He’d checked her stump closely when she took it off, and found nothing. Her gait was near normal, would probably be even better in a prosthetic he designed. And most of all, when she was otherwise occupied, she didn’t mention or seem to notice it at all.
“Hey, guys. Here we are,” Jenny said, joining them. She sat Casey beside him on top of the table.
“Where’s Paige?” he asked, which got him another amused look from his friend that he noticed Jenny shared.
“She’s coming. We got Little Bit here cleaned up, and then the girl’s bathroom line exploded.” Jenny produced a folded-up piece of paper from her pocket. “There’s a beer festival on the other side.” She handed the flyer to Simon. “Want to check it out?”
“Sure.”
“Well, come on, big guy. Let’s bust a move.” Jenny kissed Casey on the head. “Have fun. Win me something pretty.”
Simon stood and looked down at JT. “Catch up with you later, man. Or not.”
And with a laugh from the fun-loving, take-nothing-serious pair, they were off.
“So,” Casey said, swinging her foot beside him, “what do you want to talk about?”
He angled his head up and back to see her face. Something about the way Casey made conversation always made him smile. Pretty much everything about Casey and Paige made him smile. “I don’t know. What do you want to talk about?”
“We can talk about Miss Miller. She’s gonna be my teacher and I’m going to meet her soon. Barbara is her other name, but I won’t call her that.”
“Probably a good idea.”
“Did your mom say you had to go to kindergarten?”
Uh-oh. Touchy subject. “Yes.”
“Did you cry?”
“No. I don’t think so.” He didn’t really remember.
“I’m gonna scream,” she announced evenly.
“Really?” He tried not to grin at her decision. “Why are you going to scream?”
“?’Cause I hate it.” She picked up her cotton candy. Finding it old and hard, she licked it a few times and put it back.
“Oh. Well, what do you think will happen when you scream?”
She screwed up her face in thought. “I guess the fire department will have to come ’cause someone’s screaming so loud.”
Go big or go home, he thought and smiled to himself. “And then what?”
“I don’t know. I’m only five. Does your mom let you spell your name with letters?”
Huh?
“A J and a T on your papers.” She made the letters in the air in front of her.
“Yeah, I guess she did.” He’d never thought about his mom letting him. Even though his mom called him Jacob, or often Jacob Thomas, everyone else called him JT, so that’s what he’d done. He still had no idea why he’d told Paige his name was Jake.
“My mom makes me write all the letters and not just a K and C, and s’s are really hard to make. So are y’s.” She let out a heavy sigh. “Your mom’s nice.”
“Yes.” His mom was nice, even if she had smothered him with concern after the accident to the point he’d felt suffocated. “Your mom’s nice too,” he said, seeing Paige exit the bathroom.
Everything about her captured him. The way she watched out for Casey with an eagle eye, but forced herself to step back when he knew she’d rather help. She ignored any staring or odd looks, and Casey didn’t seem to notice it either. That was a true gift. She answered Casey’s myriad of questions as fast as she could fire them off. She had a quick laugh, and an even quicker smile. Too often it faded just as quickly, replaced by a film of worry and responsibility.
“Maybe you could talk to her for me? About the letters?” Casey said, calling back his attention.
“I’ll do my best.”
Paige searched the crowd and he raised his hand to get her attention. When she found them, her eyes met his and there it was again, that punch to his gut. He picked up Casey and all their stuff and started toward her.
“Hey,” Paige said, reaching them. “Sorry, long line. Where’s Jenny?”
“Jenny and Simon decided to hit the beer tent on the other side of the festival grounds.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. They said they’d catch up with us later. What’s wrong?”
Paige narrowed her eyes in the direction he’d pointed. “Nothing. I just…I can’t believe she left me.”
“Why?” he asked, confused by her somewhat-panicked expression.
“Maybe ’cause Jenny said you’re too hot and I’m not big enough to chap-a-rone,” Casey told him. “I’m not hot. Are you?”
Paige’s sweet mouth dropped open in a perfect O and her eyes went wide at her daughter. “Thank you, Casey Marie.”
His face broke into a wide grin at the blush staining Paige’s cheeks, and the way she’d turned her head hoping he wouldn’t see it.
“You’re welcome,” Casey answered sweetly, then pointed to a ride. “Can we go on that?”