Her Best Men

“If that’s what you want, that’s what you’ll get,” I said.

“Pinky?”

The little girl held out her pinky finger, and my eyes drifted up to Brian. There was a storm of emotion rolling over his face. Anger and apprehension and sadness. There was a wall coming up over his entire face that set it in stone. His brow was furrowed with a deeply-set frustration that made me curious about him.

What was a man with a child doing on a mountaintop that had nothing to enrich a child at all?

“Pinky promise,” I said.

I reached down to link the little girl’s finger, and she smiled broadly. She let go of my pants and allowed me to leave the house, her eyes following me as I left. I hobbled down the porch steps and began limping back toward the cabin.

My mind started running through all the things I could do to make it better before I had to get creative.

I looked back at Brian’s home and saw Lanie standing on the porch. Tanya was behind her, holding the little girl close to her side. Lanie was waving with a big smile on her face that warmed my heart.

But Brian was standing inside, watching me from his kitchen window. I could tell by the set of his broad, sculpted shoulders that my mere presence had made him uncomfortable. I couldn’t help but be intrigued as to what his story might be. I highly doubted I’d ever find out though, that man was as guarded as they came.

I nodded once in his direction and turned toward home, hobbling as I went.

I had to figure out what to do about the cabin. How I was going to get it fixed? It was rundown, and it needed a great deal of love and care. It would take going into town and pricing out some things to figure out how much money would need to be spent on my end, but I could no longer think straight with my stomach as empty as it was.

I grabbed my purse from the house, threw open some windows to let out the dust, then got into my car and went into town.

I needed food, quiet, and some time to think.

CHAPTER 4

Brian

I hated going into town. People around here were too friendly for their own good. If I could’ve found a way to have groceries delivered every two weeks, I’d never come into town. But food was necessary and between the things I ate and the things Lanie needed, I could only shove two weeks’ worth of stuff in my refrigerator.

“Grocery store!” Lanie said.

“Yes. Every two weeks,” I said.

“Ice cream?” she asked

“If you’re a good girl, we’ll get you some, yes.”

“And chips?”

“You can have ice cream or chips, but not both.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Because you’ll get a tummy ache.”

“But you rub tummies,” she said.

“Only yours, and only when it hurts. But you don’t want it to hurt, do you?”

“Will you rub my tummy anyway?”

“How about I scratch your back?” I asked. “Like I do whenever you go to sleep?”

“That’s sleepy scratch. I’m not sleepy.”

“You’re not, huh?” I asked, grinning. “Well, what about this. If you’re good at the grocery store, I’ll rub your belly while we’re standing in line waiting to check out.”