“Hi, beautiful. I can’t wait until this is over and I can take you on a proper date.” He smiles at me and sets a pizza box on the box.
“Tavis, thank you so much for doing this. I can’t believe how much you spoiled me,” I whisper as his hand comes to the window.
I raise my hand and smile at him as he whispers, “Not soon enough.”
Surrendering Hearts
Kadian Tracey
For my very own essential worker – Christine H
Surrendering Hearts
Christine
It was too bright outside.
But it couldn’t have been that late. My alarm clock would have gone off. Satisfied with that thought, I rolled over. When my eyes caught the clock on the wall across the room, I screamed and scrambled from bed.
I should have been at work half an hour ago!
Before getting to the bathroom, I tripped over my shoes, whacked my arm against the dresser and clocked my right nipple on the doorframe.
Ugh.
After stripping, I pushed some toothpaste on my brush and climbed into the tub. I multitasked—washing my body and brushing my teeth. Still covered in soap, the hot water crapped out.
Suffering through a quick, cold shower, I rinsed my mouth, dried my skin and I barged into my bedroom. I found my tattered robe behind the door and tried hauling it on while heading out the door to start my car. The cold seeped through the old fabric as I grabbed my snow brush to clean off the exterior of the vehicle.
By the time the car was pretty much clear, I was a popsicle. Still, I kept moving—back inside to dress in my scrubs—I had no time for coffee and that further plunged my day into hell. I picked up my phone and was back outside.
The car wasn’t as warm as I thought it would be in the time it took for me to get back into it. But I’d take it.
I didn’t really have a choice.
I sped through the snow cover streets to the center of town, dropped my car into a parking spot then ran inside the agency.
“Sorry, I’m late!” I called to Bailey Dickens. “I slept through my alarm.”
“There’s one job on the board.” She thumbed over her shoulder. “You’re not going to like it, but it’s all we have left for today.”
I walked to the board and pulled off the assignment. The minute I opened it, I wanted to cry. “Seriously?” I asked. “Can I exchange with someone else?”
“I would say yes, but you’re the only one left. Everyone else is gone.”
“Come on!”
“You were late.” She shrugged when I walked back to wave the file at her. “So, no matter what you did to him back in the day, you’re going to have to suck it up and do your job.”
“Aside from the fact it’s embarrassing, he hates me,” I pointed out. “He’s not going to let me anywhere near his grandmother.”
“Do your job,” Bailey told me. “That’s all I ask. Now, hurry. You don’t want to be late.”
I groaned and gathered my supplies. After checking the dossier for his address, I realized it was in the same place as before. Since arriving back in town, people had been whispering, throwing out little bits of information about Kyle Henderson. They all knew how we ended. I’d made the entire thing messier than it needed to be. On that day, I wanted people to see how much better I was than him.
Thinking back, I wanted to throw up. I was a spoiled little brat. Kyle had only stared at me in that unreadable way he usually did when his anger was too much. He’d then walked away from me and I felt superior.
Now, as I crawled back to town, my tail tucked firmly between my legs, I could only hope he’d done worse than I did.
That thought was quickly wiped from my brain when I pulled up to the sprawling ranch.
“That’s new!” I almost passed out.
It seemed someone had rebuilt the Henderson home and I could fit my house inside it about ten times.
Feeling rotten, I ensured my identity badge was clipped to my breast pocket beside my watch. I picked up my medical bag and climbed from the front seat of my second-hand car. Taking a moment to gather myself, I strung the bag over my shoulder then made my way up the pristinely cleaned path leading to the front door.
I rang the bell, half expecting a butler name Jeeves, dressed in a penguin suit, looking down on me over the rim of his spectacles.
Instead, a teenager—about fourteen—very pretty, peered quizzically at me.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“I’m Christine Mason,” I told her. “I’m the Personal Support Worker?”
“Oh!” she cheered. “You’re here for Nan! I’m Teddy. Come on in.”
I stepped by her and removed my shoes then waited for her to close the door and lead me to where I needed to be.
“Teddy?” a sexy voice called from the top of the store. “Who’s at the door?”
“It’s the PSW, dad,” the young girl replied.
I stood behind Teddy and looked up at the man standing there and wanted the floor to open up and swallow me. He was dressed simply but even from where I stood, I knew who he was. Kyle Henderson had grown up in all the best ways.
“Do you want me to show her to Nan?” Teddy asked.
“Yes please,” Kyle replied, then disappeared back along the hall before I could speak.
“This way,” she told me.
“Your name is Teddy?” I asked.
“Theodora,” she replied. “I was named after my grandfather, Theodore. He died last winter.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. He’d been sick for a while.”
She led me into a room where an old lady sat by the window. I recognized her as Morgana Henderson. I prayed she didn’t recognize me.
“Good morning, Mrs. Henderson.” I smiled. “How are we feeling today?”
She turned in her chair, looked up at me and smiled. “Christine Mason.”
I cleared my throat. “Yes, ma’am.”
“I didn’t know you were back in town.” She arched a brow. “Kyle hasn’t said anything.”
I licked my lips. “I didn’t really announce it. But I’m your PSW,” I tried changing the subject from her sexy grandson. Feeling as if the fates just kept kicking me, I set my bag on the chest at the foot of her bed, helped her onto the bed and began by checking her blood pressure.
Kyle
Of all the personal support workers, in all the damn world, it had to be her. She was the one woman who wrecked me in all the ways that mattered, and I hadn’t forgiven her. I supposed the greener grass she’d been looking for in the big city with her popular friends turned out to be a mirage.
As I finished up the last set of designs for my newest building set to go up in Paris, I thought back to the moment we’d first met. We were both children—I was ten and she was nine. Our parents had forced us to go to the funeral for the late bishop of the town. Her parents had just moved there, and she hadn’t met any friends yet.
Christine found me hiding away from the chaos under the stairs leading up to my parents’ bedroom. I supposed she wanted to get away from the crazy maze of black outfits and birdcage fascinators. Ever since then, I knew I wanted her.