Page 8 of The Sandbar saga

Chapter 3

On Friday, Dr. Connerstood in the entryway, waiting for Katie to give her answer to the homework she was supposed to have done. She wanted to show him that he couldn't force her to talk. He wasn't her parent.

But, her curiosity over what her reward would be won out. He'd already helped her not have a nanny during the day. She wanted to know what he'd give her.

"I used to play in the rain." She bit the inside of her lip and looked down at his shoes.

He wore sneakers and jeans today. She was barefooted because she'd forgotten the time and hadn't expected him to come when she was watching television.

"You mean, run around and get wet?" he asked.

She shrugged. "We played chase."

"Who chased you?"

Her stomach ached. She shoved her hands in the pockets of her shorts.

Dr. Conner squatted in front of her, putting his face in her view so that she couldn't look away. She swallowed, wanting to cry, but she wouldn't. Not in front of him.

"Will you tell me who you played with?" he asked softly.

Her face heated, and she opened her mouth to breathe more air. "M-my dad," she whispered.

It was the first time she'd said his name since her mom punished her for talking about him. Even the nannies had instructions from her mom not to let her tell stories about her dad.

"It sounds like a fun way to enjoy the rain. Luckily for us, it's a warm day, and I promised you a reward for doing your homework." He raised his dark brows. "Would you like to go with me on the path? I'm curious to see exactly how far it is from your house to the stream."

She nodded, coming up on her toes. She was eager to see if the deer and her fawns were still there. Ever since Dr. Conner had told her about the babies, she'd looked all around the backyard and even in the trees that separated the path from the property.

"I have one more surprise for you." He dropped his gaze to her bare feet. "It requires shoes, though. Do you think you can go get a pair on and make it back to me in 60 seconds?"

She turned and ran up the stairs, taking up the challenge. Her heart beat wildly in excitement. It seemed like years since she had anyone around to go places with her.

In her bedroom, she dropped to her knees beside the bed and shoved the bedspread out of the way to look underneath. She found her tennis shoes where she'd kicked them off and pulled them on her feet, not stopping long enough to make sure she put a pair of socks on first.

Scrambling to her feet, she rushed out of the room, down the hallway, and ignoring all rules, ran down the stairs, and came to an ungraceful stop in front of Dr. Conner.

"Ready?" he asked.

She nodded.

He opened the front door and stopped before he let her follow. "If you don't like the surprise, we can still go on the path. Okay?"

She leaned to the side to try and look past him. Unable to see outside, she nodded.

He swung the door open. She walked out onto the concrete walkway and spotted two bicycles in the driveway. One was larger than the other. She skipped out to the smaller one.

The seat went up to her waist. She ran her hand over the handlebars. It was a black and purple mountain bike with knobby tires. She could probably pedal all over the neighborhood.

"Do you know how to ride?" asked Dr. Conner from behind her.

She glanced over her shoulder and nodded, answering his question from the other day, before turning back to the bike. Hoping with all her heart, he was going to let her keep the bicycle, she added, "Yes."

"Excellent." He moved over and toed the kickstand on his bike. "If we ride down the street and turn at the end of the block, we can get right on the path. Why don't you lead the way, and I'll follow?"

She wiped her sweaty palms on her shorts and grabbed the handlebars. Managing to turn the bike around, she stepped over the bar and straddled the bicycle. It was much bigger than her old bike. Probably made for an adult, and she was only four foot ten inches tall.

Gazing down the slight slope of the driveway, she put one foot on the pedal. Almost stopping and telling him she couldn't do it, she hopped on one foot, leery about hoisting her butt up on the seat.