Love To The Rescue (13 page)

“Maybe you should consider hiring a tutor.”

“The school provided one last year, but I didn’t see that the woman did much good. Mrs. Harris is old enough to be her grandmother. Sarah needs a young woman in her life. I’ve considered signing her up for the Big Sisters program, but I’ve never taken the time to do that either. Maybe I’m just a rotten dad.”

“You’re not a rotten dad. Aside from appearing a little sad, she’s obviously well taken care of. Rover certainly put a smile on her face today.” Amy glanced through the kitchen window, and Kevin peeked over her shoulder.

Sarah raced across the yard with the big dog loping along behind her. The child held the ball aloft and then sent it sailing across the yard. Rover tore after it.

“Put her in softball. She’s got a good arm on her.” Amy suggested, glancing over her shoulder at Kevin and smiling.

“Actually, Sarah plays soccer on Saturday mornings. Runs like a scared deer. Her mother was very athletic, and her father is trained to chase down bad guys.” Kevin playfully smacked her backside.

“There you go. We’re making headway. We just have to find something else she enjoys doing to put a smile on that little face.” Amy poured them each a mug of coffee.

“
We
do, do
we
?” Kevin beamed. “I like the sound of that. Maybe the woman she needs in her life isn’t as elusive as I suspected.”

“I’d love to spend time with her. I could suggest we write a book together about a little girl and she might inadvertently reveal what she’s thinking.” Amy tilted her head, contemplating the idea.

“Sounds borderline devious, but it’s the best idea I’ve heard in ages. Go for it.” Kevin sipped his coffee. “I promised Sarah I’d take her to the zoo today and then to a movie. Do you want to tag along?”

“I’d love to! I can’t remember the last time I visited the zoo.” Amy smiled. “I hear the penguins are a riot. Do you think Sarah will resent me coming along?”

“No, she won’t mind. Go get ready and we’ll make a day of it. Zoo. Lunch. Afternoon matinee. And then we’ll come back here, feed Rover, and order a pizza for dinner.”

“You’re on, mister. Give me fifteen minutes.” Amy pointed toward the back yard. “Go check on the kids. Make sure mine isn’t sitting on yours and squishing her or something.”

Kevin laughed. “Okay. I’ll go supervise. Hurry up, the penguins are waiting.”

****

Amy couldn’t recall the last time she’d had so much fun on a Saturday. She almost felt like a kid again, spending the day at the zoo.

The penguins entertained them and splashed Kevin who’d been standing quite close to their enclosure. Sarah and Amy had wisely stood farther back. The monkeys were another favorite. Even wearing sneakers, Amy’s feet hurt from all the miles they’d walked. She spent way too many hours sitting at a computer, she decided, compared to Kevin who spent most of his workday on the run.

Sarah started the day skipping between displays and gradually ran out of steam. She fell asleep in Kevin’s car on the way back to Amy’s house after the movie. The cat nap revived her and she spent over half an hour chasing Rover around the backyard while they waited for the pizza delivery man.

After dinner, Kevin and Amy sat on one sofa in the family room watching an old western movie on TV. Sarah slept on the other sofa with Rover curled up on the Oriental rug watching over her.

“My dog has fallen in love with Sarah.” Amy smiled at the angelic child, sleeping under a lacy afghan.

“I think you’re right.” Kevin reached over and stroked his daughter’s head. “Rover was a big hit with her, too. I haven’t seen her smile so much in months. And it brought tears to my eyes hearing her laughter again while she chased that dog around the backyard.”

Amy leaned her head on the cop’s muscular shoulder, surprised to hear the strapping fellow admit his daughter’s laughter made him cry. “Brought you to tears? I won’t ruin your tough cop reputation by making that bit of information public knowledge.”

“I’d deny it anyway.” Kevin squeezed her tighter. “But seriously, if that dog could bring her out of her depression, if that’s what she’s experiencing, I’d buy that critter the biggest steak he’s ever seen.”

“You’ll do no such thing. Raw meat would upset his system something terrible.” Amy took dog ownership seriously, and meticulously adhered to the diet outlined by Rover’s vet.

“Okay, I’ll barbeque it for him.”

“Nope. His vet recommended kibble or nothing for the big guy. Perhaps I forgot to mention that bit of steak you fed him the first time you met didn’t sit too well with him.” Amy wagged her finger at Rover’s benefactor. “If you want to buy a bag of dog food I won’t argue with you. That high end stuff the vet sells is a ridiculous price, but Rover either starved or ate so much junk while on the streets and in his old life, his poor system won’t tolerate anything else.”

