A Mother for Cindy

A lump jammed in Jesse’s throat. “I’ll take good care of your father.”

“He might not be able to walk very far. His leg’s hurting him. It always does after he does his exercises. He’ll need to rest, but he’ll act like he doesn’t.”

Surprised at the child’s keen observation and assessment of her father, Jesse gave her a reassuring look. “I’ll make it seem like it’s my idea.”

Satisfied that her father would be taken care of, Cindy hurried to Gramps and Nate at the end of the driveway. Boswell took off toward the lake.

Nick came up beside Jesse. “What was that all about?”

“Nothing. Just girl talk.”

“Girl talk?” He shook his head. “In the middle of all of this?”

“Let’s go. I told Cindy I would check the area by Fred and Ethel’s nest first, but you have to stay back.”

“Believe me, I didn’t have any intentions of going near those two.”

Nick followed Jesse around back of her house and waited by the deck while she approached the two geese. They never took their eyes off her, but they remained quiet while she surveyed the area for she wasn’t sure what. Everyone would have heard if Oreo had come near Fred and Ethel. But a promise was a promise.

As Jesse made her way back to Nick, his gaze fixed on her and her pulse rate responded as it had earlier. For a few seconds she felt as though they were the only two people in the world. He had a way of stripping away the rest of mankind with merely a look. The intensity in his eyes unnerved her. She wasn’t even sure he was aware of it. It cut through defensive layers that protected her heart and was very confounding. When she’d lost Mark she vowed she would never put herself in that position again. The pain of losing her husband had been too much. Sticking to that promise had kept her safe for the past four years.

“All clear,” she said, eager to get their search started. There were lots of people in town and suddenly she needed to be around a lot of people. She might even be able to come up with a third candidate for Nick while they looked for Oreo.

As Nick nailed up the posters, Jesse stopped various townspeople to let them know they were looking for a lost kitten, all black except for a patch of white above his eyes. She assessed the women they encountered as possible candidates, but none were suitable.

“Do you know everyone in town?” Nick asked as he hammered another poster to a telephone pole.

“Practically, but then I’ve lived all my thirty-two years here.”

“I’ve lived all my thirty-five years in Chicago, and I don’t know everyone there.”

Jesse chuckled. “Not the same thing. A few million more in population can make a difference.”

He eyed her. “I’m beginning to wonder with you if it would. Have you ever met a stranger?”

“Sure. You.”

Nick favored his right leg more than usual as he walked beside her down the street. He tried not to act as if it were bothering him, but Jesse noticed, had for the past three blocks. That was why she had taken a shortcut to the café. She’d promised Cindy she would look after Nick—whether the man wanted her to or not. And she suspected he would be appalled if he knew what she was thinking.