Wanda Spencer had plenty of experience with little girls, however. She bent down to Emilys level, overlooking the girls wide green eyes and trembling bottom lip. Hey there. Zoë and I were just talking about how we couldnt wait for you to come over. She wants to show you a special bubble-blowing toy she got. We have plenty of time to play out back before our movie. Want to see?
After a brief hesitation, Emily nodded, managing a smile when Zoë appeared in the doorway behind her mom.
As he watched the two little girls greet each other, Jason couldnt help making visual comparisons. Emilys dark hair was sliding out of the ponytail hed attempted, and there was a sticky spot of strawberry residue hed missed on her chin. Her clothes were clean, but her favorite green T-shirt, scuffed sneakers and purple skirt, worn over pull-up training pants, didnt quite have the panache of Zoës pink-and-white shirt underneath pink overalls. Shed accessorized with pink-sparkle tennis shoes and ribbons at the end of two fancy braids. French braids? Braided pigtails? They reminded him of Dorothys hair at the beginning of The Wizard of Oz. Did mothers take some sort of special class to learn how to do stuff like that? Plaiting 101. Every time he picked up the small lavender brush to fix Ems hair, he was all thumbs.
Shell be fine, Wanda Spencer said, misreading his expression. You go ahead, and well see you this afternoon.
Thanks. He hugged Emily in farewell and turned to Zoës mother. Really, thank you.
The people in Joyous were nosy and interfering, no doubt about it, but they were also generous of spirit and especially quick to help those they considered part of the fold. He knew that in a town this size, you could go a long while and still be thought of as an outsider, but Sophie had been well loved and locals had automatically extended that affection to him. He should try harder to remember this feeling of warm gratitude the next time someone was telling him about a woman he just had to meet.
Youre welcome. Wanda touched his arm, briefly, companionably. I cant imagine how hard it must be to go it alone. Zoës a good kid, but if I didnt have Brad to help meWell, I hope you and Emily know were here for whatever you need.
As he walked back across the street, he found himself hoping that Wanda didnt regret the open-ended offer of assistance. It was already becoming clear hed have a lot of questions to deal with. Now that he was working with Emily on the concept of potty training and she was old enough to start voicing questions, he was increasingly aware of situations that he, as someone of the opposite gender, didnt feel equipped to handle.
Recalling Principal Schonrocks entreaties to bring a date to the Spring Fling, Jason made a face. He needed a woman, all rightnot for some school dance, but someone who could braid hair and tackle delicate scenarios with a light touch. Emily was growing so fast that, before he knew it, shed be a young woman getting her first
Sheer panic filled him, so he squelched the thought immediately. Toddlerhood was terrifying enough; he didnt even want to contemplate puberty. One day at a time. It wasnt the most original or inspiring motto, but it had brought him this far. Whatever life threw at him next, hed handle.
His daughter was counting on him.
SINCE SHE WASNT SCHEDULED to work this particular Saturday, Ronnie had planned to use today to pack. Yet it had taken depressingly little time to box up her belongings.
Her father had shocked her that morning when hed suggested she take the dining room table and china cabinet with her. Your mama wouldve wanted to you to have them.
Oh, I cant! Shed glanced around the room, appalled by the thought of a big empty space. I appreciate the thought, Daddy, but my place is too small. Besides, where would everyone sit at Thanksgiving and Easter and plain ol family dinners?
Speaking of this evenings looming supperHer brothers had been suspiciously silent on the subject of Jason McDeere since teasing her at the beginning of the week. Lulling you into a false sense of security, no doubt. Heckling was a Carter family tradition, and she wondered what might be said later. Especially since insightful Kaitlyn, who had first clued Danny in about Ronnies unspoken feelings, would be present. Ronnie still couldnt believe her sister-in-law had said anything without first broaching the subject with Ronnie herself. Sharing thoughts with a spouse must trump gal-pal confidences.
At any rate, there wasnt much left to pack that she wouldnt need between now and the move, so Ronnie decided to get out of the house for a few hours. Cranking up an old Bon Jovi CD shed found while emptying out her desk, she drove to the towns main hardware supply store. She wanted to start thinking about the specific changes she planned to make, putting together a list of priorities and a preliminary budget.
Once inside the spacious warehouse, she grabbed a cart. Armed with a notepad of scribbled measurements and a calculator, she began at the far left, intending to make her way systematically across the aisles. She was only four rows in, however, when she halted. Her breath caught in her throat.
Jason McDeere.
He was standing in front of a section of white plastic strips dotted in colorful squares representing paint shades. Apparently he was interested in one of the color schemes on a lower shelf, because hed bent over for a closer look. She couldnt help but notice the way the denim of his jeans
Veronica. He straightened, giving her a smile that was just a touch self-conscious.
Hello. Too formal. Hi. Yeah, that was better. Hi. Except that now shed greeted him three times and was probably coming off as manic. On the plus side, anything she said from here on out was bound to be an improvement as long as she didnt say it in triplicate. Hows it going?
