Page 13 of The Manny

“Sure. Whatever.” I shook my head and left the room.

He was already getting on my nerves and he hadn’t even been here a full twenty-four hours. If you asked me, that didn’t bode well for our future together.

Chapter Four

Thomas

Stubborn S.O.B.

As expected, Jack ultimately declined to go to the park with Mia and I. I’d thought maybe his standoffish attitude would crumble when he met Mia in person, but it had been apparent he couldn’t wait to escape either of us. I wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily though. He was no doubt feeling overwhelmed right now. I’d let him have some alone time, hopefully he’d join us for dinner. It was Mia’s first day here, and how today went would impact how quickly she acclimated to her new living situation.

I shook myself, annoyed I was doing nothing but obsessing about Jack. There was no point in thinking about my frustrating employer when it was such a beautiful day. Mia and I were on our way to the park for some much-needed stress relief. Fresh air and exercise would help her relax. Hopefully, it would help me relax too.

Glancing up at the azure sky, I inhaled the sweet fragrance of honeysuckle. “It’s a gorgeous day.”

Mia didn’t say anything in response, but her little hand tightened on mine.

“I’ve been to this park before. It’s a really nice one. Sometimes there are lots of kids to play with too.”

“Oh.”

“Did you go to the park a lot with your mommy?” I asked. I felt it was important to talk about Jules. The more Mia talked about her mom, the easier it would be for her to move forward. The worst thing we could do was treat talking about Jules as something taboo. Mia needed to be able to remember her mother and grieve openly.

“Not too much,” Mia said softly.

“No?” I frowned. “Florida must have beautiful parks.”

She nodded. “There was one by our house. It had a big yellow slide and teeter-totters. But Mommy had to work a lot.”

“Who took care of you when your mommy was at work?”

“Mrs. Gable.” Mia frowned. “She lived next door.”

I smiled down at her. “I see. Was she nice?”

Mia shrugged.

“No?”

“She smelled like onions.” She glanced up at me. “Her voice was very loud.”

“She didn’t yell at you, I hope.”

She wrinkled her brow.

I didn’t press her. I’d come back around to Mrs. Gable at a later date. “What kinds of things did you like to do with your mommy?”

Mia stared down at the sidewalk. “I liked it when she read me stories.”

“Did she do that at bedtime?”

“Sometimes.” She glanced up. “If she was home. Lots of times she wasn’t home though.”

“Because she was working?”

“Yeah.” She hesitated. “And cuz of Toby too.”

“Toby?”

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