AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A hand squeezed my shoulder, “I know you do, son. Take care of my little Rae of sunshine.”
“I will.”
I walked with Rae to the concession stand, clenching her hand as tight as I could without hurting her. My palm was sweaty, but I pretended I didn’t notice, “What do you want?”
I didn’t let go of her hand while she rose up on her tiptoes to get a better look at the popcorn machine and candy, “Milk Duds and popcorn with butter.”
She always chose the same two things, “And Cherry Coke?”
Her eyes met mine and my stomach did a little flop. Rae was so pretty, “Yep. Come on Pete.”
I pretended to be annoyed when she dragged me along but secretly I was enjoying every moment. Last week I turned ten. This little excursion was to celebrate with my dad, and Rae and her father Ron but the one person I wanted here the most was her.
“Rae, we need to go back.”
She giggled, “I want a hot dog too.”
I shook my head, “We just went out for pizza.”
Rae stuck out her tongue at me, “I’m still hungry. You ate it all.”
I grinned mischievously.
“I did not,” but I had.
She pulled from my grasp and ran down the aisle, nearly colliding with a few friends from school. I knew a moment of heart-pounding panic until I saw her handing money over to the clerk.
“You aren’t supposed to run away like that,” I reminded her, nearly yelling. “Your dad will get mad.” Not just her dad but Mack too. I felt sick at the idea of losing her or finding her hurt.
She shrugged, “He won’t stay mad.”
He never did, not at his little Rae of sunshine. I smiled once we had all of our treats, unable to stay frustrated. I insisted on carrying everything except for the popcorn since she was eating it by huge handfuls as some of it fell to the ground below.
“Come on, Rae. Keep up,” I teased as we made our way back to the Nova.
“Don’t go so fast!” She yelled, laughing, “I’m losing all my popcorn.”
“No, that’s because you’re messy.”
She made another face at me.
“I was wondering if you were going to come back,” Ron teased.
I handed over the change and smiled, “I kept her safe, just like you asked.”
“So you did, Pete. Good job. I know I can always count on you.”
“Wanna go back to the swings?” I asked, hoping she’d say no. I wanted to sit next to her in the backseat instead of chasing her all over the drive-in when she got bored.
“Nah, I want to eat my treats.”
Rae and I smiled at each other as we climbed into the backseat. Two hours later, a popcorn fight, the second movie playing, and entirely too much sugar; Rae had fallen asleep on my shoulder. I felt big and important that she trusted me like that. My eyes fluttered as I listened to my dad talking to Ron in the front seat.
“You have a good boy Mack. He’s strong and reliable, even at such a young age.”
“He’s tough. I’ve had to make him that way,” Mack admitted, shaking his head. “I don’t want anything to happen to him. He’s all Rae may have someday.”
“I know Mack, but he’s got a good heart, and that’s what is important to me. I can trust him with my daughter.”
