Angel Unaware

Thanks to my team. Harddaysknight is my mentor and gives me critical review. Sbrooks103x also gives me a pre-post read. My editors are Girlinthemoon, Norafares, GeorgeAnderson, Hale1 and Pixel the Cat. Love you all. Thanks to Qhml1 for the idea for this story event.

This is a romance, within the theme of the event. What can I say? I'm a romantic girl. When I was approached about this theme, it sounded sexist AF, to me. As the guys explained the idea, I became much more enthusiastic. I wanted to write a human story, not a male/female story. This is written from the perspective of my female character. The language used reflects how she would speak and think. Thank you to all the kind and gracious readers who offer feedback, comments, votes and keep us writing, Randi.

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When I pulled up to my gate, I saw a guy pushing a lawnmower along the fence on the property next to mine. I hit the remote, and as the gate swung open, I saw her. I have orange trees lining my driveway, including two outside the gate; she was sitting under one of those, reading a book. She had a large plastic thermos sitting in the grass next to her and she looked up at me. I wondered what a little girl was doing sitting there with no one else around. I put my car in park and got out. I walked over to her.

"Hi, sweetheart," I said. "What are you doing out here all by yourself?"

She looked up at me. God, she was cute! Long honey-blonde hair framed a cherub's face. Her eyes were huge and a rich brown. She had a little button nose and she had a nice tan going on. "Hi," she said. "I'm not by myself. Daddy is mowing the lawn over there. What's your name?"

I sat down in the grass in front of her so we could be on eye level. I hoped I wouldn't get a grass stain on my linen skirt. It was one of my favorites, but I wanted to hear her talk some more. Her little voice was sort of husky and she was enchanting.

"I'm Sage," I told her. "What's your name?"

"Reynolds," she said. "Do you live here, Sage?"

"Yes, honey," I said.

"Do you mind if I sit under your tree?" she asked. "It was hot in the sun, and Daddy will probably take a while."

"No, sweetheart, I don't mind. You can sit anywhere you like. Do you always come to work with your father?"

"Yes." She nodded and that flaxen hair floated around her like a halo. "I got a book from the library."

"What are you reading?" I asked.

She showed me her book. It was about horses, listing all the different breeds and information about them. "Do you like horses?" I asked.

She nodded again. I heard the mower engine stop, behind us. "I wish I could have a horse, someday."

"Hey, everything okay over there?" I heard her father call.

"Yes, I'm just talking to Sage," Reynolds called back. He came walking over, I suppose to check me out.

"Hi," he said. "Is it okay if she's here? She won't bother anything."

I looked up at him. He was very tall. The sun was behind him and I couldn't really see that well. I stood and extended my hand. He shook it and his huge hand swallowed mine. "I'm Sage," I said. "This is my place. I don't mind her being here, but it's pretty hot. If you don't mind, she could come up to the house. I'll give her a tour and you can come and get her when you're done mowing."

"Jackson," he said. "Jacks, but we don't want to be any bother. She'll be fine here."

"It won't be a bother," I told him. "I don't have anything I need to do, and it will be fun." I whispered so she couldn't hear, "I have two horses."

He glanced at her. I could tell he was tempted. I moved a little so I could see him better. Damn, this was a hot white boy! He was very tanned, like Reynolds. His hair was a mop of brown curls, nearly matching my black mop, he had the same warm brown eyes she did, and he was very good looking. He was built, too. Muscles bulged all over him, and they were on display in the t-shirt with the cut-off sleeves he was wearing. He looked me over, and I could tell he was going to say no.

I didn't blame him. I wouldn't have trusted that little angel with a stranger, either. I upped my game. "I'll make you a deal," I said. "You take a break for a bit. Both of you come up to the house with me and you can check things out. I'll give you a drink, then, if you think you can trust me, you leave Reynolds with me and finish your job. If it makes you uncomfortable, you can bring her back here, okay?"

He hesitated for a few seconds. "Really, we don't want to bother you," he said.

"You won't. I was going to do something with those two things I told you about."

"What two things?" Reynolds asked.

"I'd rather show you," I told her.

"Please, Daddy?" She hugged his leg. "I want to see the two things."

He laughed. "Okay, let's go to this lady's house."

"'This "lady" is Sage," I said.

"Yes, let's go to Sage's house." She tucked one little hand into each of ours and started walking, dragging us along.

