by Rita Hestand
"Uh…yeah, sure, I'll take a look at it for you." He smiled.
"You didn't bring any tools in…" she began.
"Maybe I won't need them…" he glanced at her and nearly lost his balance when she leaned over the tub and displayed a generous cleavage.
Just then, a small boy came barreling through the hallway as she rose up to look at him.
Mitch realized quickly, this was his son! He was cute as a button, and bent on playing with his dump truck as he maneuvered between Mitch's feet.
"'Cuse me," the boy smiled up at him.
Mitch's heart did a flip. Again, it hit him. This was his son. And the fact that he looked more like him than he ever imagined, hit him square in the gut. He became flustered.
"Mike, take that truck out on the porch and play. And stay on the porch do you understand? This man is going to fix the tub."
"Yes, ma'am…." He obeyed without a single argument.
The boy was well trained, well mannered. Mitch liked that.
The busy little man made all kinds of racket as the young woman proceeded to tell him all the problems she was having with the plumbing.
Mitch didn't know what to do, but he'd unplugged many drains in his time, so he spotted her plunger and plunged it into the tub. At first, it made a mere gurgle, but as he continued, it began to clear and run free.
"Do you have a coat hanger?" He asked.
She stared at him blankly. "A coat hanger…what for?"
She turned suspicious eyes on him now.
"I want to make sure something isn't trying to plug it up. Most of the time in a bathtub it stops up because something went down the drain that wasn't supposed to."
"Oh…oh yes, just a minute." She left him there for a moment then returned. Their arms grazed as she handed him the hanger, and he felt an immediate electrical current race through him. He stared down into her innocent face.
Maria had been beautiful, but this woman, was a pin up girl for any calendar.
Mitch twisted the end of the coat hanger into a straight line and then began fishing the hole of the tub.
He brought up a big wad of hair, and one plastic toy that looked cut up. "This must be the culprit."
The woman smiled when she saw the water disappearing. "My nephew likes to play in the tub, as you can see." She laughed. "And I guess I contributed with the hair!"
He smiled.
"Great, you fixed it." She smiled. "I'm sorry; I didn't even ask how much it would be."
"Well, since it wasn't that big a problem, let's just say it was on the house…"
She eyed him again with suspicion.
"On the house?" She frowned then smiled. "Oh, but I must pay you. You can't do it for free. They could fire you for that. And you are dressed as though you could use the money. I have no much how much it cost, but I insist on paying for it."
"It's not necessary." He began.
"Let me fix you some lemonade, then." She encouraged, touching his arm and smiling into his face.
Friendly, beautiful and naturally sexy, wow, what a combination.
"Alright, I never turned lemonade down." He smiled at her.
She went to prepare him a glass and came back to the living room where he was looking around. He had spotted some pictures on her mantle and was looking at them when she returned.
"He's a cute little fella…" Mitch muttered as he accepted the lemonade. "But I don't see a husband around…"
"And you won't. I'm not married. Yes, he is my nephew. He's just recently orphaned but I try to keep his mind busy." She explained. "Quite handsome for such a little boy too."
She glanced at the boy outside on the porch engaged in heavy playing. The look she shot him told Mitch she cared very much for the tyke.
Then she saw his truck.
"You don't have a company name on your truck." She asked. "Your clothes, you look more like a cowboy than a plumber, now that I think of it.
"Yes well, and I'd like to explain. I'm not a plumber." He began.
Her face drained of color.
"Y-you're not…?" Her eyes widened. "Then who are you?" She demanded.
"I'm Mitch Connor, the boy's father." He blurted.
Her eyes widened even more. "Mike's father…?"
"That's right." He smiled.
Her mouth hung open for a moment. Her eyes clouded. "You've come to take him away, haven't you?" He could see tears in her eyes, real tears.
"Well…I don't know. I wanted to sit and talk with you about it, yes." He explained, wondering why she wasn't happy that he was here.
"Excuse me." She disappeared into the bathroom. He heard her blow her nose, and she came back with a tissue, wiping her eyes.
"You cannot just come in here and take him from me. I won't allow it. He is my nephew." She announced, and Mitch saw the motherly instinct in her to care for the child. However, it was more than that this woman loved his son.
"Well, I understand…"
"No…you do not." She insisted.
"Okay, suppose you tell me then. What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about being a family. With me, he has family. I do not wish to see him whisk away on a whim, and perhaps not taken care of properly. Sit down we have much to discuss." She offered her couch.
Mitch sat down and put his elbows on his knees, waiting for her to explain. "Since you never bothered with him before, I must tell you that Mike has been living in a loveless situation from the start. Oh, my sister loved him dearly, but her husband had absolutely no regard for her or the boy. He has been exposed too much yelling and unhappiness. Here he is healthy and happy. With me, we make a family. Can you offer him as much?"
Like a baseball hitting him between the eyes, he was stunned.
Uneasiness floated about the room making him anxious to take the boy and leave, but he knew it would not be that simple.
