“Oh, I like Pete, and little Bacon is fun.” Angela nudged Drake with her elbow. “You just want a donkey of your own.”
“Nope, not at all. But I might settle for a dove.” Drake smiled when Jasper cooed, as though he agreed with the idea. “Honestly, Angela, I don’t mind if you leave him here all day.”
“We’ll see how he does with the kids.” The ringing of the bell kept her from having to say more.
She moved to the back corner and stood by the chair where she’d left her coat. With a smile, she greeted the students and even bent down to talk to a few who came over to ask her questions about her clinic and the animals she treated.
Drake handed Jasper to Nick then took his place in front of the classroom. After they went through their usual morning routine, he grinned at Nick and motioned him to come to the front of the class.
“It’s Nick’s turn for show-and-tell and he brought a special friend along today.” Drake winked at Angela then moved to the side of the room and leaned against a bookcase while Nick talked all about finding Jasper outside and taking care of him at home.
“What does he like to eat?” Kale asked.
Nick stroked Jasper as he looked at his classmates. “Bird seed, mostly, but he gets treats like pieces of apple or hard-boiled eggs and broccoli.”
A few of the kids wrinkled their noses at the thought of eating broccoli.
“Can he do any tricks?” Megan asked, leaning forward on her desk, trying to stretch far enough to pet Jasper.
Nick moved closer to her and showed her how to gently pet the bird. “He plays with my cats and dog, and Shep. And he can chase a ball.”
“I want to see!” Billy said.
Nick looked toward his mother. She walked to the front of the room and took Jasper from him. With slow steps she walked past each student’s desk and those who wanted could pet the dove before she returned to the front. She set Jasper down on the table and Nick took his ball from the cage and rolled it toward the bird.
Jasper bobbed his head and wiggled his back end as he scurried toward the ball then bonked it with his beak, sending it back toward Nick.
Several students clapped and cheered. “Do more, please?” Emily asked.
Angela glanced at Drake and he nodded, giving permission for the disruption to his class and schedule.
“If you all quietly come up here, you can gather around the table and watch him play,” Angela said.
The students made slightly less noise than a herd of stampeding elephants as they rushed to encircle the table where Jasper and Nick played ball. After a few minutes of watching, more students asked questions and Angela let Nick provide the answers. Finally, she glanced at the clock and picked up Jasper. The bird cooed and ducked his head beneath his wing then stared up at her.
She tucked him inside his cage, along with his ball, and closed the door. She handed Drake the leftover birdseed, whispered he could call if he had any problems during the day with the bird, and smiled at the class. “Jasper is going to hang out with you all today, but remember, he doesn’t like loud noises.”
“We’ll be quiet, Mrs. Carol, we promise!” Billy assured her.
Nick gave her a hug then returned to his seat with the rest of the students.
“Have a great day,” Angela said to the class, although her gaze landed on Drake as she grabbed her coat and headed out the door.
The day passed in a flurry of appointments that left her exhausted. She made it to school as the last bus pulled away from the sidewalk. Nick waved at her from where he played on the swings and jumped off, running over to her when she crossed the parking lot.
“Hey, baby. Did you have a good day?” she asked, wrapping an arm around him and pulling Nick against her side.
“I had a great day, Mom. Everyone loves Jasper and I got all my math right and Mr. Miller shoved pencils through a bag of water and it didn’t even leak a single drop.”
“Wow! That sounds like an exciting day.” Angela took his hand and headed toward the front door of the school.
“Aren’t we going home, Mom?” Nick asked, skipping along beside her.
“We need to get Jasper.” Angela opened the door and held it while Nick scurried inside. If only she had a tenth of his energy, she wouldn’t be wishing she could curl up on her bed and take a quick nap. The last time she’d had a nap was just before Nick was born, and that was only because Granny forced her to rest.
“I thought Jasper was staying here,” Nick said, as he hopped his way down the hall toward the first grade classroom.
Angela gave him a studying glance. “Why would you think that, honey?”
