“When will I get to see you again? How about coming to dinner one night this week?”
Tess bent and picked up her black purse, hoisting it on her shoulder. She was so tempted to accept his invitation, not just because she would be able to see Johnny. But she needed to toughen her resolve to put some emotional distance between her and—who was she kidding—Mac. “Not this week. Sorry. Extra busy.”
“Well, then, I’ll see you at the hospital.”
“You will?” Her grip tightened on her purse strap. Why was he making it so hard to avoid him?
“I’ve worked out a visiting schedule with the child life specialist, Cindy. I should have done something like this sooner. I’m organizing some of my football buddies to help.”
“Oh, that’s good. The children will love that,” Tess replied, aware the enthusiasm she should be feeling wasn’t present in her voice even though she pasted a bright smile on her face.
“Cindy was excited about it.” He escorted her toward the front door. “So I guess you’ll just have to get used to me being in your life.”
The twinkle in his eyes emphasized he knew exactly what she was trying to do and that he wasn’t going to let her. Her smile faltered. “I’ll wave to you while I’m working. Some days I’m so busy I don’t even get a break.”
Mac held the front door for her. “I’ll be sure to wave back. Good night, Tess, and thank you for sharing your day with us. It meant a lot to—” he paused for a few seconds “—Johnny.”
Tess felt Mac’s gaze on her as she walked to her car, parked in his circular drive. Reaching to open her door, she noticed the quiver in her hand as it clasped the handle and pulled. He was deliberately undermining her resolve, and she wasn’t going to let him get away with it. But as she slid behind the steering wheel, she wasn’t sure how she was going to stop him.
Chapter Eight
Mac heard muffled voices then a giggle coming from Johnny’s room. Pausing in the hallway, he listened. Thirty minutes before Amy had dashed through the den with a box, saying hi and bye all in the same breath. Then not ten minutes after that Johnny had hurried into the kitchen, retrieved a bowl and disappeared to his bedroom with not one word of greeting as he passed through the den. All this after they had put their puppies in the utility room. What were those two doing?
Mac knocked on Johnny’s bedroom door, waited a few seconds, then pushed it open just in time to see the boy throw a blanket over the box, then sit with Amy in front of it. One look at the children’s expressions told Mac everything he needed to know.
He fisted his hands on his hips. “Okay, what are you two hiding in that box?”
“Nothin’, Daddy.” Amy stuck her thumb into her mouth, a clear sign to Mac that she wasn’t telling the truth.
He riveted his attention to the ten-year-old. “Johnny, do you care to explain?”
Johnny dropped his head and mumbled something Mac couldn’t understand.
“I’m sorry. What was that?”
The boy lifted his gaze to Mac’s, his lower lip protruding. “Amy and I found some baby rabbits out back.”
“You shouldn’t have taken them from their nest. They need their mother.” Mac walked to the children and knelt next to them to peek into the box at two tiny balls of grayish brown fluff.
“We’ve been watching them for the past few days. I think their mother abandoned them.” Johnny hovered over the box as though he was going to protect them.
“You don’t know that for sure.”
“Yes, Daddy. We saved them just like Colt. They’re hungry.”
“That’s why I got them a bowl of milk, but I can’t get them to drink.”
Mac sighed heavily, tunneling his hand through his hair then rubbing the back of his neck, his muscles taut beneath his fingers. He wasn’t sure what to say or do. He noticed that one rabbit’s eyes weren’t open yet as they squirmed together, nudging each other for comfort.
“Can we keep them, Daddy?”
“Oh, pumpkin, I don’t know if that’s what’s best for them. We can’t have animals like Colt does.”
“Why not, Daddy?”
Mac stared into her big, brown eyes and couldn’t come up with a reason she would accept. Because I said so wasn’t going to work with her or Johnny. “We’ll discuss this when I get home. I’m due at the hospital. I’ll call Colt and talk to him about this on the way.”
“What should we do about them being hungry?”
Johnny looked at Mac as though he would have the answer. What to do? He scratched his head and tried to think of a way to feed the babies something until he could find out what to do with them. When his daughter stared at him, too, her thumb still in her mouth, he retrieved his cell phone from his pocket and punched in Colt’s number. He had to leave a message for the man to call him back. When he slipped his phone into his pocket, he faced the two children who were waiting for a solution to the babies’ problem.
“I’ll get an eyedropper and you can try to use it to feed the rabbits some milk. But don’t do anything else until I return. Maybe Colt will call me back by then. After you feed them, put the babies in the box and leave them alone. Is that understood?” Mac looked from Amy, who nodded, to Johnny, whose pout deepened into a scowl. “Johnny?”
“Yes,” the ten-year-old muttered, clearly not happy with the order.
“Are you gonna see Aunt Casey?”
“I think she’s working today. But I’m going up to see the children on the floor.”
“How about Tess? Is she working?”
Mac was surprised by Johnny’s questions. “I don’t know. I’m not sure about her work schedule,” he said, hating to admit the woman was avoiding him. “Have you talked to her lately?”
“She called yesterday to see how I was doing. She said something about taking me out for some ice cream.”
“She did?”