“High end kibble it is then. Rover can hang out his therapist-for-sad-little-girls shingle, and we’ll see how it goes.” Kevin smiled, unwrapped himself from her, and stood. “For now, I’ve got to get my little princess home and tucked into her own bed.”

“Keep her wrapped up in that cover to ensure she stays warm. You can bring it back next time you come over. And I’ll get the door for you.” Amy clambered off the sofa and headed toward the front door.

As soon as Kevin reached for Sarah, Rover leapt to his feet. “Sorry, Rover. I have to take your new friend home, but I’ll bring her back for you to play with another day.” Kevin patted the dog on the head and then scooped his daughter up in his arms.

Amy leaned in for a kiss when Kevin reached the entryway. “Call me, okay?”

“Count on it, beautiful.”

She closed the door behind him and met Rover’s eyes. “Don’t look at me like you’ve lost your only friend. Sarah’s coming back again. I promise. You’re good for that poor girl. Maybe you can help her deal with losing her mother, while Kevin and I help you trust men again.” A win-win for all of us, she thought.

Chapter 9

Three weeks later, the Calgary Stampede—the biggest rodeo and outdoor party and beer-drinking bash of the year—started.

Although he was on a day off, Kevin was called in to help with crowd control at a corporate party, but Mrs. Harris had been felled by a case of food-poisoning following lunch out with her church cronies and hadn’t dragged herself out of bed all day. Kevin called Amy, begging for a babysitter and she readily agreed, looking forward to spending some time alone with Sarah. And she told Kevin to pack his daughter’s toothbrush and pajamas instead of disturbing her sleep in the wee hours to take her home. Twenty minutes later, Kevin had dropped her off.

Amy and Sarah spent the afternoon baking chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, enjoying a tea party at her kitchen table, and playing a game of Go Fish. And tripping over Rover. The dog hadn’t left Sarah’s side all day. Even during their romp together at the neighborhood park, Sarah and Rover were inseparable.

After sharing the vegetarian pizza they made from scratch for supper, Amy gave the little girl a bubble bath. Just as she was finishing up, Amy’s cell phone rang, and she raced into her bedroom to fetch it. Of course, someone had dialed wrong and she returned to the bathroom a minute later.

As her hand reached for the doorknob, Amy overheard Sarah talking to Rover and she froze in place outside the door. She eased the door open an inch and peeked through the crack.

“You’re lucky to have a nice mommy, Rover. I don’t have a mommy.” Sarah’s hands played with the bubbles for a minute.

“I like Amy a lot. She’s nice, and she doesn’t yell, and she laughs a lot.” Sarah reached out a soapy hand and patted Rover’s head. The dog didn’t seem to notice he now sported a hat made of strawberry-scented bubbles. “I wish I could adopt a mommy, like Amy adopted you.”

Amy’s eyes filled with tears, hearing the sadness in Sarah’s voice. She vowed to spend more time with her, and hopefully fill the painful gaping void in her life that her mother’s death had created.

“I’m back,” Amy called as she stepped into the bathroom. “Let’s get you into those cute Minnie Mouse pajamas.”

A few minutes later, Sarah raced into the spare room and dug what appeared to be a very well-used, well-loved teddy bear out of her suitcase.

“What’s this guy’s name?” asked Amy, tucking her into bed with the toy.

“His name is Buster Bear.” Sarah beamed. “But I just call him Buster. Are you going to read me a story, Amy?”

“I don’t know.” Amy tilted her head. “Would Buster like to hear a story?”

“Mrs. Harris always reads me and Buster a story before we fall asleep.” Sarah smiled with an impish grin.

“I suppose we could read a story, but it would be a lot more fun if we wrote our own story.” Amy silently prayed for forgiveness for her ulterior motive.

She hoped Sarah would open up and share the secrets hidden deep inside, away from her father, Mrs. Harris, and the psychologist who’d failed to gain her trust. Amy was no professional, but she felt Sarah trusted her. If Rover sat beside the precious child, the chances increased tenfold that she might feel comfortable sharing those fears, troubles, and concerns. Anything was worth a try.

“I don’t know how to write a story,” confessed Sarah, sounding especially sad.

“Well, Sweet Pea, you’re in luck because my job is writing stories for grown up ladies. And every story has a beautiful lady and an extremely handsome man. And they eventually fall in love and live happily ever after, just like in your fairy tale stories.” Amy smiled and settled herself atop the spare bed with her pen and notebook in hand. She patted the quilt beside Sarah and Rover leapt up and settled beside his little friend, resting his head on her leg.

