by Patty Blount
Gabriel’s grin widened.
“I have one, too! See?” Maddie tugged on her shirt.
“Yes, it’s awesome.”
“Eee-ah. I got dis!” Emmy thrust a small stuffed animal at her.
“Oh, you have a puppy.” Lia took the small toy and admired it. “What’s his name?”
“Puppy!”
“That’s a great name.” She gave Emmy back her dog, met the curious looks from Gabriel’s other daughters.
“I’m Lia,” she reminded them.
The girls didn’t say anything until Gabriel cleared his throat.
“You remember our neighbor, Lia?”
“Hi,” Kimberly said, shyly.
Olivia scowled at Lia and she had to swallow a grin.
“Are you gonna kiss my dad?” she demanded.
“Olivia!”
Both Gabriel and Kimberly spun on the younger girl. She shoved her hands into the kangaroo pocket of her hoodie, but didn’t apologize. Lia felt her face warm.
Madison was still chattering. “We got new nail polish to try tonight. Wanna see it?” And then she gasped. “I know! You can come over and paint nails, too. Can she, Daddy? Huh, huh?”
“Maddie, Lia has her own things to do. Go sit down at that table and stop being annoying.”
“I’m not annoying, am I, Lia? Am I?”
“No, not a bit,” Lia assured her as Kimberly ushered the two smaller girls to a table in the corner of the shop.
“Hi, Lia. Back so soon?”
“Dinner,” she replied as Gabriel stepped to the side, still waiting for his own order.
“Right. You got a large pie, a salad, and a baked ziti dinner.”
“That’s right.”
“Lot of food,” Gabriel remarked.
“I hope so. I’ve got company coming.”
His eyebrows went up and then slammed together. “Oh.” He said it so softly, she could almost convince herself he’d said nothing at all.
How odd. Why would he care if she had friends over? As soon as her order was boxed and paid for, she grabbed it and turned to the door.
“Bye, everybody.”
“Bye-bye!” The baby waved.
She left, juggling a plastic bag from each wrist and holding the pizza box in her hands.
Outside, she blew out a long breath. That was seriously strange. He wasn’t angry. But he was bothered. But the question remained…why?
Her heart beat faster and her skin tingled. She’d seen the way he’d looked her over when she’d jump-started his car. There was interest there, she was certain of it. So why hadn’t he acted on it?
Why hadn’t she?
A little girl’s shriek answered the question for her: because he has four children. He had no room for her in his life.
Lia walked fast, determined to leave Gabriel Ivers alone no matter how attracted she was, and have a great time with Roseann and Vivian. She’d just crossed the street when a shrill whistle pierced the air. She whipped around to find Gabriel’s third child, Maddie, streaking toward her.
“Lia! Lia! It’s me! It’s Maddie, your new friend!”
Behind the child, she saw Gabriel break into a full run and knew Maddie was going to be in serious trouble. So she took matters into her own hands. She dropped her food, dropped the pharmacy bags, and ran back across the street, causing one car to stop short and blare its horn. She caught the little girl, stopped her from dashing directly into traffic. Crouching down so they were eye level, she said, “Madison, we are not friends. Not yet. You are not to leave your father’s side unless he says it’s okay. Is that clear?”
The bright and sunny smile on the little girl’s face evaporated. “But…but…I thought…”
Gabriel skidded to a stop at Lia’s feet, grabbed his daughter’s arms. “Madison Elise Ivers, what’s the rule about running away when I have my hands full with Emmy?” His face had gone pale.
Maddie turned sad brown eyes to her father. “Not to.”
He made a sound of frustration. “Not to. So you remember the rule but you broke it anyway.”
“I just wanted to see—”
“Stop talking right now,” Gabriel ordered. Blotches from anger reddened his face.
Maddie began to cry and Lia felt terrible.
“When I have your sister in her stroller, where are you supposed to be?”
“But Daddy, I—”
“Answer my question, Madison. Where are you supposed to be?”
She lowered her head and hiccuped as the tears fell. “Right next to you.”
“Did you stay right next to me?”
