Family Ties: Family Ties / Promise Of Grace

Cindy withheld the sigh that had been building inside since Flynn’s first mention of relocation. “Yeah, lucky.”

Tom slowed his steps. “Everything okay, Cin?”

She met his concerned gaze. “I finally have some family here. It’s spring. What could be wrong?”

He hooked his arm with her free one. “Remember, you can tell me if something’s wrong. I have a sturdy shoulder.”

She glanced up at him with a heartfelt smile. “So you do.”

“Cindy?” Flynn snagged her attention.

Startled, she glanced at him, not aware he’d walked over to their little group. “Yes?”

He glanced at her arm, still loosely linked with Tom’s. “Are you sure you can handle all the girls by yourself?”

Tom discreetly dropped her arm and self-consciously she pushed at the hair that fell across her forehead. “Of course. Why?”

Flynn glanced once again at Tom. “They can be a handful.”

She shrugged. “I brought treats.” She motioned with her head to the swing set, slide and seesaw in the park beside the softball field. “And there’s plenty to keep them busy. Besides, they can’t wait to see you play.”

“Daddy play!” Beth demanded.

Flynn scooped her up. “In a few minutes.”

Mandy tugged at his pants leg, as well, but Alice hung on to Cindy’s hand. Flynn obliged by picking up Mandy, giving both girls a hug, then putting them back down.

“We have to let Daddy go practice,” Cindy explained.

“Me play, too,” Beth demanded.

“No,” Cindy told her firmly. “This is Daddy’s day.”

“She could walk to the field with me for a few minutes,” Flynn replied.

Cindy wanted to thump him. And he thought she was spoiling them? “I spent quite a bit of time explaining to the girls that this is a grown-up game, that little girls don’t get to play.”

“I didn’t intend to let her play.”

“No, but I’ll spend the entire time keeping her off the field if you take her out there.”

“That’s an exaggeration,” Flynn replied.

Tom cleared his throat. “I’d better get back to the practice.” He held up the cooler. “I’ll put this on the bleachers.”

“Thanks,” Cindy replied, wondering why Flynn was scowling as though he had ants in his shoes.

“Sure,” Tom replied, walking away quickly.

“What’s with you?” Cindy asked.

Flynn’s scowl didn’t lighten. “Problem?”

“You just chased away one of the nicest people here. Some special reason why?”

“You tell me.”

Puzzled, Cindy grasped Alice’s hand a little tighter. “So, are we going to grapple over taking the girls on the field?”

He looked at her for a long moment. “No, I don’t guess we will.”

Then his gaze shifted toward Tom. “Nothing to argue about at all.”

Confused, Cindy stared after him as he stalked on to the field. And for the life of her, she couldn’t imagine why he hadn’t taken to Tom.

“Men,” she muttered.

“Men?” Beth asked.

“Yes, sweetie. We’ll talk more about them when you’re older. For now we’ll stick to Cinderella and Prince Charming.”

Mandy drew her brows together. “Like Daddy?”

Yep. However, Cindy was the only girl in the world whose glass slipper wouldn’t fit. At least not for Prince Flynn.

Chapter Seven

Two mornings later, Cindy carefully banded the remaining stacks of paper, making certain each was straight and in order. She glanced down at the three nearly filled cardboard boxes, then back at the almost bare desktop.

It didn’t take a crystal ball to know that Flynn wouldn’t appreciate the fact that she’d packed everything without consulting him. But a late-night phone call had taken precedence over Flynn’s makeshift office.

Her Rainbow class, already strained by growing pains, had suddenly acquired six new members. And even Cindy, who possessed an inordinate amount of energy, knew she didn’t have enough stamina to spread that thinly. The only solution was to cut the class in half so they would be manageable groups. That meant two different meeting times.

And they had run out of space at the church. Rosewood Community had begun a small private academy in the Sunday school building the last year, and they already needed the space allotted to Cindy’s Rainbow class. Obtaining it for an additional day each week wasn’t possible.

As her class had grown, she and Katherine had discussed the necessity of relocating the Rainbow group. That’s when Cindy had handpicked her own conservatory for the purpose. Then Flynn had needed an office and she’d been able to put off the move. But now there was no other choice. Her parlor, with all its breakable collectibles wasn’t suitable. And she couldn’t keep the kids in the yard the entire time.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Flynn demanded from the doorway, his sleep-tousled hair still a bit wild.

Cindy glanced up, immediately assessing his displeasure. “I need to use this room for my Rainbow class.”

He frowned. “So you’re just clearing out my stuff?”

“You did tell me you wanted to handle your own office arrangements, in fact all your arrangements.”

He gestured to the boxes. “Is this what you call allowing me to handle my own decisions? Packing my things without consulting me?”

She rolled her eyes. “Do you want me to remind you how often you’ve mentioned that you’d prefer the office space you rented to this one?”