road.
Eli closed his eyes. Please, Lord, keep Opal safe. He looked up the hill and didn’t see Jamie’s jacket among the figures congregating at the top. But he did see Drew, who waved him up.
When he reached Drew, Eli’s heart was pounding—much more from fear about Opal than the exertion of sprinting up the hill. “Where’s Jamie?”
Drew looked at him sideways. “She had to take Rose to urgent care.”
The pounding picked up tempo. “Oh, man. I’ve lost Opal.” Eli glanced from side to side to make sure none of the teens had overheard him.
Drew burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Eli’s fingers itched to wipe the grin off his friend’s face. Hadn’t Drew gotten what he’d said? “Opal got mad at me at the clubhouse and took off. I can’t find her.”
Drew caught his breath. “She’s fine. She’s with Jamie. Sara saw her outside the clubhouse and walked her back. Opal does stuff like that all of the time. It drives Jamie crazy.”
Drew was driving him crazy. “It didn’t occur to you to send someone down to tell me that?”
“No, I thought you’d asked Sara to bring her back. Opal said something about you talking with a lady at the snack bar.” Drew arched an eyebrow. “Didn’t want to interrupt anything.”
“Right, Karen Hill. Was Jamie mad?”
“About what?”
Drew had to be kidding. “My not bringing Opal back. I’m not Jamie’s favorite person as it is.”
Drew’s eyes narrowed and one corner of his mouth tilted up. “But you’d like to be. Go for it. She didn’t seem mad at all to me. As I said, Opal’s done that before.”
His friend’s ribbing rubbed him the wrong way. But he was too drained to answer the challenge. “It must be about time to go. I’ll start rounding up the kids.” As he walked away, his earlier thought echoed in his head. Jamie wasn’t a woman who would suffer a fool.
* * *
“Mommy,” Opal said as Jamie drove the girls home from the urgent care center. “I’m glad Rose’s knee is okay.”
“That’s nice of you to be concerned about your sister.”
“Yeah, you know the father-daughter dance at school is next week.”
Jamie’s chest tightened. She didn’t know why Opal was so focused on the event. The elementary grades had the dinner-dance every year. Originally, it had been called the father-daughter dinner-dance, and that name had stuck even though the school hadn’t called it that in years. Officially, it was the Winter Dinner-Dance. The idea was to get dads more involved, but escorts weren’t limited to fathers. Brothers, uncles, grandfathers, friends and even mothers were welcome.
“I don’t think you’ll have to take us.”
“Is that right?” Opal must have asked Drew to take them. Jamie would be sure to tell him he didn’t have to, as he had enough to do with his own family.
“Yes. Mr. Payton is going to take us.”
Jamie swallowed wrong and choked. “What?” she coughed out.
“I asked him when he bought me hot chocolate.”
“Sweetie, why?”
“It’s lame to go to a daddy dance with your mother, and Mr. Payton seems like he’d be a good daddy.”
Jamie blinked back tears. Opal seemed to have accepted John’s death the easiest of the three kids, probably because she’d seen him so rarely. He’d been deployed to the Middle East most of her short life. She glanced at her daughters in the rearview mirror. Or had she been so wrapped up in Myles acting out that she’d missed her daughters’ needs?
She swallowed and tried to imagine Eli’s reaction to Opal’s request and how it may have affected Opal. A snapshot of his lopsided grin when he’d pulled the green bandana from her hand to start the toboggan race imbedded itself in her brain. She loosened her grip on the steering wheel. Opal’s assessment of Eli might be right. He was good with kids. She shook his picture from her mind. Thinking of Eli as daddy material was a dangerous direction she needed to steer Opal, and herself, clear
Eli closed his eyes. Please, Lord, keep Opal safe. He looked up the hill and didn’t see Jamie’s jacket among the figures congregating at the top. But he did see Drew, who waved him up.
When he reached Drew, Eli’s heart was pounding—much more from fear about Opal than the exertion of sprinting up the hill. “Where’s Jamie?”
Drew looked at him sideways. “She had to take Rose to urgent care.”
The pounding picked up tempo. “Oh, man. I’ve lost Opal.” Eli glanced from side to side to make sure none of the teens had overheard him.
Drew burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Eli’s fingers itched to wipe the grin off his friend’s face. Hadn’t Drew gotten what he’d said? “Opal got mad at me at the clubhouse and took off. I can’t find her.”
Drew caught his breath. “She’s fine. She’s with Jamie. Sara saw her outside the clubhouse and walked her back. Opal does stuff like that all of the time. It drives Jamie crazy.”
Drew was driving him crazy. “It didn’t occur to you to send someone down to tell me that?”
“No, I thought you’d asked Sara to bring her back. Opal said something about you talking with a lady at the snack bar.” Drew arched an eyebrow. “Didn’t want to interrupt anything.”
“Right, Karen Hill. Was Jamie mad?”
“About what?”
Drew had to be kidding. “My not bringing Opal back. I’m not Jamie’s favorite person as it is.”
Drew’s eyes narrowed and one corner of his mouth tilted up. “But you’d like to be. Go for it. She didn’t seem mad at all to me. As I said, Opal’s done that before.”
His friend’s ribbing rubbed him the wrong way. But he was too drained to answer the challenge. “It must be about time to go. I’ll start rounding up the kids.” As he walked away, his earlier thought echoed in his head. Jamie wasn’t a woman who would suffer a fool.
* * *
“Mommy,” Opal said as Jamie drove the girls home from the urgent care center. “I’m glad Rose’s knee is okay.”
“That’s nice of you to be concerned about your sister.”
“Yeah, you know the father-daughter dance at school is next week.”
Jamie’s chest tightened. She didn’t know why Opal was so focused on the event. The elementary grades had the dinner-dance every year. Originally, it had been called the father-daughter dinner-dance, and that name had stuck even though the school hadn’t called it that in years. Officially, it was the Winter Dinner-Dance. The idea was to get dads more involved, but escorts weren’t limited to fathers. Brothers, uncles, grandfathers, friends and even mothers were welcome.
“I don’t think you’ll have to take us.”
“Is that right?” Opal must have asked Drew to take them. Jamie would be sure to tell him he didn’t have to, as he had enough to do with his own family.
“Yes. Mr. Payton is going to take us.”
Jamie swallowed wrong and choked. “What?” she coughed out.
“I asked him when he bought me hot chocolate.”
“Sweetie, why?”
“It’s lame to go to a daddy dance with your mother, and Mr. Payton seems like he’d be a good daddy.”
Jamie blinked back tears. Opal seemed to have accepted John’s death the easiest of the three kids, probably because she’d seen him so rarely. He’d been deployed to the Middle East most of her short life. She glanced at her daughters in the rearview mirror. Or had she been so wrapped up in Myles acting out that she’d missed her daughters’ needs?
She swallowed and tried to imagine Eli’s reaction to Opal’s request and how it may have affected Opal. A snapshot of his lopsided grin when he’d pulled the green bandana from her hand to start the toboggan race imbedded itself in her brain. She loosened her grip on the steering wheel. Opal’s assessment of Eli might be right. He was good with kids. She shook his picture from her mind. Thinking of Eli as daddy material was a dangerous direction she needed to steer Opal, and herself, clear
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