“Right.”
* * *
“So sorry,Sandra, but Nigel called, and we must hurry. I’m sure Eb can give you a ride.”
“But…” Sandra began, but Merry was already hurrying her children away.
“Oh, yay.” Rue had pulled her hand from her fur muff and slid it into Sandra’s.
“I can get an Uber,” she said, knowing it sounded lame.
“Don’t you want to come with us?” Rue’s insecurity about being rejected always broke Sandra’s heart and made her want to smack Paige Briton. Even though children easily misunderstood things, there was enough to see in the little girl’s responses to know her mother had often pushed the child away. The woman might have even done it thoughtlessly, probably when she’d been busy with other things.
“I always like spending time with you, Miss Rue.” Sandra gave the child the biggest grin she’d been able to muster in a while.
“Can we go to Storytime again?Please?”
“I would love to.”
“It’s snowing, so we’d best get home.” Eb took Rue’s other hand, and they headed toward the parking area behind the daycare center.
From the smiles of other frolickers, Sandra could tell they thought the three of them were a family. Those assumptions were the hardest for her to endure.
To keep from crying, she focused on where to put her feet. Once in the car, at Rue’s request, Eb turned on Christmas music, and the two of them sang as they drove to the condo building.
He shot Sandra a few worried glances. His concern twisted her heart even more. She knew the people who cared about her were worried, but she was too. It had been ten years since her loss had consumed her so much. Spending time with Eb and Rue drove home what she wanted but couldn’t have. Right now, she was coping, but she knew she couldn’t live like this forever. Hopefully, with time, she could get past it.
And if she couldn’t? She would have to figure out what to do.
“Will you read me a bedtime story?” Rue asked when they reached Sandra’s door.
She should say she couldn’t, but the pleading in the little girl’s eyes stole Sandra’s resolve. She loved the child already and knew that to deny the innocent request would feed her insecurities.
“If your father doesn’t mind me usurping his job.” she gave him a weak smile.
“Not at all.”
“What’s ‘surping?” Rue asked, tugging Sandra toward their condo door.
“Well, Miss Rue,” Sandra said with a grin as her spirits lifted, “it means taking someone’s place.”
“Can’t you both read to me?”
“Of course,” Sandra said, releasing the little girl’s hand so she could run into her home.
Eb stood close by, holding the door, and Sandra finally met his gaze and held it. As always, he wore his heart in his eyes, and the love she saw filled her with longing. It was love for his daughter, of course. But why was there also wariness there?
Almost as though a line pulled her toward him, Sandra paused. How she delighted in the smell of him, his masculine aftershave, tonight’s smoke from the fire pit where he and Rue had warmed themselves, and a hint of mint from his hot chocolate. Of its own accord, her hand lifted toward his face. She wanted to run her fingers over the scruff of his five o’clock shadow, nuzzle his neck, to kiss those lips—
Sandra jumped away from him and into the condo. If she hadn’t promised to read a story to Rue, she’d have run away to her place. This was why it was dangerous to be around him. Only with sheer will did she get through helping Rue into her sleeper.
“I love your bed, Miss Rue, but I’m afraid there’s not much room up there for me too.”
The royal purple bed frame and railing had been constructed over a play area, with a small set of stairs to the side. They looked like drawers too which probably explained the orderliness of the room. A pale pink gauze hung from the center of the playroom, making it impossible for Sandra to see much inside.
“Oh, Daddy reads to me here.” Rue took Sandra’s hand and led her through the fabric.
Still bent over, she gave a small gasp. The gauze made a canopy over a thick quilt, folded to fit the space like another bed, and pillows surrounded the exterior.
