Read Online A Special Kind of Love by Tamara Hoffa - Free Book Online Page B

her hands and took a step backward,
turning toward Sharon and Aaron.
    “And
you must be the beautiful Sharon I’ve heard so much about. I’m Tanner’s mother, Kamani . I have been dying to meet you.” She stepped
forward and enveloped Sharon in a hug. Then she turned to Aaron.
    Oh God, please don’t let her try to
hug Aaron. But
it appeared Tanner had warned his mother about Aaron’s aversion to touch. She
leaned down to Aaron’s level and smiled.
    “You
must be Aaron. It is very nice to meet you.”
    Aaron’s
mouth was hanging open.
    “You
can’t be Tanner’s mommy. My grandma is old .
She has wrinkles and gray hair and she’s fat. She’s my mommy’s mommy. Tanner is
older than Mommy. If you were his mother, you would be old too. You don’t look
old. Well, not older than Mommy anyway.”
    Sharon
was hoping the floor would open up and swallow her, but Tanner’s mother beamed.
    “Well,
if that isn’t just the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.” Sharon shook her head
in astonishment. Tanner’s mother didn’t seem to be offended at all. “I think
I’m going to like this boy of yours, Sharon.” She turned back toward the table,
as if nothing unusual had happened. “Come and meet the rest of the family.”
    Sharon
looked at Tanner and he merely shrugged. Guiding her with the hand on her lower
back he led her to meet the rest of his family. Conversation had stopped at the
table and all eyes were on the approaching group.
    Jasmine’s
husband stood and extended his hand to Tanner. He shook hands with his
brother-in-law, giving him a slap on the shoulder and turned to Sharon.
    “Anthony Jardine ,” he said, pumping her hand once in a firm
handshake. He gestured toward his wife. “This is my wife, Tanner’s sister, Jasmine,
and our children, Josh and Annebelle .”
    Sharon
was feeling a little overwhelmed. But she tried to shore up her confidence. She
nodded once.
    “So
nice to meet you all. I’ve heard a lot about you. This is my son, Aaron.”
    Jasmine
stood and placed her arm around her husband’s back.
    “Hi.
It’s nice to meet you both.”
    Josh
and Annabelle scurried around the table and launched themselves at Tanner.
    Choruses
of ‘Uncle Tanner, I missed you, are you going to play with us,’ surrounded him
as he held a child in each arm. He kissed each of their cheeks and set them
back on their feet.
    “Hi,
Anna banana. Josh.” He ruffled Josh’s hair. “I’ve missed you guys.” He turned toward Sharon
and Aaron, “This is my friend, Miss Sharon and her son, Aaron. I want you guys
to be nice to them. Okay?”
    The
pair faced Sharon and stood like little soldiers. Josh extended a hand, just as
his father had, and Sharon reached to take it, solemnly shaking hands with the
boy.
    “It
is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Sharon,” Josh said.
    Sharon’s
smile widened. “Nice to meet you too, Josh. This is my son, Aaron.” She placed
a hand on Aaron’s shoulder. Josh extended his hand to Aaron and Sharon cringed.
She spoke quickly, hoping to prevent Aaron from saying something rude.
    “Aaron
doesn’t like to shake hands, Josh.” The child dropped his hand and gave her a
quizzical look.
    “Why
not?”
    This
time Sharon couldn’t get the answer out fast enough and Aaron interjected.
    “Most
germs are passed through physical contact. Hands are the dirtiest part of the
body. And shaking hands is an archaic concept. It was originally conceived to
show an enemy that your hands were free of weapons when meeting on a
battlefield.”
    “Huh?”
Josh turned his gaze to Tanner’s face and then Sharon’s.
    Tanner
spoke. “Don’t worry about it, bud. He just doesn’t like to shake hands.”
    “Oh,
okay. I’m Josh and this is my stupid little sister Annebelle .” Annebelle elbowed him in the ribs.
    “I’m
not stupid!”
    Sharon
knelt down and placed her hands on the little girl’s shoulders. “No, I’m sure
you’re not. I’m very glad to meet you, Annebelle .”
    The
little girl