The Billionaire Playboy(28)

In the driveway below he saw Charlie walking towards her car. Dressed in a navy blue t-shirt and denim shorts that showed off her lean shapely legs, she walked with her head held high and her back perfectly straight. What were her plans this morning? He'd hoped to see her before he headed over to the town hall to check on repairs. It didn't look like that was going to happen now.

As he continued to watch, she climbed into her car and drove away. So much for his good mood. Jake watched as the car disappeared from sight. Suddenly reluctant to start his day, Jake came to his feet. He had people waiting for him and a new scandal brewing. This was not the time for sitting around.



***



Once again Charlie found herself volunteering to play babysitter at the shelter while homeowners worked to get their lives back together. Thankfully several families had already left the shelter. They'd either made arrangements with other family members or found places to stay outside of town so there were fewer children around today. Despite the reduced number, Charlie still felt as if she'd landed on an alien planet. She just wasn't used to being around this many children all at once. She hoped the children didn't know how uncomfortable she was. Who knew how they might take advantage of her if they did.

“Can you help me? The eyes won't stick,” a young girl with curly blond hair asked holding up a pair of googly eyes.

Somehow she'd been left to supervise the craft table again that morning. Charlie looked at the paper bird set out on the table and back at the young girl who looked familiar. Not wanting to disappoint the little girl, she picked up the glue bottle and prepared to tackle the problem.

“Try using regular glue instead.” Charlie squirted two drops of Elmer's onto the paper bird's face. “It might work better than those glue sticks.”

The little girl smiled up at her, reminding Charlie of an old classmate. “Is your dad Don Sullivan?”

The girl nodded her head causing the blond curls to bounce wildly about her face. “People call him Donnie. They call my brother that too. They have the same name,” the little girl answered as she proceeded to color the feathers on her bird now that it had eyes.

Donnie had children? Wow! Now there was a shocker. She couldn't even picture him with a woman. In school he'd been the geeky nerd the other kids turned to when they needed help with their algebra. As far as she knew he never even had a date in high school. He'd taken his third cousin to the senior prom, though he refused to admit it. Obviously he had changed since then.

“This is a present for mom and dad,” the little girl said holding up her bird. “They can hang it up when we go home.”

Charlie stared at the lopsided bird with the googly eyes and colorful feathers unsure of what to say. How much did the girl understand? Did she know they might never return to the home she'd once known? She didn't know what damage her former classmate’s house had suffered but if the family was still at the shelter it must be significant.

“I'm sure they'll love it. Do you want me to write a message on it?” Charlie forced herself to smile.

The girl handed her a purple marker. “Love, Ellie.”

Charlie printed the words on the belly of the bird and handed it back.

“Thanks,” the girl said before sprinting off toward the other children.

With the departure of the little girl the craft table was empty and Charlie began to clean up the scraps of paper left behind. She tried not to think about the children playing tag further down the room. It was bad enough that the adults had lost everything but at least they understood. The children didn't. She'd overheard them talking and many seemed to think they'd be going home any day now; back to the homes they'd always lived in. It just wasn't fair. Children deserved a chance to grow up without worries or loss. There would be enough opportunities for that when they grew up. They shouldn't have to face it now.

Life isn't always fair. Charlie knew that first hand. If it was, her father wouldn't have walked out on her and Sean. Regardless these children would survive their loss just as she had. It might not be easy, then again few things in life were.

Like the old saying went, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger? As far as Charlie was concerned, truer words had never been spoken.

After she finished cleaning up the craft supplies, Charlie crossed to the other side of the room where Lizzie was organizing a game of musical chairs. It looked as if Lizzie needed some help as she tried to explain the rules of the game to a group of children. From the expressions on their faces, Charlie guessed that they had never played before. She'd never considered musical chairs a complicated game, but the confused expressions on the children's faces told her that was strictly a matter of opinion. Just like everything else in life. “Do you want me to try explaining it?” Charlie asked.