He wiped his mouth and looked at the napkin. There was a lot of sauce on it.
“It’s still on there,” Jared stated.
Ross tried again to clean his face.
“It’s still on there,” Olivia said with a giggle.
“You guys are starting to hurt my feelings.” Ross liked the sound of Sally’s laughter—sweet and full-bodied.
“Here, let me see if I can help you.” Sally held up her napkin. “Lean toward me.”
Ross did as she suggested as she shifted toward him. Their eyes met and held for a moment. There was a flicker of something there. Awareness, curiosity, interest?
Sally blinked and her focus moved on. A moment later she rubbed a spot on his cheek and sat back.
“She got it,” Olivia announced.
However, she had left a warmth behind for him to think about.
“Jared,” Sally said a little too brightly, as if she had been affected as well. “How old are you?”
“Nine.”
“What do you like? Football? Baseball…?” Her attention remained on him as if she was truly interested.
“Soccer.”
“Soccer. I’ve watched a few games but I don’t know much about the rules.”
Ross grinned as Jared lapsed into a full monologue about soccer playing. It hadn’t taken long for Sal, uh, Sally to find the kid’s sweet spot.
When he ran out of steam Sally was quick to ask, “Olivia, do you have something special you like to do?”
“I like to draw.”
“Do you draw people, or animals or landscapes?” Sally took a bite of her sandwich while waiting for an answer.
Olivia wrinkled her forehead. “Landscapes? What’s that?”
“Pictures of trees and grass,” Jared offered.
“That’s right.” Sally gave him a smile of praise.
“No, I like to draw horses. I drew a picture of Uncle Ross’s horses.”
Sally’s attention turned to him. She seemed surprised. “You have horses?”
“I do. I own a few acres out west of town.”
“You need to come see Uncle Ross’s horses sometime. They’re beautiful.” Olivia let the last word trail out. “Their names are Romeo and Juliet.”
Sally smiled at her. “Are they, now?” She looked at him with a teasing grin on her lips. “Interesting names for horses.”
“Hey, they were already named when I bought them.”
She grinned. “So you say.”
They returned to eating their meals.
As they finished, Olivia asked, “Uncle Ross, can I go have my face painted now?”
Jared turned to him. “And I want to ride the pony.”
“We can’t do both at the same time. Who’s going first?”
Both their hands went up.
Sally covered her smile with a hand.
Ross looked at her and shook his head sadly. “I can handle a company of men at a fire with no problem but give me two kids.”
Her look met his. “I think you’re doing great.”
She did? For some reason he rather liked that idea.
Sally pushed her plate to the center of the table. “Maybe I can help. I can take Olivia to have her face painted while you take Jared to ride the pony. We can meet somewhere afterward.”
Ross looked at the children. “That sounds like a plan, doesn’t it, kids?”
They both nodded.
He looked around. “Okay, we’ll meet over there by the flagpole.”
Sally stood. “Then we’ll see you in a little while. Olivia, bring your trash and we’ll put it in the garbage on the way.”
To his surprise Olivia made no argument about cleaning up. Instead she did as Sally asked. As they headed toward the face-painting booth, Olivia slipped her hand into Sally’s. She swung it between them.
Sally strolled with Olivia across the grassy area toward the activities. Ross’s niece and nephew were nice kids. They seemed to adore him and he them. Her ex-husband, Wade, had never really cared for children. He’d always said he wanted his own but he’d never liked others’, thought they were always dirty. More than once he’d worried they would get his clothes nasty when they were around. Thinking back, she didn’t understand what she’d seen in him. How she’d even thought herself in love.
Wade had been the local wonder boy. Everyone had loved him, thought he was great. She had too, which was why she’d given up almost everything she loved to make him happy. They hadn’t been married long when she’d learned he was having an affair. She’d tried to work it out but Wade wasn’t going to change his ways. How had she been so oblivious? What she had thought was real and special had all been a lie. Finally, she’d filed for divorce.
Her judgment where men were concerned was off. All her trust was gone. Never would she be taken in like that again. She mentally shook her head. She wasn’t going to ruin a nice day thinking about her ex-husband.
Half an hour later, she and Olivia were on their way to the flagpole. Olivia had a large fuchsia star on one cheek and smaller ones trailing away from it up across her forehead, along with a smile on her lips. Sally couldn’t help but smile as well at how proud the girl was.
As they approached the pole, Ross and Jared walked up. The grin on Ross’s face when he saw Olivia made Sally’s grow. He had such a nice smile. Wide, carefree and inviting. She’d really been missing out on something special by never having seen it before. Most of their interactions had been working ones where there had been no time for smiles.
Ross went down on one knee in front of Olivia. “I love your stars.”
Sally watched the similar-colored heads so close together. Ross would make a good father someday. “How was your pony ride, Jared?”
“It was fun, but not as much fun as riding Uncle Ross’s horses.”
“Can we go play in the jumping games?” Olivia pointed toward the inflatable games set up across the field.
“Yeah, Uncle Ross, can we?” Jared joined in.
Sally looked back at the crowd in line for food. Were Kody and Lucy here yet? She didn’t want Ross to think he had to entertain her as well.
“Sure we can.” Ross started that way with Jared and Olivia on either side of him. He glanced over his shoulder. “Sally, you coming?”
“Sure.” She hurried after them. If he didn’t mind, it would be nicer than just standing around waiting on Kody and his daughter to show up.
As Jared and Olivia played in the inflatable game with the net sides, she and Ross stood outside watching them dive and roll through the small multicolored balls.
After a few minutes of uncertain silence, she said, “Jared and Olivia are really sweet.”
“Yeah, I think they’re pretty great. Their mom and dad are raising them right.”
“Is your sister older or younger than you?” She was more curious than she should be about Ross.
“I’m older, but sometimes she treats me