Page 4 of The Maverick's Forever Home
“What’s wrong with them?”He squatted beside his daughter, assessing the plastic container of cupcakes.He’d made sure half of them had plastic footballs on top and the other half had tiny plastic crowns.
“Chocowate cupcakes.”Her lower lip wobbled, and she struggled with her l’s a bit more, he noticed.“I don’t wike chocowate.”She shoved the container into his hands.“Mommy knows.I… I only wike vaniwa.”
He swallowed against the tightness of his throat.“I’m sorry, Delilah—”
She shook her head, then ran past him and out of the classroom.
“Delilah.”He stood, handed the cupcakes to Mrs.Peacock and ran out of the classroom.He hadn’t thought to ask her what her preference was.He hadn’t thought something like this would upset her so.But he should have.He rounded the corner, his concern mounting when his littlegirl was nowhere to be seen.“Delilah, wait!”he called out, trying not to panic.
The school kept the doors locked so she was here somewhere.But where?He paused, scanning the hallway—and locking eyes with a woman inside a nearby classroom.She stepped outside the room and asked, “I’m guessing you’re looking for the little girl in the knee socks?”
He nodded, swallowing against the tightness of his throat.“Yes, ma’am.That would be my daughter.”
“She went into the girls’ bathroom.Down the hall.”There was compassion in the woman’s eyes as she pointed.“She’s safe.Don’t worry.”
Delilah was fine.In the bathroom.He could breathe again.
But not worrying?That’s all he’d been doing since he’d become Delilah’s sole parent.“Is it that obvious?”He took a deep breath and looked at the woman.
She nodded.“Maybe.A little.”Her smile was almost apologetic.
It was entirely the wrong time and place for him to feel any sort of appreciation for the woman in front of him, but he was.For the thirty seconds their gazes held, he wasn’t aware of much else.Something about her grabbed a hold of him—until a door slammed somewhere down the hall, that is.Then he was giving himself a mental shake.
If he didn’t have a daughter to find and a birthday to save, he would’ve found out who this woman was.But he did.So he touched the brim of his cowboy hat, said, “Ma’am,” and set off in search of Delilah.
Chapter Two
Maggie stared after the man in the cowboy hat.The mix of defeat and frustration in his pale blue eyes had been all too familiar.It hadn’t lasted more than thirty seconds, but in that time, she’d felt an instant connection and understanding with the man.Whatever he was dealing with, he was struggling and so was she.
Cody had yet to physically run away from her, but there was no denying he kept his distance.And it made sense.She’d left him, over and over, and gotten so sick this last time.He was nine, he didn’t need to worry about the health and safety of his mother.That was why she’d done her best to minimize how serious her illness was.Besides, all of that was in the past.She was taking care of herself and getting stronger every day.
She glanced down the empty hall and hoped the cowboy would make things right with his little girl.“Good luck,” she whispered, meaning it.Right or wrong, there was a part of her that found comfort in the knowledge that she wasn’t the only one struggling with her parental duties.
“Ma,” Cody called out.
Right.While the cowboy took care of his daughter, she needed to focus on her son.
“Come sit.”Cody patted the back of the blue plastic chair that had been placed at the front of the room.
She sat—facing Cody’s class—and did her best to ignore the churning of her stomach.
“Class, I want you to welcome Cody’s mom.She’s here to celebrate Cody’s birthday with us.”Ms.Jalen stood beside Maggie’s chair.“I’ve also asked Ms.Cooper if she’ll tell us about her job.You see, Ms.Cooper does some really important and unique work that I think you’ll find fascinating.”
Maggie smiled in gratitude at the woman’s praise but wasn’t sure how best to proceed.“Hello.I’m Maggie Cooper, Cody’s mom.I work in health care—mostly women, children and pregnant women in underserved regions all over the world.”She wasn’t sure what to say next.“Why don’t you all ask me questions?”She hadn’t expected so many of the kids to raise their hands, but they did, and she called on as many as she could.No, she wasn’t a doctor.Yes, she gave babies medicine.Sometimes she helped bring in specialists to treat a cleft palate, dentistry or ophthalmologic care.And the weirdest things she’d eaten while traveling had been a snake,
“Cody says you’re gone lots.”The girl with oversize glasses rested her elbows on her desk and asked, “Do you miss him?”
“Jenny,” Ms.Jalen murmured.
The girl pushed up her glasses.“Sorry, Ms.Jalen, Ms.Cooper.”
“I do miss Cody.Very much.”She found herself explaining.“But I know Cody has a loving family to take care of him.He has a warm house, plenty of food and clean water to drink, and he gets to go to school with his friends.If he gets sick, there’s a doctor nearby to cure him.But a lot of the people I visit don’t have that.There are moms and theirchildren who might not have food or water or medicine to help them get better.It’s my job to find those in need and help them.”That, and a long ago promise she’d made, was why she couldn’t walk away from her job.
“That’s cool.”Jenny was all smiles now.
Another student piped up and said, “My mom says you should always try to help people.”
A few other students nodded or said, “Cool,” or, “That’s awesome.”But the thing that stood out most was the pride on Cody’s face.She couldn’t remember the last time he’d looked at her that way.
