“Believe me, I’ve learned that real kindness means more than a pretty face and a fat bank account.”
“I’ve learned that trust and the truth are really important, too.”
Mason signed the check the waitress discreetly left on the table during their talk, then turned to her. “The truth is, Sierra, I can’t wait to get you home.”
She put her elbow on the table, planted her chin in her hand, and gave him a sexy smile. “Well, what are you waiting for?”
Mason slid out of the booth and held his hand out to her. She took it knowing she was taking the next step in their relationship and a giant step out of her past and into a future she got more excited about each and every time she was with Mason.
Chapter Seventeen
Amy thought she had a plan to keep four kids happy until bedtime but that plan went south the second smoke filled the kitchen and the smoke detector blared through the house.
Distracted with getting the kids to clean up for dinner, the organic pizza she put in the oven had burned to a crisp.
The blaring sound made Danny’s and Oliver’s eyes go wide with terror.
Oliver freaked and ran out the front door screaming, “The house is on fire!”
Danny followed him at a dead run.
Amy tossed the burnt pizza on top of the stove and ran after them. She found Oliver in the yard sitting in the middle of the lawn with his knees bent, arms tightened around them, crying. Danny stood next to him patting his shoulder, cooing, “It’s okay.”
She knelt next to Oliver and brushed her hand over his hair. “Sweetheart, I’m so sorry. There’s no fire, only a very burnt pizza.”
Oliver looked up at her, bottom lip trembling. “Is anyone dead?”
Her heart broke. “No, honey. Everyone is fine.” She glanced up at P.J. and Emma standing at her side. “See, your cousins are fine and there’s nothing but smoke in the house.” She wiped at Oliver’s tears with her thumbs. “Come on. Let’s see if I have another pizza in the freezer and get that smoke detector to stop that incessant buzzing.”
The last tear spilled down Oliver’s soft cheek. “It’s scary.”
Her heart was still pounding. “I know, but it’s all over now.”
She picked up Oliver, hugged him close to reassure him, and stood. She walked back into the house, scrunching her nose at the burnt smell and smoke still lingering in the air.
“P.J., Emma, and Danny, grab a magazine off the table and wave it in the air and try to get the smoke to blow out the door.” She set Oliver on a stool at the counter and picked up the burnt-to-a-crisp disk from off the stove. “I’ll be right back, sweetheart. Let me get rid of this.” She walked out the back door and went to the trash bins on the side of the house. She dumped the ruined pie into the trash and slammed the lid.
Where the hell is Rex? He should have been home an hour ago.
Of course he picks tonight to leave me alone with four kids.
She walked back into the house and sighed. All four kids were running around, flapping magazines pretending to be helicopters and windmills. Oliver seemed back to his old self. Thank God. The house smelled slightly better, but the smell of smoke would linger for a while.
She kicked the oven door shut, found another pizza in the freezer, tossed it on the counter, and snagged the phone from the charger. She hit the speed dial and waited three rings before Rex finally picked up.
“Where are you?”
A long silent pause on the other end made her stop and think she should have at least said hello first.
“I can’t talk right now. I’ll call you back in an hour.” The clipped tone set her off.
“I’m here with four kids and no backup. I need your help.”
“Hold on.”
Her patience nearly snapped when she heard his muffled “Please excuse me for a moment. I need to take this,” and a woman said, “Sure. No problem.”
She got even angrier when it took him another minute to come back on the line.
“What is going on?” he demanded in a hushed whisper.
“Who was that woman?”
“A client.”
“You didn’t say anything about a business dinner tonight.”
“I called you three times today and left you two messages, but apparently you were too busy to listen to them.”
She couldn’t refute that. After she picked up all four kids at school, took them to the park to play,