"Can we take my car?" I asked. "It's kind of a ways to walk, and I'd like to have my car at the house."

"I'm all dirty and sweaty," Jacks objected.

"I have leather seats," I told him. "It's okay."

We went to the car and he put Reynolds in the front with me, getting in the back.

I started it and the air felt pretty good. "I like your car," Reynolds said. "What kind is it?"

"It's called a Mercedes GLE," I said. "I like it. It's big enough to haul Reynolds and Jacks around."

She laughed. "Well, I'm not very big, but Daddy is kinda big."

"Yeah, I noticed," I said. "How old are you, honey?"

"I'm six," she said. "Daddy is really old. He's 27. How old are you?"

Jacks intervened. "I don't think that's something you should ask Sage, baby. Women don't like to tell how old they are."

"Why not?" she said. "She asked me."

That made me laugh. "I don't mind," I said. "I'm even older than your father, Reynolds. I'm 29."

She leaned over toward me and said, conspiratorially, "I don't really think that's old. I just say that to roast Daddy." I thought I was going to hurt myself trying not to laugh.

She was a doll! It was about a quarter-mile from my gate to the house, over a little hill. When we crested the hill, Reynolds gasped. "You live in a castle, Sage!"

"Well, it doesn't have a moat, or a drawbridge, or a dungeon," I said.

She looked up at me to see if I was serious. We both giggled hysterically when she saw the smile on my face. I pulled up at the front door, and Paul came out and opened our doors. He would take the car and park it. Paul was... I'm not sure what he was. My friend, but he took care of the estate: everything about the estate. I introduced him to Reynolds and Jacks.

He walked us to the door and opened it for us. Julie met us in the entry and asked if she could get us anything. "Yes, we need something to drink," I said. "Do we have the stuff to make lemonade?"

It turned out that we did, both Jacks and Reynolds approved, and I took them to my office. Reynolds was all big-eyed, and Jacks seemed like he was in a daze.

I seated them in chairs in front of my desk. "So, tell me about Reynolds and Jacks," I said.

Reynolds couldn't contain herself. "Gosh, Sage, you have like, servants, and stuff, just like a real castle! Are you a queen or a princess or something?"

I laughed. "No, honey, I'm not a princess, and they aren't servants, really," I told her. "They work for me, and they live here. That's their job.. They've been with me since I was a teenager, and I love them very much. They're my friends, and they help me do the things I need to do."

"What do you do?" Jacks asked.

"I own a logistics service," I said.

"What's a log... what you said?" Reynolds asked.

"Well, imagine that you had 1000 of something you needed moved, anywhere in the world," I said. "It could be chairs, or cars, toys, animals, food or just about anything else. You would call my company. We would provide the containers, pack them, come and pick them up, take them to a ship and move them wherever you needed them to go."

"Oh, so do you have trucks and stuff?" she asked.

"Yes, and we have railroad cars and two ships," I said.

The lemonade came, and Reynolds told me all about herself. She would begin second grade in the fall, "Daddy" was looking for a job and he mowed lawns, they lived in a "yucky" apartment, she didn't like the people who lived next door to them, and she loved horses. I could tell that Jacks was quite embarrassed by all these revelations, but he didn't seem to know what to say. I saw how he looked at that little angel, and it was clear she was his whole life.

When we finished the lemonade I asked Jacks if Reynolds could stay until he was finished with his job. "Yes, you're obviously a nice person," he said. "I'll just go finish. I'll pick you up when we're ready to go, okay, baby?"

Reynolds nodded, and Jacks bent down and kissed her forehead. The smile she gave her Daddy made her look more angelic than ever, and he was leaving when I remembered to give him the gate key-code. "Are you ready to see the two things, sweetheart?" I asked her.

She was. I changed into some jeans, sneakers and a top, and we walked out to the barn. She held my hand and skipped all the way. We walked into the cool shade inside the barn and when she saw Misty and Buddy, she squealed with excitement. "Sage, you have horses! Yeet!"

"Yes, I do," I said. "Would you like to feed them and pet them?"

She couldn't speak she was so excited, and she just nodded, her hair floating around her in that halo. I kept vegetables and apples to feed them, and we fed them a couple of carrots and an apple. "What are their names, Sage?" she asked.

"This one is Misty," I told her. "She's a mare and she's seven, just a little older than you. This is Buddy. He's very old for a horse, 22, and he likes beautiful girls to ride him. Would you like to ride him?"

