Page 2 of Pierre
“My name is Pierre,” he announced proudly. Miller swallowed, staring at the boy. “This is going to be my mama.” Titus looked at Lane.
“We were going to tell you. It’s just all happened so fast. Frank found him in Haiti, and they got attached to one another. Then, when he found out his name was Pierre, it seemed obvious what we should do. Are you angry?” she asked. Miller and Titus both stared at her, shaking their heads.
“Angry?” said Miller. “How could I be angry about becoming a grandfather?”
“You’re going to be my grandpère?” asked the boy with big eyes. The two men laughed.
“Both of us,” said Titus. “Isn’t that wonderful?”
“I’ve never had a grandfather. Do I have grandmothers as well?” Titus stood, waving over Olivia and Kari.
“Pierre, I’d like you to meet my wife, Olivia, and Miller’s wife, Kari. Your grandméres.” Kari and Olivia both turned quickly, staring at their husbands.
“Pierre Robicheaux, you had better not be jacking with me,” said Kari. He laughed, kissing her cheek.
“Frank found him in Haiti and became quite attached. When he found out his name is Pierre, well, it just seemed obvious what he should do,” he grinned.
The boy smiled at the two older women, then looked back at Lane. He cocked his little head, then reached up and touched her face and frowned.
“Did it hurt, Miss Lane?” She stared at the boy, tilting her head to the side. “Did it hurt when the men broke your face? It’s a very pretty face.”
Everyone stilled, not understanding how Pierre could have known that. Lane had been attacked and beaten, her face a far cry from its original beauty. Thanks to those at Belle Fleur, she’d been stitched back together and healed with a new and improved face. But no one except a skilled surgeon would have been able to see that.
No one.
“Yes,” she whispered. “It hurt a great deal, but Frank took the pain away for me, and all the good doctors and nurses here fixed my face and gave me a better face.” He kissed her nose, and she nearly broke down in front of him.
“It’s a very good face. Will I get my own bed?” he asked, moving on to the next important item. “I won’t have to share it with anyone?”
“Yes, you will get your own bed. All by yourself,” she smiled with tears in her eyes.
“Did you hear that, teacher?”
“I did hear that,” smiled Mattie. “You’re a very lucky little boy. You’re going to have a wonderful life here and lots of friends.”
“Will you still be my teacher?” he asked in perfect English.
“Well,” she laughed, “I guess I will. Won’t that be wonderful?”
“His English is very good,” said Kari. “Did you teach him that?”
“Some. He already seemed to have a good grasp of the language. His first language is French, but he doesn’t seem to struggle with English at all.”
“We’ll need help with the adoption,” said Lane. “He was living in an orphanage, but we just can’t let him go back there.”
“We’ll make it happen,” said Kari. “Pierre? What do you say we take you to your new home and show you your new room?”
“Is it okay, teacher?” Mattie looked over at Doc, who was talking to another child, and nodded. He’d been listening, as always, to every conversation.
Miller reached down, tossing the boy in the air.
“Let’s go, little man. I start my grandpère ways now!”
It was the beginning of a life his little mind could not have imagined. The best teachers, schools, clothing, home, and relatives as far as the eyes could see. He had grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles, great-aunts and great-uncles, and cousins and friends that filled his heart and his school.
His exceptional academic start seemed to help him thrive in his new environment. Solving high-school algebra problems in the fifth grade, he was immediately put in honors and advance placement classes.
Pierre graduated from high school at just sixteen, finished his undergraduate degree in math at twenty, and promptly joined the Army like his beloved father and grandfather. There was no doubt that he would become a Ranger.
