Page 43 of Fourth Heartwarmers Trilogy
She led Maisie to the pool area and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the lovely gate her aunt had placed around the newly fenced-in area. The opening latch wouldn’t be easy for Maisie to manipulate, and that also brought a sense of comfort.
Knowing of a child who’d drowned in a pool when she was a schoolgirl, she had a healthy fear of children not being barred from unsafe places. When Angie had first proposed her idea that they live with her, this had been her first stipulation. That, and needing her own space. She gathered toys from the pool house and took her little angel swimming.
“There’re a few rules in our new home, Maisie, and the most important one is that you never come to swim alone. Never. Understand. In fact, I don’t want you opening that gate. Promise?”
“But Mia, I can swim, See?” Maisie let go of the side of the pool and floundered in a mass of splashes about a foot from Mia, sinking until Mia grabbed her arm and hauled her back to hold on.
“Maisie. I’m not going to discuss this.” She glared a special way that meant she wouldn’t change her mind. Maisie had always obeyed when she saw Mia’s determined stance.
“I pwomise, Mia.”
“Okay. Either Mark or I will try and take some time every day so you can come to the pool.”
“Can Jack swim with me?”
“I don’t know. You’ll have to ask him.”
Jack! Keeping strict control on where her thoughts could roam, she’d tried to ignore his existence. But the man haunted her even when he wasn’t around. She supposed she’d have to visit the casita with him eventually, and they would go over plans to update the place.
But for now, she didn’t want to even think about that.
After twenty minutes of watching Maisie tootle around with her arm floaters and a blow-up turtle around her chest, listening to constant cries of “watch this, Mia,” she felt relief when the door chimes indicated that Mark had arrived.
Sweeping Maisie from the water, she wrapped her in a towel twice her size, used another around her own body and flew to the front door.
The man who stood on the porch area, waiting to be allowed to enter would have caught anyone’s attention… any female that is. Gorgeous wouldn’t begin to describe him. Not too tall, yet looking more so because of his slenderness, Mark struck an imposing figure. Flamboyant, dressed tonight like a female pirate, in tight black pants and a flowing white shirt, he swept both Mia and Maisie up in an exuberant hug, all the while exclaiming how much he’d grieved when he left them.
“You two look like pretty summer flowers. I missed you so much, the sun finally reappeared just now.”
Mia extricated herself quickly, not wanting to make him damp, and answered as she usually did. A person had to keep their sanity in check when around this wonderful, maddening man. “Oh pooh. We look like drowned rats. We just had a swim, and we’re all wet. And it was ninety-five degrees today with the sun still burning brightly at what…” she looked at her turquoise Armitron sport watch, Mark’s last Christmas present, and said, “six o’clock.”
Mark, who now had Maisie on his shoulder and was dancing around the room with her, answered, “Insignificant trifles, mylove. What’s important is that I’m again with my two favorite girls and life is good.”
Maisie wiggled to get down and shouted, “Come and see my woom, Mawk. It’s so big. And Mia’s is wight next doow.”
Mia laughed at her excitement along with Mark. They dropped off his parcels that reeked of tasty, mouth-watering odors that couldn’t be left for long. Arms around each other’s waist, they followed Maisie.
Before they reached the room where the little one had disappeared, Mark slowed down and held them back. “What’s wrong?”
Mia never understood how this man – who could never have a relationship with a woman other than friendship – comprehended her species so well. It was like he had a conduit into her feelings, knew her suffering and the various levels of her stress.
Other than Jasmine, who she’d shared her soul with – as young girls, they’d divulged everything worth talking about – this wonderful female spirit locked inside a man’s body could analyze her instantly and sense when something was out of sync.
“I’ll tell you about it later, I promise. But not now.”
“You better. Because whatever it is must be devastating. I haven’t seen that look in your eyes since the day we found out about Jasmine.”
Chapter Twenty-one
Once they finished some of the best Chinese food Mia had ever tried, they tucked a tired little girl into bed and slouched together on the sofa… newly filled wine glasses held in their hands.
“So, who’s this guy Jack that Maisie’s in love with?”
“Remember I told you that Angie had a contractor friend who she suggested could come and drive us from L.A. to Maricopa?”
“The one who’s going to do the renovations and help us set up?”
“Uh-huh.”
