"Take Me Out..Period."

Chapter 2


The sign was finally placed in front of the kid-friendly building, Bethanie sighed in relief and happiness. Her dream come true stood before her, well minus the hunky cowboy, but that would be remedied soon enough. Bright colored blocks spelled out "Sweet Blessings Daycare Center," on the new sign.
"It looks great." called one of the new teacher's she'd hired, Liv Johansen was just as excited as she was about getting the sign up. Because it meant they were one step closer to opening.
"I know, I can't wait!" she squealed, staring up appreciatively at the building. "We just need students and we'll be set."
"Did you call in the ad to the paper?" asked Liv, her green eyes sparkling in the sunlight.
Bethanie nodded her head, "Sure did. I just can't wait open house should go over without a hitch."
"Without a doubt!" said Janine, another teacher she'd lined up for the daycare, "We're ready for anything."
"Well ladies, I'm done for today, I'll be back bright and early on Monday to prepare for the open house. See you all then." grabbing her briefcase from the front steps, she walked toward her truck and climbed in. With a wave to her friends, she took off toward Jazzi's house anticipating the meeting of their little group of friends.
"I'm here, I'm here no need to wait any longer. The best thing since horseback riding has arrived." she smiled her easy going smile as she burst through the front door.
"Hey Beth!" called Charity, making a beeline for her best friend from across the room.
"Hey yourself, lil' lady." she tipped the cowboy hat she'd donned on the ride over.
"Oh please!" commented Lidia from across the room.
"Alright, alright, where is Keely?" asked Jazzi, immediately playing peacemaker between the core group of friends.
"Probably making out with Blaze, somewhere or other." chuckled Lidia.
"If I had a guy, that's what I'd be doing." added Bethanie, wistfully twisting a strand of blonde hair around her finger.
"It won't be long before Jazzi has you near married off." said Charity, patting her back.
Bethanie shrugged, doubting the validity of that claim, but nonetheless, best to pity her friends. "So where are these chips I've heard so much about?"
--
T.C. ducked into the tiny building he supposed was child-sized for a reason. It'd been one of the hardest decisions to make to take the care of his twins away from his mother and put them in daycare. But, as they were about to turn two in a few months, they were becoming more mobile. Poor Mama couldn't keep up with her quickly aging body. When he'd left the house in search of the "Sweet Blessings Daycare Center," his mom had been in tears. Breaking the news to her was even harder than the decision, staring into space wasn't a good sign.
"Hello, sir, welcome to Sweet Blessings Daycare Center." said a tiny blonde he recognized, yet he had no idea from where.
"Hello...do I know you?" he asked finally, it was incredible how much she looked like...
"I'm Bethanie Halloway." she replied, her blue eyes sparkled mischievously.
Finally, he placed her. Add a cowboy hat, some tight jeans and a tee shirt that proclaimed "Blondes Have More Fun," and you had the newest addition to the Rodeo Fan Club. "T.C. James, but you know that. I'm here to see about getting my daughters enrolled for the new season."
Her smile died on her lips, he could tell she'd just lost all interest in him. Kids. It was what he read in every young woman's eyes as he proudly displayed his twin daughters pictures. The wedding ring he'd stopped wearing last year got him in trouble. Women either stopped being interested because they were sure he was married, or they assumed he was divorced. Too much baggage for most women.
"Well, that's wonderful, see Liv over there for some paperwork. I'm sure I'll see you around, Mr. James." she nodded politely, adding a smile almost as an after thought.
"Yes, yes, see you around." sighing, he walked off toward the direction she'd pointed him in and grabbed up the forms from the polite woman behind the table.
After a full day of touring the tiny building he figured a pretty nice place for kids, he filled out the forms. What could it hurt to have such caring people looking after his children, even if the one in charge of it all disturbed him a bit. Seeing her made his world tilt off it's axis, and that was not good.