Loving Miss Libby (14 page)

Wait a minute, she thought.  What had prompted him
to even come up with such an absurd idea?  She searched her memory.  How had
Kate responded when Marky had brought it up?  She couldn’t remember and
realized she must not have looked in Kate’s direction to register her response.

She was probably as shocked as the rest of them had
been.  Libby remained thoughtful for a moment, but found herself calming down. 
Marky was five years old and didn’t have a mother.  Of course it made sense he
was looking at her as a mother figure.  He’d developed feelings for Amanda so
quickly, it had left their heads spinning.

She was being ridiculous worrying about an innocent
question from a small boy.  It was simply his way of expressing that he was
missing a mother in his life.  Of course he was.

Libby thought back to her own childhood.  She
remembered seeing her friends’ fathers when they picked them up from school, or
when she spent time at her friends’ homes.  She often watched them discreetly,
wondering and speculating about what she was missing out on by not having one.

The thing was, Libby couldn’t deny having feelings
for Dan.  As hard as she tried to bury those feelings, they remained.  And his
children…  She adored them. 

From her experience babysitting them, she had
realized something about herself.  She could easily love an adopted child as
her own.  Her love for the kids seemed to deepen with each passing day, and it
was difficult for her to leave them behind every evening.

She worried if her response was healthy, or
normal.   Did daycare providers always come to love their charges? 

When she heard the light knocking on her front door,
she hurried to answer it.  She pulled the door open and found Dan leaning
against the door frame, appearing so haggard he looked like he might fall over.

“Are you okay?” she asked him, her eyes widening
with concern.  “Come in.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but a yawn came out. 
He smiled apologetically.  “Libby, I’m really sorry I’m so late.  I’m afraid I
couldn’t get away any sooner.  I actually left earlier than I should have,
but…”

“Dan, you didn’t have to rush home on my account.”

He cocked his head slightly and gave a lopsided
smile.  “Yes, I did.  You’ve been an angel, Libby, but I know you didn’t bank
on raising my children for me.”

“I…”  She wasn’t certain what to say.  She realized
he was watching her face intently, his eyes fixed on her face like guided
missiles.  She smiled uncertainly.

To her surprise, he drew closer to her, still watching
her intently, as if memorizing her features.  “Why hasn’t some man snatched you
up and married you?” he asked.  “You’re beautiful, but so much more than that…”

Libby swallowed over a lump in her throat.  Dan had
never spoken to her like this before.  She didn’t have time to contemplate this
reality, since he leaned forward and claimed her lips in a gentle, sweet kiss. 
When he pulled back and sighed, drawing her into his arms and pulling her
against him, she melted against him.

When she suddenly registered where she was and that
the children were only mere feet away from them, she abruptly pulled away from
him.  Marky, in particular, might get even crazier ideas about his father and
his babysitter if he happened to wake up to find them embracing.

“Dan,” she whispered, “you’re exhausted.”

“Dead on my feet,” he admitted.

“You’re practically sleep walking.”

“No, I’m not that tired,” he said, smiling into her
eyes.  “I don’t go around hugging and kissing beautiful women in my sleep.”

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to disagree with you,”
she said.  “I think you just did.”

He shook his head again.  “No.  I knew exactly what
I was doing.”  He quirked a sad smile.  “I was driving home from that …
horrible wreck…”  He snared her gaze and shook his head.  “It can be over in
the blink of an eye, Libby.  Life.  Tonight, that man we pulled from the
wreckage, he had a wife, kids…  Their lives are never going to be the same…”

“I know, Dan.  It’s awful.  I’m sorry you had to be
witness to so much pain.”

“I’m used to it,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s possible to get ‘used’ to it,”
she whispered.

He weighed her words with a side to side shake of
his head, closed his eyes, and then wiped at his eyes with the heels of his
hands. 

Seeing him so sad broke her heart.  “Dan…”

He suddenly smiled and reached out and cupped her
face.  “I was driving, feeling overwhelming sadness, and your face flashed in
front of me…”  He suddenly looked sheepish.  “Knowing I was going to see you
when I got back home, knowing you were here, and assuring my kids are safe… 
Libby, I…”

“Daddy,” Kate called.  “You’re here?”

“Yeah, baby.  I’m here.”

“Are we going home now?”

“Yes, sweetie.  We’re going home.”

He sought Libby’s eyes.  “We should get out of your
hair.”  He hesitated, and leaned forward and kissed her cheek.  “Thank you,
Libby.  For everything.”

Libby
rose early for church the next morning.  She’d had a sleepless night, reliving
her encounter with Dan over and over.  He had certainly taken her by surprise
when he had both kissed and hugged her.

Sitting in her customary pew, Libby struggled to
focus on the pastor’s sermon, but it proved difficult.  She bolted out of
church the minute it was over. 

It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy fellowship with her
church family, but she was simply too tired to socialize.

As she drove home, she again remembered her
encounter with Dan. She just wasn’t sure what to make of it.  More than likely,
he was so exhausted he wasn’t responsible for his actions.  He had insisted he
was, but she somehow doubted it.  She knew he was a reasonable man who knew
that kissing your kids’ babysitter wasn’t necessarily a sound move.  The
babysitter who lived next door.

What if they did attempt to date and ended up
breaking up?  It would be hard on them, and certainly on the children. 

Libby shook her head and laughed at herself.  There
was no denying she had feelings for Dan, and now that he’d expressed that he
felt something for her, she was suddenly the cool head, finding ways to explain
away or negate his feelings.  Shouldn’t she be jumping for joy?

When she arrived home, she considered heading
straight to her couch for a nap, but as tired as her body was, her mind was
infused with a nervous energy.  Since working on her lawn always calmed her and
helped her arrive at mental clarity, she changed into cutoff shorts and a worn
t-shirt and headed out back.

