Page 55 of Destiny Reclaimed
Arthur yanked her off the ground and got in her face one more time before he stormed out of the house. She hoped and prayed he wasn’t going to see Jack. Later, she’d discovered he spent the evening at the corner bar.
Gwen’s shoulders slumped. She wanted to cry, but with her son before her, she refused to let the tears fall. And still, knowing she shouldn’t, she stood, took Blake’s hand, and headed for the car.
One day out of the week, for only one hour, she had happiness.
Gwen pushed her way through the front door of the dime store. The bells clinked against the glass causing Jack to glance over his shoulder from behind the lunch counter. He instantly flashed that warm smile she’d yearned for. He held her gaze for a moment before lowering it to Blake.
“Howdy, partner.”
Blake ran to Jack with his arms lifted in the air. The kind man scooped up her son, tossed him in the air a couple of times, then set him back on to his feet. Her son’s giggle was music to her ears. The guy was too good to be true; why some woman hadn’t snatched him up by now surprised her.
Jack crouched down and tipped her son’s hat up. “You look like a real cowboy.”
Little did this generous person know she had to dig the hat out of the garbage and try to explain to a toddler he could only wear it when his father wasn’t home. The need for this evasive behavior broke her heart.
Her son beamed at the man’s words. “I a cowboy,” Blake corroborated excitedly as he pointed at himself.
Jack’s smile stretched. “Yes, you are.”
He picked her little cowboy up and sat him on a stool at the counter, then he stepped back behind it and pulled a plain doughnut from the case, broke it in two, and set it on a napkin in front of her eagerly waiting son.
Her precious boy smiled and picked up a chunk.
Gwen placed her hand over her swelling heart and couldn’t be more pleased by the attention this man gave her son. In an instant, her thoughts turned gloomy. How was it this man could interact so easily with her son, yet his father couldn’t—wouldn’t.
Gwen sat, and Jack poured her a cup of coffee. Her chest lightened as her weekly one hour of happiness had begun.
When she reached for the cup, Jack’s gaze landed on her arm. When his facial features hardened and jaw knotted, she lowered her gaze to where his attention was focused. Her heart slammed in her chest at the sight of her uncovered wrist. The sleeve had ridden up, exposing the traces of what remained of her husband’s handprint. Shame saturated every cell of her being as she pulled her arm back and tucked it under the counter.
“Gwen,” he said solemnly.
Though his concerned tone didn’t match his hard facial features that she glimpsed moments earlier, she was too ashamed to look up.
He slid over placing himself directly in front of Blake, then he leaned forward over the counter. “Hey, partner, why don’t we go find you a coloring book and crayons? I think there’s one over there with cowboys and horses.”
Blake’s smile couldn’t have stretched any larger.
She wanted to grab her son and bolt from the store, but not nearly as much as she wanted to seek comfort from this kind and caring gentleman, so she didn’t.
Jack stepped out from behind the counter, helped Blake off the stool, and took him by the hand, leading him to the toy section.
He and Blake returned a few minutes later.
“Look, mama,” her son said excitedly as he held the coloring book up.
“Oh, that’s a good one,” she replied.
“Why don’t we set you up down here,” Jack said to her son as he picked him up and carried him to the far end of the counter and set him on a stool.
Blake opened the coloring book and got to work.
Jack eased back behind the counter, refilled their coffee cups, and then fixed his gaze on her.
“Are you okay?” he asked in a whisper.
Gwen supposed he kept his voice low because of Blake and the couple of ladies that had filtered into the store. She considered lying, but judging from his knowing gaze, he knew the answer to the question before he asked it, and she wasn’t particularly good at lying.
“No, but it will be fine.”
