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Mark added his armload to the growing pile on the deck.
“Okay, Allie, I want you and Jeremy to pick out a winning combination. They give prizes for the funniest dog, best dressed, most spirited and some more I don’t remember. Let’s try to win a prize,” Mark said, as he joined them on the planks of the wooden deck and held Gus. “I’ll hold him while you dress him.”
Laura Jo scooted back in the lounge to watch. It was a February day but the sun was shining. It wasn’t long until her eyes closed.
She didn’t know how long she’d been out before Mark’s voice above her said, “You’d better be careful or you’ll get burned. Even the winter sun in the south can get you.”
“Thanks. I’m well aware of that. Remember, I’ve lived here all my life.”
“That’s right, a Herron.”
“Who is a Herron, Mommy?”
“They’re a family I used to know.”
Mark’s brows rose.
“Now, let me see what ya’ll have done to Gus while I was napping,” Laura Jo said quickly, before he could ask any more questions in front of Allie.
* * *
Mark didn’t question further, seeing that Laura Jo didn’t want to talk about her family in front of Allie. But he would be asking later. Allie didn’t even know who her grandparents were? There was a deep, dark secret there that he was very interested in finding out about. Why hadn’t he recognized Laura Jo? Probably because she had been too young to take his notice. His mouth drew into a line. More likely, he had been so focused on his world he hadn’t looked outside it.
“My, doesn’t Gus look, uh…festive?”
Mark couldn’t help but grin at Laura Jo’s description. Festive was a good word for it, along with silly. His dog wore a purple, gold and green feather boa wrapped around his neck. A dog vest of the same colors was on his body, bands on his ankles and a bow on the end of his tail. This being the one thing Allie had insisted he needed. Mark was amazed the Gus was as agreeable as he was about that.
Allie pronounced him “Perfect.”
“I think we should be going if we want to make the start time.”
“Start time?” Laura Jo asked.
“For the Mystic Mutts parade.”
“I don’t think—”
“We can’t miss it. Isn’t that right, Allie and Jeremy?”
“Right,” both children said in unison.
Great. Now she was being ganged up on.
“Come on, Mommy. We have to take Gus,” Allie pleaded.
Laura Jo glared at Mark. “I guess I don’t have much of a choice.”
Allie and Jeremy danced around her. “Yay.”
* * *
“Let me get Gus’s leash and we’ll be all set.” Mark went inside and returned with a lead.
As they rounded the house and headed toward the cars he looked at Laura Jo’s. It was too small for all of them.
“I don’t think we can all get in my car,” Laura Jo said from beside him.
Mark stopped and looked at hers again. “I guess I should drive.”
“You don’t sound like you really want to do that. We could take two cars but I’m sure parking will be tight.”
Mark’s lips drew into a tight line. The thought of being responsible for Laura Jo and the kids gave him a sick feeling. Children had never ridden in his car. Since the accident he’d made it a practice not to drive with others in the car if he could help it. Often he hired a driver when he went out on a date. Unable to come up with another plan, he said, “Then we’ll go in my car. Please make sure the children are securely buckled in.”
Laura Jo gave him an odd look before she secured Allie and Jeremy in the backseat. Gus found a spot between them and Allie placed an arm around him. Laura Jo joined him in the front. Mark looked back to check if the children were buckled in.
“Is there a problem?” Laura Jo asked.
If he kept this up he would make them all think he was crazy. He eased his grip on the steering wheel and let the blood flow back into his knuckles. “No. I was just double-checking they were okay.”
Laura Jo shook her head as she ran a hand across the leather of the seat. “Worried about having kids in your fancy car?”
“No.”
“Nice,” she murmured.
“Like my car?”
“Yes,” she said, more primly than the situation warranted, as she placed her hand in her lap.
He grinned. At least this subject took his mind off having a carload of passengers. “It’s okay to say what you think.”
“I wouldn’t think it’s very practical. The cost of a car like this could help a lot of people in need.”
“I help people in need all the time. I also give to charities so I don’t feel guilty about owning this car.” Taking a fortify breath, he started it and pulled away from the house. At the end of the drive, he turned onto the road leading into town.
“I’m just not impressed by fancy cars and houses. People with those think they can tell you what to do, how you need to live. Even look down on others.”
He glanced at her. “That’s an interesting statement. Care to give me some background?”
“No, not really.”
“Well, you just insulted me and my family and yours as well, and you won’t even do me the courtesy of telling me why?”
“I’m sorry I insulted you. Sometimes my mouth gets ahead of my brain.” She looked out the side window.
Yes, he was definitely going to find out what gave her such a sour view of people with money. He’d always prided himself on the amount he gave to charities. He had nothing to be ashamed of where that was concerned. Standing beside someone he loved when there was a disaster was where he failed.
A few minutes later he pulled the car into a tight space a couple of blocks from the parade route. It was the only spot he could find after circling the area. How had he gotten through the short drive without breaking into a sweat? Amazingly, talking to Laura Jo had made him forget his anxiety over driving. “This is the best I can do. We’ll have to walk some.”
Laura Jo saw to getting the children out. He leashed Gus and then gave him over to Allie. The girl beamed.
“I checked the paper this morning and the start of the parade is at the corner of Section and Third Street.”
They weaved their way through the already growing crowd. As the number of people increased, Mark took Gus’s leash from Allie and made sure that space was made for the dog, children and Laura Jo. A few times he touched her waist to direct her through a gap in the crowd. At the first occurrence she stiffened and glanced back at him. When he did it again she seemed to take it in her stride.
Mark was pleased when his little party arrived at the starting line without a loss of personnel. He looked at Laura Jo. “Why don’t you wait here with the kids while I check in?”
“We’ll be right over here near the brick wall.” She took Gus’s lead and led Allie and Jeremy to the spot she’d indicated.
“I’ll be right back.”
“You hope.” She smiled.
It was the first genuine one he’d seen her give. It caught him off guard. It took him a second to respond. “Yeah.”
Fifteen minutes later he had Gus, Allie and Jeremy signed in for the parade. He found Laura Jo and the kids waiting right where she’d said they would be. She had her head down, listening to something that Jeremy was saying. The angle of her head indicated she was keeping an eye on her daughter at the same time. Once again he was impressed by her mothering skills. The women he’d gone out with had never shown any interest in being mothers. He’d always thought he’d like to be a father, but he wouldn’t let that happen. What if he ran out on them, like he had Mike, when the going got tough? He couldn’t take that chance.
There was nothing flashy or pretentious about Laura Jo. More like what you saw was what you got. He’d grown up within the finely drawn lines of what was expected by the tight-knit Mobile society. He hadn’t met many women who’d seemed to
live life on their own terms. Even in California the women he’d dated had always worn a false front, literally and physically.
Laura Jo’s face was devoid of makeup and she wore a simple blouse and jeans with flats. She reminded him of a girl just out of high school. That was until she opened her mouth, then she left no doubt she was a grown woman who could defend herself and her child. Nothing about her indicated she had been raised in one of local society’s finest families.
Allie said something and Laura Jo turned her head. Both mother and child had similar coloring. Pretty in an early-spring-leaves-unfolding sort of way. Easy on the eye. Why would any man leave the two of them?
If he ever had a chance to have something as good in his life as they were, he’d hold on to them and never let them out of his sight. He sighed. What he saw between Laura Jo and Allie wasn’t meant for him. It wasn’t his to have. He’d taken that chance from Mike and he had no right to have it himself. What they had he couldn’t be trusted with.
