Once in a Lifetime(16)

“We’re not going home. We’re going to school,” she said.

“By yourselves?” He hated that idea. They were so young, so vulnerable.

“Billy’s supposed to walk us, but he never does,” Pink said. “Sometimes Joey or Nina stays with us, but today they ran ahead real fast ’cause the mean kids were chucking rocks. Kendra couldn’t keep up, so I stayed with her.”

Ben craned his neck and looked around, ready to rumble with whatever little * punk was throwing rocks at these two little girls. He couldn’t believe they were on their own. The elementary school was at least another mile away. Letting out a breath, he scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “I want to talk to your mom.”

“We don’t got one,” Pink said.

Well, if anyone understood that short sentence, it was Ben himself. “Who’s in charge of you?”

Pink bit her lower lip.

Ben crouched down low again, getting as small as he could. Not easy on a six-foot-two frame. “Talk to me, Pink.”

She smiled at the nickname, then sneaked a peek at a house about a hundred yards back, the corner house.

“Come on,” he said, and headed that way.

“But mister, we’ll be late.”

“Ben,” he said. “Call me Ben.”

“Okay. But mister, Suzie don’t like it when we’re late, ’cause then the school calls her and she gets in trouble.”

Then Suzie should have damn well driven them, Ben thought grimly. He walked up the narrow path and rapped his knuckles on the front door.

A fiftyish woman answered, looking harassed. “Yes?” she asked, and then frowned down at the two girls. “Oh, Lord. What did you two do now?”

“They didn’t do anything,” Ben said. “Though I nearly ran them over when they were in the street.”

“In the street!” she gasped and glared them. “What in the world? You know better, both of you! And now you’re going to be late for school!”



“They’re too young to walk to school alone,” Ben said.

Suzie sent him a mind-your-own-business gaze. “They weren’t alone. There’s five of them, and the others are all older.”

“Someone was throwing rocks at them,” Ben told her. “The others ran ahead.”

The woman heaved out a heavy sigh. “They have to learn to fight their own battles.”

“They’re too young to fight any battles,” Ben said, beginning to get real pissed off.

“I know you,” she said. “You’re dating that bitchy Aubrey Wellington, not that anyone can figure out why. And you went to school with my son Dennis. You took his point-guard spot on the varsity basketball team. I know everyone thinks you’re all that, but you’re not.”

Her son Dennis had been a first-class *, and he’d sucked at basketball, to boot. Ben hadn’t. “The girls,” he said tightly. “Can you drive them to school or not?”

“If you’re so worried about them, do it yourself.”

“I don’t have—”

The door slammed.

“—car seats.” Well, hell. Ben looked down at the two rug rats.

They looked right back, their eyes filled with worry.

“Okay,” he said, making a snap decision. “Let’s go.” Against his better judgment, he loaded them carefully into the backseat of his truck, cinching the seat belts tight to their skinny frames and hoping to God he didn’t get arrested trying to do the right thing.

“Wow,” Pink said, looking around. “This is the coolest truck ever!”

His truck was a twelve-year-old Ford, and, granted, he’d had it lovingly taken care of by Jack when he’d been gone, but it wasn’t cool by any stretch. It was functional, just the way he liked it.

In the backseat, Pink was holding her sister’s hand and kicking her feet, as though her energy couldn’t be contained. “Mister, are you married?”

“It’s Ben,” he reminded her. He pulled cautiously out into the street, not wanting to mess with his precious cargo. “And no, I’m not married.”

“Why not?”

Since responding with “Well, I was married, but she died” wasn’t exactly appropriate, he ignored the question. Not difficult, as Pink had a thousand more questions.

“You spilled your coffee?” she asked.

“Yep.”

“All these tools yours?”

“Yep.” Thankfully, a mile went pretty fast, and in a couple of minutes, he was pulling up to the drop-off lane in front of the elementary school. He started to get out of the truck, but Pink had herself and her sister unbuckled and out the door before he could.

“Thanks, mister!” she yelled back. “I hope you get another cup of coffee!”

Ben nodded and waved, meeting Kendra’s big eyes as she gave him one last look.

She still hadn’t spoken a word.

As soon as the two little redheads vanished inside the school, Ben pulled out his phone and called Luke to give him the lowdown. “What’s up with that foster home?”

“It’s better than most,” came Luke’s surprising answer.

Ben wrestled with that for a moment, knowing that if it hadn’t been for Aunt Dee, he’d have ended up in a situation just like the two girls. Or worse. There were plenty of people who never got to have an Aunt Dee. Like Sam…