Letting Go (Triple Eight Ranch) - By Mary Beth Lee Page 0,4

hung lopsided under an ancient looking porch light.

He resisted the urge to straighten the sign as Mack knocked softly three times, biting her bottom lip as she did so.

When Clarissa answered the door, her appearance was like a kick to his gut.

Her blonde hair fell across her shoulders in curls that looked natural. Light makeup accentuated her large eyes. A crisp white shirt, jeans and boots shouldn’t be enticing, but they were. At least they were on her. Plus, she smelled good. Like a combination of vanilla and summer grass.

“You look pretty, Clarissa. Are you ready to go?” Mack held out her hand, and Jed wondered what was going through the strange woman’s mind when she paused. At her hesitation, alarm bells blared, but before he could pull Mackenzie back, protect her from someone so unsure of even that simple touch, Clarissa made peace with whatever was holding her back.

The minute Clarissa let his daughter take her hand, Mackenzie was off.

“You probably can’t come to Sunday School with me cuz Miss Topkins says we have to go to the class that matches our grade, but you gotta at least come see my room so I can get my points for bringin’ you. An’ when you get there I’ll give you a Jesus is in my heart sticker. You gotta’ go with daddy to his class. It’s fun, but they don’t get snacks like we do. I’ll save you a ‘Nilla Wafer if that’s what we have, but I can‘t save you Kool-Aid cuz it’s too messy. Stay away from Milton and Johnny the twins cuz they don’t like girls and they’ll try to pull your hair. I like your hair all wavy like that. You kinda look like an angel and that’s a good thing since we’re going to church and angels live there. Do you wanna see my toe? I hurt it and the nail’s fallin’ off. It’s awesome.”

Worry aside, Jed almost laughed at the shell shocked look on Clarissa’s face, especially when Mack actually stuck her sandaled toe up for inspection.

“Hey, Mack, breathe chick-a-dee,” he said, but he appreciated the way Clarissa gently held Mack’s ankle and examined the hurt toe thoroughly before shuddering appreciatively at the injury Mack was so proud of.

“I am breathing, Daddy. If I wasn’t breathing I’d be dead. Hey Clarissa, are you taking a break or sticking around cuz my momma took a break and she’s been gone a super long time.”

That hurt. The rest of Mack’s words blended together into a long strand of nonsense. Who’d told her that semi-truth anyway? Was it really so much a part of her life that she could throw it out there in the middle of talks about toenails and angels and Clarissa’s hair?

Jed saw the speculation in Clarissa’s eyes as she glanced at him while Mackenzie kept right on talking, and he tried to hide the hurt. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed or ashamed, but he was caught off guard by Mack’s flippancy.

“Mack, seriously. Chill pill time. You’ve got to quit talking for a minute.” He pulled into the church parking lot, wishing he could quiz her now, ask her where she’d heard stories about her momma taking breaks.

“‘’Kay, Daddy. Will you tell me when a minute’s up,” she said, then slapped her hands over her mouth and closed her eyes and concentrated on being super dee duper still, which made Jed feel like a class-A jerk and a rotten father.

This time the look he saw in Clarissa’s eyes was a mix of laughter and concern. But she didn’t comment on it, and he was thankful for that.

When the three of them walked into church together, he hoped Clarissa wasn’t feeling as conspicuous as he was.

When they finally made their way to the Sunday School class, Mack was back in high form, talking twenty million miles a minute. And for someone who had reluctantly taken his daughter’s hand at first, Jed was impressed at how closely Clarissa listened to her, answered her, made Mack feel important and special, something he tried his best to do but failed at often.

“Miss Topkins, this is my new best friend, Clarissa. She came today so the girls could get 100 points, but she’s got to go to class with daddy cuz she’s way older than five.”

Mack’s Sunday School teacher introduced herself to Clarissa and thanked her for being there, said a quick hello to him then turned to take control of a room full of kindergartners.

Time for things