Page 40 of Georgia On My Mind (Southern Promises)

Gia flushed as heat rose on her neck. She looked down at her hands she was absentmindedly wringing in her lap. “I’m okay,” she managed to say. “I’m sorry about last night. I can explain—”

“I don’t want to talk about that now,” he interrupted sternly. “There’ll be plenty of time to talk about it later, Gia.” She nodded forlornly and looked out the window as the weight of the world once again settled on her.

It only took ten minutes before they arrived at the secured subdivision. Hart punched in a code that opened the ornate gate and sped through the winding roads toward the Kaufman residence. As they pulled up a curved driveway that cut through the manicured lawn, Gia gasped at the sight of the palatial home. The stucco house was huge, the Kaufman’s wealth obvious.

“Come on,” Hart urged. They trotted to the front door, and he rang the bell. The sound of a child wailing echoed in the background.

Stephen Kaufman’s wife Jessica answered the door, carrying a baby on her hip as two more little blonde heads peeked from around her tanned legs. “Thank God, you’re here!” she sputtered, her Southern accent pronounced. “Jilly’s on the back stairs in the kitchen. Come on!” She grabbed Hart’s hand, pulling him through the foyer.

Gia followed and noticed right away that the home was in total disarray. Toys lay scattered in every room and dishes stacked up in the sink or on counters in the open kitchen. It was a little overwhelming.

“Here she is. My poor baby, Jilly,” Jessica mimicked a baby voice, speaking directly to her young daughter as she bounced the other baby on her hip. Jilly’s face was red as a beet as she kept trying to pull her head out of the wooden spokes of the railing, her nose snotty and her cheeks wet with tears. Blonde ringlets bounced each time she pulled back, trying to get unstuck and each time she couldn’t, she let out a screeching wail.

“I don’t know what happened. One minute, Jilly was playing happily with her little ponies and the next, her head was stuck smack in the center of these rails.”

Gia got a good look at Jessica Kaufman. Her blonde hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun, and she wore black running shorts paired with a hot pink camisole on her thin frame. The young, blue-eyed mother didn’t have a stitch of makeup on, her tanned face smattered with faint freckles across her nose. Even in her state of duress, she was drop-dead gorgeous.

Gia leaned down to be eye-level with the other two little girls standing by their mother. “Hi. My name’s Gia. Why don’t we go and play in the family room while Mr. Parker and your mommy take care of your sister, okay?” She turned to Jessica and held her hands out to take the baby. “Hey, Jessica. I’m so sorry we have to meet under these circumstances. Let me help you out and take the girls into the other room, so they’re out of the way.”

“Where are my manners? Yes, it’s nice to meet you Gia. Stephen mentioned Hart was looking at property this weekend with his girlfriend.” Her smile was authentic. If she only knew what had transpired the night before. “Here you go.” She passed off her youngest daughter.

“Come on little one. What’s your name?” Gia asked, wrapping her arms around the small tyke. She was heavier than Gia anticipated.

The oldest of the girls spoke up first. “That’s JoAnne, but we call her Jo-Jo. She’s almost one.”

“I love that name! Hey, little Jo-Jo!” The baby offered a big grin, exposing two little teeth. “And what’s your name?” she asked, turning to the oldest sibling.

“I’m Jennifer. I’m six, and this is Julia.” She pointed to the wide-eyed little girl who was sucking her thumb. “She’s four, but she doesn’t talk much.”

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you Jennifer, Julia, and Jo-Jo.”

The stuck little girl started to wail again as Hart was intently surveying the rails. “And let’s not forget Jilly!” Gia shouted so she could hear. Her comment seemed to appease the child for a moment.

“Sweet little Jill is two years old,” Jessica said, stroking her fair hair. “Four little babies six and under. What was I thinking?” She nervously laughed before changing the subject. “I just can’t thank y’all enough for being here. I’m so, so sorry for takin’ up your Saturday morning.”

“No problem, Jessica. I’m glad we could help. I’ll have your daughter out in no time.”

Gia ushered the little girls into the family room and sat on the floor. The baby was content to stay in her lap and stared up at her with big blue eyes. Gia couldn’t help but run her fingers through her baby-fine, silky hair. “Why don’t you show me your favorite toys?”

*

Hart rummaged in the garage area Jessica had described and found what he was looking for. Taking the small saw and hammer back inside, he couldn’t help but overhear Gia chatting away with the little girls, causing him to stop for a moment and smile. She was good with children. It was evident the first time he saw her teaching a ballet class. She was in her element when she was around kids—not so much when she was around a bunch of drunk idiots shouting at her to take off all her clothes. His smile changed to a frown in an instant. They needed to talk about what had happened, but there had been no time. At least she was feeling better and was away from that hell-hole, the agony of watching her on stage something he never wanted to witness again. For her to come with him on this unexpected outing spoke volumes. She was willing—and she was with him.

Jessica was kneeling beneath her daughter, holding a straw to her tiny mouth that dipped into a cup of water. “Jilly was thirsty,” she explained.

“I’d be thirsty too if my head were stuck,” he teased. The little girl spotted the saw in his hands and started to flail, jerking her small head back and forth in fear.

“No! Baby, stop! He’s not going to hurt you!” Jessica reassured the little girl.

Loud, high-pitched crying ensued, making Hart want to cover his ears. “Sweetheart, I’m gonna cut through this rail at the bottom here, see? It’s not gonna touch you.”

Jill looked down at the saw while holding onto two rails in a death grip with her small hands. Hart noticed her tiny fingernails were painted pink.

“There we go, nice and slow. Let’s get you out of jail!”

The three of them watched the saw move carefully back and forth, the teeth of the blade causing bits of sawdust to float to the floor. When Hart was about halfway through, he pushed on the wooden spoke, and it cracked loose. Jill immediately freed herself and trotted down the stairs into her mother’s arms.

“There, there my sweet silly Jilly. You’re all right.” She hoisted the little girl up onto her hip where she buried her nose in her neck. Stroking the back of her blonde curls, Jessica looked right at Hart. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without you. You saved the day.”

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