“Well, Mr. Miller said Jasper can stay as long as you want to leave him here.” Nick took her hand and yanked on it. “Please, Mom, can Jasper stay? He liked the kids and cooed all day. It was awesome!”
“All day?” Angela asked, wondering how disruptive the bird had been to Drake’s class. Why hadn’t he called and asked her to come get the bird. Stubborn man probably didn’t want to disturb her.
She rushed into the classroom to find Drake bent over talking to Jasper as the bird chased his ball across the top of the table.
“Hey, Angela! Jasper is awesome. Can I keep him?” Drake asked, shooting her a boyish grin that weakened her knees to the point she thought she might collapse.
She reached out and grasped the edge of the nearest shelf for support. “Keep him? Nick said he cooed all day. Didn’t that drive you nuts? Distract the kids?”
Drake stood and smiled. “Just the opposite. The more Jasper cooed, the quieter the students were while they worked. I’ve never had them so settled and well behaved before. It’s like Jasper is a magical kid whisperer.”
Angela laughed. “Are you sure, Drake? I mean, you’ll have to clean his cage and feed him, and exercise him and…”
He waved a dismissive hand her way. “I let the kids take him out of the cage and play with him twice today. Jasper loved it and so did they. Nick supervised, of course.”
Nick pulled on Angela’s hand, dragging her away from the only thing helping her remain upright. “Yeah, Mom, it was so cool. Jasper’s like our class mascot. You know, we’ve got the falcon for the school, but Jasper can be just ours, for the class.” Her son gave her one of his pleading looks that would have softened the stoniest heart. Even the Grinch couldn’t have resisted his smile. “Please, Mom. Let Jasper stay. Please?”
Drake tossed her a look only slightly less pleading but one she found entirely alluring. “Yeah, please. Let Jasper stay. Pretty please?”
Angela shook her head then sighed in resignation. “How can I say no to that?”
Drake gave Nick a high five then Nick hugged Angela around her waist.
Angela gave them both pointed looks. “However, if Jasper becomes disruptive or he isn’t happy here in class, he comes back home. Understood?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Drake said.
“Yes, ma’am,” Nick mimicked, then hugged Angela again. “Thanks, Mom!”
“You’re welcome, baby. Come on. I don’t have any more patients today, so I thought we could string some lights around outside the house, if you want.”
Nick whooped with joy, then clapped a hand over his mouth and shot Drake an apologetic look.
Drake reached out and ruffled his hair. “It’s okay, Nick. Christmas lights are worth getting excited about.” He turned to Angela. “Anything special I need to know about Jasper’s care?”
“No. I’ll bring his bag of feed when I drop Nick off tomorrow. You should have plenty for him for tonight. His cage needs to be cleaned at least once a day and that has been Nick’s job and can continue to be if you want,” Angela said, giving her son a motherly look. “He needs to stay warm and he’ll want a dark space at night. You can drape that blanket we brought in this morning over the cage at night to block the light and make it warmer for him. He should be just fine right there unless you want to move the cage somewhere else.”
“I think on the tab
le will work great for now. The kids still have room do to their crafts around the cage and Jasper can strut his stuff when they aren’t using the table.” Drake walked her to the door with a strange look on his face. He seemed hesitant to see them go, but Angela had no reason to linger. When he continued studying her, she glanced away.
Drake cleared his throat. “I’ll take good care of him.”
“I know you will. Otherwise, I wouldn’t leave him.” Angela smiled at him then took Nick’s hand in hers. She needed to escape Drake’s presence before she did something ridiculous, like rest her head against his strong chest or beg him to hold her for a while. “Come on, Nick. There’s a ladder at home with my name on it.”
Chapter Five
Angela carried the last box of decorations down from the loft in the storage building and set it on her small front porch. Granny would have referred to it as a veranda, since it only stretched about five feet on either side of her front door, but around Faraday, it was the front porch. Nick alternated between excitedly carrying boxes and tubs with decorations inside and racing around the yard, asking her if she was ready to hang the lights yet.
