1 Emma
I don’t really feel like working in the garden today, but I noticed the moving van pull up next door … and well, I’m a nosy parker. So here I am on the one day I could dress up and hang out at the mall uninterrupted, on my hands and knees, ass in the air, pulling weeds. When Nancy told me just over a month ago that she was selling, I didn’t think I’d be getting new neighbors so quickly. The house is beautiful and recently renovated, so I completely understand why it sold so fast. If I was in a better financial position, I would have bought it myself. It’s bigger than my place, which I think I’ll need as the boys get bigger. I haven’t laid eyes on the new owners yet because I’m doing my best not to be conspicuous, so I have my ass facing their house, which sort of inhibits my ability to spy.
“Hello, lady.”
Sheet! I almost jump out of my skin. She certainly snuck up on me. Raising my head, I’m greeted by the most beautiful little girl I think I’ve ever seen. Stunning clear blue eyes the color of the sky, long honey-brown hair, which looks like it needs a good brush, a pouty mouth, and gorgeous olive skin.
“Uh, hello.” I rest my ass on my feet, brushing my bangs out of my face. At a guess, she must be around four years old. I look around to see where her parents are. I would never let my boys speak to a stranger on their own. “Where’s your mommy and daddy?”
“I dunno where my daddy is and my mommy’s gone to heaven.” Oh! My heart cracks for this little girl. She comes closer, squatting down to inspect the garden bed I’m working on. She points a chubby finger as she scrunches up her little button nose. “Is that a worm?”
I tear my eyes away from her to check what she’s pointing at. “Uh, yeah. Looks like it. The soil must be pretty healthy for the worm to live here.”
She giggles. “He’s vewy wiggly.”
“Yeah, he’s pretty wriggly.” I look back next door to see if I can spot her dad, but there’s nobody in sight.
“Have you got kids?”
“Um, yeah, I do. Two boys.”
“What’s their names?”
“My oldest boy is Lachlan, and my youngest son is Austin. What’s your name?”
“Kenny.” Such an unusual name for a little girl, but I think it suits her. “Where are they?” She looks around as if they’re playing close by and she’s missed them somehow.
“Well, Kenny. They’re visiting their nana and poppa today.”
“When will they be home?”
“Not until tomorrow. They’re having a sleepover.”
She huffs out a sigh. “I wanted to play wiv someone.”
“Sorry. Maybe you could ask your daddy if you could come back tomorrow afternoon?”
“I dunno where my daddy is. I’m wiv my uncle.”
“Are you helping him move in?”
“I’m not weally much help. He says I’m too little.” She drops down to sit on her bottom next to me. “Can I stay wiv you?”
“Won’t your uncle be worried about where you are?”
She rolls her sparkling eyes. “He’s busy in his workshop. He said I’m not allowed in there.”
Well, I guess if he’s too busy to watch his niece, at least I’ll know she’s safe if I’m watching her. “Sure. You wanna help pull the weeds out?”
“Okay.”
I show her which plants are the weeds, then give her my small trowel so she can dig them out. I don’t have any gloves small enough to fit her, so her hands will get dirty. Better than playing on the street unsupervised, though. I’ll have to give her uncle a piece of my mind.
She gets to work and, for a short while; she focuses fully on her task. The sheer concentration on her face is adorable.
“What’s your name?”
“My name’s Emma.”
“I’m four years old.” She holds up five fingers and then uses her other hand to tuck her thumb down. “How old are you?”
Uhm, I’m pretty sure my eyebrows just hit my hairline. I shouldn’t be surprised. Kids this age are inquisitive little characters.
“I’m thirty-seven.” I cringe when I think about being closer to forty than thirty. The years are flying by and I feel as though I’m standing still with my life.
“My uncle’s gonna be forty on Thursday.” She brushes the dirt off her hands, stands up, and places them on her hips. “He told me he’s not having a birthday this year.”
If only we could do that and not age. I would certainly welcome the ability to skip out on birthdays. Kenny wanders around my garden, inspecting the various plants, holding her hands behind her back like an old man. She’s quite the character.
“You’ve got some pwetty flowers. I like the purple ones best.”
“Me too. I think purple flowers look lovely against the green leaves.”
Kenny nods thoughtfully. “White flowers look nice, too.”
“Yes, they do. What’s your favorite color flower?” If she can ask questions, I’ll ask a couple of my own.
“Mommy liked pink flowers best. They was her favowite. Now they’re my favowite too.”
