Page 8 of Kent's Honor
When he’d rode off down the street on his Harley, she’d clutched her chest and let out an audible sigh that didn’t go unnoticed by her son or Elle.
She pushed the vision from her head and waved to her son as he pumped his chubby little legs back and forth on the swing.
Elle pushed Nicky, all the while talking to him, and he smiled like he hadn’t a care in the world, as it should be for a three-year-old. But their life was anything but easy.
She was going to have to split whatever Kent paid her with Elle because she did more work playing with Nicky than Dixie had taking care of Elle. Of course, Elle was quite mature fora ten-year-old and smart, too. She’d rattled off all sorts of information during lunch about the area and its wildlife. She was a little walking encyclopedia. Full of life and laughter.
“Watch, Mommy!” Nicky jumped off the swing, and Elle did her best to prevent him from falling.
“That’s great!” She clapped enthusiastically, fighting the tears that came with loving her little boy so much, but not being able to care for him in the way he deserved. She needed to do better by him. “Elle is teaching you a lot of things today.”
“I love Elle! She’s so much fun.” Nicky ran to the slide, Elle tagging along right behind him. A dozen or so other children ran around the park or hung from the jungle gym, and a couple had settled in the sandbox. A group of women, who could be mothers or nannies, gathered under a big tree, chatting, occasionally looking in her direction. A few of them had said hello to Elle but didn’t bother with more than a nod to Dixie.
That was fine by her. She had a job to find. No way would she stay at her aunt’s house for more than a month. It had been hard enough to tell her she’d been evicted from her trailer and that Nicky’s deadbeat father, Daniel, had taken off and hadn’t paid child support in over six months. Without that money, she couldn’t afford daycare and her rent, let alone make sure Nicky was properly fed.
Shame heated her cheeks. Her father would have been so disappointed in how her life had turned out. Pushing the negative thoughts away, she focused her attention on her iPad and finding a job. She immediately scanned the secretarial section. She stayed away from any listing regarding social work. She’d only had one year of college with the intention of majoring in social services, but that dream died when she could no longer manage working, paying a babysitter, and going to school, especially when Daniel didn’t do his share when it came to Nicky.
Glancing over her tablet, she eyed Elle and Nicky, now settling into the sandbox with a little girl who looked about Nicky’s age and seemed to know Elle. Dixie had to give props to Elle for being so attentive with Nicky when there were a couple other girls her age at the park who had bugged her to go play with them a few times. Dixie offered Elle every opportunity to dump Nicky back to her, but Elle said she’d prefer to play with him, even stating that her father would expect her to a good little helper.
A tall, slender woman with long blond hair, pushing a high-end baby stroller, handed the little girl in the sandbox a few buckets and shovels, telling her to make sure she shared with the other children. This woman wore a pair of red Bermuda shorts and a white short-sleeved shirt that appeared to be designer. Not that Dixie had any contact with expensive clothing, but this lady’s outfit looked pricey.
Glancing around, she noted that most everyone in the park dressed better than she had with old jean shorts that had been out of style for years. She bought her shirt in a secondhand store when she’d been shopping for new-used clothes for Nicky. One day, hopefully soon, she’d be able to spend a few extra dollars and get something special for him. Something brand new, meant just for him, no one else. Every little boy deserved at least one thing like that.
Dixie went back to the four jobs that looked appealing, but she hadn’t the qualifications for any of them, even though she knew without a doubt she’d be able to perform them as well as anyone else. She understood computers and knew how to use all the major software programs, and what she didn’t know, she’d be able to pick up quickly. All she had to do was get one of these people to take a chance on her, and she’d prove they’d made the right decision.
“Hello.” The graceful woman from the sandbox made her way across the park, as the stroller she pushed bumped uneasily over the grass. “I’m Tilly.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Dixie.” She pushed to the side of the bench, making room. She didn’t feel like being social, but her father and grandmother, rest their souls, taught her to be polite and kind. No reason to hog the seating.
Tilly looked to be about thirty to thirty-five, at best guess. A few wrinkles had started to develop around her eyes, but other than that, her skin looked radiant with the way the sun hit her face. “I don’t mean to be rude, but my son doesn’t always share well, and I’m not sure the young lady?—”
“Elle is perfectly capable of caring for both children while we watch from a safe distance, despite what her father says.” Tilly lifted the flap of the stroller where a plump baby, of maybe a year old, slept peacefully.
“You know Kent?”
“My husband works as a firefighter with him and they served in the Air Force together. They’ve been friends for over ten years.”
“Oh, you’re the Tilly he gave me contact information for,” Dixie said, biting back a smile. “I’ve never seen a man so overprotective before. He almost didn’t want to leave Elle with me. It was the strangest thing, though I probably shouldn’t have said that.”
“You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know and the idiot asked me to come check on you.” Tilly shook her head. “Kent is a great guy and an even better father, but he’s the biggest worrywart I’ve ever met for a macho fireman.”
That might be true, but she was a perfect stranger to Kent and his daughter. Lots of parents these days used nanny cams and other devices to make sure their children were getting the best possible care. It really didn’t matter that her aunt Jackiehad been Elle’s nanny since Elle had been eight weeks old. She loved that child so much that when Kent left the Air Force and moved to Jacksonville, Jackie moved too. She would never intentionally put Elle in danger, which included recommending a replacement while she had to be away, but she could understand Kent’s reservations. As a parent, Dixie would have the same ones.
“I’ve texted him my every move,” Dixie said, glancing at the sandbox, her heart swelling at the vision of her son playing nice. He was a good boy, but being an only child, he often struggled with sharing. It didn’t help that his father was in and out of his life, confusing the poor boy.
“He wanted me to just watch you, but no way would I do that, plus my daughter would have run to Elle, and I didn’t want to put her or Elle in a tough situation, so I thought I’d just come introduce myself.”
“Thanks. I appreciate the honesty,” Dixie said, tucking her iPad in her purse. She’d have time to send in her resumes this evening, after she proofed them one last time. “Do you live around here?” God, she hoped so. She’d feel bad if Tilly had to drive any distance with two small children to spy on her.
“We live closer to the marina in Whispering Hills.”
“Nice area.” Dixie had driven through the neighborhood, admiring the larger homes with their fancy landscaping and perfectly lined palm trees. The homes weren’t overtly pretentious, but they were expensive compared to where Kent lived, which was a good neighborhood with nice people, but the cost of housing was substantially less.
Her aunt had been trying to get her to move to the area for a year, telling her to stop trying to force her ex to have a decent relationship with their son. Part of Dixie wanted her son to have the family she hadn’t, with two parents who worked togetherto raise their children. The other part knew Daniel would never step up to the plate and be a real father.
“We like it there. It’s close to work for Rex, and I have a home office over the garage.” Tilly spoke with a certain grace to her voice. The way she pronounced each syllable gave way to not only style, but intelligence, and not in a way that put anyone off.
“What do you do? If you don’t mind me asking.” Dixie craved adult conversation more than she realized. For the last few months, she’d worked double shifts and what few hours of free time she had, she’d spent every second with her son. Her throat closed with guilt. For the majority of her life, she’d lived with her dad, only visiting her mother occasionally, who was a free spirit and couldn’t settle into being a mother full-time.
