Shelter in a Soldier's Arms Read Online Free PDF Page A

store.”
    Maggie hesitated before nodding her agreement. She looked so small standing there in her pink jeans and pink-and-white plaid knit sweater. Two tiny clips held her dark curls off her face. Her cupid’s bow mouth quivered slightly.
    Not knowing what else to do, Jeff crouched in front of the child. “You know your mom is sick, right?”
    “Uh-huh.” Her grip on the battered stuffed cat tightened.
    “She has the flu. Do you know what that is?”
    “It’s what I had last week. I was very sick and I got to watch TV in Mommy’s bed and eat Jell-O whenever I wanted.”
    Was that kid paradise? He didn’t know. “But you’re better now, right?”
    Another nod.
    “So you know your mom is going to be fine in a few days. I don’t want you to worry about her.”
    Maggie gave him an impish smile. “I know you’ll take care of her.”
    He hadn’t thought about his responsibility in quite those terms, but if it made the kid happy to think that, he wouldn’t disagree. “Are you nervous about being with me?”
    Delicate, dark eyebrows drew together. “What’s nerv— nerv— What’s that?”
    “Nervous. Upset. Afraid. Anxious.” His explanation didn’t seem to be helping. He searched his memory for a word a four-year-old could understand. “Scared.”
    This time, instead of smiling, she laughed. “I’m not scared. You like us.”
    She spoke with a conviction he both envied and admired. If only all of life were that simple, he thought as he rose to his full height. “Then let’s go to the food store.”
    Maggie trailed after him as they made their way to the car. Jeff hesitated, then decided not to set the alarm in the house. He figured the odds of Ashley opening a door or window were greater than someone breaking in during the short time he would be gone.
    He held the back door open for the little girl, then helped her fasten her seat belt. She gazed at him trustingly as he secured her in the car. She sniffed loudly. “Your car smells nice.”
    “It’s the leather. I’ve only had the car a few months.”
    Her eyes widened. “It’s new? You have a new car?”
    Her tone of reverence made him wonder if Ashley had ever had a new car. Based on her current circumstances, he doubted it. At least not in the recent past. There were so many things in his life that he took for granted.
    “I have to call someone I know,” he said as he slid into the driver’s seat. “I need to ask her what to buy to make your mom feel better.”
    “Jell-O,” Maggie said firmly.
    “Okay, but she’ll need other stuff, too.” He was thinking in terms of liquids. Or was that for a cold? His first-aid training ran more in the direction of gunshot wounds or emergency amputations.
    He backed out of the driveway, then touched a button. A mechanical voice asked, “What name?”
    “Brenda,” he replied.
    Maggie stared at him. “The car is talking!”
    He felt himself smile as the sound of a phone ringing came over the built-in speakers. It was nearly five-thirty. Brenda might have gone home.
    But his assistant was still at the office. When she answered, he explained that he was taking care of a friend with the flu and needed her advice on what to buy at the grocery store. Also, what would be appropriate to serve a four-year-old for dinner.
    With that he glanced at the girl. “Say hi, Maggie.”
    Still wide-eyed and clutching her stuffed, white cat, Maggie licked her lips. “Hi,” she whispered tentatively.
    “That was Maggie,” he said helpfully.
    “Uh, hi, Maggie. Nice to talk to you.” His assistant’s tone of voice warned him that he would be getting a major third degree when he saw her in the morning.
    “Do you even know where the grocery store is?” Brenda asked when she’d recovered from her shock.
    “I have a fair idea. I was thinking of soup and juice. Liquids for the flu, right?”
    “Uh, yeah, that’s right. As for dinner for the little one, there are lots of options. Rule number one is the less sugar