His Vow to Love by Shanae Johnson

Author:Shanae Johnson [Johnson, Shanae]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Those Johnson Girls

12

Savy felt a tickle move up her calf. She bit her lip but was unable to hide the giggle that escaped her mouth. She was too old to be playing footsie. But here she was seated at the Matthews's dinner table, tangling her bare feet with Charlie Matthews's boot.

Charlie was the only horseman she knew in town who'd never taken to cowboy boots. Even at a young age, Charlie had known he was going into the military to follow in Father Matthews's footsteps. So it was Charlie's combat boot that snaked around Savy's ankle to lift up her heel and rest her instep on his laces.

"I see someone wasn't playing around this afternoon," said Father Matthews.

Charlie's foot landed with a thud on the floor. Savy snapped her foot back under her own chair. When they looked up, the older man wasn't looking at either of them.

"This looks delightful, Miguel," said Father Matthews. "You truly know your way around a kitchen."

"It's fusion," said Miguel as he served up the steaming dish that smelled of onion and tomatoes and peppers.

Instead of tortillas, there were mashed potatoes beneath the salsa. The dish should not have worked. The watering of Savy's mouth and the grumbling of her belly reminded her how well the Midwest potatoes and the Mexican dishes fused.

"Miguel is going to be a chef when he grows up," said Foxy.

"I'm working on my knife skills," said Miguel as he placed a bowl of shredded cheese at the center of the table. "You'll notice how the cut of the onion and peppers are uniform because I julienned them. That's different from dicing, which is when you make them smaller and more square than rectangle."

"You should set another plate," said Foxy. "We're missing someone."

Savy's heart gave a little jump as she looked around the table. But all five children were accounted for. Sometimes her sister made predictions that came true. Sometimes, Foxy just said things that made no sense.

"I don't like vegetables," said Daria.

"You won't know they're there because they're so small," said Savy.

"Miguel just told me they're there." Daria turned to Father Matthews. "Vegetables are my kryptonite."

Father Matthews nodded sagely. "That's too bad. Spinach is what made my childhood hero Popeye, The Sailorman, grow strong."

"Who's Popeye? Was he your father? Are you going to be my grandpa?"

Father Matthews smiled indulgently at the child. Savy couldn't take her eyes off that smile. She'd often imagined him smiling at her like that when she became his daughter. That hadn't happened when she was just a little girl. He and his wife had only picked the boys from the foster home to come and live with them.

Father Matthews had never been anything but kind to her and her sisters. His wife, too, when she'd been alive. Tessa Matthews had been something out of a Disney fairy godmother lineup, the guardian angel every child would've loved having at their back.

Savy had told the woman that she would be marrying her son when she was just twelve years old.

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