"Miss or Mrs. whatever your name is. I took the DNA test. I am his father." He reached into his shirt pocket and brought out the paper from the doctor's office. "And I have no intention of neglecting him. Had I known of him earlier, I would have been here, I can assure you. I didn't know he even existed until the other day. In fact I want to welcome him into my family." He stared into her warm brown eyes.
"And yet you had a test to make sure he was yours, no?"
"No…I mean…I was told the stepfather demanded it."
"Carlos would, that is true. So would I."
"I thought his name was Howard."
"Si…Howard Carlos Satterfield, he's a breed who tries to mimic true aristocrats."
"I see."
She looked at the paper, then him.
"You come here, under false pretenses and want your son. I cannot allow you to walk away with him. He's very young, he's lost his mother, my sister. We are both suffering from that loss. Every day he asks where his mother is. Every day I have to find an excuse not to tell him."
"She's in heaven. Isn't that easy enough?" Mitch said, angered that this woman who did not know him could be so stubborn.
"He doesn't know she's dead yet…" The woman admitted in a low voice.
"He doesn't know? You haven't told him?"
"No…I haven't found the right words to tell him." She said. "He's only five years old. You can't just blurt that out…"
Mitch considered her words and found them honest. "Alright, I'll tell him, and I'll tell him I am his father…"
"You can't. Aye-ye-ye. This is the very reason I did not want him around strangers who would simply blurt it out."
"I wasn't planning on blurting anything. There are tactful ways to talk to youngsters." Mitch informed her, his dark brow going up like a challenge.
"What do you want him for?" She asked.
"What?"
"I said why do you want him? You do not know him. You don' even know if you can get along. What are your plans toward him?" She asked, her brow sliding upward to meet his challenging words.
"I plan on being a father to him, if he'll let me…"
"Well of course he will I'm his father."
"He doesn't know that for a fact. He's never met you, never even seen you?"
"He'll learn. We both will as we go along." Mitch insisted.
"Why do you want him? You did not want my sister."
Mitch was at a loss for words. "You don't know that. It isn't fair to accuse me without hearing my side of the story."
"Since you never visited her in all this time, I would say you did not want her in your life. Why the boy…?"
"He's my son. In addition, I knew of Maria's pending wedding at the time. I never dreamed I left her with child or I would have been here to stand at her side. However, knowing her plans, I didn't feel I had the right to interrupt her nuptials."
"That may be true of her…but Mike? He's my nephew." She insisted.
"We're not getting anywhere, butting heads this way. I didn't come to argue the point. I came to get my son."
"I won't allow it. You'll have to bring a Sheriff or something out here, and force me to give him over to you. You cannot just walk into my house and demand I give him over to you."
"Why are you being so difficult? I've been a perfect gentleman. I never fought with your sister like this." Mitch fumed.
"I am not my sister. I am not as easily influenced as my sister by a handsome man." She came closer. "You knew my sister one weekend of your life. That is all. You never came for her. You simply walked away from her. Used her, and discarded her. I will not allow you to do the same to her child."
"I never lied to your sister. We were both very honest about our situations, before anything happened between us."
"No…but you made love to her. Knowing you would not be here."
"So…?"
"And you never came back to claim her as your own." The woman narrowed her eyes on him.
God, she was beautiful when she was riled!
Mitch was on his feet, pacing and trying to figure out how this conversation had evolved into such a problem.
"We both knew it was only one weekend in our lives. The marriage was pre-planned. I had no right to intrude. She didn't want to go against her parents."
"Maybe…" The brown-eyed beauty paced too. "But she paid for that weekend alone."
"Had I known I would have been here." Mitch explained. "I can assure you of that. I wish I had."
"How gallant of you." She began. However, when he hung his head, and his eyes seemed very far away, she reconsidered. "You loved her?"
"Very much…"
Mitch eyed her. This lady had education, breeding, and more cunning than he had handled in some time. He admired her stubbornness in one way. She obviously loved the child. That was in her favor.
"Let's call a truce. We aren't getting anywhere." Mitch insisted.
The woman seemed to consider his words. She stared at him from a distance.
"You may take your son on one condition." She nodded, as though she had a great plan.
"Oh…and what is that condition?"
"I come with him, as his nanny, of course." She raised her head proudly.
Mitch felt a headache coming on. He rubbed the back of his neck and paced again. "Come with us?"
"Si. He is too little to take care of himself yet. He needs me. And he doesn't know you. I will come along, and stay with the two of you until I know for sure that you love him and will take care of him properly." She said, and flopped back on the couch. "You will need a nanny, unless you intend to quit your job."
She stared up at him as his face changed visibly several times.
"I don't think that is wise…"
"Then he will not go with you." She refused without further consideration.
"Why are you making this so difficult? I'm not an unreasonable man. But I hadn't planned on bringing you along." Mitch ground out the words.
She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot.
"Obviously. However, he is my charge, my nephew and I love him. I will not permit anyone to just walk in and carry him away. It's not that simple. I must know that you have every intent on treating him as if he is part of your family. I do not know you sir, and I do not know if I can trust you yet. How could I, my sister barely knew you too. I will not be a burden. I will watch him while you work, and see that he is cared for in every way. You can consider me his nanny, and pay me accordingly."
