Two kids.
The little girl waved at Kelly. She couldn’t have been older than seven or eight. Kelly waved back. A smile spread across the girl’s face and she ran up to the truck. Kelly opened her door.
“What’s your name?” the girl asked.
“My name’s Kelly. What’s yours?”
“I’m Avery. Are you friends with my uncle?”
Uncle? That made more sense than Dad. “I am. Your uncle didn’t tell me he had such an adorable niece.”
Close up, Kelly could see that Avery was missing one of her front teeth when she smiled. She had brown pigtails that were tied up with ribbons. It was a fancy do for someone living with her uncle. Donovan didn’t strike her as the pigtail-making type. Maybe there was an aunt inside, as well.
“He didn’t? He likes me better than Graham. Did he tell you about Graham?”
“I heard about Graham this morning. Was that who just...went for a run?” she asked, choosing her words carefully.
“No, that was his friend Davey,” Avery replied. “Uncle Donovan said Graham couldn’t have friends over, but he didn’t listen. Uncle Donovan says Graham’s ears must be broken because he never listens.”
Kelly tried not to laugh. “You both live with your uncle?”
“Yeah, my mom and dad are in heaven, so he takes care of us.”
That wiped the smile right off Kelly’s face. “Oh, I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”
Avery didn’t seem bothered by her loss. The resiliency of youth was amazing. “Do you want to come inside? I bet Uncle Donovan is done yelling at Graham.”
“I don’t know. Maybe we should hang out here until your uncle comes outside. We wouldn’t want to get in the middle of whatever is going on in there.”
“Want to jump on my trampoline with me?” she asked with a tilt of her head.
Kelly decided there was no harm in getting out of the truck if she didn’t go in the house. “I can watch you jump on your trampoline. Do you know any tricks?”
“I know lots of tricks! Come on, I’ll show you.” Avery took Kelly by the hand and led her behind the house.
There was a paver patio off the back with a table and chairs for entertaining and outdoor dining. One of the chairs was pulled away from the table and sat right in front of the sliding glass door. The fenced-in yard was well maintained. There were flowering hydrangeas and manicured bushes around the house and in the corners of the lot.
“Watch me do a flip,” Avery said, kicking off her shoes and climbing up on the trampoline that sat in the center of it all.
“Okay, just be careful.” The last thing she needed was for the kid to break her neck on Kelly’s watch.
Avery and her pigtails bounced and bounced. Once she was high enough, she did a somersault in the air and landed on her bottom.
“That wasn’t a good one,” she said, getting to her feet.
“I thought it was pretty good.”
The sliding glass door opened and Donovan stepped out on the patio. “Avery, come on inside.” He didn’t sound angry, but he didn’t sound pleased, either.
“Everything okay in there?” Kelly asked.
“As okay as it’s going to get. Sorry she bothered you. She should have gone to her room like I asked her.”
“You guys were yelling too much. I hate when you yell,” Avery complained as Kelly helped her off the trampoline.
“I wasn’t yelling. Graham was yelling. I was talking in my normal voice.”
“Nope, it was your mad voice. I heard it.”
Kelly had known the man for less than twelve hours and even she knew what his mad voice sounded like. It could certainly make someone feel like they were being yelled at.
“Your mad voice is kind of scary,” Kelly said as they joined him on the patio.
He frowned. “I don’t have a mad voice. That’s not even a thing.”
“I’ll point it out the next time you use it, so you can be more self-aware,” Kelly offered.
“Wanna see my room?” Avery asked. Without waiting for an answer, she tugged Kelly toward the door.
Kelly resisted, not wanting to assume that Donovan was fine with her going into his house. “I would love to see your room...if it’s okay with your uncle.”
Avery had obviously been trained at the best adult manipulation school around. Her puppy-dog eyes were in full effect. She clasped her hands together and began to beg. “Pleeeeeeeease, Uncle Donovan. Pleeeeeeease let me show her my room.”
“I’m still working, Avery. I need to get Miss Bonner home.” The man was ice.
“It will only take a minute. I want to show her the mural Graham painted me.”
“Well, now I’m really curious,” Kelly said, waiting to see if he would give in.
“Please,” Avery continued to beg. “I never get to have friends over. I just want to show her for one minute.”
She was breaking Kelly’s heart. Both her parents were in heaven and she never got to have friends over. How could he say no? He couldn’t. He thawed immediately and was a puddle at her feet.
“Fine. Go ahead and show her your room, but I do need to get her home.”
“Yes! Come on, Kelly.”
Kelly smiled at Donovan as she followed the little munchkin inside. It was nice to see that he had a soft spot underneath that tough-guy exterior.
The inside of the house was just as unexpected as the outside. It wasn’t simply a house; it was a home. The open-concept layout made the first floor appear bigger than it was. The couches looked extremely comfortable and there were some of Avery’s art projects hanging on the refrigerator.
A bag of potato chips sat open on the coffee table along with several soda cans. There was no angry teenager, though. Something told Kelly he was probably locked in his room.
“My room is upstairs,” Avery said, leading the way. Her pigtails swished from side to side as she walked.
Avery’s room was magical. Three of the walls were painted a soft blue while the wall her bed sat against had the most beautiful mural of a castle in the sky. The stone castle sat on a pile of clouds. Each one of the four turrets had purple flags flying from the top and there was a large rainbow arching over it. Above that, there were two heart-shaped clouds with halos.
Kelly’s throat tightened and tears threatened to burst from her eyes. Little Avery had her mom and dad watching over her bed every night.
“I asked Graham to add a unicorn but he said he’s not that good at painting animals yet.”
“This is amazing, Avery. It’s so beautiful. Your brother is very talented.”
“Too bad he thinks he can draw on any wall he wants now.” Donovan leaned against the doorjamb with his arms crossed over his chest.
Kelly remembered the call he had taken this morning. Graham had vandalized the library and been suspended. She could only imagine what a difficult time the kid was going through. She was a grown woman who had only lost one parent, and even that was unbearable sometimes.
“And this is my reading corner. Uncle Donovan built me this bookcase and got me this purple beanbag chair. Purple is my favorite color.” Avery plopped down on the chair and pulled a