Truthfully, Angela hated climbing on ladders. She would have gladly paid someone to do the job while she was at work, but Nick was so excited about helping, she couldn’t deny him the opportunity.
With effort, she packed the ladder to the front corner of the house. She decided to start there and do the steep pitch of the roof on the side of the house while there was still a bit of light outside before she did the easy stringing of lights across the front. Doc Johnson had installed a series of hooks under the eaves that made hanging a simple thing, at least in theory. Any time she had to climb up on a ladder higher than her head it made her dizzy and complicated the task.
With a string of white lights in her hand, she’d just placed her foot on the ladder when a vehicle pulled up and parked in front of the house.
Nick waved with enthusiasm and rushed over to greet Drake as he stepped out and headed their way. He’d exchanged his dress slacks and button down shirt for a pair of jeans and a heavy sweatshirt beneath a thick wool coat. He tugged on a stocking cap and took gloves from his pockets as he walked toward her.
Angela stepped back and fisted one hand on her hip. “What are you doing here? Is it Jasper? Is he okay?”
“He’s great. Don’t worry.” Drake settled his hands on her shoulders. The touch, even through layers of gloves and coats, made a shiver race down her spine.
“Then what’s up?” she asked, irritated by her reaction to him, by how glad she was to see him.
“I thought you might like some help with the lights,” Drake gave her a crooked grin. “I’m practically an expert at it, you know.”
She offered him a dubious look. “I did not know you were an expert. I suppose that can only be proven through observation.” In spite of her need to be a strong, independent woman, she gladly handed him the strand of lights and watched him scale the ladder. It took him no time at all to hang the lights along the high pitch line then move on to the front of the house. He was tall enough he could easily reach the hooks beneath the eaves without standing on the stepstool she’d carried outside. Angela and Nick handed him the lights then together they strung strands around the porch posts and across the balustrade.
“Shall we plug them in and see how it looks?” Drake asked, reaching for the power strip he’d set at the corner of the porch near an outlet.
“Plug them in, Mr. Miller,” Nick said, unable to stand still as he bounced around in the snow.
“I think you should do it, Nick,” Drake said, glancing at Angela for confirmation.
She nodded, unable to speak as she watched Drake hold out an arm and her son rush over to him. Drake set a hand on Nick’s back and helped him plug in the heavy cord.
“Okay, Nick. On the count of three, flip that red switch on the power strip. Ready?” Drake asked. At the boy’s eager nod, Drake stood and walked over to Angela.
It seemed the most natural thing in the world when he took her hand in his and together they started counting. “One, two… three!” Angela cheered when the lights came on, illuminating her house and casting a warm glow through the evening shadows.
“Thank you, Drake! So much!” Impulsively, she gave him a hug then pulled back when Nick ran over and threw his arms around both of them, holding them close together.
“Mom, can Mr. Miller stay for dinner?”
“Oh, baby, I’m sure he has other plans.” Angela glanced at Drake, wanting him to stay but also afraid he would.
“But, Mom, we’re having chicken and dumplings and I bet Mr. Miller likes them, too. Please?”
Angela ignored her sons pleading and forced herself to meet Drake’s gaze. “We’d love to have you stay if you don’t have other plans. It’s nothing fancy, but we have plenty.”
“I’d like to stay, thank you,” Drake said, giving her a look full of something she hesitated to acknowledge or decipher.
“Let’s get the chores out of the way before we eat, Nick. Then we can stay inside this evening and maybe set up a few of the decorations.” Angela glanced at Drake. “You don’t have to help. Feel free to go inside and warm up.”
“I’ll tag along with you,” he said, following her as she went to the barn to feed Shep while Nick fed and watered the cats and Brutus. After she dumped out Shep’s water pan and refilled it, the two of them made their way inside the garage where Nick raced back and forth past her pickup with the cats and dog chasing him.
Brutus, who generally barked at strangers and growled at men, ran right over to Drake and sat down, wagging his tail like a feather duster across the concrete floor.
