Page 40 of Make Me Trust Again
“I’m sorry.”
He ducks his head slightly.
Rose lets out a long sigh, her shoulders relaxing. She crouches down, her hand resting on Kyle’s shoulder to draw his attention. Only when he looks at her does she start signing.
Kyle watches her intently and finally nods. His hands move as he signs something back.
My eyes narrow at them, not that it makes any difference since I don’t know any sign language. Not for my sister’s lack of trying. She’s been bugging me to take some sign language classes ever since I got back home, and a part of me wishes I had listened to her. Not that I would ever admit it out loud, she would never let me live it down.
Rose pushes to her feet as Kyle turns to me, an apologetic smile on his face. “I’m sorry for bothering you, Mr. Williams.”
“It’s okay. Shadow loves company.”
As if to confirm it, the dog goes to the boy, demanding his attention. He complies, his smile growing slightly bigger as he gives her some scratches between her ears. Shadow licks Kyle’s chin, which makes him laugh as he pulls back and waves. “Bye, Shadow!”
The dog sits down and watches him as he turns around and runs toward his house. She glances back at me, letting out a soft whine, but I shake my head.
“This kid will send me to an early grave,” Rose sighs. A strand of hair slips out of her braid, so she pushes it behind her ear. “I’m so sorry. I told him that he shouldn’t bother you. I’m not sure what’s gotten into him. He’s never done something like this.”
I shift my attention to Rose. “It’s fine. He played with Shadow for a while. It’s not like he threw eggs at my door.”
Rose lets out a strangled laugh. “Well, I’d hope not. Thank you for entertaining him. I swear I almost had a heart attack. I looked out the window, and he wasn’t there, and— I was so scared that he wandered off and got lost.”
Those blue eyes meet mine, and there is genuine worry there. And a little bit of guilt.
“He’s a little boy. They wander off. Get in trouble.”
“I know.” She runs her hand over her face, her gaze darting to Shadow. “He was laughing.”
The words are said so softly that I would have probably missed them if I wasn’t looking at her face. She shakes her head almost absentmindedly, her gaze shifting to the counters.
“I should let you get back to work. We’ve bothered you enough for one day. Thank you for letting him play.”
I nod silently. The corner of her mouth curls in a small smile as she ducks her head and follows after Kyle, my gaze staying fixed on the gravel path long after she’s gone.
CHAPTER NINE
ROSE
“Here you go. One hazelnut latte with an extra shot of espresso.” I smile at the woman as I place her drink on the counter.
“Thank you so much.”
“Of course. Have a good one.”
She takes her drink, going for the door. The bell chimes softly as she slips out. I scan the space, but the few patrons sitting in the café seem happy. There is the older Mr. Harris sitting in the corner, reading his newspaper, his glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose every so often, a couple of students are typing away at their computers, and two young women are scanning the shelves, quietly discussing the book they are looking at.
Late afternoons are usually pretty slow, except two times a week when Savannah has the reading group for the kids. Maybe I should tell Mom to bring Kyle. He loves books, and it would save me some time from stopping at their place to pick him up after work.
“All the orders have been placed,” Becky says as she comes out of her office, the last of her words swallowed by a cough.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She waves me off. “Just allergies. Everything good around here?”
I eye her carefully. She doesn’t really seem okay. Her nose and cheeks are red, but her skin is pale, and there are dark circles under her eyes. Not to mention, that cough seems pretty rough. She goes to the coffee machine and grabs a cup, glancing over her shoulder, she raises her brow.
“Yes. The calm before the storm.”