She was so excited she could hardly breathe. I put a bridle on Buddy and led him outside. I didn't bother with a saddle. I loved riding them bareback, and I thought she would like the contact. Buddy was fat and soft and as lazy as an old dog. He was absolutely gentle and safe for her to sit on, even if I wasn't around. I lifted her up and she got a handful of his mane.

I led him around the barn a couple of times and asked her if she wanted to try by herself. She did, so I went and bridled Misty and we ambled down beside the driveway until we could see Jacks, mowing. He noticed us, after a minute, and waved. Reynolds waved excitedly to him and he killed the mower.

"Watch me, Daddy!" she called.

We rode down the fence so he could see us, and when we turned back toward the barn, I heard the mower start again. We rode down to the lake and let the horses stand in the water and drink with us on their backs. When we got back to the barn, she hugged Buddy's head and told him he was a "good boy." He seemed gratified by the praise, and we fed them another carrot and went back to the house.

Julie had made us sandwiches and another glass of lemonade. When Jacks came to pick her up we were snuggled up in a big chair in my sunroom, reading Reynolds' book. He just stood in the doorway, and the most wistful look came over his face. He shook his head a little, and came into the room until she saw him.

She jumped up and flew over to hug him. He knelt and hugged her, while she overwhelmed him with the tale of her adventure. "Jacks, do you think I could talk to you for a minute?" I asked.

"Honey, would you be okay if I talked to your father for a second while you read?"

She agreed, and I took him into the library. I left the doors open so she could see us, but we were out of little earshot.

"Jacks, you have a beautiful little girl," I told him.

He grinned. The guy was really charming. "Yeah, she's my angel," he said. "She's a very good girl, Sage."

"I can see that," I said. "Look, I know it's none of my business, and I'm not meaning to pry or intrude, but do you need a job, Jacks?"

He shifted from foot to foot and looked embarrassed. "Do you want me to mow your lawn, or something? It's kinda big for me, Sage. I really don't have the equipment..."

I interrupted him. "No, Jacks, someone does that who Paul arranges. I don't know anything about that. What did you work at before you lost your job?"

"I was a salesman," he said. "I worked for a furniture manufacturer, but they went out of business. I've tried a couple of furniture stores, but they're hard to work for and I have Reynolds. I have to find her a babysitter, and I hate leaving her."

"I'm going to have to ask you this, and feel free to tell me it's none of my business, but what about her mom?" I asked.

He hesitated for a minute. "Okay, it's none of your business," he said. "I'm not trying to be rude. She's not around, okay?"

"Yes, I understand," I said. "Would you take a job if I offered it to you?"

"Doing what?" he asked. "I have a degree in marketing. It's pretty useless. What would I do?"

"I have no idea," I told him. "I would just turn you over to my HR department and they would see where they thought you would fit. I don't do any of that, but I have good people working for me."

"How much do you pay?" he asked.

"I have no idea about that, either," I said. "How much do you make mowing lawns?"

He grinned ruefully. "Not that much. I keep food on the table and a roof over our heads. That's about it. I'm not trying to come off ungrateful, Sage. It's not steak I keep on the table and we don't live in a 'castle'." He laughed at the "castle" reference. "I do need a job, Sage, but it has to pay for a good daycare for Reynolds and not involve much travel. She means everything to me."

"I understand. I'll give you my card and the number of the head of my HR. I'll give him a call and tell him to give you an interview. Is that okay?"

"It is more than okay," he said. "You are an amazing woman, Sage. You've been so nice to Reynolds, and I'm very grateful. I have mad hustle, but that only gets you so far. I'm doing the best I can. We've had... some bad... breaks. I'm trying to get us back on our feet. Thanks for being the kind of person you are."

"That little doll in there deserves that mad hustle," I told him. "She also deserves a steak and a castle. You just give them a call, okay, Jacks?"

He promised, and we went back to get Reynolds. I walked them to the door, and Reynolds pulled me down so she could kiss and hug me. I felt a lump rising in my throat. "Can I come back and see you again?" she asked. "Can I come back and ride Buddy? I love Buddy."

"Reynolds..." Jacks started to object.

I cut him off. "Of course you can, baby. Is it okay if I call you and we make a date?"

"Oh, yes, but I don't have a phone," she said.

"We'll work something out," I promised. They went out and started down the drive. I noticed Jacks was pulling his lawnmower, and something occurred to me.

