Page 14 of More Than a Helping Hand

He sets her down and turns his gaze on me. “Morning.”

“Thank you for doing that. You didn’t have to. I think Fred fared better than you did.” I focus on the donuts because staring at him will only cause problems. “Bailey, I’m going to move these plants to the counter in the kitchen, so we can eat donuts at the table.”

She’s peering into the donut box. “Okay.”

Trying not to get poked, I pick up one cactus.

Anderson grabs the other. “I’ll help.”

I take advantage of the moment of privacy and say, “Bailey seems to think you’re the best thing since sliced bread, and you showed up with not only her favorite donuts, but mine, and I didn’t give you that info.”

His beard and mustache frame his wide smile. “I didn’t break any rules.”

“Anyway, given the situation, we really should talk. Tonight, Bailey is going to stay with her cousins. My sister has Bailey over twice a month to spend the night. So if you aren’t busy?—”

“Darlin’, it would be my absolute pleasure to take you to dinner.”

“I’ll drop Bailey at Paisley’s in San Antonio, then meet you somewhere. And I’d prefer a place where no one we know will see us.”

“So we’re secretly dating?”

“We arenotdating. We are meeting for dinner to talk about Bailey.” I turn around. “Let’s get back in there before she eats all the donuts.”

He drops into the chair next to her, and I pass out donuts.

And as he eats his donuts, this gorgeous man listens patiently as Bailey explains in great detail everything she knows about cacti. She gets a few bites in here and there. But I devour both of mine, wondering how he knew what to buy me.

* * *

After pullingup in front of Paisley’s, I shove my makeup bag into my purse. It’s rare that I wear makeup, and showing up with it on would let Paisley know I have plans that don’t involve a glass of wine, chocolates, and a movie with a happy ending.

I have two big sisters. The oldest, Priscilla, lives in Houston, and I see her pretty much only on holidays. Paisley, my other big sister, deserves all the gold stars. She’s an all-around nice person, and right now, one thing I appreciate is that she doesn’t make comments about my lack of social life. Instead, she invites my daughter to stay over twice a month. I know she hopes I’ll use that time to hang out with friends or date, but I haven’t done that. Until tonight. And this dinner isn’t exactly a date.

Lying to myself isn’t healthy, but the idea of dating scares me, so this little tiny lie is making it possible for me to show up to the restaurant. Once there, I’ll talk myself into going inside.

Bailey unbuckles and launches out of her seat and runs toward the house. “Bye, Mom.” She loves these sleepovers, and that makes my mommy heart happy.

Paisley smiles as she walks out to the car. “Thanks for driving her over.”

Normally, we spend the evening with my parents. Then Bailey goes home with my sister.

“With Mom and Dad out of town, there’s no point in you making that drive. It’s fine.” I get the booster out of the car. “I appreciate that you have her over. She loves it.”

“My kids love it too. And it gives you time to do things you want to do.” She takes the seat. “Last month, you mentioned that you were looking for a place. Is living with Mom and Dad not working out?”

“It’s fine. But they have a life, and it’s not fair to have their house invaded. I’ve been able to save up enough, but I haven’t found anything yet. There is a new apartment complex being built in town, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’ll be affordable. They’re almost finished. I expect soon, they’ll have signs up about leasing.”

“And you and Bailey probably miss having your own place.” My sister is positive and diplomatic all the time. And I love her for it.

“I’m sure Mom and Dad will be happy when the cactus collection leaves their house. And you don’t have to worry. She didn’t bring any with her tonight. Just a book. Because of the baby.”

“I appreciate it. That little one is into everything and would probably try to taste a cactus.” Paisley glances back toward the house. “I should get back in there. When you pulled up, Topher and Chris were playing tackle. I was keeping Emma out of the danger zone.”

“Uh-oh. You better go referee.”

“We’re going to play at the park and spend time at the splash pad, so it’ll be early evening when we drop her off. That okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll be off by then.” I wave as I slide in behind the wheel and check the time.

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