Okay, I guess. He ran a hand through that thick hairlight brown with touches of burnished gold. I consider myself an educated man, but hell if I can tell you the difference between apricot and tangerine. Or cranberry and pomegranate.
She laughed, a combination of nerves and genuine amusement. Are you wanting to paint something, or make a fruit salad?
Exactly! Moving closer, he extended a strip with various shades of green. Kiwi? Honeydew? They cant just call it yellow-green?
Maybe they thought they could charge more for honeydew.
He nodded, studying the selection in front of him with befuddled exasperation. I always thought choice was a good thing, but this is overwhelming. Where do I start? Now I know how my students feel when I tell them to pick a topic for their research paper each semester.
You could try flipping a coin. Its what my brother Dev would do. But she was secretly pleased that Jason approached decisions more thoughtfully.
Better yet, I could get a second opinion. Help a guy out, Veronica?
Something rippled through her, a foreign intimacy at hearing her name again from his lips. Actually, its just Ronnie. Hardly anyones called me Veronica since my mom died.
Ronnie, then. After a moment, he asked gently, Do you still miss her?
Some days more than others. Was he thinking of his grandmother? Have I ever told you how sorry I was for your loss? Sophie was a lovely person.
He smiled. She was, wasnt she? I like to think shes with Grandpa Bert now. I dont think she ever truly got over him.
Some days more than others. Was he thinking of his grandmother? Have I ever told you how sorry I was for your loss? Sophie was a lovely person.
He smiled. She was, wasnt she? I like to think shes with Grandpa Bert now. I dont think she ever truly got over him.
Ronnie thought back to the photo of her mom in her dads office. Some people really do find that once-in-a-lifetime true love, dont they?
This time, his smile was tinged with the barest hint of bitterness. I might be the wrong person to ask.
Stupid, she chided herself. In light of his divorce, her babbling was probably insensitive. So, um, paint samples? Smooth segue. Yeah, its a real mystery why you never date.
He glanced down at the stick in his hand as if hed forgotten he held it. Right. Ive been putting off drastic changes to Grans house because it seemed somehow disrespectful to her memory, but I cant ignore the needed repairs. Theres one section of the roof I should reinforce so we dont end up with a leak, and the whole place could use some updating. My bedroom definitely needs a change.
Mine, too. It needs a man in it. Ronnie blinked, as horrified by the uncensored thought as if shed said it aloud. She tried to squelch the idea, but when she glanced into Jasons eyes her nebulous fantasies took on new clarity. She couldnt remember the last time shed cursed her redheads fair complexion so thoroughly. Hed have to be blind not to notice she was blushing. There was a question in his eyes, but he didnt voice it.
Doing her best to sound nonchalant, she asked, Then youre planning to paint your room?
Probably. The wallpaper thats in there now has got to go. No offense to Grans taste, but Im not really a roses kind of guy.
She smiled. When I was seven, my mother painted my room pink, hung frilly white curtains and got lacy pillow covers for my bed.
Sounds like my daughters idea of heaven, he said.
Yeah, well, I coveted the monster truck decor in Wills room. So I empathize on not loving the roses. It occurred to her that as lone occupant of her new house, she could fix up the entire place in a monster-truck motif. She chuckled at the image.
Jason raised an eyebrow. Whats funny?
Its silly.
Try me. I have a two-year-old, Im fluent in silly.
Im buying my first house this week, she said. Just saying it out loud sent joy glowing through her. I suddenly pictured all the rooms done in that truck theme I wanted when I was a kid.
He grinned. Im starting to think maybe I shouldnt ask your decorating advice.
Definitely not. Im doing well just to pick out clothes each morning that dont actively clash.
Looks like you do okay. As he spoke, his eyes swept downward in automatic observation. Yet long before hed reached her navy shirt and white shorts, his gaze slowed, became something less casual and more reflective.
Her skin tingled in the wake of his visual caress. She was unused to prolonged perusal from a man, was even less accustomed to the elemental admiration she saw dawning in those indescribable eyes. Her heart sped up in her chest, and she wondered if he could make out the rapid flutters beneath the thin cotton.
She swallowed. Thank you. It should have been a simple acknowledgment of a perfunctory compliment, but it was something more than that, husky and personal.
His eyes returned to hers, the expression in them dazed. A thrill of heady, feminine power shot through hershed put that look on Jason McDeeres face. It was surreal, so unexpected that she found herself emboldened enough to blurt, Would you like to go have lunch with me?
He hesitated, and she felt sure he would say no. After all, hed just finished telling her how much work he had to do revamping his
Id love to. His smile was boyish. Im as bad as my students. I always tell them not to procrastinate, but when faced with the prospect of slogging through more paint samples or a meal with a pretty girlWell, its a no-brainer. Youve rescued me from a kiwi-pomegranate-tangerine meltdown.
In turn, hed rescued her from going to bed tonight with the heavy feeling that shed let one more day pass her by, full of quiet longings and missed opportunities.