Accidental Family

“No more cookies, Tucker,” Hannah said. “You’ll spoil your lunch.”

“’Kay,” he said, then ran back out of the kitchen.

“Well,” Hannah said, “that was easy enough. We now know that David is a widower and apparently has been for quite a while.”

Patty nodded, then shook her head. “Did you hear what Tucker said? He’s resorting to borrowing Sarah Ann’s daddy because he doesn’t see his own very much. How Peter can turn his back on his own son and… No, I’m not going to get started on that subject.”

“Good,” Hannah said. “Fussing, fuming and raising your stress level is not going to change Peter Clark’s behavior.” She paused. “I was going to suggest you leave the kids here while you go get Sarah Ann some clothes and what have you, but I suppose she needs to be there to pick her favorite things.”

Patty nodded, then got to her feet. “Thanks for babysitting, Mom. I now have to convince Sarah Ann that staying longer at our house is super-duper. She and David are very close and I’m expecting Sarah Ann’s happy bubble to burst and the tears to start at any minute. Do you realize that David doesn’t even know what his daughter looks like? That is so grim. I feel so badly for him.”

“Why don’t I take a picture of Sarah Ann with my digital camera,” Hannah said, “then print it out on the computer? I’ll come over to your place tonight, give the kids baths and put them to bed, while you take the picture to David at the hospital.”

“Oh, I can’t ask you to…”

“I’m volunteering,” Hannah said, rising. “It will be fun. I have nothing planned because this is the night for your father to attend his monthly meeting of retired police officers with your Uncle Ryan.”

“Well, okay, thank you,” Patty said. “I’ll go get the kids and you can take Sarah Ann’s picture. That really is a wonderful idea.”

Tucker wanted his picture taken if Sarah Ann was getting hers done. Hannah printed out one each for the children, then an extra of Sarah Ann for Patty to take to David.

“Is my daddy coming now?” Sarah Ann said. “I want to show my daddy my picture.”

“Sarah Ann,” Patty said, “your daddy bumped his head and his leg and got boo-boos. He has to be where they fix boo-boos for a few days. You’re going to stay with me and Tucker until his boo-boos are better. You and Tucker can color him nice pictures this afternoon and I’ll take them to the place where they tend to boo-boos and—”

“My daddy is in the place with the doctors that give shots and stuff,” Sarah Ann yelled, then burst into tears. “I want my daddy.”

“So much for the boo-boo bit,” Patty said. “Why are they always smarter than you give them credit for? Sarah Ann, sweetie, hey, don’t cry. Your daddy is going to be fine, I promise you.”

“We’ll take care of you, Sarah Ann,” Tucker said, patting the little girl on the back.

“Yes, we will,” Patty said. “Thank you for helping, Tucker. Sarah Ann, we’re going to your house now to get you some clothes. Do you have a favorite toy you’d like to bring to our house?”

Sarah Ann’s tears stopped as quickly as they had started.

“Yes, yes, yes,” she said, jumping up and down. “I want my bear. His name is Patches.”

“Okay,” Patty said brightly. “Then we’re off. See you tonight, Mom, and thanks again.”

“Do I get a hug goodbye?” Hannah said, bending down and opening her arms.

Tucker immediately rushed into his grandmother’s arms. Sarah Ann hesitated, then followed, allowing Hannah to hug her. A short time later the three little ones were buckled up in the back seat of Patty’s car headed toward the Montgomery house.

Patty knew the general area, as it was where her grandparents Margaret and Robert MacAllister lived in their majestic home. When she got closer, she pulled to the curb and consulted a map from the glove compartment. David lived two streets away from the senior MacAllisters, who considered the entire Sharpe family part of the huge MacAllister clan.

Within minutes she turned into the circular driveway leading to a two-story white stucco home with a red tile roof and a beautifully landscaped front area that sloped down to the sidewalk.

“My new house,” Sarah Ann shouted. “I see my new house right there.”

Patty turned off the ignition, assisted the children from the car, then scooped up Sophia’s carrier.

“Do you remember where you lived before you came to your new house, Sarah Ann?” Patty said, as they started toward the front door.

“Brisco,” Sarah Ann said. “Tucker, want to play with my toys?”

“Yeah,” Tucker said.

“Brisco?” Patty said, frowning.

“Brisco,” Sarah Ann said, nodding. “There were lots of hills on the streets and stuff and it rained whole bunches.”

Patty inserted the key into the lock on the front door, hesitated, then looked at Sarah Ann.

“Do you mean San Francisco?” Patty said.

Sarah Ann nodded. “Brisco.”

“Agatha Christie, eat your heart out,” Patty said smugly as they entered the house. “Oh, your new house is lovely, Sarah Ann, very nice.”

Patty swept her gaze over the large foyer, the sweeping staircase leading to the second floor, then stepped forward to peek into the large living room that boasted gleaming oak furniture and sofa and chairs in shades of blue, gray and burgundy.

A massive flagstone fireplace was on the far wall and flanked by floor-to-ceiling oak shelves that were partially filled with books. Cartons sat by the bookcases waiting to be unpacked. Patty placed a sleeping Sophia’s carrier on the sofa.

“Come see my toys, Tucker,” Sarah Ann said, heading toward the stairs.

“One hand on the banister,” Patty said, “and go very slowly. I’ll be up in a few minutes. I just want to check the refrigerator and make certain nothing is about to spoil.”

“’Kay,” the pair said in unison.

Patty walked down a wide hallway toward the rear of the house where she assumed the kitchen was.

This was David’s house, she mused, drinking in details as she went, that he was turning into a home for him and Sarah Ann. Just the two of them, because Sarah Ann’s mother was in heaven.

Was David still brokenhearted over the loss of his wife and didn’t even know his world had been shattered because he couldn’t remember anything? That was a rather depressing thought.

Patty entered the huge, sunny kitchen and made her way through a multitude of boxes to reach the refrigerator.

Well, she thought, looking around, the kitchen was obviously not high on the list of rooms to be set to rights. She would guess that David wasn’t eager to cook, maybe didn’t even know how to do much more than make a sandwich or heat up soup. He and Sarah Ann must have been eating out a great deal since moving to Ventura, or he was bringing in take-out food.

“I’m getting to be a very good detective if I do say so myself,” Patty said aloud.

She gripped the handle to the refrigerator, then stopped, looking around again.

Strange, she thought. It was as though she could feel, sense, David’s presence in this house that was becoming a home. She could picture him here so easily with Sarah Ann trailing behind him, chattering at her daddy.

It was a very large home for two people, yet it felt right for David. He would stride through these rooms on those long, muscular legs, his blatant masculinity demanding space to move freely. He would come to this refrigerator where she was now standing, intent on finding something inside to satisfy his desire to…

A man like David Montgomery would have strong, powerful desires in any arena into which he stepped, whether it be to quell the need for food or to reach for a woman, sweep her into his arms and…