There she goes, cracking my heart open again. I think it’s sweet that she’s taken on her mom’s favored color. I don’t have many pink flowers, maybe I’ll get some more. They’ll look nice with the purple and white flowers I already have.
She comes back and flops down next to me; laying on her back, she spreads out her arms and legs on the grass. Looking and pointing up at the sky, she asks, “See that cloud up there?”
Shielding my eyes, I look up to the sky. There’s a single fluffy white cloud. “Yeah.”
“Mommy’s pwobably having a nap up there. She had a lot of naps before she went to heaven.” Her cute little cheeks raise with a half-smile and my heart splits right down the middle.
I wonder how her mom died. Was it sudden? Or did she know she was going to be leaving her baby girl motherless? Boulders settle in my chest at the thought of something happening to me. My boys would be left with a father who’s disinterested in them at best and no mother to show them the love they need to grow and thrive. I know Mom, Dad, Max, and Sarah would look after them, but it’s not the same.
She jumps up like a spring, brushing the loose grass from her shorts. “I better pull some more weeds out.”
“I need to empty my bucket. You wanna help me?” I ask as I stand.
“Okay.”
Kenny takes one side of the bucket, while I carry the other, taking the bulk of the weight. We wander through my side gate and I take the opportunity to pop my head over the lower part of the fence to see if I can spot her uncle in his workshop, but I can’t see anything from this vantage. Arriving at the bin, I grab the bucket and tip the weeds into it.
Heavy steps thunder on the other side of the fence. “Kennedy! Kennedy!” The deep, masculine voice is panicked. I look down at Kenny. I’m guessing her uncle’s finally noticed she’s missing and is now looking for her. She gives me a timid grin.
“I think your uncle’s looking for you.”
“Shhh. Let’s hide.” She holds her pointer finger up to her lips, which are tipped up, her eyes twinkling in mischief.
Oh, I don’t think so. I don’t want to cause her uncle any more worry, though it would serve him right. She’s been with me for almost an hour. That’s a long time for a four-year-old to get into all sorts of trouble. Where did he think she was?
“Kennedy Olivia Drivas!” Oh, he’s played the triple-name card. “You come here right this instant,” his thunderous tone echoes down the street.
I step through the gate and spot him. His broad back is facing me as he paces toward the street, hands on narrow hips, looking for his wayward niece. From the back, he’s quite impressive.
“Hi.” My voice cracks and my greeting doesn’t quite make it out. I clear my throat. “Uh, hi,” I say, louder and clearer this time.
He turns around and the wave I was about to offer dies in its tracks. All the saliva in my mouth dries up as I lay eyes on a mighty fine specimen of a man. He runs his hand through dark hair and steps toward me. Kenny’s right behind me—hiding.
“Have you seen a little girl?” He holds out his hand at about hip height. “About this tall. Blue eyes, long light-brown hair.” He wriggles his fingers down his body, showing the length of her hair, drawing my eyes to magnificent pecs.
I seem to have lost my voice, so I step to the side, exposing my new little friend. Do you remember all those words I was going to have with my new neighbor about looking after his niece? Well, they’ve all disappeared into the ether. I’m having a hard time trying to even think at this point. Striking blue eyes, dark scruff, and thick hair adorn a chiseled face that could easily be on the cover of GQ magazine.
His eyes wander downward, catching on to his niece. She’s half hiding behind my leg, her head tilted down as though she’s preparing to get into trouble. I’m not sure what their story is, but she seems a little scared of him.
“Kennedy, I told you to stay in the house.” Ahhh, that name makes a little more sense. He steps forward, and she tucks herself further behind me, wrapping her arms around my thigh.
“Kenny,” she whispers, poking her little head around my thigh.
“What?” He pauses mid-step, eyebrows drawn low.
“I told you, I wanna be called Kenny.”
He looks up at me, raising his eyebrows, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. “Sorry, I forgot.” Holding out his hand to his niece, he coaxes. “I’ll try to remember. Come on. It’s time to come home.”
Home? So she must be staying with him. She didn’t mention an aunty. Is there a woman around to help him? Because he seems pretty clueless about caring for a young child. Her little arms tighten further around my thigh, and she’s really digging in. I try to step to the side, but she steps with me.
Huffing out a sigh, my neighbor looks up at me and all I can offer is a shrug. Some words would be helpful right about now.
“Come on. I need to get back to work.” He wriggles his fingers in her direction, his patience clearly wearing thin.
What? “You’re not going to abandon her again, are you?”
His gorgeous blue eyes, which match his niece’s, snap to mine. “No. She’ll be in the house and I’ll be in the workshop out back.” He points his thumb over his shoulder toward the back of his house.
