Page 24 of The Manny

Gritting my teeth, I met Mia’s gaze. “How are you feeling, Mia?”

She looked at Thomas, as if waiting for him to tell her how she felt.

He smiled at her. “Go ahead, Mia, tell Uncle Jack how you’re feeling.”

She slid her gaze to mine again. “I feel better.”

“I’m glad.”

“The medicine tasted like bubblegum. I liked it.” Mia’s voice was soft.

“I’ll remember to always buy that one then.”

Now that I was home, I felt awkward. There wasn’t much for me to do. It seemed Thomas had everything in hand. Perhaps I should have just stayed at Scott’s house since I wasn’t needed. Although, truth be told, I’d been relieved to have had an excuse to escape early. Scott had been particularly pushy tonight, and I was tired.

Thomas stood, bending to tuck the blankets around Mia. “You should sleep. You’ll feel much better in the morning after a good night’s rest.”

“Okay.” Mia nodded, and her gaze traveled to the photo of Jules on the nightstand next to her. “Can I hold that while I sleep?”

I frowned. “What if it breaks? The glass could cut you, Mia.”

Her bottom lip trembled. “Oh.”

“How about I take the glass out of the frame? Just while you sleep with it,” Thomas offered, picking up the frame and turning it over. He fiddled with the little fasteners and pulled the back piece off. Then he carefully removed the photo and tugged the glass from the frame. As he reassembled everything, he said, “There. That’s safer.”

“Good idea.” I nodded.

Mia held out her hands for the photo, looking emotional. As he handed the photo frame to her, she pressed it to her chest. A lump rose in my throat watching her. I had no idea how to help her through her grief. I’d loved Jules, but not in the way a child loves their parent. It was obvious Mia was utterly heartbroken without her mother.

“I… I have some other pictures of your mommy, Mia. Would you like me to get them out for you tomorrow? Then you can look at them anytime you want.”

Mia widened her eyes. “Really?”

“Absolutely. What good are they sitting in a shoebox, right? You should be able to enjoy them.” I smiled at her and, for the first time since she’d arrived, she smiled back. A nudge of warmth moved through my chest at her grateful expression. I should have thought of digging those photos out sooner.

“Okay, Mia, now you go to sleep.” Thomas patted her legs.

“I will.” She closed her eyes obediently.

I left the room, and Thomas shut off the light and followed. We ended up in the living room together.

“That was a great idea about the photos,” he said.

“Thanks.”

He glanced at his watch. “I’ll check on her in a few hours, make sure her temperature is dropping.”

I hesitated. “Should I stay up tonight too?”

“Nope.” He shrugged. “That’s why you have me, right?”

“You need sleep like anyone else.” I hadn’t thought I had any paternal instincts, but I was a little worried about Mia. She’d looked so tiny and fragile in her bed just now. “We could trade-off.”

He frowned. “I’m fine, Jack. This is my job. You need to rest, so you can doyourjob tomorrow.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“I’m not worried, neither should you be. I just felt you should know what was happening.” He watched me, his expression difficult to read. “Sorry to ruin your evening with that guy.”

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