Page 34 of Heart of a Hero

“Zannie,” Olivia said, smiling. “That’s cute!”

“Mom, I know that Olivia and I go through our clothes each year to see what we’ve outgrown, so there’s probably not much in our closets, but maybe we could buy something cute for Zannie.”

Olivia immediately agreed. “That’s a good idea, but I wouldn’t want Marty to feel left out.”

Laura added, “Yes, but I don’t know that little boys like clothes as much as girls. What do you think, Mom?”

“Because they’re not my patients, I haven’t been in their home, so I don’t know what they have or what they might need. But when I visit Roscoe at the end of the week, I’ll see what I can find out. Then we can go shopping and get some things forthem.” It struck her that the mom or boyfriend might not like someone buying items for the kids, but she kept that tidbit to herself. The last thing she wanted to do was dampen her girls’ enthusiasm for helping someone.

Smiling at them, she said, “In case I haven’t told you recently, not only did your daddy love you, but you need to know that he would be so proud of you.”

That night, as she lay in bed, contemplating reading or giving her well-worn vibrator some action, her phone rang. Seeing Mark’s ID, she grinned. “Hey,” she answered.

“Hey, yourself. Am I interrupting anything?” he asked.

A flash of what she might have been doing with her vibrator hit her, only to have her squeeze her thighs tightly together. The movement did little to remove the image of him between her thighs, but she shook her head. “No. Just reading.”

“Good. I wanted to see how the rest of your weekend was.”

She grinned as she smoothed her hands over the bedcovers, suddenly nervous. “It was good. The girls and I cleaned, did laundry, baked some cookies, and they got their homework finished. Then we just watched some TV.”

There was silence on the other end. “Um… Mark? Are you still there?”

“Yeah… yes. Sorry. I was just surprised. And feel a little guilty. My dad did the laundry while I cleaned. Then we just lounged in the living room, watched TV, ordered pizza, and got ready for bed.”

She laughed. “It’s hardly as though you did nothing, and even if you had a totally laid-back, lounging kind of day, that would be fine, too.”

“I know I’m lucky that Dad moved in with us, mainly because Benji gets to have so much quality time with his grandfather, and my dad was lonely in the house after Mom died. But he says he wants to stay busy, so I’ll come home to find the laundry doneand some meals cooked. He likes to grocery shop, but I think it’s because a few cashiers there always make a big deal over him.”

Still laughing, she said, “I’m sure it makes him feel useful to do those things for you and Benji. We all want to feel useful.”

“Yeah, but I never want to take him for granted.”

“Mark, I can’t imagine that you would ever do that. You are so perceptive. You see things that a lot of other men… okay, that was sexist… a lot of other people wouldn’t notice. And I’m sure you let him know how much you appreciate him.”

“Maybe, but it’s nice to hear that you have such a high opinion of me after only one date.”

She heard his chuckle and stifled the urge to giggle.Giggle? Oh God… I’m not Olivia’s age talking to my first boy.Clearing her throat, she said, “Well, the trick is to keep the high opinion as we go on the second date. After all, one date could be a fluke.”

“A fluke? Shit, now I have to make sure I’m on top of my game this weekend.”

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that. I’m not usually wrong about people. Looking back, I realize the dates I’ve been on were doomed from the start. I was either hoping for something that wasn’t there, or I quickly knew they weren’t for me.”

“And our date?”

She heard a tentative tone to his words. Licking her bottom lip, she plunged ahead. “Our date was perfect.” She closed her eyes and swallowed deeply.We weren’t just on the same page, but we were also writing our own story.

“Writing our own story… wow, Karen. That’s a beautiful way to put it. I felt the same.”

A little gasp slipped out as she realized her thoughts had escaped her mouth. “Sorry… that was in my head and should have stayed there.”

“No, no,” he rushed. “I felt the same way. It was… well, being with you was… Jesus, all I can think of was to say it was nice. But damn, even I knowniceis a word that conveys little.” He inhaled, then added, “And what I felt was way more than that.”

“I feel the same. I know it’s soon, and I’m old enough to know not to read too much into anything, but let’s just say I’m really looking forward to getting to know you more and more.”

“I was thinking that if we considered our first date to be the night at the AL meeting when we talked for a long time, then maybe we could consider our dinner to have been the second date. That takes the pressure off.”

She laughed. “Takes the pressure off? What pressure?”

---