“Miss Sandra!” Rue ran up to the half door. “How come you’re picking me up?”
“Because you and I are going to frost sugar cookie turkeys for Thanksgiving.”
The little girl tried to clap her hands in excitement, but Millie was there with her coat. The woman shot a quick glance at the front door.
“Let’s get you home, and you can tell me what you’d like to do with them.”
Rue chattered happily as Sandra buckled the booster chair. She wished there was a way to keep her from finding out about today.
“You can check these out,” Sandra said after buckling Rue into her booster chair and handing her the package with the cookies. “See there? It has little tubes for decorating. I think I’ve got some powdered sugar if we need more.”
“Can I eat the little colored balls?” the little girl asked after examining the contents.
“You sure can,” Sandra pulled from the parking lot.
“Oh, look,” Rue said when they’d driven about a block from the condo. “That poor lady has a flat tire. Are you going to help her?”
Sandra shouldn’t. She’d had nothing to eat since the oatmeal, and she was feeling lightheaded, but she stopped anyway.
“Do you have a phone so you can call for help?” she asked.
The woman smiled. “My husband’s on the way. He’s the one who took the jack out of my car and didn’t put it back. But thank you.” She waved at Rue and then strode toward a Jeep which had pulled up behind her car.
“Did you know my daddy always stops when people have broken cars?” Rue asked.
“No. I didn’t. It’s nice of him.” Sandra didn’t think Rue was old enough to understand the dangers involved for a lone woman stopping to help stranded drivers. But it was nice to know Eb would do it.
Fortunately, they didn’t see anyone else as they made their way to her condo. They washed their hands and spread everything on the breakfast counter. Sandra couldn’t believe it had only been a few hours ago she’d received the most passionate kiss of her life in almost this same spot.
But she didn’t want to think of that.
“I wonder where my aprons are…”
She checked a few spaces and gave up. Instead, she wrapped an extra-large dishtowel over Rue’s clothes. Winking at the little girl, Sandra tucked another one in her sweatshirt like a bib. Just as she’d hoped, Rue giggled.
As they worked, the child talked about the fun things they’d done in the daycare.
“Do you like it here with your dad?” Sandra asked when they were nearly out of frosting.
“Oh, yes. I never want to go back.”
There was so much in the simple statement. Eb had mentioned once that he’d like to get Rue into counseling. Sandra had read about ways to help children dealing with difficult things to feel safe and to express their emotions.
“Are you hungry?” Sandra asked when they’d finished cleaning up. “How about a cheese stick? Your grammy brought me some.”
“She buys yummy ones.”
Sandra got one for each of them. “What would you like to do now?”
“Can we watch a cartoon?”
“Okay.”
They cuddled together on the couch, and it wasn’t long before Sandra started nodding off. She had to shake her head to keep herself awake, so she snuggled the little girl closer, and let sleep overtake them.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
By the time Eb and Inez exited the elevator, he could barely stand. The doctor had assured him it was a combination of the medication and exhaustion, which was to be expected. He’d even provided some names of counselors to help cope with the emotional aftermath of the event.
