Page 18 of Her Honorable Hero

“Whatchya doing? Wanna come look out the window with me, Jeremy?”

His eyes widened with pleasure as he turned to his frazzled mother. “Yeah, can I Mom? Can I?” Miranda walked over with her little charge.

“Hi, I’m Miranda Slade,” she said holding Jeremy.

Susan smiled around the other three adults in the aisle of the train. “I’m Susan. Thanks for catching my little monster.”

“I’m not a monster. I’m Ironman,” the boy chimed in.

Everyone but Miranda laughed.

“You look like Ironman,” she said seriously. Then she turned to Susan. “It wasn’t a problem,” she said with a grin. “I played softball, I like a good game of catch. Can he come sit with me while you get settled with your daughter?”

“Are you sure?” the woman asked. Griff and Josiah let the women talk out the particulars as they put the luggage away.

“I’m positive,” Miranda assured her.

“That’d be great.”

Hope took that moment to let her presence be known as she started to wiggle in her mother’s arms. “Want down,” she whined.

“As a matter of fact, he can sit with me as long as he’d like. It’s not a problem.”

Griff sighed. Well, at least he’d gotten Miranda to agree to a date, and had the pleasure of her snuggling up against him.

“I don’t want to be an inconvenience.” Susan shifted Hope in her arms. The little girl looked at everyone with suspicious eyes again since she was being ignored. Then her stare shifted to Griff and suddenly, like the sun showing up after a thunderstorm, she smiled. “Hiya!”

All of the adults laughed and said ‘Hello’ or ‘Hiya’ back to Hope.

“I’m serious, I would love it if Jeremy sat with me,” Miranda reiterated.

“I wanna sit with Mira, Mom,” Jeremy piped up.

“How’d you know my nickname?” Miranda asked the little boy. “That’s what the kids at school used to call me. You’re pretty smart.”

He giggled as she gently poked his tummy. She turned and started walking back to her seat.

The train started again. “Susan, would you like a cup of coffee? I’m going to send the men for refreshments,” Scarlett said.

“You are?” Josiah said with amusement as he stroked his hand down his wife’s straight, blond hair.

“Yep. Miranda, what would you like to drink?” Scarlett called out to her.

“I’d kill for a cup of coffee. Jeremy, would you like apple or orange juice?” Miranda asked.

“Grape. Where are they going? Mommy, can I go with them?” He wiggled to be let out of Miranda’s arms. She let him down.

“You can’t go with them. You have to stay on this car with us,” Susan said. Griff watched as the boy’s face scrunched up.

“Susan, how about we show him how the automatic door works between the railroad cars, then have him go sit back with Miranda? He could even press the button to open the door,” Griff suggested.

“Can I Mom? Can I?” Jeremy asked in a familiar refrain as he bounced on his feet.

Susan shot Griff a grateful smile. “Sure, they’ll show you, but then you go right back to Miranda,” she admonished.

“Okay, Mommy.” He grabbed Griff’s hand and started tugging him toward the back of the car. He and Josiah grinned at one another, reveling in the child’s enthusiasm.

“Hold on, Partner. We need to ask your mom what she would like to drink,” Josiah told the boy. Griff watched as Susan fumbled for her purse.