“You can’t leave a four-year-old to her own devices while you do whatever it is you’re doing out back,” I snap, waving my arm in the direction of the workshop.
“Look, lady—”
“Emma. My name’s Emma,” I snap.
“Okay, Emma. Thanks for finding her, but she’ll be fine. She can unpack her stuff while I try to get her bed sorted.”
A four-year-old unpacking her ‘stuff’. That’s freaking laughable. “You can’t expect a four-year-old to unpack their ‘stuff’, while you’re not there to supervise. How much experience have you had with children?” I huff out, incredulous.
He raises his arm to scrub his fingers through his short bristles and my eyes are drawn—without permission, I might add—to the masculine bulge of his muscles. He looks at his watch. “Uh, about six and a half hours. Give or take.”
What the hell? I’m pretty sure my chin’s hit my paved driveway. I look down at Kenny. She said her mom’s in heaven; surely it didn’t just happen. He must read the confusion on my face because I’m terrible at hiding my reactions. Unfortunately for me, everything I think or feel is displayed clearly on my face for all the world to see.
“Today’s the first time we’ve spent any time together since … her uh, her … mother, my sister, passed. Before that, I saw …” He tilts his head down toward his niece. “Kenny.” He raises his eyebrows in a manner that says, ‘see, I remembered’. “When she was born.”
I don’t understand how that can be. Max and Sarah see my boys regularly. They want to be part of their lives growing up and the boys’ lives are richer for it. Their relationship with my boys is an extension of our relationship as siblings. It’s not my business, though. I don’t even know this guy’s name and it’s incredibly rude to ask him all sorts of personal and invasive questions, even if I want to.
I place my hand on Kenny’s back in reassurance. “She can hang out here while you get organized. I don’t mind. She was helping me pull out the weeds before.” I look down at Kenny. “She was doing a great job.” I smile at her.
“Look. Thanks for the offer, but she needs to take some responsibility for her own things.” He steps forward and attempts to pry her hands away from my thigh. His large hand is incredibly close to my lady parts as he peels her fingers away one by one. I suck in a breath at the tingles his touch elicits. “Come on, Kenny. Say bye to Emma. Let’s go.”
“I wanna stay wiv Emma. She’s nice.” She drops her bottom lip in a pout, as her eyebrows scrunch down over her eyes in defiance.
My neighbor pulls back as though he’s been burned. “I’m nice.”
“You’re gwumpy and you won’t play wiv me.” I can’t hold back my smile but manage to stifle my giggle at her statement.
He scratches his fingers through his beard again. “Because I have a sh— a lot to do. I don’t have time to play with you,” he huffs out.
“You know, Kenny. If you help your uncle …” I look up at him, hinting that he hasn’t told me his name yet, but he’s too caught up with his own agenda to notice my clue. “You’ll get the work done quicker, and then he might have some time to play with you. There’s a great park at the end of the street.” I point in the direction of the park. I hope he takes the hint I’m putting down for him.
“I don’t wanna unpack a million things. I wanna play.” She stomps her little foot, dropping her bottom lip in a full-on pout. Anyone with a heart wouldn’t be able to resist that little face. I’m certain he’s going to cave, but he surprises me.
“You know that cookie dough ice cream I got just for you?”
“Yeah.” A broad smile spreads quickly. She looks up at me. “It’s Mommy’s favowite flavor.”
I swallow down the lump in my throat. “My boys love cookie dough ice cream, too.”
“Yeah, well, if you don’t come home, I’m gonna eat all of it. By myself.” He finishes his statement with a lick of his lips, a shrug to his shoulders, and crosses his arms over his broad chest.
Mmhm. Those forearms are something else. I shake my head, drawing myself out of my drool-fest, and frown at him. He really has no idea.
“You wouldn’t do that,” Kenny retorts.
“Try me.” He’s smug in his confidence that this approach is going to work.
Her little hands peel away from my thigh and she takes a step away. Looking up at me, she says, “See ya, Emma.”
Color me surprised. His technique actually worked. She takes his hand and they walk together back to the house next door. She turns back to look at me over her shoulder, offering a wave; he doesn’t give me a second glance. I feel her departure acutely and give her a small wave in return. I can’t help but worry about the gorgeous little girl and her handsome uncle. My need to stop him and check that he’s going to be able to manage is strong, but I tamp it down. I’m going to have to keep busy for the rest of today and tonight to stop myself from constantly wanting to check in on them.
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