| "Yes we are." Justin answered for her, quickly adding. "Finally, I thought she'd never give in." "She was lucky she did." Ingrid said, before walking to a crying child. "You ready lil partner?" Justin asked as Colton walked back from getting his backpack. "Uh huh." They walked out of the room and into the hallway, where Justin spotted a teenager walking toward them. Thinking quickly, he bent down and acted as if he was tieing his shoes. When he was sure she had passed, he stood to meet Tiffany and Colton where they were waiting for him. "What's for dinner?" Colton questioned, from where he was positioned in the back seat. "Do ya'll wanna eat at my house? I could make chicken." Tiffany offered, watching Justin for reaction. "Ok. What kinda chicken?" Turning down the radio, he took her hand in his. "Zesty Italian okay? It's not too spicy for Colton, promise." "That's fine." She set down plates, that had pasta and chicken, in front of them. "Enjoy." She took her seat, quickly saying grace to herself. "Looks good. Thank you." He looked down at his plate, also saying grace quickly. "Your welcome." She stated as she cut Colton's chicken for him. "There you go, kiddo." "Thank you." "Your welcome." They ate in silence, each enjoying the food. As Tiffany was gathering the dishes and rinsing them, Colton spoke up. "I'm tired." "Ok, we'll go home then." Justin answered as he gave Tiffany an apologetic look. "No I want to sleep in Ms. Tiffany's blue room." He informed, refering to the room she had painted navy blue. "You sure lil partner?" "Yeah." "Ok I'll tuck you in." Justin picked him up and carried him upstairs, then laid him down in the bed. "I love you, lil partner." "I love you, too. Did you tell Ms. Tiffany who you were?" "No I decided I needed to, but I chickened out." "You need to tell her." "I know, I will." "Promise?" "Promise." "Promise what?" Tiffany said as she walked into the room, done with the dishes. "Uuuummmm." Was all Justin could say, as he looked to Colton for an answer. "Oh a guy thing. Sorry." Tiffany apologized, feeling bad for walking in on thier conversation. "Good night, lil partner." Justin walked to meet Tiffany, then led her downstairs to start a movie. "I can't believe he went to sleep that early." "Ms. Ingrid must have worn him out." "Yeah, she's probably asleep right now too then." "Probably." Grabbing her as he sat down, they laughed together. "Sit with me." "I was going to." "Sure you were." "Can I tell you something?" "Yeah." Obtaining the remote, she muted the television as she turned to look at him.. "About a year ago I was living in Texas with my family, I had the flu, and I felt like crap. It was dinner time and I couldn't eat because my throat was too swollen to swallow. I asked my Daddy to go get me ice cream, and after they ate dinner he put on his shoes. My mom decided to go with him, because she wanted to get out of the house. They left but never came back. I found out later they had stopped at a red light to take a left. When the light turned green my Daddy started to take a left. A drunk driver in an eighteen wheeler with his lights off hit them from the side. He was doing eighty, and they were both killed on impact. I tried to stay in Texas, but everywhere I went reminded me of my parents. For about six months I couldn't leave the house without breaking down. Finally, I moved out here bought this house and the daycare. That's why my brother comes to check on me." She wiped her eyes. "I would have told you when you asked about the puzzles but I was afriad you would look at me differently." "I understand, baby," He held her tighter and kissed her on the forehead. "Thank you." She nuzzled closer to his chest and closed her eyes, blocking the tears that were trying to escape. "For what?" "For understanding." "Oh baby, don't thank me." She pushed the mute button and let the TV's sound fill the room. She was asleep in his arms before the movie ended. He carefully stood up, turned off the television and DVD player, then picked her up and carried her up the stairs to her room. He laid her down in her bed and pulled back the covers and slid her beneath them.Taking a second to take in her beauty without any interruptions, he ran his finger lightly across her open hand, watching it curl in reaction. "Good night, baby." He whispered, then stood to exit the room. "Don't go." She whined, leaving her eyes closed. "You sure?" "Yeah, lay with me." Once he had settled himself, she rolled over to lay her head on his chest, allowing him to hold her with one arm and run the other across one of her own. "Good night." "Good night." Taking a deep breath, he decided it was his turn to share his secret, she had shared hers. Coming to the conclusion that both thier secrets in one night would be too much, he let himself fall into slumber. |
| Chapter 8 |
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