plate. Red tomato sauce oozed through her fingers, and she yelped.
“Oh, God, Allie, you burned yourself.” Barb grabbed her hand while Allie dropped the handful of food she’d taken off the plate. It landed on Barb’s sweater.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize it was that hot,” I said.
Allie cried for a moment, but stopped when she realized her mother was frozen in her seat.
“Barb, are you alright?” I asked softly, forcing myself not to reach out and touch her. She eyed the stain and peered up at me. “Don’t worry about that, it will come out in the wash.” I’d seen much worse. I stood up, “Here let me take Allie while you get that shirt changed.” I put my hands out to take Allie from her, and she jerked Allie away.
“Barb, I’m not going to hurt her. I’m just going to hold her while you get the food off your shirt.” I kept my hands open, and Allie looked between my palms for a moment before she reached for them. One hand was covered in cheese and sauce, but I didn’t care.
Barb stared with her mouth open as Allie left her arms and came right to me. “Let’s get your hands washed, little lady.” I stepped over to the sink and turned on the water. Barb still hadn’t moved from her seat.
“Are you going to clean up?” I asked as I glanced at her over my shoulder.
Allie was putting her food-covered hands on my face, touching the two days of growth on my cheek. I was going to need a shower after this.
“Hey, you, little button, let’s get those hands clean. Can you put them in the water?” I asked her, still aware that Barb had yet to move.
“Keen,” Allie stated as her attention was diverted to the running water and she all but dived toward the faucet. I held her over the sink while she opened and closed her chubby hands in the water. “Keen,” she giggled as she splashed the water.
“Yep, clean. Get those little piggies all clean. Then we can eat, but this time, we are going to use a spoon and not your hands.”
I grabbed a paper towel and wet it, using it to wipe away what sauce I believed I had on my cheek. I turned the water off, and Allie squealed, “More.”
“No, it’s time to eat. You can play with the water again later. Can you dry your hands?” I handed her a clean paper towel which she promptly squished into a ball and then tried to tear apart. I laughed.
God, I missed having a child around.
I glanced up and found Barb still sitting in the chair, but now, tears were rolling down her cheeks. “Barb, what’s wrong?”
I heard footsteps and knew that Gloria had joined us, but Barb didn’t seem to know that.
“She has never gone to a man before,” Barb finally spoke. “No man has ever held her, not even her father.”
Chapter Ten
Barbara
M y first conscious thought when I heard the light rap on the window was: How had I let myself fall to pieces out here in the driveway?
My second thought as I looked out the window and up, and a bit higher up, was, Oh my God, he found me and sent someone to bring me back.
Only the face looking down at me wasn’t stern, angry, or even cocky. It appeared to be concerned—so much so that I almost opened the door and stepped out, but at the last second as I examined the man with the light brown hair watching me, I lowered the window instead.
The light from the porch barely lit his features, and most of them were still in shadow, but I could make out his strong jawline and wide mouth easily. His neck was thick and his shoulders wide.
Even though he didn’t look like he was a threat, I was still hesitant to give him any information until I knew more about him.
I had never been so happy to see someone as I was to see Gigi standing on the porch. She had aged quite a bit since the last time I had seen her. Was it only three years ago that she had come to my wedding?
I threw myself into her arms, totally forgetting that I had a sleepy Allie snuggled up against me. Her freaked-out squeal had me backpedaling and
Susan Aldous, Nicola Pierce