“N…no.”
“No. You did not. So that means, when we get home, you’ll go straight to your room after supper.”
“But we have new nail polish—”
“Straight to your room.”
“But, Daddy—”
In a lightning-fast move, Gabriel scooped Madison into his arms. “I said straight to your room.”
Gabriel’s patience had clearly reached its limit and Lia was almost sure she heard it snap. His voice had risen an entire octave. Feeling enormously guilty, she put a hand on his arm, found it rock solid. “Gabriel, I’m sorry. This was my fault. I’m—”
He spun on her. “It was not your fault. She knows not to take off without me, especially not near a busy street and she knows when I’m at the end of my patience. Madison is six years old. Not a baby anymore. She knows what the consequences are for breaking my rules.”
Lia nodded, still holding his arm. “It’s just that she was so excited about your new nail polish. I’d hate for her to miss manicure night because of me.”
A muscle ticked in Gabe’s jaw. “Amelia, I get you’re trying to help but I’m the parent. I got this.”
Whoa. Full name. Because she felt about six years old herself, she held up both hands. “Right. Of course.”
He carefully crossed the street, making sure Olivia and Kimberly, pushing Emmy’s stroller, were beside him. Lia recrossed the street with him, surprised when he kneeled down to retrieve the food and the pharmacy bag she’d dropped to the ground. Little Mason’s prescription had fallen out. Gabriel picked it up with his free hand, handed it to her with a raised eyebrow.
Lia did not offer any explanation. She took her belongings and began walking, believing it best to just stay out of his way. Maddie’s sobs broke her heart. Gabriel stalked in stony silence with Maddie in his arms, forcing Kimberly and Olivia to half-jog just to keep pace.
“There you are!” a familiar voice called out.
“Roseann!” Lia rushed to hug her dearest friend as best as she could manage with her hands full. “I hope you weren’t waiting long?”
“Nope, just pulled up.” She turned with a smile to greet Gabriel. “I’m Roseann and you are—”
“Busy.” He walked right by without even slowing down.
Lia and Roseann watched Gabriel put Maddie down at the top of the courtyard steps, then turn to carry Emmy’s stroller up. He never even looked back.
“Wow. Rude,” Roseann announced. “Where’s Vivian?”
“Running late,” Lia said, balancing bags and the pizza box on her hip so she could fish her keys from her bag. “Take this on in. I have to drop this next door first.” Lia handed Roseann the food and jogged up the stairs to Jessica Vella’s unit with the pharmacy bag, gave the door a light knock.
Jessica opened the door with a look of such relief, Lia grinned.
“Thank you so much. What do I owe you?”
“Receipt for the medicine’s in the bag. The rest is a gift. I’m right next door whenever you’re ready. Hope Mason feels better.”
“You’re an angel. A savior. Quite possibly my new best friend.”
Laughing, Lia waved a hand toward her own front door. “Well, you know where I live if you want a glass of wine one night.”
“I will totally take you up on that.” When a child’s cry sounded, Jessica sighed. “Duty calls. Thanks again, Lia.”
>
Lia headed for her own front door, found Roseann checking out the living room.
“This is a great space, Lia. Bigger than I expected.” Roseann turned, gave Lia a hug and a kiss on her cheek. “So…what’s up with Chuckles?” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder.
Lia laughed. “That was Gabriel Ivers, my super. His daughter scared a few years off his life. Took off running, trying to catch up to me and nearly ran into traffic.”
“Oh, so he’s gonna chain her up in the dungeon?”
Lia laughed and headed for the kitchen. “No. He’s sending her to her room while her sisters have their manicure night.”
Roseann followed and ran a hand down a counter. “Hey, this is like an actual kitchen, not just a corner of a room.”
“Yeah, it is pretty awesome.” Lia fetched plates and utensils and began spreading things out on one of those pretty granite counters. She loved the gray streaks that ran through the surface, thought it was a nice contrast to the dark wood of the cabinetry.
“So what’s his story?” Roseann asked, jerking her head toward the rear door that was just steps away from Gabriel’s front door.
