Read The Homespun Holiday for Free Online Page A
Authors: Sarah O'Rourke
shocked
kindergarten teacher, Paisley took Ms. Simmons hand. “C’mon, Ms. S! Time is
wasting! We gots fingerpainting to do.”
Millie and Mack watched with nearly
identical pleased expressions as the little girl led the flummoxed teacher out
of the Principal’s office.
“That’s a very articulate little
girl you have, Ms. Robbins. She’s quite mature for her age, isn’t she?”
Principal Carter asked as he, too, watched the child and her teacher disappear
down the school hallway.
“She’s been mostly surrounded by
adults her entire life. She’s intelligent and picks up on what should be adult
conversations very quickly. Most of the time, you don’t notice her because
she’s so quiet. She’s very clever about her eavesdropping. Believe me, we
don’t voluntarily hand her the type of information she spouted today. She
overhears things and we’re forced to explain them to her. Otherwise, Paisley
tends to make up her own stories. If we hadn’t explained to her how babies got
made, she’d have had aliens landing on Earth to impregnate unsuspecting women.”
The Principal chuckled. “Well, when
you share how bad it could have been, I suppose we got off easy today.”
“If that’s all, Principal Carter,
we’ve both got jobs to get back to doing,” Mack pointed out gruffly as he
cupped Millie’s elbow in his and steered her toward the door.
“No, that’s everything. In the
future, I’ll take Ms. Simmons concerns with a grain of salt. I’m sure she’s
very sorry,” he murmured, obviously embarrassed to have confronted Millicent
with the unfounded accusations of his teacher.
“Yeah,” Mack scoffed. “She seemed
real sorry. The next time she implies that Paisley is somehow tainted because
she doesn’t have a dad in the picture, we’re going to have problems, Carter.”
“Dr. Daniels!” Millie hissed softly,
pinching his side.
“What?” Mack growled grumpily.
“You want her to be able to say that kind of stuff around Paisley?”
“Of course not,” Millie huffed.
“But you don’t need to be so rude to Principal Carter,” she whispered.
“I disagree,” Mack retorted,
shooting a dirty look at the man in question. “Simmons is his employee; he
needs to rein her in before she says something that hurts some innocent kid.
If you were treating my patients like crap and making unwed mothers feel bad
for being knocked up, it would be on me, Millie, because you are my employee.
I’d be expected to discipline you. The same applies here.”
“He’s right,” Principal Carter
agreed softly as he inclined his head toward Mack. “I’ll be having a private
word with Ms. Simmons after school.”
“Oh, well….thank you, I guess,”
Millie said nervously, tucking her brownish-red hair behind her ear. “We’ll
just let you get back to work. Thank God it’s Friday, huh?” she added with a
little laugh as Mack pulled her out the door.
“I couldn’t agree more. Have a
nice weekend,” the man offered before closing his office behind them.
~**~
Waiting until they reached the
asphalt parking lot to speak, Millicent jerked her hand out of Dr. Daniels.
“What the heck was that back there?” she asked as her boss turned to face her,
his brow creased and his golden brown eyes darkened to the color of rich
caramel as he stared at her.
“What are you talking about?” Mack
asked, his voice gravelly and low. “I just said and did what needed to be
done. For you and for Paisley.”
She couldn’t believe the way he was
just shrugging off the way he’d taken up for her and Paisley. She’d known this
man for months . And yes, he was good with his patients. But as far as
just normal, everyday social interactions went, the man seemed to despise
people. The fact that he’d gone to bat for her was huge . “Yeah, I
agree things needed to be said and done in there. By me, Doc . I needed
to say all those things. You
kindergarten teacher, Paisley took Ms. Simmons hand. “C’mon, Ms. S! Time is
wasting! We gots fingerpainting to do.”
Millie and Mack watched with nearly
identical pleased expressions as the little girl led the flummoxed teacher out
of the Principal’s office.
“That’s a very articulate little
girl you have, Ms. Robbins. She’s quite mature for her age, isn’t she?”
Principal Carter asked as he, too, watched the child and her teacher disappear
down the school hallway.
“She’s been mostly surrounded by
adults her entire life. She’s intelligent and picks up on what should be adult
conversations very quickly. Most of the time, you don’t notice her because
she’s so quiet. She’s very clever about her eavesdropping. Believe me, we
don’t voluntarily hand her the type of information she spouted today. She
overhears things and we’re forced to explain them to her. Otherwise, Paisley
tends to make up her own stories. If we hadn’t explained to her how babies got
made, she’d have had aliens landing on Earth to impregnate unsuspecting women.”
The Principal chuckled. “Well, when
you share how bad it could have been, I suppose we got off easy today.”
“If that’s all, Principal Carter,
we’ve both got jobs to get back to doing,” Mack pointed out gruffly as he
cupped Millie’s elbow in his and steered her toward the door.
“No, that’s everything. In the
future, I’ll take Ms. Simmons concerns with a grain of salt. I’m sure she’s
very sorry,” he murmured, obviously embarrassed to have confronted Millicent
with the unfounded accusations of his teacher.
“Yeah,” Mack scoffed. “She seemed
real sorry. The next time she implies that Paisley is somehow tainted because
she doesn’t have a dad in the picture, we’re going to have problems, Carter.”
“Dr. Daniels!” Millie hissed softly,
pinching his side.
“What?” Mack growled grumpily.
“You want her to be able to say that kind of stuff around Paisley?”
“Of course not,” Millie huffed.
“But you don’t need to be so rude to Principal Carter,” she whispered.
“I disagree,” Mack retorted,
shooting a dirty look at the man in question. “Simmons is his employee; he
needs to rein her in before she says something that hurts some innocent kid.
If you were treating my patients like crap and making unwed mothers feel bad
for being knocked up, it would be on me, Millie, because you are my employee.
I’d be expected to discipline you. The same applies here.”
“He’s right,” Principal Carter
agreed softly as he inclined his head toward Mack. “I’ll be having a private
word with Ms. Simmons after school.”
“Oh, well….thank you, I guess,”
Millie said nervously, tucking her brownish-red hair behind her ear. “We’ll
just let you get back to work. Thank God it’s Friday, huh?” she added with a
little laugh as Mack pulled her out the door.
“I couldn’t agree more. Have a
nice weekend,” the man offered before closing his office behind them.
~**~
Waiting until they reached the
asphalt parking lot to speak, Millicent jerked her hand out of Dr. Daniels.
“What the heck was that back there?” she asked as her boss turned to face her,
his brow creased and his golden brown eyes darkened to the color of rich
caramel as he stared at her.
“What are you talking about?” Mack
asked, his voice gravelly and low. “I just said and did what needed to be
done. For you and for Paisley.”
She couldn’t believe the way he was
just shrugging off the way he’d taken up for her and Paisley. She’d known this
man for months . And yes, he was good with his patients. But as far as
just normal, everyday social interactions went, the man seemed to despise
people. The fact that he’d gone to bat for her was huge . “Yeah, I
agree things needed to be said and done in there. By me, Doc . I needed
to say all those things. You