Valentine Vote by Susan Blexrud Read Free Book Online Page B

not to be more considerate of Courtney’s grief. He couldn’t wait to make it up to her.

Chapter Seven
    Saturday morning, Courtney watched for Eric through the skinny window that bordered her front door. When his car pulled up to her curb—double parking of course, since you could never find a spot on the street in Foggy Bottom—the flutters in her stomach floated all the way to her heart.
    While the weather had been abysmal most of the winter, today’s expected high was mid-60s, boding well for a picnic and tour of the Manassas Battlefield with Travis, Eric’s Little Brother. Eric had told her he spent one weekend a month with Travis, and she was thrilled to be involved in today’s outing. This could be a good opportunity to put her crusade aside and just have a good time, if she could keep her mouth shut about tobacco … for once.
    When she’d told Helen about the upcoming excursion, her friend had grinned like the happy Buddha statue that sat in a potted plant on her windowsill. Helen had spent an evening with Courtney extolling Eric’s virtues, and her persuasive powers (she wasn’t a litigator for nothing) had convinced Courtney that he probably was a great guy.
    Courtney had packed a picnic lunch. “I brought enough to feed an elephant, but I know how boys can eat,” she said, sliding into the passenger seat. Eric set the picnic basket in the backseat.
    “Travis is small for his age, but he can pack it away. And then there’s me.” Eric smiled.
    God, Helen was right; he was yummy. When he smiled, the air around him vibrated with sheer pleasure. “And with the chill in the air, I think that makes everyone hungrier. I’ve got a thermos of hot chocolate, too.”
    Before they reached McLean to pick up Travis, Eric told Courtney about the little boy he’d been mentoring for two years. “He’s shy, but there are a few subjects he’ll open up about, like puppies and basketball.”
    “Too bad you couldn’t bring Pinky,” Courtney said.
    “Oh, he loves her. He’s spending the weekend at my place, so he’ll get plenty of her.”
    Could I ever get plenty of you?
Courtney gazed at Eric’s strong profile while he drove with his left hand on the wheel and the right resting on the leather seat. She wanted to reach over and intertwine her fingers with his. “When I knew we were going to Manassas, I looked up the battlefield online to see if they had any activities for kids. They participate in the National Park Service’s Junior Ranger program. My brothers used to love the Junior Ranger books. You have to complete a number of activities, and then they give you a badge.”
    “Travis will enjoy that. He’s all about showing me what he can do. At first, he didn’t care. He’d been shuffled around to so many places he didn’t trust anyone.”
    “What happened to his parents?”
    “His dad died of a drug overdose, and his mom just dropped him off at the Department of Social Services one day and split town. He’s in a decent foster home now, but he doesn’t let his heart get attached. I’m the one constant in his life.”
    “That’s a big responsibility.” Poor little guy. Courtney blinked hard as tears built behind her eyes. She bit her lip to keep them at bay.
    “He’s special. You’ll see.”
    • • •
    Travis obviously loved Eric. Bounding to the car like he’d been let out of San Quentin, the boy hopped into the backseat and immediately buckled himself in. “See, you didn’t have to tell me to use my seatbelt.”
    “You’ve got a good memory, Travis,” Eric said as he pulled away from the modest house on the outskirts of McLean, waving to Travis’s foster mom, who stood at the door. “Hope you don’t mind that I brought my friend, Courtney. She’s been keeping an eye on me, making sure I stay in line.”
    Yeah, like she could keep Eric in line.
Courtney turned around in her seat. The smile on the little boy’s face could light the National Mall. “Thanks for letting me tag