Page 16 of A Thirst for Franc

“Quick!” she exclaimed, jumping from the floor and coming at me. “Shut the door.” Her body slammed into mine as she grabbed the door and flung it shut. She stumbled, and I rested my hands on her hips to steady her. My hands molded to the hourglass curves, and all train of thought was lost.

Her dark brown eyes locked on mine, rendering me even more lost. “I’m okay.”

“Dad!” Gio’s voice broke through my trance, and I quickly dropped my hold. Gio barreled down the stairs. When he reached the bottom, he threw himself into my arms. Expecting the leap, I braced myself and caught him without as much as a stumble.

“Hey, bud.” His little face twisted downward. “What’s wrong?” My heart rate kicked up a notch as I looked from Gio to Quinn.

“We kind of lost Sally,” Quinn admitted. She lifted her hand and stepped toward us. “It’s my fault. I should have checked to make sure Sally was secure before we left. It looks like she got out of her tank.”

It wasn’t Quinn’s fault. I turned my attention to Gio. “What have I told you about Sally’s tank?”

“Double and triple check it before I leave.”

“And did you?”

Gio’s head hung, his brown hair flopping over his forehead. “No.”

I bent to his level. “What happens when you don’t triple check?”

“Sally gets out.”

“Exactly.”

“Honestly, I should have told him to check. I know how beardies are.”

“No, Quinn.” I stood and waited until she glanced back at me, ignoring the draw of those brown orbs. “Gio knows better. This isn’t on you.”

“It’s just it’s my first day, and I wanted you to come home and be able to relax, but I didn’t even have time to start dinner. We’ve been looking for over an hour, and Sally is nowhere to be found.”

“I was thinking of getting tacos for dinner tonight, anyway.”

“Tacos!” Gio threw his fist in the air.

I laughed, then glanced at Quinn. “Ever since you brought it up, I’ve been craving carne asada.”

A slight smile tugged at her perfectly plumped lips, and a pretty pink tinge the color of a white zinfandel blossomed on her cheeks. “I’m always craving those tacos.”

“How about we find Sally, and we can celebrate with tacos? Then you guys can tell me all about your day. I mean, assuming you have no plans and aren’t sick of Gio.”

“I could never be sick of Gio, and I can’t turn down those tacos.”

“Maria should be at River Birch Park tonight.”

“She is. I already checked her website.”

“It’s settled then. Now let’s find this beast.”

“Sally isn’t a beast,” Gio said. “She’s a reptile.”

“Same thing,” I muttered, but only Quinn heard me. I ruffled Gio’s hair, and he swatted my hand away. “Did you check your toy chest?”

He shook his head, his hair flopping back and forth before taking off up the stairs, leaving me and Quinn alone.

“Other than the missing dragon, how did today go?”

“It was great. I’ll let Gio tell you about our adventure, but he’s really a good kid.”

Warmth spread through my heart, and I couldn’t stop my smile. Giowasa good kid, but sometimes people couldn’t see past all his energy.

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