“Yes, and me, too, Daddy. I like ice cream.”
“Does she call you often?”
“Usually every day.”
How is she? The question was on the tip of Mac’s tongue, but he bit it back. He hadn’t seen her in several weeks and was determined to change that fact. “You know I like ice cream, too.” Now why in the world had he said that?
“Then you can go with us.” Amy peered at Johnny. “Right? Just like a family.”
The hard edge in the boy’s gaze softened as he looked at Amy and nodded. “We’ll need to ask Tess first.”
“Oh, she won’t care. She’s a nice lady.”
Mac hoped Tess didn’t care, because he was going to use the opportunity the children offered to be with her. He’d never seen anyone run as fast as she was from relationships and people. She was hurting inside, and he was determined to help her. The Lord had given him many blessings, and it was his duty to be there for others in need. And if he kept telling himself that was the only reason he wanted to see Tess, he might just come to believe it.
The children were all gathered around the table in the playroom, their faces eager. The nursing techs had managed to squeeze in two hospital beds with a boy and a girl who were bedridden. Quiet reigned where only a moment before laughter had filled the air when Tess had botched a magic trick. The deck of cards lay scattered all over the floor.
Tess allowed her gaze to peruse the colorfully decorated room before it settled on a little girl near her. “Kelly, you can be my assistant for this next feat of magic.” From inside her oversize coat she pulled out a flattened top hat and popped it open, the sound punctuating the silence. “I want you to hold on to this hat as tight as you can.” Nodding, the child took it. “Now, I’m going to pour this glass of water into the hat where it will disappear into thin air,” Tess said with dramatic flair.
After emptying the glass, Tess took her wand, tapping the sides of the hat while the little girl held it above her. “Abracadabra and all that mumble jumble.” Tess swept her arm wide, her gaze pinning each child for a second. “Now, who would like to wear this beautiful hat?�
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When no one volunteered, Tess scanned the faces of the children again, making the corners of her mouth turn down in a frown. “Okay. I admit my last trick didn’t work, but this one will.”
One child in a wheelchair giggled.
“You don’t believe me. Well, I’ll prove it.” Tess grasped the hat high in the air and then plopped it down onto her head. Water cascaded down her face, dripping into her eyes and splashing onto her clothes and the floor.
The children burst out laughing.
Through the strands of wet red hair obstructing her view, Tess saw Mac lounging against the door into the playroom. She flipped the hair back and gave an exaggerated sigh. “Oh, my, what could have possibly gone wrong?” She held out her hand toward a nursing tech. “A towel, please.”
The woman handed her a tiny swatch of cloth to dry her face and clothes. Tess mopped at the water then twisted and twisted the cloth to wring it out, managing to squeeze out a few drops of liquid. While she sidestepped toward the door, her shoes made a funny squeaky noise that draw more laughter from the children. As she escaped down the hall, trying to run in her oversize shoes, she felt Mac’s gaze on her as well as several of the children’s. She came to a screeching halt at the door into the employee locker room, turned toward the playroom and tipped her top hat before disappearing inside.
She leaned against the door and let out a rush of air, the pounding of her heart having nothing to do with her swift getaway. Quickly she began removing her wet clown clothes, then her white streaked makeup, trying her best not to think about the man in the playroom. But all she could picture was his smiling face. All she could hear was his deep, rich laughter complementing the children’s. And she could swear she had smelled sandalwood as she’d raced by him. Avoiding him certainly hadn’t managed to diminish his effect on her.
So what was she going to do about it?
She didn’t have an answer for that question. She wanted to be involved with Johnny, and the child was living with Mac. She was going to have to bite the bullet and put up with the man if she wanted to see Johnny. It wouldn’t be easy, but surely she could be around Mac and his family and not have visions of having a family herself.
With her determination firmly in place, Tess marched down the hall toward the playroom and the sounds of children’s voices excitedly talking. When she peeked into the room, intending to check out what was going on before heading to the cafeteria to grab something to eat, she saw Mac signing his name on anything and everything that was thrust at him. One little girl insisted he write “Mack Truck” on her bare arm, and her peals of laughter drowned out all the other children’s voices.
“That tickled. Do this one, too. Please.” The little girl smiled at Mac.
Mac took her other arm and made a big production out of it. All the other children quieted and watched. When Mac finished with a flourish, he scanned the faces of the boys and girls, his gaze finally coming to rest on Tess in the doorway. One corner of his mouth lifted in a lopsided grin while the room erupted in giggles and talking. Tess responded to the mischief twinkling in his eyes, returning his grin.
A boy in a wheelchair tapped Mac’s arm, pulling his attention away. The child pointed to the cast on his leg, and Mac immediately signed it. Tess took the opportunity to move away from the playroom. If she walked fast, she could be at the elevator and on her way to the cafeteria before Mac realized she was gone. She punched the button and waited, glancing back several times as though any second he would appear and she would be dazzled with his presence, unable to escape. She made it safely onto the elevator, rode to the ground floor and hurried to the cafeteria, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
While she inspected the array of salads before her, she sensed someone come up behind her. The faint scent of sandalwood drifted to her seconds before Mac whispered close to her ear, “Did you think I’d let you get away that easily?”
