by Ellis, J. J.
“Well, we’re glad to have you back,” Evelyn said with a smile. She wasn’t sure if Dylan’s best friend being back in town was a good thing or not. Somehow she thought it hadn’t ended well.
Emily offered everyone coffee but the two longtime friends and Nicoletta decided to head for Billings right away.
Russell shut the door behind them and turned to Emily. “Nicoletta’s back. If Dylan makes it through this, the whole town will be lit up with fireworks.”
“Yeah, that ought to be fun, Rusty,” Emily chuckled.
Russell sighed and glared at her. “Don’t call me that.”
“Aww why not?” she asked with a sexy pout. “It’s cute.”
“Only to my mother,” he grumbled as he walked past her and back into the kitchen.
She laughed and followed him. “I’m sorry, you’re just so fun to tease.”
“So, I’ve been told. Sit down and I’ll cook you breakfast.”
Emily looked at him skeptically. “According to your daughter, your cooking is ‘icky.’”
Russell chuckled. “Most of my cooking is ‘icky’. But I make the best omelets in Vegas. I started out as a buffet omelet cook.”
“I make a pretty good omelet myself,” Emily bragged, sitting at the breakfast bar. “Show me what you’ve got.”
“I thought I did that last night,” he joked kissing her forehead. Walking to the fridge to gather supplies, he couldn’t help but smile at the sweet sound of her laughter.
The whole scene was quite domestic - he making an omelet, she sitting there talking to him and waiting in anticipation. And for some strange reason, he didn’t seem to mind. Perhaps because it was a completely new feeling; he’d never had anything close to domestic with Vivienne. “And here you go sweet Emily.”
“Oh Russell, this is wonderful,” she mumbled around a mouthful of ham and cheddar omelet. “You could serve just this at your restaurants and keep them in business.”
He chuckled. “I don’t think I’ll try that, but thank you for the compliment.”
They both heard loud footsteps on the stairs. Miranda was awake. She came rushing into the kitchen with a smile on her face and Rizzy following close behind. Russell hated that he was about to ruin her whole day.
“Sit down baby girl. Do you want an omelet?
“Yes please, Daddy. Can Rizzy have one too?”
Emily smiled. “People food isn’t good for puppies. While your dad makes your breakfast, I’ll feed the puppy and take her outside.”
As soon as the door closed behind Emily, Russell asked Miranda to sit down.
“Where is Grandma?” she asked as her father brought her a glass of orange juice.
“She had to go to Montana,” he said quietly. “Uncle Dylan had an accident last night and he had to go to a hospital there to get checked out.” He saw the morning’s joy leave her face. She was a troubled little girl who had problems reading emotions, but she was far from stupid.
“Is he dead?” she asked quietly.
Emily walked back in at that moment and motioned to Russell to let her talk to his daughter.
“He’s not dead Miranda. But we don’t know how bad he’s hurt yet either. Your Grandma will let us know as soon as she talks to his doctors.”
“Okay,” she murmured.
“Do you always think the worst when something bad happens?” Emily hedged.
The little girl nodded without looking up.
“That’s something we can work on together, if you would like?” Emily suggested, sitting down next to her. “I can tell you don’t like always thinking the worst.”
“It’s scary,” she admitted quietly. “It makes me worry more than other people.”
“I’ll help you.”
Miranda nodded and reached for her fork. Russell had just set a cheese and tomato omelet in front of her.
They sat quietly while she ate and Russell noticed her start to rock vigorously back and forth. “Be careful sweetie, that stool doesn’t have a back.”
Emily got up and grabbed Rizzy to bring her back to the breakfast bar. “I think someone wants your attention, kiddo.”
Miranda stopped rocking and gathered the little back and brown dog in her arms. Her father and Emily immediately breathed a collective sigh of relief. She wouldn’t fall over backwards onto the hard tile floor after all.
“Come on, squirt. It’s time to get dressed,” Russell encouraged. “You don’t want to miss the bus.”
“Okay Daddy,” she answered quietly, she was still definitely sad and contemplative, but her eyes were no longer wild.
When Miranda left the room, Russell turned to Emily. “Why does she do that? Why does she rock?”
“It’s a comfort mechanism. Some kids rock back and forth, some flip or shake their hands and some pace. It’s very soothing to them.”
Russell nodded. “Should I let her do it or should I stop her? God, this is all so confusing.”
Emily moved over and wrapped her arm around him. “It’s okay, you’ll get the hang of it. Eventually, we will teach her other coping mechanisms but for now, just let her do what she needs to do, unless of course she’s in danger like today.”
Russell looked at Emily and smiled. “Thank you for everything you are doing for her. I’ll never be able to pay you back.”
Emily reached up and caressed his cheek. “Just help your beautiful daughter and that will be all of the thanks I need.”
He smiled and kissed her hand. “Let me drop you off at work, and then I’ll pick you up and bring you back here for dinner. My treat.”
“Hmmm,” she winked. “You might have to do a bit of convincing first.”
“Oh really,” he said, reaching out to pull her close. “Like this?” His lips met hers in a kiss that threatened to burn the house down. The sound of the school bus honking interrupted them mere seconds before Miranda ran thought the kitchen. The front door slammed behind her.