“Well, all I know is he lost his wife. Four daughters he’s raising by himself.”
“Wow. Okay.” Roseann shrugged. “I suppose a bit of slack for his earlier rudeness is called for here.”
Lia smiled and held up her hand, thumb and index finger touching. “Little bit.”
“Show me the rest of the place?”
Lia gave her hands a quick rinse. “I’ve got a washer and dryer there. Upstairs, there are three bedrooms plus the bathroom. Wait until you see it. It’s huge!”
Once upstairs, Roseann nodded. “Wow, you weren’t kidding. And a real claw-foot tub?”
“I know, right?” Proudly, Lia opened the door to the linen closet. “And lots of closet space.”
“Which bedroom is yours?”
Lia opened the door to her room. “This one.”
“Oh, this is beautiful.” Roseann poked her head inside. “Love that artwork.”
Pleased, Lia turned and glanced at the array of baskets hanging on one wall. Inside, the baskets held a number of small items like jewelry or scarves. “One of my small spaces newsletter tips. Decorating that does double duty.” She cocked her head and studied the arrangement with a critical eye. “They look okay? I had some trouble hanging them.”
“You didn’t ask Mr. Personality next door?”
To her great embarrassment, Lia blushed. “No. I try not to bother him.”
“Lia, it’s part of his job!”
She hid her face in her hands. “It’s not a good idea, Ro. I’m already too attached to that baby.”
Roseann held up her hands in surrender. “Okay. Let’s go have some of the amazing wine I brought.”
Once again downstairs, Lia got out glasses and found her corkscrew.
“So, Super Man across the way…I think you two could—”
“No! Absolutely not.” Lia scooped some hot and melty baked ziti onto plates, handed one to Roseann. “Weren’t you listening? I can’t be trusted around that man.”
“Well, why not? He’s incredibly attractive. I can’t decide if I like those pretty blue eyes or that full, sexy sneer better.”
Lia rolled her eyes. “I’m not looking for anybody right now, and most especially not looking for an instant family.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Roseann held up two hands in a stop gesture. “I never said anything about attaching yourself to him. I was thinking more of a fling. You know…to get you back in the saddle again.”
“Oh my God, Ro.” Lia hid her face in her hands. “He’s not a horse.”
Roseann laughed, sipped her wine and scooped up a bite of ziti. “You know how the song goes? Save a horse, ride a cowboy.”
Lia fanned her hot face and tried not to let her best friend see just how much that suggestion interested her.
*
Gabe remembered not to slam the door just in the nick of time. “Wash your hands.”
All the girls ran for the bathroom like soldiers heeding the call of reveille. Guilt began to worm its way through him but he squashed it like a bug. He had a right to his anger. Madison knew better than to go off running down a busy street. If Kim and Liv hadn’t been there to mind Emmy, he would have had to choose—
When the wave of panic threatened to drown him again, he sucked in a deep breath and began pulling out paper plates, napkins, utensils. He filled Emmy’s sippy cup, began dicing up a slice of pizza into bite-sized squares, put it all on her high chair tray. One by one, the girls returned to the table, took their seats, eyes pinned to him.
“Is nobody hungry?” he asked.
Still quiet, the girls slowly began to eat. The sounds of chewing were interrupted by an occasional hiccup from Maddie, whose face was red and her eyes still full of tears.
“Kim, Liv. You have any major homework assignments we need to plan this weekend?”
Kim shook her head. Liv shrugged. “I have to write a term paper. I wanted to do a project, but Mr. Kress said no. He hates me.”
A term paper? Jeez, she was in fourth grade.
“It’s like a long essay,” Kimberly offered. “You pick a topic, do a ton of research about it, then write the research.”
Gabe swallowed some water. “Um, not exactly. You pick a topic. But the research you do is supposed to answer a question, convince people that your answer to the question is correct.”
Olivia frowned. “How do you do that when you’re not sure?”
“That’s the point of the term paper. To teach you how to be sure.” Gabe took another bite of pizza. “So what topics do you have to choose from?” When Kimberly had these assignments, there was always a list.