Sarah tilted her head, deep in thought. “Will our story also have a beautiful lady in it?”

“Better yet, why don’t we put a pretty girl in our story?”

“Okay,” Sarah smiled. “What’s the girl’s name?”

“Her name can be anything you want.”

“Can her name be Sarah? I’d like to be in a story.” Sarah sat with her fists tucked under her chin.

“Sarah is a beautiful name. So, our story is about a girl named Sarah. And she has long wavy blonde hair that hangs down her back, and her mother brushes the tangles out of her hair every night.”

“Mrs. Harris brushes and braids my hair after my bath so it won’t get all tangled up while I sleep.” Sarah swiped her flowing hair out of her eyes. “But I like my hair when it’s not braided, too.”

Amy silently chastised herself for not thinking to braid Sarah’s hair, but apparently, her little charge wasn’t troubled by her misstep.

“We’ll put hair brushing in our story. What kind of bed does Sarah sleep in do you suppose?” asked Amy.

“A beautiful bed with a white thing on top.”

“Do you mean a canopy?” asked Amy.

“Yep, and a pink blanket and a fluffy white pillow.” Sarah petted Rover’s head as she spoke.

“Great idea. See, Sarah, writing a book is fun and easy. Do you have a bed like that?”

Sarah nodded. “Mrs. Harris decorated my room all pink cause I’m a girl.”

“Your room wasn’t pink before Mrs. Harris came to care for you?” Amy tilted her head. Why would the housekeeper redecorate Sarah’s room? Wouldn’t keeping the same, familiar surrounding be wiser?

“No. My room wasn’t pretty like Bonnie’s room. She’s my bestest friend. Mrs. Harris talked to Bonnie’s mommy and then she made my room pretty, too.” Sarah beamed.

“What was your room like before?”

“There was a really small bed, and my clothes were in a tiny yellow dresser with stupid bunnies on the drawers. It looked like a baby’s room not a big girl room. But Mrs. Harris told Daddy that I needed a big girl room now, and Daddy said okay.” Sarah leaned closer and confided, “I’m glad Mrs. Harris made my room pretty. I like having Bonnie come to play now.”

“Did you feel bad about the baby room before?”

“Yeah. I didn’t want Bonnie to see it.”

“Is there anything else that makes you feel bad?” Amy held her breath, realizing she might be treading on thin ice here. If the perceptive little girl caught on to what she was doing, she might clam up forever.

“Well…” Sarah wrapped one arm around Rover.

“You can tell me,” whispered Amy, noticing Sarah had reached out for support from the one source she knew she could count on, her new four-footed playmate. “We’re good friends, aren’t we? You can tell me anything, and I won’t tell anybody. Promise. Rover won’t tell anyone either.”

Sarah giggled and hugged the dog’s neck. “Rover can’t talk!”

“Oh, that’s right. Sorry, I forgot.”

Sarah heaved a sigh. “My mommy went away and then she died. I don’t have a mommy like the other girls do. I wanted to join Girl Guides, but I think you need to have a mommy. Bonnie says Girl Guides is a lot of fun. She’s in Brownies. But Bonnie has a really nice mommy and I don’t. So I didn’t ask Daddy if I could go.”

“Do you feel sad because you’re not in Girl Guides?”

“Yeah. Bonnie has a nice uniform and she goes to a meeting every week and she does all kinds of neat stuff.”

Amy noticed how Sarah’s eyes lit up while she spoke.

“Bonnie and her mom got to sell really good cookies.” Sarah’s arm dropped from around Rover. “They weren’t as good as the ones we made.”

Amy suspected Sarah added the last comment in case she’d hurt her feelings. Recalling the comment about liking her hair braided or not, Amy realized that comment was for her benefit as well. Sarah was certainly kind-hearted and mindful of the feelings of others, thought Amy, for someone so young.

“I agree with you. I bought three boxes of Girl Guide cookies, and they were so good.” Amy smiled, recalling the extra time on the treadmill required to compensate for those darn cookies which tasted way too delicious for her waistline’s own good.

“Daddy bought some, too. We had a cookie with a glass of milk before I went to bed when he was home. Mostly, I had them after school with Mrs. Harris.” Sarah scratched her nose with her pajamas sleeve and then added, wistfully. “I sure would have liked to ring doorbells and sell cookies.”