"And now you want a salary too?"
"Well, I'll be quitting my job here, and I cannot live on nothing. You cannot expect me to teach him without some compensation, right?"
"Well, I suppose you are right, along those lines. But having you along means he'll rely on you, as he has been."
"Of course, would you rather put him in some day care where no one cares for him?" She asked. "I can tell you what will happen. He will be sick most of the time. Everyone in those places has some kind of cold. I do not wish to see him sick."
"Well no, of course not…but…"
"You are not married, are you?"
"No, I'm not married."
"Then I see no problem with me coming along to take care of him while you work. You can't expect him to go with you to work each day. I will not allow just anyone taking care of him. He's still very young and impressionable. I want him to grow up to be a respectable young gentleman with an education, and manners. Your public schools don't offer that, do they?"
"No-no they don't. But…"
"Take it or leave it. But if I do not go, then I do not permit him to go. I made a promise to my sister on her deathbed. I would see that he has a proper upbringing. I mean to keep that promise. Taking him away now could lead to disaster. After all, obviously you've never been a parent. I, on the other hand love Mike. I would have his best interest at heart all the time. And help him adjust to his new surroundings."
"But you aren't a teacher!" He argued.
"That is where you are wrong. I am a teacher. And I will have to call the school today and tell them I am quitting and that it is an emergency, and I'll be moving to where ever you live. Where do you live?"
"I live in Plano, Texas…" He rasped taking in all this information while fighting the battle of what-ifs.
"Plano, Texas. That is a strange name for a town?"
"No, Plano, one word."
He looked at her now, all of her and he had to admit she was quite startling beautiful as her sister. She was also very protective of his son. In some ways, this melted his heart toward her, but not so he could show it. He hadn't figured on anyone objecting to him taking the boy. However, on closer examination, he hadn't thought that through. This woman was devoted to him and he respected that.
"Alright, if this means an end to our problems, then yes, you can come. I do need a nanny to take care of him. That would solve at least one of my problems."
"Between us, I am his nanny, but to him I am his Aunt." She explained. "I love him beyond words. He is precious to me, my sister's only child. I had planned to raise him as my own. We have been together a lot since his birth. He knows he can count on me."
"An Aunt, forgive me." He said staring at her as she smiled at Mike.
"Good. Now I will bring him in and you can get to know him a little first." She insisted.
Mitch nodded.
"Mike bring your cars inside." She instructed.
"Okay, Auntie Sarah." He did as she requested and Mitch was quick to notice that he did not fight her authority. He also saw how much Mike loved her as he parked his cars and trucks and came to kiss her and sit in her lap.
"Who is he?" The boy looked at Mitch with curiosity.
"I'm your…" he started to say father, but she stopped him. "I'm Mitch Connor. And what is your name?"
"Mike." He said and got down and went to play again.
"You like trucks and cars, huh?" Mitch asked.
"Yes," He didn't even look up at him.
"I used to too." Mitch said.
The boy looked up now and studied him for a minute then smi
led and started playing all over again. He smiled as he made the truck go fast.
"How would you like to come to my house for a while, Mike?" Mitch asked out of the blue.
Mike didn't answer.
Sarah interrupted. "Mike, Mitch asked a question."
"Can Auntie Sarah come too?"
Mitch winced a bit but nodded. "Of course."
"Okay…" he shrugged.
"Are you hungry Mike?" she asked.
"Si, can we have enchiladas?" he asked
"No, we're having chicken." She smiled at him.
He glanced up at her as she started toward the kitchen. "Mama makes good enchiladas."
"Yes…she did…" Sarah responded giving him a backward glance.
"Maybe I should go and come back in the morning…" Mitch began, getting to his feet.
"No," She turned to look at him. "You can sleep on a pallet on the floor, no use wasting money on a hotel." Sarah insisted. "I mean you could sleep on the sofa, but it is very short for you and you are very tall for it."
When he didn't respond she looked at him from the open kitchen doorway, "I make fantastic fried chicken."
He smiled and nodded. "You win…I like fried chicken."
"Good."
That night as he lay on the pallet, against a hard unyielding floor, he thought about how she had tucked Mike into bed, how the boy had kissed her goodnight and smiled at him. It had been an inspiring moment.
However, would he win this battle? She was right, Mike didn't know him and it could present a problem without her along.
Sarah Montoya loved his son. She meant business when it came to his future. Mitch suspected she had little life of her own.
How could she with no husband and a child to raise, alone.
Yet the future seemed uncertain to him too. He'd never had a son before. He knew very little about raising one. Taking on Sarah seemed the wisest thing he had ever done at the time.
It would be a long time before his son looked at him as he did his Auntie. A long time.
Chapter Three
The next day on the road, Sarah made several phone calls, one to her school officials, and one to her landlord telling him that she was leaving and would not be back for some time. While she argued with the landlord over what he was supposed to do with her furniture, Mitch shook his head. Talk about unorganized, and yet she was willing to upend her life to be with Mike.