“I guess maybe we should be a little more careful,” he sighed, rubbing his hand across the back of his neck.
“Yeah,” she agreed. “How about one more for the road?”
CHAPTER 8
After arriving at work, Russell called his mother’s part-time housekeeper and offered her a bonus if she would keep an eye on Rizzy and cook a meal for him to serve that evening. She readily agreed, so when four-thirty rolled around, he left the assistant manager in charge and headed to the school to pick up Emily and Miranda.
The principal’s secretary was finishing up her work and told Russell to go on back to Emily’s office. When he peeked in, she was deep in thought across a checker board from Miranda. “Knock, Knock!”
“Daddy!” Miranda squealed, jumping up to run to him. The checker game went flying.
“Whoa squirt,” he cautioned, gathering the little girl in his arms. “You just messed up your game.”
“It’s okay Daddy. I was winning again anyway.”
“I guess I’m not the only one who losses to little miss smarty pants, huh?” Russell asked, shooting a glance at Emily.
She smiled. “I haven’t won a round yet. Miranda could you come help me pick the game pieces up please?”
“No. There’s too much,” she whined.
“But you made the mess, so it’s time to pick it up.”
“I’ll help you,” Russell cut in.
“No, it’s Miranda’s mess, she needs to do it,” Emily cautioned with a raised hand.
“But, but there’s so much!” the little girl whined while bouncing on the balls of her feet.
“Let’s just take it one piece at a time,” Emily said in a soothing voice as she led Miranda to the mess. “One red, then one black until they are all in the box. You can do it.”
Russell watched in fascination as his daughter slowly calmed down and set about helping Emily to clean up the mess. He looked at the young counselor questioningly. She just shrugged and smiled before taking the box from Miranda and putting it in its spot on the game shelf.<
br />
As his daughter ran ahead to the outer office, Russell waited for Emily to gather her things. “How did you do that?”
“Too much of anything frustrates her. I just broke it down into smaller tasks that she was able to handle. She still did the same amount of work, but it seemed easier to her.”
Russell thought of the many times in the past he could have used the strategy and sighed. Why hadn’t anyone at her old school known what was happening? Her childhood could have been much easier on her.
“Hopefully with therapy, she’ll learn to deal with tasks without having to have them broken down. But that takes time,” Emily informed him. “It all just takes time and practice.”
Russell closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m pretty much going to have to learn all new parenting skills, aren’t I?”
Emily chuckled. “Yeah, but it will be easy. It’s easy to adopt new behaviors when you see how well they work and how happy your daughter is. And I’ll be there every step of the way.”
That crazy, brief feeling of doom he’d been cursed with over the last couple of weeks made an appearance. Miss Zane was truly becoming ingrained in their lives. Did he want that? He wasn’t sure anymore. He liked having her around. He loved how she helped his daughter. But there was something there, on the personal side of things, which scared him. His subconscious told him he’d better get used to it because like it or not, he’d started something personal the night before when he’d taken her to bed.
The uneasy feeling warred with the warm and fuzzy feeling so he shook it all off and escorted Emily and Miranda out of the building. There would be plenty of time to think about it later.
**********
Miranda was the first to jump out of the SUV and head inside. By the time her father and Emily made it in, she was deep in conversation with Ella who was standing at the stove, finishing dinner.
“Ah, you called in the big guns,” Emily teased. “I won’t have to worry about food poisoning.”
“Oh, she’s being funny,” he smirked as he tugged on her braid. “If you’re not careful I’ll bake you some of my famous Raisin Oatmeal cookies.” Infamous was more like it. The first time Vivienne had eaten one she broke a tooth.
“No Miss Emily!” Miranda warned. “My…my…my mother always said they were hockey pucks, not cookies.”
Emily laughed and pulled the little girl close for a quick hug. “Thanks for the warning kiddo,” she whispered conspiratorially.
“I heard that,” Russell mumbled.
“Are you ready for your tea party, young miss?” Ella called from the dining room. I don’t know about you and your dolls, but I’m hungry.”
“Yes ma’am,” she squealed and joined the housekeeper on the back stairs. “Your dinner is in the dining room, Daddy.”
Russell and Emily looked at each other and smiled. “I guess it’s just you and me for dinner,” he said, holding his arm out to her.
She took it and held just above his elbow, following him into the dining room. “Wow. This is…”
“A set up if I ever saw one,” Russell grumbled. His daughter and his mother’s housekeeper had some explaining to do. He wondered how much extra he would have to pay the woman for this.
“It’s very sweet,” Emily defended. “I think it’s nice, let’s just enjoy it.”
“You’re not mad?” he asked, pulling her chair out for her.
“Of course not, Russell. It’s just dinner… with candles, and romantic music playing in the background.”
He chuckled and took his seat across from her. “Okay. I’ll let my daughter off this one time. Let’s just enjoy the quiet.”
“Agreed,” she sighed, raising her water glass to him. “I don’t get much quiet these days.”
“Do you like your new job?” he asked.
“I love it!” she smiled. “It’s just not quiet. All of the kids I work with are great though. I’m glad I get the chance to help them.”