Tess peered over her shoulder, smiled and said, “Whatever do you mean?”
“I saw you hurrying to the elevator. I thought I would let you think you’d escaped my clutches. But alas, Casey told me where you were going.”
“I knew I was going to regret your sister working on my floor.”
Tess grabbed the salad nearest her and slid her tray down the counter toward the hot entrees. When she glanced at what she had put on her tray, she frowned. Macaroni salad wasn’t one of her favorites. As she told her order to the server, she noticed Mac pick up a tray, select a salad and move down the counter toward her.
Tess took piping hot roast beef, mashed potatoes and broccoli from the lady. She wondered if she could attribute the perspiration on her upper lip to the steam floating from the serving line. The server eyed Mac and heaped an extra large portion of roast beef and mashed potatoes on his plate, then drenched them in brown gravy.
“I guess she thinks you’re a growing boy,” Tess said as she pushed her tray toward the checkout person.
“Do I detect a note of envy in your voice?”
Tess stared at the food piled on his plate, watching him add a large slice of pecan pie to his tray. “I think I’m gaining weight just looking at your meal.”
“Just so the nurse in you doesn’t get too worked up over this high-calorie meal, I exercise every day. I usually don’t eat this much.”
“I’m worried about you.” Tess handed the lady at the cash register the money for her lunch.
“Why?”
“You came to a hospital to overindulge in food? Hospital cafeterias aren’t known for their culinary treats.”
Mac followed her to a table in the corner near a large ficus tree. “True. But Casey told me this one has good food.” He slipped into the chair next to her. “My sister is a fountain of information when it comes to this hospital. And now Amy has decided she wants to be a nurse. She’s been practicing on her dolls. Her bedroom has been turned into a hospital.”
“You have a beautiful daughter.” Tess heard the wistful tone in her voice and hoped Mac didn’t. She didn’t want to get into a discussion of children and families.
“That she is. She’s my life.” Mac stared at his plate of food, the hand that held the fork poised in midair as though he were caught in a moment of reflection.
Tess clenched her teeth together to keep from asking questions about his deceased wife. It wasn’t her place to delve into his past, and yet she wanted to know everything about him. She cleared her throat and asked, “How’s Johnny doing?”
“I think he’s settling in.”
“Has Mrs. Hocks had any luck finding a relative?”
“No.”
Tess took a bite of roast beef. “What if she doesn’t?”
“I want to adopt Johnny.”
Her gaze was riveted to Mac’s. The noise level in the cafeteria was high, but suddenly everything seemed to fade away—all sounds, all the people. She saw and heard only Mac. “Have you said anything about this to him?”
Mac shook his head. “And I won’t until Mrs. Hocks has exhausted all her leads and Johnny feels at home with us. I’m hoping that won’t be too much longer. You should have seen Amy and him today. They found some baby rabbits and decided to take in strays like Colt.”
“What did you do?”
“On the way over here Colt returned my call. We discussed what we should do. The kids are sure the mother rabbit was killed. Colt told me they might survive if I can get them to eat. Before I left, Johnny fed them some milk with an eyedropper. The rabbits were sleeping when I left.”
“How small are they?”
“They can’t be more than a week or two old. One of them has his eyes open. The other doesn’t. I could hold one in my palm.”
For a few seconds Tess stared at his hand and remembered his gentle touch. Her stomach flip-flopped. “Then you’re going to keep the rabbits?”
“I have a hard time resisting those two kids. Besides, I’m a sucker for strays, too.”
“For animals in trouble?”
“
People, too.”
The intensity of his regard robbed her of her next breath. She swallowed several times, the tightness in her throat threatening to snatch her voice. She knew in that moment she didn’t want to be one of his charity cases. She wanted more, and that frightened her. She looked away and concentrated on cutting her roast beef into bite size pieces, aware of his gaze on her. Her hands quivered.
“When I took my first psychology class in college, I became hooked on trying to figure out what makes people do the things they do.” Mac sipped his coffee, peering at her over the rim of his cup.
“Some people don’t like to be analyzed.”
“Some people need someone to help them through their problems. They’re too close to them. They can’t get a good perspective of them.”
“Is that what you do at the halfway house?” Tess asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from her.
“I told you I’m a good listener. That’s what I mostly do. That and get people to understand why they’re doing what they do.”
“Stray people aren’t like stray animals.”
“But both need understanding and love.”
When he said the word love, for a moment she allowed herself to wonder what it would be like loved by a man like Mac. Then she remembered the pain such intense emotions caused and pushed the dream away. “How are the puppies? Is Johnny taking care of his?”
Mac didn’t answer her right away. He chewed his food slowly, his eyes narrowed on her face as though he were contemplating not letting her get away with changing the subject of their conversation. Finally he said, “Yes. I’ve been impressed with how well. Frisky sleeps in his room in a box. Sometimes I’ve found the puppy sleeping with Johnny when I check on him before going to bed. They’re usually inseparable. That’s why I should have known something was up when both Amy and Johnny put their puppies in the utility room this morning.”
Family for Keeps & Sadie's Hero Page 10