Page 32 of Sweet Tooth
“You ok?” Zane said, rushing to hold me. “Where’s Parker?”
Wordlessly, I pointed back into the house. Together, we hurried in. Parker was in the hallway, barefoot.
“What happened? I heard more noises.”
I crouched down, wrapped him in my arms and kissed the top of his head. “Nothing baby, it was nothing. Zane and Mommy are here, and everything is going to be ok.”
The sound of a siren blared in the distance. Relief flooded through me. “I can wait here with Parker,” Zane said. “You go talk to them.”
The next hour passed in a horrible haze. The cop, talking and nodding, asking questions and jotting down notes. His partner picked Paul up of the ground as he came to and cuffed him. He led him to the cruiser where he turned to look at me. ‘You’ll pay for this bitch,’ he mouthed to me. Zane locked the door and the world out, grabbing Parker and carrying him back upstairs to bed. After we got him settled in, and he was sleeping peacefully again, we headed down to my room where it was my turn to collapse and rest.
20
Jessica
I woke up to a kiss on the forehead.
“Morning, it’s Christmas Eve.”
I stared at Zane, the reason for him being here not computing in my head. Then, in a horrible wrenching flash, I remembered.
I sat up so fast I smacked my head on the bedframe.
“Ow,” I groaned, then shifted my look to him.
“I slept over after last night. And about Paul, you won’t have to worry about him anymore.”
“Zane,” I said gingerly.
“Seriously,” he said. “I called a friend who knows a friend. We’re going to get a restraining order on him, have him serve some time too.”
“Oh, the joys of money,” I said drily, then let the smile inching up my face stay there. “Do you really think he’s going to go to jail?”
“Oh, I know.” Zane’s head bob was decisive. “I know this lawyer. Don’t necessarily agree with his morals all the time, but he’s the best.”
A half-hysterical laugh sputtered free. “God. And Parker?”
“Is asleep, last time I checked.” Zane grinned. “Nice Christmas tree in the family room, by the way.”
“We just got it up yesterday, I’m a bit ashamed to admit.” I smiled.
“You might find a few more presents under it.” He winked.
“Zane!” I looked to the closet. “I didn’t have time yet to wrap yours.”
But he was already headed that way. I hurried up and after him. “Oh no you don’t.”
Too late, though. Zane snatched the big brass thing triumphantly.
“You got me a Royal Navy telescope? But how did you know?”
I smiled thinly. “Years ago, you told me about how you’d always wanted one when you were drunk one time. I couldn’t afford it then but made a mental note of it.”
Zane was already adjusting it and peering through it. “Awesome – thank you!”
Putting it down, he swept me into a kiss.
“Presents?” Parker asked, appearing in the doorway.
“Not yet,” I said. “Tomorrow though.”
A pause. Finally, brows furrowed, Parker asked, “Are you and Mommy friends?”
“Why do you ask, Parker?” I asked him, not sure what was going on in his four-year-old head.
“He sleeps over sometimes. Friends have sleepovers,” Parker stated.
Zane could hardly hide the smile blooming across his face.
He knelt down to Parker’s level and nodded his head. “Yeah buddy, your mom and I are friends. We’ve actually been friends for a very long time.”
Parker considered this carefully. “Penny and I are best friends.”
“Well there you go,” Zane said. “I hope you and Penny are best friends for a long time.”
Another considered pause, then, “Do I really have to wait for presents?”
We both laughed at his abrupt change of topic. “Yes,” I said. “But you can open the cookie batter in the fridge.”
As Parker whooped, jumped up and down, and raced off, Zane looked to me questioningly.
“It’s family tradition,” I explained. “We make cookies every year.”
“Like we used to do?”
“Yep. We make Christmas frogs and leave some out for Santa.”
“And do you-”
“Still have the cookie cutters? Yeah.”
With a final kiss, Zane made for the door. “Guess that’s that, then. Christmas cookies it is.”
The rest of the day was one flurry of Christmas activity after another. Then we went out and built a snowman with the few fresh inches that had fallen overnight.
Later that afternoon there was another visit to Tamara’s, whose heart-shaped face was a picture of delight and nonsurprise to see Zane come too.
That night, after a call from Zane’s friend confirming that Paul was behind bars and was going to stay there for the foreseeable future, we did a little victory dance and went out for dinner to celebrate. As it turned out, he’d had several warrants out in different states for fraud. He wouldn’t be able to bother Parker or me for a very long time.
Zane refused all the fancy restaurants and settled for Rainforest Café, whose mechanical animals wore Santa hats and had Parker exclaiming about every minute or so.
