Chapter 1
To the sounds of
her nephew banging notes on a xylophone, Maria emptied the last box of
kitchenware she’d found at the thrift shop less than a block from the apartment
complex. She paused and laughed. She knew that song, the theme from Jeopardy,
her mother’s favorite program.
She drew a deep
breath. So much to do to make this one bedroom apartment into a home for her
four year old nephew. Beds to make, clothes to unpack. She needed to buy
curtains to cover the blinds and add color to the ecru walls. She’d been
fortunate that the woman from the Human Resources Department at Fern Lake
General had found this place.
Last night, she
and Jamie had slept on the green carpet in the living room pretending to be
camping. This morning the furniture and other purchases from the thrift shop
had been delivered.
Jamie finished his
rendition with a sweep of the hammer over the keys. She leaned against the
counter and loaded their bowls from lunch into the dishwasher.
Maria drew a deep
breath. Inside, she quivered with tension she refused to allow to show. She
must succeed.
Enough dawdling.
There was a man she needed to see. Her gut clenched.
“Jamie, put your toys away. We’re going to see your father.” And pray the
man agrees to pay for Jamie’s pre-school while she worked. Two weeks from
today, she started at the local hospital as an occupational therapist.
“Will he like me?” Jamie asked.
She hated the worry in the boy’s voice and in his brilliant green eyes.
She ruffled his dark curls. “What’s not to like?”
“He never came to see me.”
Maria sucked in a breath. She could have tried to locate the man years
ago, but her mother had been adamantly opposed. “He didn’t know about you. Nana
didn’t know his last name.” Maria brushed hair from her face. They could have
learned. She couldn’t tell Jamie about his grandmother’s anger. Guilt curled in
her thoughts.
Jamie looked up. “How did you know?”
“When we were packing to sell Nana’s house, I found some papers in a
suitcase your mama left. I saw his name and looked for him.”
Jamie nodded. “Uncle Carlo said my mama runned away ‘cause my dad was
mean.” His eyes widened.
She put her fingers on his lips. “What does Uncle Carlo know?”
“Just TV and beer.”
Maria popped toys in her huge bag and walked to the door. They rode the
elevator to the semi-enclosed parking area and her battered ten year old blue
sedan. She fastened Jamie into his booster seat.
Twenty minutes later with only one wrong turn, she pulled into the
U-shaped driveway leading to a huge house at the top of the rise. She rehearsed
what she planned to say when she saw Jamie’s father. She swallowed against a
lump in her throat. How would he react when she handed him the folder with her
reasons for being in
“Is that the house?” Jamie pointed up the hill. “Looks like a castle.”
She agreed. The gray stone building rose three stories above the ground.
Shrubbery lined both sides of the driveway. She turned in her seat and winked
at her nephew. “Maybe we’ll meet a prince.” Or an ogre, she added silently.
“Don’t want to stay here. Want to live with you.”
His voice was shrill with fear that she needed to change. She touched his
hand. “You will. I’m your guardian.” Except for the widened emerald green eyes,
he looked like his mother without her selfish nature. “We need your dad’s help
to pay for your pre-school while I work.”
Maria hoped for more than financial aid but she couldn’t tell Jamie she
wanted his father in his life. Jamie needed a man, someone more honorable than
her brother. She wanted Jay Lockley to spend time with his son. She’d always
thought not looking for him had been unfair but she’d been unable to fight her
mother and start a search in the days after the accident. Then, college had
absorbed her time. Would the man understand?
Maria sighed. If Jay Lockley spent time with Jamie, she could focus on
her new career. Was she selfish to want time for herself? Since her sister’s
death, Jamie had been her responsibility. And her joy. Though her mother had
watched her grandson while Maria attended college and worked, most of her spare
time had been spent with the child.
My Places
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Mark My Places
