The Doctor's Redemption. Susan Carlisle

later he had Gus, Allie and Jeremy signed in for the parade. He found Laura Jo and the kids waiting right where she’d said they would be. She had her head down, listening to something that Jeremy was saying. The angle of her head indicated she was keeping an eye on her daughter at the same time. Once again he was impressed by her mothering skills. The women he’d gone out with had never shown any interest in being mothers. He’d always thought he’d like to be a father, but he wouldn’t let that happen. What if he ran out on them, like he had Mike, when the going got tough? He couldn’t take that chance.

      There was nothing flashy or pretentious about Laura Jo. More like what you saw was what you got. He’d grown up within the finely drawn lines of what was expected by the tight-knit Mobile society. He hadn’t met many women who’d seemed to live life on their own terms. Even in California the women he’d dated had always worn a false front, literally and physically.

      Laura Jo’s face was devoid of makeup and she wore a simple blouse and jeans with flats. She reminded him of a girl just out of high school. That was until she opened her mouth, then she left no doubt she was a grown woman who could defend herself and her child. Nothing about her indicated she had been raised in one of local society’s finest families.

      Allie said something and Laura Jo turned her head. Both mother and child had similar coloring. Pretty in an early-spring-leaves-unfolding sort of way. Easy on the eye. Why would any man leave the two of them?

      If he ever had a chance to have something as good in his life as they were, he’d hold on to them and never let them out of his sight. He sighed. What he saw between Laura Jo and Allie wasn’t meant for him. It wasn’t his to have. He’d taken that chance from Mike and he had no right to have it himself. What they had he couldn’t be trusted with.

      “Hey, there’s Dr. Clayborn,” Allie called.

      Mark grinned as he joined them. He ruffled Allie’s hair. “That’s Mark to you. Dr. Clayborn sounds like a mouthful for such a little girl.”

      Allie drew herself up straight. “I’m a big girl.”

      Mark went down on one knee, bringing himself to eye level with Allie. “I apologize. Yes, you are a big girl. Big enough to walk with Gus in the parade?”

      “Really, you’re going to let me take Gus in the parade?”

      “Yes, and Jeremy, too. But I have to come along with you.”

      She turned to Laura Jo. “Mommy, I’m going to get to be in the parade.”

      “I heard, honey, but I don’t know.”

      “I’ll be right there with them the entire time.” Mark reassured Laura Jo.

      The look of hesitation on her face gave him the idea that she didn’t often trust Allie’s care to anyone but her friend Marsha.

      He reached for Gus’s leash and she handed it to him. The nylon was warm from her clasp. “She’ll be perfectly safe. We’ll meet you and Jeremy at the car when it’s over. The parade route isn’t long.”

      “I guess it’ll be okay.” She looked at Allie. “You and Jeremy do just what Mark tells you to do.” Laura Jo pinned Mark with a look. “And you turn up with my daughter and Jeremy at the end of the parade.”

      “Yes, ma’am.” He gave her a smile and a little salute. “I’ll take good care of them, I promise. Let’s go, kids. We need to get in line.”

      Laura Jo watched as Mark took her daughter’s much smaller hand in his larger one and Jeremy’s in his other one. Gus walked at Allie’s heels as they were swallowed up by the crowd.

      What was it about Mark that made her trust him with the most precious person in her life? She’d never allowed anyone but Marsha that privilege. Maybe it was the way he’d care for Allie’s knee, or his devotion to the grandfather and later the girl he’d cared for. Somehow Mark had convinced her in a few short meetings that he could be trusted. Now that she was a mother she better understood how her parents had felt when she had insisted on going off with someone they hadn’t trusted.

      Alone, she made her way through the crowd to the curb of a street about halfway along the parade route. Taking a seat on the curb, she waited until the parade approached. For this parade there would be no bands involved. All the music would come from music boxes pulled in carts by children. The floats would be decorated wagons and dogs of all shapes and sizes.

      Twenty minutes later the first of the parade members came into view. Not far behind them were Allie, Jeremy and Mark. Laura Jo stood as they approached. She’d never seen a larger smile on Allie’s face. Mark and Jeremy were grinning also. Gus was lumbering behind them, looking bored but festive. Allie held his leash proudly.

      She screamed and waved as they came by. Allie and Jeremy waved enthusiastically back at her. Mark acknowledged her also. As they came closer he stepped over to Laura Jo and said, “The kids are having a blast.”

      Laura Jo smiled.

      An hour later Laura Jo stood waiting outside Mark’s car. Anxiousness was building with every minute that passed. Something had to have gone wrong. Mark and the children should have been there by now. Had something happened to one of the kids? She shouldn’t have let them out of her sight. Was this how her parents had felt when she’d run off with Phil?

      He had been a master of manipulation. Before they’d got married he’d made her believe he had a good job and he would take care of her. “Don’t worry about what your parents think, I’ll take care of you,” he would say. The worst thing was that he’d made her believe he’d loved her.

      Had she let Mark do the same thing? Persuade her to let the kids be in the parade. Had she made a poor character judgment call again? This time with her daughter? Her palms dampened. She’d promised herself to be careful. Now look what was happening. She headed in the direction of where the parade had ended, and soon recognized Mark’s tall figure coming in her way. He pulled a wagon on which Gus, Allie and Jeremy rode. With relief filling her chest, she ran toward them.

      Mark was red-faced. Jeremy wore a smile. Allie looked pleased with herself as she held Gus’s head in her lap. The dog was wearing a crown.

      “Where have ya’ll been? I was getting worried.” Laura Jo stopped beside them.

      “Mommy, we won first place for the slowest dog in the parade.” Allie beamed.

      Laura Jo gave her a hug. “That’s wonderful, honey.”

      “Sorry we made you worry. I should have given you my cell number. Gus also got slower after the parade. I carried him halfway here until I saw a kid with a wagon. I had to give him fifty dollars for it so I could haul Gus back.”

      At the sound of disgust in Mark’s voice Laura Jo couldn’t help but laugh. His look of complete exasperation and her sense of relief made the situation even more humorous.

      “I’m glad someone thinks it’s funny.” Mark chuckled.

      Laura Jo had to admit he was a good sport and he’d certainly made her daughter happy. Every time she tried to stop laughing she’d think of Mark begging a boy for his wagon and she’d burst out in laughter again. It had been a long time since she’d laughed hard enough to bring tears to her eyes.

      “If you think you can stop laughing at me for a few minutes, we can load up this freeloader …” he gave the dog a revolted look “… and get him home.”

      “Had a workout, did you?” Laura Jo asked, trying to suppress the giggles that kept bubbling up.

      “Yeah. No good deed goes unpunished.”

      “Whose idea was it to be in the parade?”