“They’re lucky to have you. I hope they can do without you for a few days because I’d like you to come with me to Denver when Miranda has her first appointment with Doctor Jacobs.”
“I was hoping you’d ask,” she grinned. “I’ve already cleared it with my boss. I think it will be good for me to observe everything. I could use a refresher on ASD.”
“Miranda will be happy,” Russell said softly.
“Speaking of your daughter,” Emily said. “I wanted to ask you about her relationship with your wife, before she left. She seemed reluctant to talk about her earlier.”
Russell sighed and took a sip of his water. “She was only seven when Vivienne left.” He shrugged and looked away from Emily’s curious eyes.
“What is it? Do you think she doesn’t miss her?”
“Truthfully,” he murmured. “I just don’t know. They were never very close, but what kid doesn’t miss a parent who is gone?”
Emily swallowed her last bite and pushed her plate away. “How did Vivienne treat her when she was there?”
Russell’s eyes cast downward. His voice was soft and angry. “Like she was a burden. Like there was no way someone with Devareaux blood could act like she did.”
“And how did Miranda deal with that?”
Russell finally looked up and into her eyes. “She tried to please her mother. She did everything she could to win that bit…woman’s love. But at the end of the day, my daughter was who she’d always been. She didn’t know how to control her impulses.”
Emily soaked up the information, quelling the disgust she felt for Vivienne Harper. “How long did you say it has it been since she’s seen Miranda?”
“Two years,” he admitted with a grimace. “Through the quickie divorce and her signing my baby girl over to me, I’m the only one who saw her – for ten minutes while papers were signed. The rest was done through representatives.”
“Didn’t she even fight for custody?” Emily asked. Her heart broke for the little girl. Who wouldn’t want that precious child in their life?
“No. I got a call from her representative one day saying that she was giving me sole custody. That was the end of it.”
Emily reached out and put her hand on Russell’s. “I’m sorry. That couldn’t have been easy for you.”
“I wouldn’t have had it any other way, but no, it wasn’t easy at all. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I chose to marry a complete nut.”
“Really?” Emily questioned with a raised eyebrow
Russell shrugged. “Truthfully, I think that by the time she left, she was a bit off her rocker. Thank God, for her sake, I didn’t have to fight for custody or she would definitely have been evaluated.”
Emily was too stunned for words, all she could do was rub his hand as a measure of comfort. Vivienne Devareaux Harper was truly a piece of work.
“I didn’t mean to spoil your evening,” Russell apologized.
“I’m the one who brought it up,” Emily chuckled. “I think we could both go for a subject change.”
“We should probably talk about last night,” he hedged.
“Yeah, things kind of moved fast.”
“Do you regret it?” he asked softly.
“No. Never.”
Russell folded his napkin and put it on the table. “Would you be opposed to taking a step back? I thought maybe we could get to know each other and…I don’t know…go on a date or two?”
“I’d like that,” she murmured with a smile. “I’d like that a lot.” She knew there was something special growing here and if they didn’t at least try to take a step back, it might not work out.
Russell smiled and stood. “Why let this great music go to waste. Would you like to dance?”
She stood and reached for his outstretched hand. “I’d love to.”
He held her tight as they danced around the dining room. They stuck to mundane topics that in the end would help them get to know each other better.
“I can’t believe we have the same taste in music. If I re
member correctly, you didn’t like the ‘trash’ that Chuck and I listened to.”
“You remember,” she laughed. “My tastes have changed over the years. I have broadened my horizons.”
“Then does that mean you would like to accompany me to the final installment of Music in the Park this weekend? I believe it’s classic rock.”
“Is this one of those dates you were talking about?”
“Absolutely. We’ll have dinner at Vito’s, then go to the park.”
“I haven’t been to Vito’s in ages. That sounds fun so…”
“So…?”
“It’s a date.”
“Good,” he said, spinning her around. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“Can I still kiss you?”
“I think kissing is still allowed,” she murmured as she pulled him closer.
“Good,” he whispered as their lips met.
“I’m home!” Evelyn’s voice rang out through the house.
Russell and Emily pulled apart. “Great timing as always, Mother,” he mumbled. They hurried out to the kitchen and were soon joined by Ella, Miranda and Rizzy.
“How is Uncle Dylan?” the little girl yelled as soon as she was on the last stair. “Is he coming home?”
Evelyn sat down at the breakfast bar and kicked her shoes off. “I’ll tell you everything, just let me get a glass of water and some food.”
Ella was one step ahead of her and quickly set a plate full of food and a glass of water down in front of her.
Evelyn took a drink then started to eat. “Dylan has some broken bones, bumps and bruises, and a concussion. Thank the lord, his neck and back aren’t broken. He does have a neck brace for the time being, but it’s mostly just a precaution. Right now their main concern is internal bleeding.”
Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief then began to chat amongst themselves about Dylan’s condition. Soon Ella headed home while Evelyn and Miranda went to bed.
“I should probably take you home,” Russell said. “It’s getting late and you have work tomorrow.”
“And so do you,” Emily said with a smile. “I think I’ll walk. It seems like a beautiful night out there.”