Page 7 of Rescued Hearts
That’s when I saw them. As if I manifested them out of thin air.
Tess and a little boy walking hand in hand.
Luke had red hair that was curly like Claire’s and Emmett’s. He was looking around, his eyes wide and apprehensive. He clung to Tess like a shadow, but she didn’t seem to mind. She just looked down at him and smiled. Something soft and loving that made me want to smile.
She hadn’t noticed me yet, and I wasn’t sure I wanted her to. The more distance between us, the better. But in a split-second decision, I crossed the street to their side because I was an idiot who couldn’t help himself. If I had to guess, by the way Luke started bouncing with excitement the closer they got, they were walking to the ice cream shop.
Tess scanned the area around them, doing a double-take when her gaze landed on me. She looked surprised, maybe even a little glad to see me. I forced the hope that she was out of my mind. “Levi?”
That was the first time I’d heard her say my name. I liked it way too much.
“Hey,” I said with a small wave, stopping outside the shop. “Didn’t know today was an ice cream day, or I would’ve cleared my schedule.”
She chuckled, brushing her hair behind her ear. Her gaze ran over me once, taking inventory. I wanted to know what she thought about what she saw. “Every day is an ice cream day when you’re four,” she said, waving her hand that held Luke’s. He was peeking at me from behind her leg, brown eyes wide and unblinking.
I squatted down to his level. “You must be Luke.” He nodded, still staring at me like I was a science experiment gone wrong. “I’m Levi. It’s nice to meet you.”
He didn’t respond, just buried his face into Tess’s leg more.
“Sorry, he’s shy,” Tess said with a hint of embarrassment. I wish she’d stop apologizing for everything. She said sorry about ten times at our meeting, and I was ready to ban her from using it. But that wouldn’t make me much better than Jeremy.
“Shy like your mama,” I said to Luke. “I knew her when she was barely older than you.” I had the urge to poke him on his cute little button nose that he got from Tess, but kept my hands to myself. I was barely on even ground with the kid, and I just knew that would’ve sent him screaming.
And for whatever reason, I wanted him to like me. More so than any other kid whose case I worked on.
His eyes widened. “You knew Mommy?”
“I don’t remember that,” Tess said at the same time.
She was frowning when I peeked up at her. Boundaries be damned, it was adorable. “Didn’t expect you to. It was a long time ago.”
I looked back at Luke and noticed he had revealed more of himself. “I like your shirt,” I said, gesturing to the red t-shirt with a brachiosaurus on it. “I love dinosaurs.”
He gasped. “You do?”
I scoffed dramatically. “Of course, I do. What’s not to love? Do you like big ones, like T. rexes? Or smart ones, like velociraptors?”
“The troodon is actuawy the smartest dinosaur.” That little speech impediment hit me right in the heart.
My head tilted up towards Tess, smirking. “Guess what they say is true, that you learn something new every day.” Her eyes softened with something that looked a lot like gratitude.
Man, my heart was taking a beating today.
I stood, needing to get far away from them before I forgot myself completely. And my knees were killing me from squatting for so long. “Well, I won’t keep you two from your ice cream.”
“Can he get ice cream with us, Mommy?” Luke whispered, but in that way that wasn’t a whisper at all.
Tess’s brows shot up. “I’m sure Mr. Hollis is busy, baby.”
Mr. Hollis. It had the professional distance that I was fighting tooth and nail to hold on to. So why did it feel so terrible? “I’m not busy at all,” I found myself saying before I could stop it.
She blinked at me, clearly caught off guard. “You don’t have?—”
“I want to.”
“Yes!” Luke cheered and dragged Tess towards the door.
I got mint chocolate chip, Tess got plain vanilla, and Luke ordered a concoction of chocolate ice cream, whipped cream, caramel sauce, gummy bears, and Oreo crumbles. Just looking at it made my teeth ache.
