Page 9 of Heart of a Hero

His smile returned, and he reached over to pat Karen’s hand. “Shirleen and I had fifty years together. Didn’t have any kids of our own, but many of the kids I’d taught and lived in the area always made me feel like we had a whole bunch of kids.”

“How long have you been a widower, Mr. Jefferson?”

“She died seven years ago. Miss her every day.” He turned his eyes to hers. “You talk about your children but never about your husband.”

“I’m a widow,” she admitted, hating the sad expression it put on his already beleaguered face.

“Oh, Ms. Karen, I’m so sorry.”

She offered a small smile as the familiar ache moved through her. “Thank you. I miss him, too.”

Before they could continue, laughter drifted in from the outside. She glanced toward the door and spied the two kids chasing each other in the small area between the mobile homes. Their giggles filled the air, a brief reminder of the resilience of childhood.

“They seem to be doing okay,” she commented, hoping her words were true.

“The older man who used to live there decided to move in with his son. The next thing I know, a woman and her two kids have moved in. She had a scrawny man there, too, for a couple of weeks. Then he’s gone, and this new man showed up.” He shook his head. “Woman is spacey if you ask me.”

“Spacey?” Karen had only seen the woman twice since she’d been coming to Roscoe’s. Her brief interaction with the young woman raised her concerns for the kids, considering the woman appeared possibly intoxicated or high.

“You know,” he said, rubbing his hand over his unshaven face. He leaned forward a little and lowered his voice. “I knew acouple of former students who got into drugs—this woman kind of reminds me of them.”

Karen’s heart sank. Before she could ask more, the unmistakable rumble of a loud engine interrupted their conversation. The deep growl of a black pickup truck came to a stop outside. Karen instinctively stood and moved toward the screen door, peering out just in time to see the man she’d seen before—Alan—barking at the children to get inside. Zannie and Marty darted out of sight, and Karen’s stomach tightened as Alan stomped toward the trailer, his demeanor harsh and aggressive.

“Looks like Alan’s still sticking around,” she said, her voice laced with unease.

Roscoe shook his head. “I asked about that man. The kids didn’t look like they cared too much for him. I gotta say, the way he talks to them, I don’t care too much for him, either.”

She glanced at the time and looked over her shoulder. “It’s about time for me to leave. Do you want me to heat something for you before I go?”

“No, no, Miss Karen. You’ve got your own youngins to get to. I’ll be fine. I’ll microwave one of those meals. Those kids will probably pop over in a little bit, and I’ll share some with them. That man goes out at night, and they slip out and visit me some.”

Her heart squeezed at the thought of those two children finding refuge with Roscoe, and she smiled at him, appreciating his kindness. “You’re a good man, Roscoe Jefferson. I’ll see you next week unless you need me before then.”

As Karen walked back toward her car, the sound of giggles met her ears again. She turned to see Zannie and Marty peering out from the window of their mobile home, their small faces framed by the loose screen. Karen’s stomach tightened with worry. She didn’t want them to get into trouble with Alan.

She walked toward them, carefully keeping her footsteps on the gravel as quiet as possible. The window slid open, and she drew closer. “Marty, Zannie—I’m getting ready to leave. Roscoe will fix his dinner soon, but I don’t want you to get in trouble for sneaking out.”

Zannie rubbed her nose and shrugged her thin shoulders. “Alan don’t care, Miss Karen. He’s like all the other boyfriends Mama’s had. They’re only nice to us when they want something from her, and that’s usually when they first start hanging around.”

“He’s been around for a while. I don’t think he’s got his own house,” Marty said. “He’s been here longer than the others.” He looked over his shoulder, then lowered his voice. “Remember when you first met him, Miss Karen?”

Considering that she had just been rehashing that memory, she nodded.

“That was a couple of months ago, and he’s been here ever since.”

“Well, I don’t think he likes me so much, so I’ll just stay out of his way,” she said with forced lightheartedness.

Zannie giggled and nodded. “Me too. I don’t think he likes us much either.”

Those words scored through her, causing her lungs to depress as the air rushed out. “Close the window, and I’ll say goodbye and leave.”

“We might as well just leave the window open since we’re gonna go see Roscoe, anyway.”

“You two shouldn’t be going out the window?—”

“Alan is asleep on the couch in the living room near the front door,” Marty said. “That’s after he takes some pills and goes to sleep real hard. But we’d rather come out the window just to be sure we don’t wake him up.”

Karen hesitated, biting her lip in indecision before pulling a business card from her pocket. She scribbled her personal number on the back and handed it to Marty through the loose screen. “Keep this hidden, okay? Use it in an emergency. Roscoe knows my number, too, so you can always go to him if you need help.”

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