Page 75 of Sweet on You
26
Ronnie
Olivia walked the whole way to the park, not once needing to be picked up or carried. Even though she resisted holding our hands at first. But as soon as I pointed out that even Penny needed to “hold my hand” (with his leash), she was happy to copy Penny.
We reached the park and found an empty bench to tie Penny’s leash to. He was such a good dog 99% of the time, but we couldn’t risk him getting over-excited and snapping at any of the playing children. He quickly made himself comfortable, flopping onto the grass and gnawing on a giant stick, and Lex and I followed Olivia as she ran through the playground, laughing, squealing, and making new friends.
“Wow,” Lex said, his eyes glued to his daughter who was stomping through the sandbox and sharing her shovel with a little boy. “She’s so extroverted here. She didn’t hesitate for a second to go down the slide.”
“I mean, your girl’s got her priorities straight. Slides are top notch. Though I was always into the swings myself. Except, at her age, that’s a two-person job.”
The little boy she was playing with yanked the shovel from her hands and started playing with it. “Did you see that?” Lex asked. “He stole her shovel. He just…stoleit right out of her hands.”
I placed my palm on Lex’s arm. “Easy. There’s another shovel right there in the sandbox.” I pointed at the pile of unused toys there beside her.
“Yeah, but that washershovel.” He paused and Olivia’s lip trembled as she reached to take the shovel back, but the boy jerked it away and moved to the other corner of the sandbox.
“I should help her,” Lex said, starting to reach for her.
“Give it a minute,” I said, gently tugging him back.
“She looks like she’s going to cry.”
“And if she does, then you’re right here to comfort her. But wait and see first.”
It didn’t take long for one of the other little toddlers in the sandbox to scoot over to Olivia and offer her another toy to share. Olivia smiled at her new friend and went immediately back to playing.
“See? It’s all good. And she even made a new friend.”
He seemed to relax beside me, even if it was only slightly, leaning his shoulder into mine. “Is it totally inappropriate for me to kiss you here in front of my daughter?”
I glanced out of the corner of my eye to where Olivia was immersed in the sandbox, playing with her new friends. With a sly smirk, I shrugged coquettishly, not something I was known for, but still fun to try now and then. “If you do it quick, she won’t even see.”
He leaned in and brushed his lips gently across mine. It was brief, but electricity sparked from my lips down to my core. As he pulled back, his forehead rested briefly on mine, and he sighed against me before blinking and looking back to Olivia.
“What’s that man doing?” A mother said on the bench to our right.
“I think he’s taking pictures. Is he taking pictures of our kids?”
Her voice grew more shrill as another parent, a father this time, stood to his feet, shouting, “Hey! Hey, you!”
But before anyone could confront him, the man slipped out of the park, a dark camera clutched in his hands.
“I’ve never seen him before,” the mother said and rushed over to where her son was climbing on a tire swing. “But one of the moms at Mommy and Me mentioned that there’s been a strange man in a few neighboring towns giving candy and stickers out to kids at the parks, and he’s been seen taking photos of them with his cell phone. Do you think he’s made his way to Maple Grove?”
Lex crouched beside Olivia, who was still completely oblivious to the drama unfolding around her, and placed a palm to her back, hovering protectively over her in a way that was so sweet, it made my heart hurt.
From where he was tied to the bench, Penny barked—just once, airing his grievances about not being close enough to us.
“Should we call the police?” Lex asked.
The father had his cell phone in hand and was typing something. “I have a friend who’s an officer for Maple Grove PD. I’m texting him now.”
“You said in the other towns he was luring kids over with candy and snapping cell pictures, right?” I asked.
The mother nodded, drawing her toddler closer.
“This seems different. It was a professional looking camera. And these kids are too young to accept candy like that, probably.”