“Hey, Brutus. How’s it hangin’, my man?” Drake got down on the floor to pet the dog and both cats before he stood and brushed animal hair from his clothes. He followed Nick and Angela inside.
Her son adored Drake, her animals trusted him, and yet she refused to get close to him. Nothing good could come of it. Nothing at all.
Except maybe you’d finally experience true love, a traitorous voice whispered in her head.
“Hush,” she snapped, then realized she’d spoken aloud.
Nick and Drake both stared at her as they removed their coats and hung them up.
Cheeks blazing with embarrassment, she spun around and busied herself washing her hands at the sink. “Sorry, my tummy is telling me it’s ready for dinner.” It wasn’t an outright lie. She was hungry and her stomach was grumbling at her, but that had more to do with nerves and far less to do with the delicious smells emanating from the kitchen.
“Come see my room, Mr. Miller. Mom helped me paint the ceiling since the last time you came to visit.” Nick tugged on Drake’s hand and the two of them disappeared down the hall.
Angela could hear the rumble of Drake’s voice, although she couldn’t make out the words. For once, she was glad for Nick’s “come see” age because it gave her a few moments to gather her unraveling composure before Drake returned to the kitchen.
He’d stopped in the bathroom and washed his hands, pushing up the sleeves of his sweatshirt to reveal corded forearms. She wondered what in the world he did in his spare time to stay so strong and in shape. If she didn’t spend her days on the go, wrestling with unhappy animals of all sizes, she’d definitely be forced to invest in a gym membership. Come to think of it, Faraday didn’t have a gym.
“Anything I can do to help?” Drake asked from beside her, startling her from her musings.
Heart pounding both from her shock and his proximity, she tipped her head toward a cupboard by the sink. “Nick’s job is to set the table, but you can pour drinks. He and I usually drink milk. I have soda, juice, or water if you’d rather have something else.” Angela spoke so quickly her words nearly blended together.
Drake grinned. “Milk it is. It does a body good, right?” He patted his trim abs, then turned to get glasses out of the cupboard.
Angela squeezed her eyes shut
, attempting to subdue her wayward thoughts. Drake just had to draw her attention to his form. One she’d envisioned multiple times when she tossed and turned at night, unable to sleep.
Thankfully, Nick ran into the room, hands partially dry from his haphazard use of the towel in the bathroom, drawing her attention away from her nearly overwhelming attraction to Drake.
Nick hurried to set the table as he chattered away, diffusing some of the tension that threatened to suffocate Angela as she prepared a green salad and scooped chicken and dumplings into a serving dish.
“This looks great, Angela,” Drake said as he held out her chair and waited for her to take a seat.
She gaped at the chair, as though it was a foreign object she’d never before seen in her house, then silently slid onto the seat. No one had ever held out a chair for her, made her feel special, like Drake did with just a few sweet looks or kind gestures.
“Mom cooks good,” Nick said, reaching out to take Angela’s hand then clasping Drake’s. The little boy looked expectantly at her, waiting for her to say grace.
Angela managed to offer a brief prayer without tripping over the words. The feel of Drake’s hand holding hers made her pulse gallop so furiously, she was sure Shep could probably hear it thumping like a bass drum clear out in the barn.
“How did you have time to make such an incredible meal?” Drake asked after he took a bite of the chicken and dumplings on his plate.
“I’m a slow cooker queen,” Angela said, pointing to one small and two large slow cookers lined up on her counter. “I toss ingredients in before we leave in the morning, set it to low, and come home to a hot meal. It’s the only way this poor boy gets anything beyond peanut butter sandwiches or cereal for dinner.”
“I like peanut butter sandwiches, but only with grape jelly or berry jam,” Nick said. “My mom made jam this summer. We bought berries from Mrs. Pith. She smells like medicine and her hair looks like one of those scrubber things Mom uses on her big skillet.” The boy gestured toward his head. “But she grows good berries and she gave me a thingamajig when we went to her store to get the berries.”
Wings of an Angel Page 6
