Forever Curves - Piper Sullivan Page 0,28
if you don’t.” The little girls’ eyes were so damn sad it was enough to break your heart, and if she needed a friend to ease her pain, I could be that for her. “I’m so sorry about your mama, Mariana. You must miss her a lot.”
She nodded and tears formed in her eyes. “I do.” The tears fell and I wrapped her little body in my arms, absorbing the pain that shook her tiny frame.
“You know you can always talk about her when the missing gets to be too strong, that way it’s like she’s still here in a way.” I rubbed gentle circles in her back and let her cry on my shoulder until she was all cried out. “That’s what I do with my grandmama. I remember her all the time and most days I don’t feel so sad.”
“You do?” She pulled back to look at my eyes, to make sure I wasn’t lying to her.
“Heck yeah, I do. She taught me to line dance and to do hair, so every day when I go into my beauty salon, it’s like she’s there with me, laughing at the town gossip and complaining about the pink dye one of my clients requested.”
Mariana nodded as if she understood and I hoped she did, because grief was a son of a bitch that would take you down if given half the chance. “Mama was a bad dancer.”
I laughed at her words and noticed the angry, sad woman had returned. “No one is a bad dancer, some just dance to their own beat.”
“No, Alyssa was a terrible dancer,” the woman added with a sad smile. “But she loved to dance and that made it endearing.” She turned her gaze to Mariana. “I’ve got to get on the road kiddo, but I’m gonna miss you.”
“Me too,” she said and slid from my lap to wrap her bony arms around the woman. “Stay here, Auntie Luna. Please.”
“I can’t. Maybe when I’m done with school I’ll find a job close to you and I can bug you all the time.”
“Yes, please.” The words were muffled against Luna’s chest and I could feel the closeness between them, how hard this goodbye was for both of them. “I love you, Luna.”
“Love you too, honey bunny. Forever and always.” Luna smacked a kiss to both cheeks and took a step back, almost as if she knew that if she didn’t go now, she might never go. She shooed her towards me with a sad smile. “Be good for your father.”
“Okay.”
Luna looked at me. “She likes you and she doesn’t normally do well with new people. Be kind to her, none of this is her fault.”
“We’re already friends,” I assured the woman. “Just like me and Grant. I’ll keep an eye on her but she’s his, not ours.”
Luna nodded. “If you say so. Talk to you soon, kiddo.” She walked across the backyard looking so sad and lonely that I couldn’t take my eyes of her. What kind of love did it take to do what was best for another person, no matter how much it hurt you? I had a feeling that despite her angry exterior, Luna was one hell of a woman.
Mariana squeezed my hand again and I looked down at those big sad eyes. “You know what helps when I’m feeling sad? Chocolate.”
She grinned. “That’s what Mama and Auntie Luna say too.”
“Well, we can’t all be wrong, can we? Let’s go check out that chocolate fountain.” We loaded up two plates with dippers and filled our cups with chocolate before finding an empty place to sit. “Cheese? Is that cheese and chocolate?”
The first laugh sounded and it was as sweet as my sister’s kids. “Yep. It’s good, wanna try?” She held out a cube of cheddar, which sounded pretty disgusting to me, but I took it and tasted it. “Good, huh?”
Actually, it was. “Pretty good, Mariana. Weird but surprisingly tasty. Thanks.”
“Welcome,” she mumbled and dunked a strawberry into the chocolate, eating with a small, satisfied moan.
Eventually Grant made his way outside with a hangdog expression on his pale face. The poor guy looked like he’d been run through a washing machine on the cold cycle, stunned and a little shell-shocked. “Uh, hey.”
Mariana froze at the sound of his voice and looked up at him with worried brown eyes. “Hi.”
He held out a big hand, his posture hesitant and unsure. “I’m Grant, your dad. You can call me…hell, I don’t know. What do you want to