Six and Counting

Chapter 7

            

                “Last call for breakfast!” Emily shouted up the stairs one morning for Dana and Darcy, who were always the last ones to the table. Knowing her voice didn’t carry up to Shane’s floor, she didn’t bother trying to be quiet.

                “You’re going to be late!” Irritated, Emily slammed their plates onto the breakfast bar, and the other three children glanced up anxiously. A cranky mom made the rest of their day bad, and they knew it. Finally the two girls appeared, harried looking, plopping onto the bar stools to eat their eggs.

                “Dana, you have practice after school, and it’s our turn to car pool.” Emily started the daily drill. “Darcy, you’ll come with us because I can drop you off at dance class after Dana starts. The three of you, well, you’re along for the ride, so bring something to keep you occupied—“Emily noticed her children weren’t paying attention any more, but rather were looking towards the stairs.

                “Listen to me when I’m sp—what are you doing up?” Frowning, Emily stared just like her children as Shane walked into the kitchen, dressed for going out and carrying a small duffel bag by its handles.

                Hot.

               He looked incredibly hot, she thought as she took in his tousled, collar-length hair, snug polo shirt and scruffy jeans with designer holes over beat up boots. The wide belt he had snugged around his waist emphasized slim hips. Sex appeal simply oozed from him just by walking into the room. And what right had a widowed, thirty-something mother of five have thinking those thoughts, anyway? But he still looked good enough to eat...

                Shane paused, as if hearing some of her thoughts, cocking his head at the six pairs of eyes gazing at him in disbelief.

                Glancing down at himself, he muttered,  “What? Is my zipper undone?”

                The children all giggled, but Emily’s frown deepened, if that was possible. Shane met Emily’s eyes and shrugged slightly, reaching for Darcy’s toast. She smiled shyly, letting him snitch it. His own eyes softened on the little girl as he mussed her hair in a gentle caress. Ever since the bonfire they seemed to have formed a special bond, two lonely people understanding each other regardless of age.

                “Uh, no, but we’re not used to seeing you up this early,” provided Emily, hunting down another coffee mug. Flustered at seeing him, their shared kiss a week ago stood between the pair as large as an elephant.

                 After taking the full cup from her lifeless hand, Shane closed his eyes while sipping the brew and explained, “I have to go to New York for a coupla days, remember? My last book is selling like hotcakes, and I’ve gotta do the talk show circuit now; the price for being famous.” An ingenuous grin. “My flight’s today. The car is picking me up in a few minutes. I told you all this a while back.”

                Now she remembered. It was that day already? She thought they’d had more time. Time for what, Emily didn’t explore the question.

                At the news of his leaving, the children exchanged looks, Darcy appearing the most crest-fallen, while David just asked, “What about mushmallows, Sha-a-ne?”

                Wondering fleetingly when Emily would hire a speech teacher for her son, Shane nevertheless answered the boy.

                “After I come back, bud. It’s only for a few days, guys. You act like I’m taking an extended vacation. You won’t even know I’m gone.” The sound of a car horn out front galvanized Shane into action, while the kids jumped off their stools in one accord, circling him like hounds to a rabbit. Instead of looking hunted, however, Shane simply knelt and received hugs from his adopted family. If his embrace seemed a bit longer around Darcy, no one noticed, even when he thumbed a tear from her eye.