
"No, mama told me he is going to hurt us if he finds us. He used to be married to mama. he is a bad man" Kara whispered to McKenna like she was telling her a secret.
McKenna was dumbfounded. She had no way of reacting. She had no idea that the little girl had knowledge about psycho Kane and most importantly, does Jason know his daughter knows that someone was after her?
"Jason would never let the bad man get you" McKenna answered.
Kara wanted to ask how her father was supposed to protect her if he was incapable of locating her or staying in the same country with her.
Jason could hear voices coming from his old room, an hour without knowing where his kid was got him in a terrible mood. His eyes were red and his breathing rowdy. It was like he was in physical pain. He was half into the pond to look under the water when he remembered. He knew Kara very well. He knew where she was but he had to be sure. Jason took off in a run to his old room in the orphanage. Now he could hear what appeared to be a conversation between his kid and his wife.
"So you are my daddy's wife, what should I call you?" Kara inquired from McKenna.
McKenna thought about it for a minute. What was the daughter she didn't know her husband had, call her? Her name probably.
"I guess you can call me McKenna. It's my name after all"
Jason pushed the door open. He felt a wave of relief sweep through him as he saw her little body sitting on the floor.
"You can't call my wife her name and you are in so much trouble, young lady!" Jason couldn't pick an emotion to stick with. He was angry, relief, he wanted to cry and he wanted to dance. But he could swear he could see a little bit of smile on his daughter's face.. It was unsettling and he was furious.