Page 14 of Charmed
“An excellent idea.” Ana walked over to center the picture on the refrigerator door, anchoring it with magnets.
“I like to draw. My daddy draws real good, and he said my mommy drew even better. So I come by it naturally.” Jessie slipped her hand into Ana’s. “Are you mad at me?”
“No, sweetheart. Why would I be?”
“Daddy said Daisy knocked you down and broke your pots, and you got hurt.” She studied the scratch on Ana’s arm, then kissed it solemnly. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. Daisy didn’t mean it.”
“She didn’t mean to chew up Daddy’s shoes, either, and make him say swear words.”
Ana bit her lip. “I’m sure she didn’t.”
“Daddy yelled, and Daisy got so nervous she peed right on the rug. Then he chased her around and around the house, and it looked so funny that I couldn’t stop laughing. And Daddy laughed, too. He said he was going to build a doghouse outside and put Daisy and me in it.”
Ana lost any hope of taking it all seriously, and she laughed as she scooped Jessie up. “I think you and Daisy would have a great time in the doghouse. But if you’d like to save your father’s shoes, why don’t you let me help you work with her?”
“Do you know how? Can you teach her tricks and everything?”
“Oh, I imagine. Watch.” She shifted Jessie to her hip and called Quigley out from his nap beneath the kitchen table. The cat rose reluctantly, stretched his front legs, then his back, then padded out. “Okay, sit.”Heaving a feline sigh, he did. “Up.” Resigned, Quigley rose on his haunches and pawed the air like a circus tiger. “Now, if you do your flip, I might just open a can of tuna fish later, for your dinner.”
The cat seemed to be debating with himself. Then—perhaps because the trick was small potatoes compared to tuna—he leapt up, arching his back and flipping over to land lightly on his feet. While Jessie crowed with laughter and applauded, Quigley modestly cleaned his paws.
“I didn’t know cats could do tricks.”
“Quigley’s a very special cat.” Ana set Jessie down to give Quigley a stroking. He purred like a freight train, nuzzling his face against her knee. “His family’s in Ireland, like most of mine.”
“Does he get lonely?”
Smiling, Ana scratched under Quigley’s jaw. “We have each other. Now, would you like a snack while you tell me about the rest of your day?”
Jessie hesitated, tempted. “I don’t think I can, ’cause it’s close to dinner, and Daddy— Oh, I almost forgot.” She rushed back to the table to pick up a package wrapped in candy-striped paper. “This is for you, from Daddy.”
“From …” Unconsciously Ana linked her hands behind her back. “What is it?”
“I know.” Jessie grinned, her eyes snapping with excitement. “But I can’t tell. Telling spoils the surprise. You have to open it.” Jessie picked it up and thrust it at Ana. “Don’t you like presents?” Jessie asked when Ana kept her hands clasped tightly behind her back. “I like them best of anything, and Daddy always gives really good ones.”
“I’m sure he does, but I—”
“Don’t you like Daddy?” Jessie’s lower lip poked out. “Are you mad at him because Daisy broke your pots?”
“No, no, I’m not mad at him.” Not for the broken pots, anyway. “It wasn’t his fault. And, yes, of course I like him—that is, I don’t know him very well, and I …” Caught, Ana decided, and she worked up a smile. “I’m just surprised to get a present when it’s not my birthday.” To please the child, Ana took the gift and shook it.“Doesn’t rattle,” she said, and Jessie clapped and giggled.
“Guess! Guess what it is!”
“Ah … a trombone?”
“No, no, trombones are too big.” Excitement had her bouncing. “Open it. Open it and see.”
It was the child’s reaction that had her own heart beating a shade too fast, Ana assured herself. To please Jessie, she ripped the paper with a flourish. “Oh.”
It was a book, a child’s oversized book with a snowy white cover. On the front was a beautiful illustration of a golden-haired woman wearing a sparkling crown and flowing blue robes.
“The Faerie Queen,” Ana read. “By Boone Sawyer.”
“It’s brand-new,” Jessie told her. “You can’t even buy it yet, but Daddy gets his copies early.” She ran a hand gently over the picture. “I told him she looks like you.”
“It’s a lovely gift,” Ana said with a sigh. And a sneaky one. How was she supposed to stay irritated with him now?
