When they bolted from the room at the final bell like a pack of over-exuberant puppies, Chad began moving around the room, picking up supplies, as Mary Alice carefully put ornaments on a tray and covered them with plastic wrap.
“You were really good with them today.”
He glanced up at her. “You sound surprised.”
“A lot of guys don’t know what to do with kids.”
“Kids are people, too. Just shorter.”
She laughed. “True enough.”
“I like kids. Want a couple of my own someday. What about you?”
Something that might have been regret passed over her face. “I kinda thought I’d have been started on that already. But, yeah, someday.”
Still a tender spot, he thought. “Tell me about Isaiah. His grandmother is ill?”
Mary Alice sobered. “She’s the primary caregiver in his family. His dad hasn’t been in the picture, and his mom is in and out. His grandmother is the constant. She’s got fibromyalgia. It’s amazing what she’s managed under those conditions.”
Chad wondered who her primary physician was and whether he could do anything to help.
“Isaiah is one of our Fountain of Hope kids.”
“I want him.” He felt a connection with the boy. Maybe, in the grand scheme of things, this wouldn’t be a huge thing, but it was what he could do now to maybe make the kid’s life a little brighter.
She smiled. “I’ve already got him.” Stepping into him, she slid her arms up to link around his neck. “But I could probably be induced to share.”
Chad pulled her close. “Yeah? What are your terms?”
“We should discuss that over dinner.”
Touching his brow to hers, he sighed in contentment. “That is the best idea you’ve had all day.”
The Daily Grind was hopping Saturday morning, when Mary Alice stopped by to pick up coffees on her way over to Chad’s. They were headed to Lawley, the bigger town about forty-five minutes away, to do their shopping for Fountain of Hope.
Cassie Callister, the owner of the coffee shop, was bustling behind the counter with all the speed of a woman hooked up to an IV drip of espresso. “Hey Mary Alice, what can I get you?”
“I’ll have whatever you’re having. I could use a boost this morning.” Maybe it would make up for the lack of sleep she’d been getting the last couple of weeks because she and Chad had been staying up late every night working or talking. Crazy how fast that had become part of her routine.
Cassie ran her fingers through her turquoise streaked brown hair and laughed. “It’s an I Can’t Do This Anymore. Pretty high octane compared to what you usually drink.”
“I’m living dangerously this morning. And let me get a large whatever your darkest roast is at the moment. Both to go.”
“You got it.” She whirled away and began pushing buttons and pulling levers with speed and efficiency. Mary Alice thought it looked a bit like a dance. A couple of minutes later, she set the first cup on the counter. “And is this other one for Dr. McHottie? I heard you’ve been seeing a lot of him the last couple of weeks.”
Dr. McHottie? The nickname would amuse him. Mary Alice smiled. “Yeah, it’s for Chad. He’s been a big help with Fountain of Hope.”
“I’d heard things were a bit more personal than that. That you two were dating. C’mon, girl, I was in that committee meeting! I saw the way he looked at you. Dish.” Cassie, with all her good-humored enthusiasm, was in a constant battle with Mama Pearl, the proprietress of Dinner Belles Diner, for the title of Wishful Gossip Queen.
Mary Alice thought about the special scavenger hunt he’d put together for her and about how he’d rearranged his work schedule to come help in her class. And the kissing. Yeah, she couldn’t claim to be doing that with any of her other committee members. “I suppose we are.”
Cassie slid Chad’s coffee next to the first. “Good for you, honey! I’m glad to see you back out there.”
“Thanks?” She added a couple of muffins to her order and paid. It felt weird having people who weren’t her best friends opining about the state of her love life. But, good or ill, she supposed it was better than having them talk about her in pity. Stepping over to the beverage station, she popped the lid off her coffee and began to doctor it. From somewhere behind her, she heard Chad’s name mentioned.
“Well, I just think it’s a shame, is all. Everybody knows she’s just using him as a rebound after all that mess with Judd.”
“Helluva rebound,” someone answered.