Page 39 of Fourth Heartwarmers Trilogy
“About that, I have a friend at Bridge who has a friend who knows of a new couple in town, and she’s supposed to work miracles with a sewing machine. She’s waiting for your call. Her number is on the fridge, and her name is Rosita Mendes.”
“Great. I’ll give her a call later. Thank you for taking us in, Angie. Maisie and I are thrilled to be living with you and starting a new life here in Maricopa.”
“Honey, you can’t even begin to understand how happy I am to have you both. Life has become very boring of late. Sharing the future with young people is a dream for an old lady like me.”
“Poo! You’re only seventy, and a young seventy at that.”
“Let’s hope I make seventy-one after these operating-crazy doctors with their blasted pacemakers talked me into letting them cut me open.”
Chapter Sixteen
Once they left the hospital, because of her insistence, Jack dropped Mia off at the car dealership so she could pick up her new vehicle. “You really don’t need to get your car right away. I’m at your disposal anytime to take you around. And Angie has her convertible I’m sure you could borrow.”
“Thank you. That’s nice of you. But I need my car. And Angie doesn’t like anyone driving her Mustang, you know that. I’ll be extremely busy from now on, and it’ll be more convenient having my own wheels. They messaged me yesterday it was ready.”
“Right. Of course, you’re right. I’ll be seeing you both at Angie’s every day so if there’s anything you need from me, just ask. I’m here for you, sweetheart.” He wanted to get through to her, let her know he cared, but the waves of discomfort she’d suddenly began to emit froze him out.
Seeing her anger reignite, Jack backed off and changed the subject. “Then I’ll go directly to the house. Where did you want me to put all these boxes?”
“Angie mentioned that she had the garage emptied, and we can store everything there. That way, I can take my time to unpack. For now, I’ll just grab what I absolutely need and wait until the casita is ready to sort the rest.”
“The garage it is.”
“I doubt it’ll take long for me to settle everything at the car dealership.”
“It might. They’ll need you to set up the insurance and sign all the papers. Did you want me to take Maisie for lunch while you’re in there?”
Gratified with her instant warm smile, he held his breath.
“Would you? She’d love it, and I’ll hurry them along as much as possible.”
Relieved, he winked. “Sure, me and Miss Pretty will be just across the street at the diner. Did you want me to order take-out for you for later?”
“No, that’s fine. I can always whip something up when we get to Angie’s. Thanks anyway.”
Her polite distancing made him uncomfortable to the extreme. She was treating him like a stranger. And after they’d been closer than most people ever were. He couldn’t help it, he reached out to her, his hand waiting for hers. His eyes pleading…
Either she didn’t see it, or she ignored it. Instead, she turned to open the door and was out of the car in seconds. With a quick kiss blown in Maisie’s direction, she disappeared into the dealership leaving Jack to walk across the street holding Maisie’s hand.
“Mia’s mad, isn’t she Jack?”
Surprised at the little one’s sensitivity to tension, he answered truthfully. “I think so, honey. But don’t ask me why. I have no idea.”
“I must have been bad. I twied to be a good giwl, but sometimes I be bad and don’t know.”
Lifting her into his arms, cuddling her close, he whispered words to dissuade her of her mistake.
“Baby, it wasn’t anything you did. You’ve been an angel today. I messed up. She’s mad at me. But don’t you worry, I’ll fix it, okay?”
Cheered from his words, her ponytail bopping as she nodded, Maisie kissed his cheek. “It’s okay to be a bad boy sometimes, Jack. Mia says nobody’s pewfect to me when I do bad, so it’s the same for you. Wight?”
“Right. Thank you, missy. I feel so much better now. I’ll apologize and it’ll be like before, okay?”
“Oh… kay! I’m hungwy.”
Amazed at the resilience of kids, Jack led her to a booth. Soon, they were seated with their food in front of them. A sandwich for him that tasted like sawdust and got pushed aside, and a burger for Maisie that she wolfed down like a trooper.
Watching her eat, he couldn’t help but grin, his heart lightening. He’d seen Mia remind the child yesterday of her manners, so when she picked up the napkin and wiped her mouth smeared with ketchup, then tapped it at the corners like some diva on the rich and famous, it was all he could do not to laugh. What a precocious darling!
