Read Online Maxwells Smile by Michele Hauf - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Michele Hauf
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want to go, buddy?”
Maxwell glanced at his mom, and she nodded again. “Yes!”
“All right then. I promised your mom a movie tonight, so how about tomorrow night after she and I get back from looking at the property she has to show me?”
“Deal.” Maxwell high-fived Sam. “I’m going to go sort these.” He grabbed the bag of DVDs and scrambled upstairs.
“We’re heading out back, Maxwell,” Rachel called. “Come join us when you’re finished.” She grabbed a folded blanket from the stool by the back door and tilted her head toward the patio. “Want to go sit under the stars until the babysitter arrives?”
Sam tossed the drying towel onto the table. “I keep getting the best offers from you. You spoil me, Rachel McHenry.”
Her smile was the best reward a guy could get just for drying a few dishes. But more important, she’d given him permission to cry this afternoon. He’d felt weird about it at the time, but after he’d had a long bawl in the rust bucket he’d actually felt…lighter. Nowhere near ready to give up his grief over losing his brother, but closer to climbing toward an acceptance he hoped would soon be his.
And it was all because Rachel had cared enough to follow him outside and touch him. Her aim was so on the mark, he wondered if she was aware of her accuracy. And then it didn’t matter, because he’d felt her sincerity and knew she was real.
“Let’s go look at some stars.”
* * *
Rachel laid the plaid blanket on the grass in the middle of the yard, next to a bush of blooming peonies that wafted a heady fragrance through the warm air. Twilight had slipped away, but the streetlight out front emitted ambient light across the yard, so they weren’t sitting in the dark. She stretched out on her stomach.
Sam joined her, raising an eyebrow as she ran her fingers over the lawn.
“I love the smell of grass,” she explained. “I think it’s in the running for my top three favorite things in life.”
“Wow. That must be some damn good grass,” he said with his patented wink. He shifted to his side, propping his head against his palm. “What are numbers two and one?”
Rachel rolled to her back, blissfully comfortable alongside the man, and closed her eyes as she imagined the sound she loved most. It made her smile.
“Number two is the sound of a child’s laughter. It’s like nothing else out there. I’m blessed to hear it every day.” She opened her eyes to find Sam looking a bit skeptical. “Maxwell laughs at things, like accomplishing a time test or the perfect layout of his toys. I know he’s a little odd, but I wouldn’t have him any other way.”
“Neither would I,” Sam agreed. “He’s taught me a thing or two in the little time I’ve known you both. Who have a thought he could organize an entire drive with just a little help from adults?”
“Yes. It doesn’t sound like such a big thing to put movies in children’s hospital rooms. I can’t believe Kid Flicks was founded by four young sisters. It’s amazing what children can do when they don’t know boundaries and fearlessly forge ahead. When we adults have been told too many times we can’t do something, we stop attempting it. But today’s youth? They can accomplish so much.”
“I predict Maxwell will. He’s already done a heck of a lot for me. The kid has touched my heart in ways I couldn’t even imagine.”
Rachel’s own heart warmed at Sam’s praise.
“So what’s number one?” he asked.
“Of my favorite things? Lingering,” she said in a dreamy tone. “Taking a few moments to relax, enjoy my surroundings, really be in the moment and feel my breaths as they go in and out.”
Sam took her hand and kissed the back of it. “Lingering does have some advantages.” He traced a finger along her forehead, tucking her hair behind her ear, as if he was mapping her out, and finding that moment she had just talked about.
His face was shadowed and she couldn’t see his expression,
Maxwell glanced at his mom, and she nodded again. “Yes!”
“All right then. I promised your mom a movie tonight, so how about tomorrow night after she and I get back from looking at the property she has to show me?”
“Deal.” Maxwell high-fived Sam. “I’m going to go sort these.” He grabbed the bag of DVDs and scrambled upstairs.
“We’re heading out back, Maxwell,” Rachel called. “Come join us when you’re finished.” She grabbed a folded blanket from the stool by the back door and tilted her head toward the patio. “Want to go sit under the stars until the babysitter arrives?”
Sam tossed the drying towel onto the table. “I keep getting the best offers from you. You spoil me, Rachel McHenry.”
Her smile was the best reward a guy could get just for drying a few dishes. But more important, she’d given him permission to cry this afternoon. He’d felt weird about it at the time, but after he’d had a long bawl in the rust bucket he’d actually felt…lighter. Nowhere near ready to give up his grief over losing his brother, but closer to climbing toward an acceptance he hoped would soon be his.
And it was all because Rachel had cared enough to follow him outside and touch him. Her aim was so on the mark, he wondered if she was aware of her accuracy. And then it didn’t matter, because he’d felt her sincerity and knew she was real.
“Let’s go look at some stars.”
* * *
Rachel laid the plaid blanket on the grass in the middle of the yard, next to a bush of blooming peonies that wafted a heady fragrance through the warm air. Twilight had slipped away, but the streetlight out front emitted ambient light across the yard, so they weren’t sitting in the dark. She stretched out on her stomach.
Sam joined her, raising an eyebrow as she ran her fingers over the lawn.
“I love the smell of grass,” she explained. “I think it’s in the running for my top three favorite things in life.”
“Wow. That must be some damn good grass,” he said with his patented wink. He shifted to his side, propping his head against his palm. “What are numbers two and one?”
Rachel rolled to her back, blissfully comfortable alongside the man, and closed her eyes as she imagined the sound she loved most. It made her smile.
“Number two is the sound of a child’s laughter. It’s like nothing else out there. I’m blessed to hear it every day.” She opened her eyes to find Sam looking a bit skeptical. “Maxwell laughs at things, like accomplishing a time test or the perfect layout of his toys. I know he’s a little odd, but I wouldn’t have him any other way.”
“Neither would I,” Sam agreed. “He’s taught me a thing or two in the little time I’ve known you both. Who have a thought he could organize an entire drive with just a little help from adults?”
“Yes. It doesn’t sound like such a big thing to put movies in children’s hospital rooms. I can’t believe Kid Flicks was founded by four young sisters. It’s amazing what children can do when they don’t know boundaries and fearlessly forge ahead. When we adults have been told too many times we can’t do something, we stop attempting it. But today’s youth? They can accomplish so much.”
“I predict Maxwell will. He’s already done a heck of a lot for me. The kid has touched my heart in ways I couldn’t even imagine.”
Rachel’s own heart warmed at Sam’s praise.
“So what’s number one?” he asked.
“Of my favorite things? Lingering,” she said in a dreamy tone. “Taking a few moments to relax, enjoy my surroundings, really be in the moment and feel my breaths as they go in and out.”
Sam took her hand and kissed the back of it. “Lingering does have some advantages.” He traced a finger along her forehead, tucking her hair behind her ear, as if he was mapping her out, and finding that moment she had just talked about.
His face was shadowed and she couldn’t see his expression,
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