She hacked at the soil, determined to prepare a new
garden area.  Her mind drifted to Dan often, but each time, she forced her
attention to the plot of dirt in front of her. 

After a time, she heard the children playing in
their backyard.  They were more boisterous than usual, shrieking and crying
out.  She perked her ears.

“You can’t catch me, Cherise!” Marky cried.

“You’d better hope not,” a woman called back.  “When
I catch you, you little monster, I’m going to hang you up by your toes.”

“Nuh uh.”

“Oh, yes, I am,” the droll voice responded. 
Suddenly, she heard an odd sound, and then the woman let out a scream, followed
by a string of insults against Marky.  “…And when I do get my hands on you, you
little rug rat, I’m gonna run you down the garbage disposal,” she finished.

“Noooo!” Marky wailed.

Libby had stiffened and was gripping her gardening
tool so tightly she experienced a spasm in her hand.  What kind of a woman
talked to a precious child like that?  Threatening to put him down the garbage
disposal!  It was obscene!

She remained as still as a statue, listening.  She
heard Dan’s back door slam and then the woman’s voice shouting, “Kate, if you
don’t get your bony butt back here, I’m gonna…”  And then Kate screamed. 

Libby’s protective instincts flared.  She rose and
started for the gate, but when she reached it, she pulled back.  She couldn’t
go charging over there.  She didn’t know Cherise, nor did she want to. 

She wondered, was Dan home?  She had her answer when
she heard the back door slam and him call out, “Kids, you’d better listen to
Cherise while I’m gone.”

“Oh, they’re absolute angels,” Cherise had responded
in a voice dripping with honey.

Libby felt chills run along her spine.  The woman
had been horrible to the children, but had changed her tune when Dan had shown
up.  “Oh, Lord, protect them,” she prayed.

Libby took a deep breath, struggling to calm
herself.  She wanted nothing more than to charge next door and take each child
by the hand and bring them home.

Home.  Her home.

Oh, Lord, she thought.  She couldn’t love them more
if they were her own children.  And Dan…  She cared for him too.  But she felt
conflicted.  How could he not see that Cherise was awful to his children?  But
to be fair to him, she probably wasn’t awful to them in his presence.  She
probably put on an act, pretending to care, and then only showed her true
colors when he wasn’t around.

Libby startled when she heard a car door slam.  She
rose and caught sight of Dan driving off in his personal vehicle.

With a sigh, Libby resumed working on her garden. 
She was so agitated, she didn’t even realize the amount of work she’d done
until she finally took a break.  She’d cleared an ample space for a large
garden.

She headed inside for a glass of water.  Her phone
rang just as she reached for a glass.  She set it on the counter and dashed
over to the phone. 

“Hello.”

“Hello, Libby.  It’s Doc Mason.”

“Doctor Mason!  How are you?”

“I’m all right.  I know you heard the surgery went
well.”

“I’m so glad.”

“I just wanted to check in with you, give you an
update.  As you know, my wife is determined I take the whole summer off.”  He
paused.  “Libby, I have to tell you, I just can’t do it.  I’m going stir
crazy.  I love the time at home with my wife, but I miss my work.”

“I know you do,” she commiserated.

“Anyway, I talked to my other half, and we’ve
reached a compromise.  I’ll take another four weeks off, and then I’m coming
back.  I wanted you to know, because I hope you haven’t secured other work.”

“Actually, I haven’t.  I’ve been doing daycare for
my neighbor’s children.”

He breathed a sigh of relief.  “So you’re still
available?”

Libby searched her brain.  Dan’s mom, Mary, had said
she anticipated that she and her husband could resume watching the kids within
a month’s time.

“Doctor Mason, that should work out fine for me
too.  My neighbor’s father is having a surgery, but his wife believes they’ll
be able to watch the kids again in about a month.”

“That’s right.  You’re doing daycare for Mary’s
boy.”

“Yes.”

“He’s a good man.  Those kids are precious, too.”

“Yes, they are.”

“Well, hey, it sounds as if everything will fall
right into place.  I can’t tell you how grateful I am I haven’t lost you.  I have
to tell you, I expect your workload may be intimidating upon your return.  I
fully expect I’ll have to update each and every chart, since the others docs
and I do things so differently.”

“I expect so,” she said, envisioning the mountain of
work ahead of her.  But that was great news, she told herself.

“Okay, then, Libby.  I’ll let you go.  I’ll be in
touch with you about my return date, but expect a month or so.”

“Sounds great.  Thank you for the call.”

Libby hung up the phone.  She heaved a sigh of relief. 
In a month’s time, her life would resume as normal.  She was happy the kids
would have their grandparents back in their lives on a regular basis and that
Dan could reestablish his routine.

Or, so she told herself.  She couldn’t deny a
persistent ache in her heart at the thought that the children wouldn’t be a
part of her daily life within a month’s time, or that she wouldn’t see Dan each
day.

In the meantime, she would have to assure she and
the children had a wonderful time together.  She would take them on fun outings
and assure they had a terrific summer.

***

The next day, Libby arrived at Dan’s at a quarter of
six.  He opened the door and smiled.  She sensed a self-consciousness on his
part, but then, she was feeling it too.

He hurriedly stepped away and grabbed his duty belt
off the back of a nearby chair.  “The kids are sleeping,” he told her, offering
a brief smile.  “They had a busy day with a friend of mine yesterday.  They may
sleep till noon,” he said ruefully.

She nodded and crossed her arms, watching him slip
into the belt.  He stood up, adjusted it on his waist, and then hurried to
retrieve a cooler from the kitchen, in which he carried his lunch.