Rescue Me by Farrah Rochon

I need extra help?”
    Was she flirting with him? “Um, I guess,” Alex answered. Her eyes always tended to have that sparkle to them whenever he saw her. He wasn’t sure if the smile in her eyes was just for him, or if everyone was afforded that sexy look.
    “I’m only kidding,” she laughed. She gazed over the array of colorful health brochures that had been laid out for the students. She picked up the one with the huge grinning tooth holding a toothbrush.
    “Are you sure?” Alex asked. “I wouldn’t mind joining you in the library. Just say the word, and I’m there.” Okay, was
he
flirting now? It had been a long time since he’d played the game.
    “Really, that was just a joke,” Renee said. “I’ve been doing a pretty good job holding down the fort in Mrs. Johnson’s absence. The library isn’t in danger of collapsing. Yet.” She smiled. “However, on the subject of needing a little extra help, my aunt nearly did cartwheels when I told her about your offer to check out the house.”
    “Good,” Alex said.
    “Whenever you’re able to stop by, you will be more than welcome.”
    “I can stop by tomorrow after school lets out, if that’s okay.”
    She hesitated for just a minute before nodding. “That’s fine.”
    “I promise not to take too long,” Alex said, sensing it wasn’t really fine. “I just want to get an idea of the work that still needs to be done so I can give my foreman a heads up. It should take a half hour, tops.”
    “Of course, of course” she said. “Let me give you the address.”
    She flipped over the smiling tooth pamphlet, took the pen out of Alex’s hand, and jotted an address on it.
    “I’ll have Aunt Lorna leave the front door to the house unlocked, just in case no one’s home. It’s not as if there’s anything inside worth stealing.”
    “I’ll be there between five thirty and six o’clock.”
    “That works for me,” she said. “Thank you so much, Alex.”
    “My pleasure,” he said with his own smile.
    “I’ll see you later,” she said, and headed down the corridor.
    Alex still wasn’t sure if he would admit to actively flirting, but seriously, how long had it been since he’d deliberately smiled at a woman, hoping to elicit a reaction from her? He
was
flirting with Renee Moore.
    And he was enjoying it.

Chapter Six
     
    Alex spooned two scoops of mashed potatoes from the microwavable dish and brought Jasmine’s plate to the kitchen table where she sat with her chin resting in her hands.
    “Are we supposed to have our elbows on the table?” Alex asked.
    She slowly dragged her hands away from her face and let them fall into her lap. It would be one of those nights.
    “What do you want to drink, apple or cranberry juice?” he asked.
    “Can I have Sprite?”
    “No. Apple or cranberry?” Alex asked again.
    “Cranberry,” Jasmine said with that resignation that had become her signature when she knew she could not get her way.
    Alex retrieved two glasses and filled them with cranberryjuice from the refrigerator. He picked up one glass and automatically reached for the other with his right hand, grimacing at the pain that shot through his arm.
    He was getting tired of this one handed crap.
    It had been nearly a week since he’d left his mama’s house and moved himself and Jasmine back into their home. Alex wondered for about the hundredth time if he’d made a mistake. He had to wake up an hour earlier in the mornings because it took him twice as long to do everything with one arm still incapacitated.
    Alex brought Jasmine’s juice to the table, then went back for his own. Taking his seat, he reached out his hand and Jasmine laid her tiny hand in his palm.
    She bowed her head and prayed. “Father God, bless this food, my family, and my mommy in heaven. Amen.”
    “Amen,” Alex reiterated. He gave her hand a squeeze before letting it go.
    His chest tightened at just the thought of this little girl. Her mere existence was such a source of