Page 27 of Fourth Heartwarmers Trilogy
An annoying voice broke into his thoughts. “It’s a nice day today, not so hot as we normally suffer this time of the year.” The lady next to him had finally settled her belongings and was taking the plunge to start up a conversation.
Oops… time to take Maisie for her lunch. “Yep. It is a nice day. Gotta take the kid for chowtime. Good talking to you.”
Chapter Six
During the quiet that now reigned, Mia worked like a demon getting her house in order. In no time at all, she had the last of the packing completed and the kitchen cleaned. Her thoughts roamed to the guy who’d shown up like an angel of mercy.
Recalling all the times her aunt had sung his praises and how her initial interest had turned to boredom and finally to nausea – no one could be that nice – she was sorry now that she hadn’t paid more attention.
Not only were his good looks exactly as Angie had described, but his voice really was like creamy velvet and those laughing eyes did seem to see deeper than most… as if he knew things others didn’t.
If she remembered correctly, he’d had an accident years before that had taken a long time and huge courage to overcome. I guess going through what must have been a horrible experience could leave permanent scars and a deeper understanding of what it takes to overcome adversity.
She’d noticed the exact kind of hardness… no, not hardness – directness… in Jasmine’s eyes periodically, as if she knew something others didn’t, had gone through hell and came out stronger.
Without any distractions to slow her down, Mia had her work finished and decided that a bath, rather than a shower, would be a gift to herself for all the hard work. And if she had time, she’d add a pedicure and give her fingernails a treatment they hadn’t seen for weeks.
Feeling strangely nervous, considering they’d lived in the building for years and had been completely safe, she shook off her silliness and opted to leave the front door to the apartment unlocked in case Jack and Maisie returned early.
Chapter Seven
As Jack approached the fancy plastic sand box, he noticed there were two other kids who’d arrived. One was a taller boy and the other a little girl that Maisie was holding hands with.
“Chewwy. You came today. Mama Mia said you won’t ‘cause it’s Saturday.”
“My daddy brought me and Howie so Mommy could sleep.”
“Ahh.” Maisie sounded as if she knew what that meant, and Jack hesitated to break up the delightful scene.
Instead, he leaned against the nearest tree and watched the interaction. Toys were scattered, some of them ones he brought with him and Maisie, and the others were obviously from the new kids.
Maisie reached for her pail at the same time as the kid he believed she’d called Howie and the fight was on. He watched to see what would happen and was thrilled to see Maisie exert her rights.
“That’s my pail, Howie. Chewwy wants to use it, and I said she could. Give it to me.”
“Screw Cherry and screw you too,” Howie yelled, making a disgusting face with his tongue sticking out, and his eyes crossed. Jack figured the boy was maybe three years older than the little girls, maybe seven or eight. Scrawny, two teeth missing in front and his hair looking like someone had taken a pair of garden shears to it, he showed his temper.
Jack stiffened. He hated to see this kind of behavior. Knowing it most likely had been picked up from what the kid saw at home, he checked to see if the kid’s dad was paying any attention.
Sadly, he was too busy flirting with the woman Jack had evaded on the bench.
“Howie, you’re a bad boy. Here, Chewwy, you can have my blue pail instead. Howie’s just being mean.”
The brat plopped himself down across from the girls and sneered, “Howie’s being mean to Chewwy.” Reiterating Maisie’s words in a sing-song creepy voice to make fun, Howie smashed at the sand with the shovel he’d absconded from the other child who’d sat pretending to be disinterested in what was going on but now rose with a wail. “Mommy. This boy’s being mean.”
Howie’s father looked up at the disturbance and yelled, “Howie, you mess up, kid, and I’ll lock you in the car while we’re here. Got it?”
Jack couldn’t believe the threat, couldn’t possibly take it seriously, figured it was just something stupid parents say to warn their kids but meant less than nothing. Until he saw the boy’s face and wondered.
Things quieted down then, and the little girls, happy to see each other, giggled and played well together. They began building a castle, and Jack was astonished at how inventive they were. Their imaginative ways of piling on more sand to build it taller and adding what he suspected were turrets and a moat.
All went well, even the whiner pitched in to help the girls, and now the three of them were like busy beavers creating a masterpiece.
Maybe if he’d been standing in a different direction, with his eyes on Howie’s face, he might have noticed his decision before he moved, but it wasn’t until after he plunged fists first into the destruction of the castle that Jack understood what was happening.
Maisie’s screams of anger mixed with Cherry’s. Then the whiner’s screech brought attention from the two happily engaged in their own world.
Jack moved fast, and it was only because he did so that they avoided a major catastrophe.
