Taming the Lone Wolff(31)
“Six and a half.”
Larkin was shocked. The boy was small for his age, perhaps because of poor nutrition. “Do you like to read?”
Esteban shrugged in an oddly adult manner. “Don’t know how.”
Winnie whispered in his ear. “When they move around so much, it’s difficult to get continuity in schooling.”
Larkin felt a kinship with the boy despite the enormous disparity in their social situations. But one thing was different. Esteban had a mom and no dad. Larkin was just the opposite. He grinned at the boy. “I’ve got some baseball equipment in my truck. You want to see if your mom will let you hit a few in the yard?”
The kid’s entire face lit up with excitement. “Sí! I will go ask her.”
He bounded out of the room, and Larkin glanced at Winnie. “Sorry. Guess I should have asked you first.”
“No harm done. It will be entirely up to his mom. As you can imagine, the mothers tend to be very protective.”
Esteban must have worded his request exactly right, because he was back in no time. “Let’s go,” he said, grabbing Larkin’s arm. “I can hit a home run for you—sí?”
Larkin retrieved his gear and took note of the fact that Winnie sat down on a park bench beneath a weeping willow to watch them. Esteban was a natural athlete. With a little coaching about batting and catching, he was soon snagging shallow fly balls and whacking soft line drives toward their audience of one.
There were undoubtedly people in the house watching, as well, but they kept themselves hidden. After an hour, Larkin called a halt. “I’ve got work to do, son. And you’ve done enough for one day. Don’t want you to be too sore tomorrow.”
Esteban beamed. “I’m gonna play for los Yankees one day. Will you come watch me, Miss Winnie?”
“Of course I will.”
Larkin loaded the bats, gloves and balls he kept in the trunk for weekend games with some of the guys in his neighborhood back in his truck. Moments later when he turned back toward the bench, Winnie had disappeared. She was avoiding him. Perhaps for many reasons. He understood her reticence…but he didn’t like it.
He strolled to the back of the property for one last powwow with his team. Every piece of equipment was working as it should. Winnie’s beautiful estate had been encased in a bubble of security so tight, the First Family could come to visit without incident.
By the time Larkin hit the shower in his room to clean up for dinner, he was itchy and restless to see Winnie again. Even now he wondered if she would torpedo his plan at the last minute. His fears multiplied when he saw the note on the dresser.
Dear Larkin,
I have several phone calls to make tonight, so I’m having dinner in my room. And I’ll probably go to bed early. I’m sorry I won’t be available for you to show me all the bells and whistles you’ve installed, but I trust that you’ve seen to every last detail.
Winnie
No I’ll see you in the morning. No reference at all to their imminent departure. He felt his temper rise. Winnie knew she had to leave the premises. And if she thought he’d let her go to some anonymous apartment in a far-off city, she was deluding herself. Surely she wasn’t going to refuse to go to Wolff Mountain. But she hadn’t mentioned it either way.