bit of ragged soil hardly constitutes a garden. You haven’t returned to work on it, which implied you’d given up on the idea of planting anything here at all, even though I carried away those rocks you dug out, exactly as I promised I’d do,” he argued, glancing down for a moment at the toddler, who was still tugging on his hands. He wondered how a child so small could be that strong.
He looked back up at the woman who claimed to be her mother, just in time to see the subtle curl of her lips. Clearly, she would have tossed one of the rocks at him if she’d had the chance. He lowered his hands, prepared to handle the child himself at this point, when a sharp pain in his thumb shot straight up his arm.
Instinctively, he dropped the newspaper, lowered his gaze, saw that Lily had her little mouth locked on his thumb, and pulled his throbbing hand away, all in the space of a single heartbeat. “Madam! Please! Now will you control this … this little—”
“Lily! No biting!” Ruth yanked Lily away and up into her arms while struggling to keep the screaming child from scrambling down again.
He did not think he had ever seen a woman’s face change from pure sweetness to absolute horror in a blink of an eye, but he was absolutely certain he had never heard a child’s scream as shrill as the one that exploded from that little girl’s mouth. “I’m fine. Just … just get her to be quiet. See? There’s no harm done,” he added.
When he lifted his hand up to get the child’s attention, he noted with surprise that her eyes were crystal clear. There was not a single tear on her face, not anywhere, but her cheeks were flaming red.
Lily, however, ignored him, and Ruth did the same, choosing instead to walk the child over to a small patch of grass several yards away where she sat her down. Kneeling beside her, she bent her face so low and so close to Lily’s, he was half afraid she was going to bite the child herself. She hesitated for a moment, then sat back on her haunches and waited until the child stopped screaming before saying a word. “You’re a good little girl, Lily, but you cannot ever, ever bite anyone. Ever.”
“Lily play!” the little girl cried and tried to scamper back to her feet, but her mother gently forced her to sit back down again. “No. When you bite someone, you cannot play. You must sit here until I tell you to get up, and if you misbehave again, I’m going to take you straight home.”
Surprisingly, the little girl stayed put as her mother walked back to him, pulling out several blades of grass and playing with them. “I’m so sorry. She hasn’t bitten anyone for weeks, and I thought perhaps she’d gotten past that bad habit.”
“Obviously not.” He shook his hand, hoping he could shake away the throbbing pain in his thumb. He would have stood up to walk it off, but remaining seated gave him the advantage of being eye to eye with the petite woman.
Ruth cringed, but took his hand in hers to study the bite. “I know how much this hurts, but at least she didn’t break the skin.”
Unnerved by how soft her fingers felt against his own, he pulled his hand away. “I assume that’s an observation based on personal experience.”
She groaned. “I’m afraid it is,” she admitted as a blush stole across her face and accented the wisp of freckles resting on the crest of her cheeks. Bending down, she picked up the tattered newspaper, smoothed the pages, and handed them back to him. “I’m sorry your newspaper is so rumpled, although I doubt there’s much worth reading in the Galaxy . Or any of those other New York newspapers you’ve got lying there on the ground next to your chair.”
“I wouldn’t know. I haven’t read them yet,” he argued, excited at the prospect of discussing the latest news with her. Though he was anxious to see what her reaction would be when the topic of her father came up, for now he feigned indifference.
She glanced from the newspaper he was
He looked back up at the woman who claimed to be her mother, just in time to see the subtle curl of her lips. Clearly, she would have tossed one of the rocks at him if she’d had the chance. He lowered his hands, prepared to handle the child himself at this point, when a sharp pain in his thumb shot straight up his arm.
Instinctively, he dropped the newspaper, lowered his gaze, saw that Lily had her little mouth locked on his thumb, and pulled his throbbing hand away, all in the space of a single heartbeat. “Madam! Please! Now will you control this … this little—”
“Lily! No biting!” Ruth yanked Lily away and up into her arms while struggling to keep the screaming child from scrambling down again.
He did not think he had ever seen a woman’s face change from pure sweetness to absolute horror in a blink of an eye, but he was absolutely certain he had never heard a child’s scream as shrill as the one that exploded from that little girl’s mouth. “I’m fine. Just … just get her to be quiet. See? There’s no harm done,” he added.
When he lifted his hand up to get the child’s attention, he noted with surprise that her eyes were crystal clear. There was not a single tear on her face, not anywhere, but her cheeks were flaming red.
Lily, however, ignored him, and Ruth did the same, choosing instead to walk the child over to a small patch of grass several yards away where she sat her down. Kneeling beside her, she bent her face so low and so close to Lily’s, he was half afraid she was going to bite the child herself. She hesitated for a moment, then sat back on her haunches and waited until the child stopped screaming before saying a word. “You’re a good little girl, Lily, but you cannot ever, ever bite anyone. Ever.”
“Lily play!” the little girl cried and tried to scamper back to her feet, but her mother gently forced her to sit back down again. “No. When you bite someone, you cannot play. You must sit here until I tell you to get up, and if you misbehave again, I’m going to take you straight home.”
Surprisingly, the little girl stayed put as her mother walked back to him, pulling out several blades of grass and playing with them. “I’m so sorry. She hasn’t bitten anyone for weeks, and I thought perhaps she’d gotten past that bad habit.”
“Obviously not.” He shook his hand, hoping he could shake away the throbbing pain in his thumb. He would have stood up to walk it off, but remaining seated gave him the advantage of being eye to eye with the petite woman.
Ruth cringed, but took his hand in hers to study the bite. “I know how much this hurts, but at least she didn’t break the skin.”
Unnerved by how soft her fingers felt against his own, he pulled his hand away. “I assume that’s an observation based on personal experience.”
She groaned. “I’m afraid it is,” she admitted as a blush stole across her face and accented the wisp of freckles resting on the crest of her cheeks. Bending down, she picked up the tattered newspaper, smoothed the pages, and handed them back to him. “I’m sorry your newspaper is so rumpled, although I doubt there’s much worth reading in the Galaxy . Or any of those other New York newspapers you’ve got lying there on the ground next to your chair.”
“I wouldn’t know. I haven’t read them yet,” he argued, excited at the prospect of discussing the latest news with her. Though he was anxious to see what her reaction would be when the topic of her father came up, for now he feigned indifference.
She glanced from the newspaper he was
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