Maxwells Smile

something about that man she couldn’t stay away from. Perhaps it was his willingness to be open and honest with her. And his easy acceptance of Maxwell.
    And because she had opened her heart to receive.
    “Quite a guy,” she whispered, and entered the waiting room with a smile for her son.

Chapter Eight
    After a delicious meal of pepperoni pizza and far too many breadsticks, Sam helped Rachel do the few dishes. It wasn’t like he was trying to impress her. Washing dishes was something he enjoyed, and it reminded him of his mother. And heck, if a guy couldn’t dry the occasional dish or two, then what good was he? Besides, he’d suggested they see the newest romance at the theater later and she agreed to the date.
    “You brought over more DVDs?” Maxwell tromped into the kitchen after taking the pizza box out to the trash.
    Sam had left the bag near the door. “Yep. Some of my neighbors saw your posters and I told them about the charity drive you planned all by yourself, and they dug into their stacks of movies. There’s some great Disney movies in there. Tarzan is my favorite.” He noticed Maxwell’s perplexed look. “You seriously haven’t watched a lot of movies, have you, buddy?”
    “I like documentaries,” Maxwell said.
    “Well, there you go. They’ve got some great documentaries on the big screen. One about wildlife in the Arctic is playing right now at the theater.” He exchanged looks with Rachel and got an approving nod. “You want to go, buddy?”
    Maxwell glanced at his mom, and she nodded again. “Yes!”
    “All right then. I promised your mom a movie tonight, so how about tomorrow night after she and I get back from looking at the property she has to show me?”
    “Deal.” Maxwell high-fived Sam. “I’m going to go sort these.” He grabbed the bag of DVDs and scrambled upstairs.
    “We’re heading out back, Maxwell,” Rachel called. “Come join us when you’re finished.” She grabbed a folded blanket from the stool by the back door and tilted her head toward the patio. “Want to go sit under the stars until the babysitter arrives?”
    Sam tossed the drying towel onto the table. “I keep getting the best offers from you. You spoil me, Rachel McHenry.”
    Her smile was the best reward a guy could get just for drying a few dishes. But more important, she’d given him permission to cry this afternoon. He’d felt weird about it at the time, but after he’d had a long bawl in the rust bucket he’d actually felt…lighter. Nowhere near ready to give up his grief over losing his brother, but closer to climbing toward an acceptance he hoped would soon be his.
    And it was all because Rachel had cared enough to follow him outside and touch him. Her aim was so on the mark, he wondered if she was aware of her accuracy. And then it didn’t matter, because he’d felt her sincerity and knew she was real.
    “Let’s go look at some stars.”
    * * *
    Rachel laid the plaid blanket on the grass in the middle of the yard, next to a bush of blooming peonies that wafted a heady fragrance through the warm air. Twilight had slipped away, but the streetlight out front emitted ambient light across the yard, so they weren’t sitting in the dark. She stretched out on her stomach.
    Sam joined her, raising an eyebrow as she ran her fingers over the lawn.
    “I love the smell of grass,” she explained. “I think it’s in the running for my top three favorite things in life.”
    “Wow. That must be some damn good grass,” he said with his patented wink. He shifted to his side, propping his head against his palm. “What are numbers two and one?”
    Rachel rolled to her back, blissfully comfortable alongside the man, and closed her eyes as she imagined the sound she loved most. It made her smile.
    “Number two is the sound of a child’s laughter. It’s like nothing else out there. I’m blessed to hear it every day.” She opened her eyes to find Sam looking a bit skeptical. “Maxwell laughs at things, like accomplishing a time test or the perfect layout of his toys. I know he’s a little odd, but I wouldn’t have him any other way.”
    “Neither would I,” Sam agreed. “He’s taught me a thing or two in the little time I’ve known you both. Who have a thought he could organize an entire drive with just a little help from adults?”
    “Yes. It doesn’t sound like such a big thing to put movies in children’s hospital rooms. I can’t believe Kid Flicks was founded by four