Page 66 of Taking the Pitch
Does he know this woman?
The little boy looks at Judd and squints his eyes. “You look different without your parrot.”
Judd chuckles and squats down so he’s at the kid’s eye level. “And you look different when you’re not a Ninja Turtle.” He looks at the girl glued to her mom’s legs. “And a princess. How was your Halloween? Did you guys get lots of candy?”
The boy shakes his head vigorously and I’m afraid he’s going to give himself whiplash. “Somuch candy,” he exclaims, widening his arms to show us how much. “But mom says we can’t eat it all because if we did, it would make us sick and give us lots of cavities,” he says slightly bummed.
Judd’s smile grows wider, and he chuckles. “She’s right. You should always listen to your mom. They know best.”
The little girl tugs on her mom’s sleeve and she shifts her reusable bag to her other arm with her purse and picks her up, propping her on her hip. The girl whispers something into her mom’s ear and points at Bruno.
“Oh, he has a vest on, honey. That means he’s working, and we can’t touch him.”
Disappointment floods the girl’s face, and she tucks it into her mom’s shoulder, making my heart crack.
“What’s that mean?” the boy asks, looking from his mom to Bruno and me.
“It means Bruno is a special dog that is trained to help me if I need it,” I tell him, crouching down next to Bruno.
“Does he have powers!” the boy shouts.
Judd and I laugh. His mother shushes him and reminds him to use his inside voice.
“No, he doesn’t have powers. He just knows how to calm me down if I get too nervous about something.”
I look up at the girl who’s peeking out from her mom’s shoulder, watching Bruno. “Would you like to pet him? He really likes kids.”
“Are you sure?” their mom asks.
“Of course.”
She sets the girl down and she takes her brother’s hand as they walk closer to Bruno. Bruno wags his butt in excitement, and I give him the command to sit.
“Put your hand out, palm down like this,” I tell them, showing them with my hand. “That way, he can sniff you.”
They both do as I show them and Bruno sniffs both their hands before pushing his head into their palms, making both of them giggle. Bruno sits patiently while they both stroke his head and ears. “He’s soft,” the girl whispers so quietly I almost don’t hear her. Her eyes completely transfixed on Bruno like she’s in a trance.
“I brush him a lot. He’sreallyhairy,” I say, making the kids laugh.
The elevator dings, announcing our arrival at their floor.
“Say thank you to the nice lady for letting you pet her dog.”
Both kids say thank you and bye and high five Judd as their mom herds them out the doors and down the hallway. Once the doors close, we both stand and look at each other.
“How do you know them?” I ask.
Judd lifts a shoulder and tucks his hands into his pockets, leaning against the wall. “I really don’t. They were on the same elevator as me on Halloween and named my fake parrot.”
“That’s cute. You’re really good with kids.”
“Mom says it’s because I still act like one,” he jokes, making me laugh.
The elevator dings again, making my heart rate increase. “Ladies first,” Judd says, gesturing out the door with his hand.
I exit the elevator and Judd follows me out, placing his hand at the small of my back. By the time we make it the short distance to the door, my body is like a live wire humming with energy.
It takes me three tries to get the key into the door to unlock it. On the third try, Judd places his hand over mine, steadying it. Once I get the door open, I walk in and unclip Bruno from his leash and hang up my purse and keys. Turning, I notice Judd still in the doorway, hands above him, holding onto the frame.
