“Whatever, let’s just hurry to pick up my brothers before they call my dad.”
* * *
Debbie carriedNoah into the house with the Reed children trailing behind her. Fortunately, Noah stopped crying when they picked up Dallas and Cody. Dallas playing peek-boo and pulling silly faces at Noah helped.
She gave them a quick tour of the house, making sure they knew where the bathrooms were, and that the dining room where Savannah would be working was off limits. She hoped their excitement over the game and theater rooms downstairs would provide incentive for getting their homework done quickly.
“Okay, do you guys want to do your homework first or have a snack?”
“Snack!” Dallas and Cody shouted in unison.
“Snack it is. Go wash your hands.”
“I better go make sure they actually use soap,” Savvy said as she followed the boys down the hall.
Debbie washed Noah’s hands at the kitchen sink then put him down so she could cut up some apples. He immediately wrapped an arm around her leg and stuck his thumb in his mouth.
“Hey, buddy.” She picked him back up. “It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. Do you want to be my helper?”
Noah gave a solemn nod.
Debbie grabbed a bag of apples from the fridge and pulled a stool over to the sink for Noah to kneel on. “Can you help me wash these?”
“Me do it.” He grabbed the apples from Debbie and dropped them in the sink.
Less than five minutes later, Noah’s shirt was soaked and so was Debbie’s. Two of the apples had fallen on the floor more than once, and Noah now wore peanut butter from ear to ear.
That boy had the fastest hands Debbie had ever seen, and he wanted to do everything by himself.
Cody and Dallas thought Noah was hilarious and kept laughing at him, which made Noah ham it up even more.
It was all Debbie could do to keep Noah busy with play dough that ended up everywhere while she helped the boys with their homework.
She’d never been so eager to tell someone to go play with toys.
“Dallas and Cody, you guys keep an eye on Noah, please,” Debbie said before making her way back to the kitchen to clean up the play dough.
Savannah poked her head around the wall of the dining room. “I wouldn’t count on Dallas and Cody keeping a very good eye on Noah.”
“Good to know. I’ll check on them in a minute. After I clean up this mess.”
“Who is Noah, anyway?”
“I’m fostering him. His mom was injured in a car accident this morning and needs someone to take care of him for a while.”
“Where’s his dad?”
Debbie shrugged as she swept up play dough. “I guess he’s never really been in the picture.”
“Oh.” Savannah’s gaze dropped to her paint splattered hands, and Debbie stopped sweeping, wondering—not for the first time—where the Reed children’s mother was.
Asking outright seemed insensitive. Debbie could tell Austin worked hard to provide for his family and meet his children’s needs, but sometimes a girl just wanted her mom. Boys too for that matter, if Cody’s attention the other night was anything to go by.
Savannah returned to her painting, and Debbie decided to let the subject drop. Maybe, with time, she could get the girl to trust her.
Once the floor was clean, Debbie checked on the boys. They had moved from the game room to the playroom, and it was already a mess, but they played nicely together, so she let it go. Debbie returned to the kitchen to start dinner.
Dinner!
