Protecting His Beautiful Lover - Leslie North Page 0,43
your helmet?”
“Darn.” The little girl ran back to her room and came back with the bright pink helmet on her head. “Ready!”
They walked out into the warm midday and Tara took a deep breath. Blue sky for miles, and it helped to bolster her spirits and restore her faith that everything might work out okay.
Ashley wheeled her bike around from the garage where it was stored and climbed on. She’d been riding for about a week now with the training wheels, and was doing well and building her confidence. Tara stood by and watched the little girl pedal back and forth around the patio, her mind returning to the problem with the legislation.
Even though Clint hadn’t said much about his meeting with Bartlet the day before, other than mentioning the lead about John Berger, she couldn’t help wondering if Bartlet wasn’t part of the reason why GGE was withdrawing support from the bill during these last, crucial days before the vote. It made sense, considering his business had a vested interest in making sure the legislation went nowhere. If Clint didn’t want to include her in his investigations, maybe she’d just do some snooping on her own. A girl had to be proactive, after all.
And speaking of proactive…
“Hey, Ashley,” she called, walking over to where the little girl had stopped to take a break. “How’d you like to try riding on your own for once?”
Ashley blinked up at her, her eyes wide and uncertain. “You mean without the training wheels?”
“Yep.” Tara crouched beside the bike and smiled. “You’ll never know you’re ready unless you try, right? And you’ve gotten really good at riding the past few days. What do you say?”
The little girl seemed to consider it a moment, then gave a solemn nod. “If you think I can do it, then yeah. Let’s try it!”
Tara grinned and straightened to set aside the tools she’d used to remove the training wheels from the bike. “Okay. Now don’t think about it. Just ride like you have been and you’ll be fine, okay?”
“Okay.” Ashley’s smile faded into determination. “You’ll stay with me though, right? Catch me if I fall?”
“I’ll be right here. Promise.” She placed her hand over her heart. “You can do it!”
Small shoulders squared, Ashley stared straight ahead and began to pedal. Tara followed behind her, ready to assist if needed, but it wasn’t necessary. Ashley made it to the end of the patio and turned to come back toward the house all on her own. Pride swelled inside Tara and she couldn’t keep from cheering.
“Yes! You go girl!” Tara clapped and jumped up and down. “That’s it! Go a little faster, it’ll make it easier to keep your balance. There you go. Yes. Just like that. Watch out for the crack there. Be careful!”
She’d no sooner said the words than Ashley wobbled slightly, the bike’s front tire going crooked as it dipped into a rut in the concrete. Before Tara could grab the rear of the thing, it toppled over, sending Ashley crashing to the ground.
For a moment, the little girl looked as stunned as Tara felt, but then she sat up and noticed the scrape on her knee and the slight amount of blood welling on it and wailed. “You said you’d catch me but you didn’t!”
“Oh God, honey. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!” Tara raced to her side and gathered her up in her arms, the fallen bike left behind, forgotten. “Shush. Shhh. It’ll be okay.”
She carried the little girl inside and set her down on the sofa in the living room, her heart aching.
“Why did you let me fall?” Ashley said, between hiccupping sobs. “You were supposed to be there.”
“I know, sweetie,” Tara said, wiping away Ashley’s tears, then cupping her cheeks. “And I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. It’s my fault. I should’ve paid closer attention. I shouldn’t have taken off your training wheels so soon.”
Tara pulled the little girl back into her arms and let her cry it out, feeling awful. She’d pushed too hard, too fast, just like her own mother used to do to her. She’d put her own needs ahead of Ashley’s. She’d not made her a priority. God. What an idiot. She of all people should’ve known better.
Once Ashley quieted, she pulled back and gave Tara a teary look. “My knee hurts.”
“I know, honey. Sit here a minute, let me run to the bathroom and get the first aid kit. We’ll get you all patched up, then how about we