pig-tailed Oliver Twist. “You’re either too early or too late, which is it?”
“My mom says running late is her cardio.”
I looked around again to see if there was any sign of this mom, I didn’t see any.
“But I don’t need cardio cause I got a good tabolism. My mom says she wishes she had my tabolism.”
A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. “Is that right?”
“Do you have a good tabolism?”
It was definitely slowing down now that I was in my mid-thirties. “I had a better one when I was your age.”
The pixie of a thing adjusted her hold on the shoebox she held in her arms as she asked, “How old are you?”
“Thirty-four. How old are you?”
Her posture stiffened as she stretched out her neck, in what I could only assume was an attempt at making herself as tall as possible. “I’m ten years old.”
Mind you, I didn’t have any kids of my own. But I’d raised my two younger brothers when Pops checked out after Mama died, and I’d be damned if this little girl was a day over six, and even that was pushing it. She was bright, though. She reminded me of the kid from Jerry Maguire, only a girl, obviously.
She wiped her nose with the back of her hand and the box she was carrying began to slip. But this kid had cat-like reflexes and she grabbed it before it fell out of her grip.
“What have you got there?”
“My treasures!” she enthused. “I’m selling them. Do you want to see?”
“Sure.”
She opened the lid and revealed a box full of half-used broken pencils, rubber bands and paperclips, some pens that looked like they’d seen better days, and other trash that could most kindly be described as the rejects from a junk drawer.
Lord knew there was nothing I needed in the box, but there was no way I was going to send this needy little thing away empty-handed. I wasn’t one to wear my heart on my sleeve, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have one. Even though most people in this town might argue that I didn’t. Hell, maybe they were right.
I made a show of picking up an eraser and the Band-Aid before pulling my wallet out of my back pocket. I leafed through the bills and crooked an eyebrow at her. “How much?”
Her eyes widened, and she looked down into the box like she was seeing it for the first time. “For which thing?”
“All of it.”
“All of it?” Her eyes widened to the size of saucers. “A dollar. No, two dollars!” she quickly modified.
I nodded, keeping my face solemn as if I was considering her price. “You’re a tough negotiator. Here ya go.”
I handed her all of the ones from my billfold and took the box in return. She leafed through the dollar bills, her mouth moving silently as she counted. When she finished, her eyes flew up to mine, wide as saucers. “But… but… this is eleven dollars!” she breathed, awe threaded all through the statement. She grinned and the missing tooth in front gave her smile an endearing twist. “Thanks, sir!”
Sir? I hadn’t been called sir… ever.
“Don’t spend it all on candy.” The last thing I wanted to do was contribute to the cavities of youth.
Her expression changed. The light of excitement that had been in her eyes a second before diminished and her lips pursed as she shoved the money in her back pocket. “It’s for my mom. So she doesn’t cry anymore.”
If I’d been uncertain about having a heart before, the evidence presented itself after hearing that because it broke at her response. It wasn’t just the words that she’d said. It was the somberness, the maturity, and the conviction of her explanation.
“Where is your mom?”
“She’s at our house.”
“Does she know where you are?”
“No, she was sleepin’ and I didn’t want to wake her up. I wanted to surprise her!”
I could see that this little girl’s heart was in the right place, but I’d put money on this not being the sort of surprise her mama would appreciate.
“Did you walk here?”
“Yes, I did!” she declared, clearly proud of her achievement.
I’d never seen the girl before and had no idea where she lived, but I had a pretty good guess. My house sat on four acres of land on a thin stretch of the peninsula. Old Man Thompson’s place was the only other house in miles. It sat on the edge of the property a couple of hundred yards away,