Page 67 of Heart of a Hero

“Mark, huh?” Olivia asked with a giggle. “I like him, Mom.”

Karen chuckled as she turned around in her seat. “Yeah, me, too,” she muttered. With the enthusiastic response ringing in her ears, she pulled out of the parking lot and headed home, gratitude filling her heart. Along with a dose of nervousness, knowing that her life at the moment was in a constant state of flux, she snorted.And what life isn’t?

29

Mark had organized the friends he’d called, and they’d arrived with several trucks loaded down with a mattress, bed frames, and a couple of chests. Not wanting Marty and Zannie overwhelmed, he’d left Karen to direct where things should go as he took the kids out. Marty quickly became lost in choices as he wandered the shelves in the Baytown Library. Zannie would pull out an easy reader, sit on the floor, read the book, and place it carefully back before moving on to the next one. His heart ached as he realized while they had the school library, they had probably never been to the large library in town where they could check out as many books as they wanted. He assured them that anything they wanted could go on his card. When they were at the front desk, he had the librarian give them their own library card.

Zannie jumped up and down with hers in her hand as they walked out, and Marty gripped his tightly before asking Mark if he would put it in his wallet so it didn’t get lost.

Then they made their way to Rose’s Ice Cream Shop, where the wide-eyed kids picked out their treats. Sitting at the table, he watched Zannie dig into her sundae, grinning as she shoveled each spoonful. Marty took smaller bites, seeming to savor thecold flavors. His phone buzzed, and he checked his messages. Karen would get the girls and tell them, then she’d be home in about twenty minutes.

While the kids continued to eat, he said, “I’m going to step to the side for a moment to make a call.”

The kids nodded, and he grinned. With the ice cream in front of them, he doubted his presence would be missed. When Brad answered, he asked, “Anything new to report?”

“No. Carla and Alan have disappeared for now. Jeremy has even checked with some of his connections in the drug world out here but came up empty.”

“What about the thefts? I know I’m not officially on the case, but I can’t help but wonder.”

“Nothing to report on those either. There have been no new burglaries in the past couple of days. How are things going with the kids?”

“I have them right now so that Karen can set up the house. The AL and Auxiliary came through. She’s gone to get her girls, and I’m having my dad bring Benji to their house in a little bit. I know it’s a lot, but Karen thinks it’s important for the kids to get used to having people around.”

“Sounds good, man. Will you be in tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Karen will make sure they get to school and also put me down as a contact for Marty and Zannie. I’ll be in and work more contacts on where their mom and Alan might be.”

“Think they’re still in the county?” Brad asked.

Mark placed his hand on his hip and stared down at his boots. “Yeah, I do. I have no idea why, but I just can’t see her leaving the kids. Not permanently. But why I think that I have no fuckin’ clue.”

“It’s because no matter how much shit we’ve seen in this job, you can’t imagine leaving Benji and can’t imagine another parent doing that.”

“You’re right. Maybe they did leave, and she just figured someone would take them in. Christ, what kind of parent does that?”

“One who feels they have no choice?” Brad says. “Hell, I have no answer.”

Mark looked through the glass window and grinned. Marty was helping Zannie wipe her face. “Looks like the kids are finished with their ice cream. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.”

They disconnected, and he headed inside to help the kids throw away their trash and then load back into his vehicle. He glanced into the back seat. “Okay, guys, you know that I took you out so that Miss Karen had a chance to get your rooms ready and to talk to her girls to let them know you will be staying there.”

“I get to share a room with another girl,” Zannie said, her smile wide.

“Are they gonna be mad?” Marty asked. “If they don’t want to share, we can stay with Mr. Roscoe.”

“They aren’t going to be mad,” Mark assured, hoping he was telling them the right thing. He’d been around Laura and Olivia and couldn’t imagine they would react badly. But then, they were having their household changed. He blew out a breath and hoped all was well with Karen and the girls. He suddenly wondered if he should call his dad and cancel having them come over. Scrubbing a hand over his face, he grimaced. Making this first night a big combined family night might be a mistake.

Before he had a chance to make alternate plans, he was in Karen’s neighborhood. Pulling into the driveway, he spied his dad’s car parked behind Karen’s. The kids alighted from his SUV, and he grabbed the bags of toiletries he’d purchased at the small dollar store before they’d gone to the library.

When he entered Karen’s house, Benji enthusiastically greeted him. “Hey, Dad!”

He dropped the bags by the front door and opened his arms to wrap his son in a hug. He knew that soon Benji would no longer want to greet him this way. Benji would go through a phase of being too cool to greet his old man, and when he grew out of that, Mark knew there would come a time when Benji would thrust out his hand for a handshake. As Benji stepped back, Mark glanced at his dad standing nearby. Straightening, he turned to see Zannie still grinning widely but nervously hovering close to Marty, who was once again wary.

“Benji, I’d like you to meet two friends of mine who will be staying here for a while. This is Marty; he’s nine and in fourth grade. And this is Suzanne, but she likes to go by Zannie. She’s in second grade. Marty and Zannie, this is my son, Benji. He’s ten and in fifth grade at your school.”

“Hey!” Benji said, smiling at the two newcomers.

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