“Um, there’s like twenty on the list. I don’t remember them.”
“Okay, show me the list as soon as you’re done.”
“But, Daddy, it’s—”
“I know what day it is, Liv. Show me the list when you’ve finished eating.”
Three sets of shoulders drooped another inch…four if he counted Emmy’s. He tried not to sigh. He was still pissed.
Why was he pissed? Yes, so Maddie had run off. Madison was an impulsive child and he often had to keep a closer eye on her than on the baby. So why had this time made him so furious?
Lia.
She’d been here for barely a couple of months and already, she’d made his life harder than it already was…taking the apartment that would have solved his sibling rivalry squabbles, enticing his daughter into taking off like a rocket. Jesus, his heart was still racing. Maddie hadn’t done something like that since she was in diapers. As rambunctious as Emmy could be at times, even she knew not to run off. Bell Boulevard was a busy street. If Lia hadn’t been there…
If Lia hadn’t been there, damn it, his daughter would have had no reason to take off.
“Dad?”
“What?”
Jeez, whose voice was that coming out of his mouth? He looked up just in time to see all of his kids recoiling from him like he’d taken out a whip.
“I’m sorry, girls. I’m sorry. Really.”
They stared at him like he’d spoken in tongues.
“What did you want to ask, Cocoa-Pop?”
She lifted a shoulder, picked a glop of cheese from her half-eaten slice of pizza. “Nothing.”
“Kim, I’m sorry. Really. Go ahead. Ask.”
Kim looked at Liv and then carefully back at her plate. “That lady. Lia. It’s okay if you…you know…like her.”
The emphasis she placed on the word seemed to suck all of the oxygen out of the room. “Like her?” he echoed.
“You were pretty mean to her. Boys are always mean to the girls they like,” Kimberly said and Olivia nodded her agreement.
“I don’t know her,” he finally replied and it was true. He didn’t.
“But if you do like her and want to, um…you know…go out with her or something…we wouldn�
��t mind—”
“Yes, we would,” Olivia put in, glaring at her sister, which was apparently the only thing Maddie needed to start talking again.
“I wouldn’t mind, Daddy. I like her ’cause she’s nice and pretty and smells really good and—”
“Shut up, Maddie.” Olivia turned. “This is all your fault anyway.”
“Is not!” Maddie leaned forward, spilling a glass of water.
Gabe resisted the urge to just get up and walk out. He loved his daughters. He loved them with every cell in his body, but sometimes, like right now, he’d gladly trade the pack of them for a fishing rod and bucket of bait.
“Enough,” he said with enough of his earlier anger still lacing the words that everyone immediately cowered again. He tossed a pile of napkins on the spill. “I already told you, I don’t know her. She is not our friend,” he added for Maddie’s benefit. “She’s our neighbor. If we become friends and I decide I do like her, then we’ll talk.”
“But, Daddy, I don’t want a stepmother.” Olivia shoved back from the table with a huff.
“Sit down and finish your dinner,” Gabe ordered through clenched teeth. “If I do decide I like her, that’s our business, not yours. Liking somebody is a far cry from asking her to marry me and become your stepmother.”
“That’s not fair!”
“Olivia, what’s not fair is a nine-year-old dictating my life to me. Are you finished with your pizza?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. You can go to your room now.”
Olivia’s mouth opened to spew more outrage but Gabe held up a hand. “Maddie, you go, too. No manicures tonight. I’ve had more than enough from the whole bunch of you and just want to be by myself. Get ready for bed. No TV, no games, no talking.”
“I hate you!” Olivia shrieked and stormed off.
“Me, too!” Maddie followed, slamming the bedroom door after her.
Gabe might have laughed at their performances if he didn’t feel so utterly worthless. Even his little E-Rex was uncharacteristically quiet during her bath tonight. By the time he’d finished bathing the baby and reading Emmy a story, Maddie had already fallen asleep, tears marking tracks down her cheeks. Olivia was still awake, aiming brown laser glares through his back while he put Emmy in her crib.