"Jacks, wait a minute," I called. I hurried out to them. "Are you walking home?"

I could tell he was embarrassed again. "Yeah, we don't have a car," he said.

"Don't move," I told them.

I had a truck. It was a new GMC 3500 HD Denali. I rarely used it, but I pulled my horse trailer when I wanted to ride somewhere other than home, and I had an RV I sometimes pulled. I got it and drove it around to them. I got out and handed the keys to Jacks. "You can use this," I told him. "It's too hot for walking. Reynolds is going to be exhausted and you can't pull that mower."

He looked at me with his mouth open. He recovered after a minute. "No, Sage. Hell no. I'm not taking that. What if I wrecked it? It'd take me the rest of my life to pay for it. We'll be fine. We're used to it."

I was a little taken aback, but he wasn't through. "Sage, I don't want to seem ungrateful, but I don't think I'm going to be talking to the guy at your company, either. I kind of need to make my own way. It probably seems dumb to you, but I'd just prefer to find my own job."

It did seem dumb to me, and ungrateful. I wasn't going to make a deal out of it. I'd tried to be nice. "It's up to you, Jackson," I said, deliberately using his full name.

Reynolds was looking from one to the other of us and she grabbed my hand. "Daddy, I don't want to walk all the way home," she said. "It's hot, and my legs get tired. Can't we at least let Sage give us a ride? Will you please just give us a ride, Sage?"

I looked down at that little angel and melted. I looked over at Jackson, and he was visibly struggling between his pride, or whatever his problem was, and his love for his daughter. I could tell he didn't want to give in, and the muscles in his jaw tightened and relaxed, but he ate it and looked at me.

"Will you give us a ride, please, Sage?"

"I will," I said. I started up the truck to get the air going while he loaded the mower in the back. Reynolds got in the back seat; I buckled her in and got behind the wheel. Jackson came and got in the passenger seat. It was awkward as fuck, and we didn't exchange a word except when he gave me directions, but Reynolds chattered away and sort of filled the silence.

They lived in a shithole. It was one of those low-income places, there was a party going on two doors down with red-neck music blasting, and there were two meth-hoes sitting on the wall in front of where we pulled up.

"That's Lue and Jenny," Reynolds told me. "I don't like them."

"No, I can see why, honey," I told her. "We'll just sit in here where it's cool while your father gets the mower out. Then you can just walk by them, okay?"

"Yes, they swear a lot and I don't like to talk to them," she said.

When he lifted it down, I got out and helped her down. I hugged her and kissed her cheek. Jackson was pulling the mower toward us and I got back in the truck and closed the door. He stopped by the door as if he wanted to say something, but I just kept the window up and after a minute, he took Reynolds' hand and they moved toward the building. I backed out and drove home. I was mad as hell.

I try to be a good person. I know that I'm lucky as hell to be in my position. My father left me very well off. He owned 25 trucks and a warehouse when he adopted me. He'd gradually expanded while I was growing up, and by the time I graduated from college, he let me take control. He had a good bit of cash, and I bought into containers. Things snowballed, and we just kept expanding.

I try to give back to the community when I have the chance. I don't kick puppies and I thought I had been perfectly kind and reasonable. Evidently, Jackson felt I was intruding, and who was I to tell him his feelings were wrong? I guess I was intruding, but I had tried to offer him a hand up and he bit my hand. Fuck him. That was my thought, but I remembered the look on Reynolds' face when she walked into the barn and saw the horses. I also remembered the feeling of that soft little hand in mine. Whatever I didn't like about Jackson, and I could think of plenty, there was no doubt he loved his little girl. I knew he would take a bullet for her. Why couldn't he take a job and the loan of a truck for her? I sighed. Why did life have to be so difficult?

Fuck it, I felt good about myself. I went on vacation. The sun and the surf soon had me recharged and ready. I cruised the scene, danced my little ass off and had a blast. There were some large contracts to work on when I got home, and I had to fly to Houston and Los Angeles to make sure we landed them. When I got back from Los Angeles, the second day after I was back, I was driving home and stopped at the gate. I saw her. She stood up from where she had been sitting under the tree and waved at me. Damn. Here I was all happy, and now there was a little blonde angel over there waving at me.

I sighed, put my vehicle in park and got out. I could hear the sound of the lawnmower over behind a group of trees. "Hi, Sage." That little voice broke through my barriers.