Lucinda smiled down at her little man. She watched him clutch something in his pocket, trying to keep it a secret from her. She placed a hand upon her slightly rounded hip.
"What you got to hide," she asked, her voice soft and sweet like honey.
Lucas jumped at the sudden question as he sneaked towards the cookie jar and pulled two small peanut butter cookies that Lucinda had made over the weekend with them.
"Nothin'," Lucas lied carefully all the while hoping that his new pet wouldn't chirp.
"That right," Lucinda asked with a knowing smile as she moved closer to him, knowing that he was lying, "Then let me take your coat off."
"No," Lucas answered as he moved quickly away from her, "It's cold in here. I may catch a cold and I don't want Sally May to get it."
"Lucas," Lucinda called to her son, her voice was hard but still held that honey side within it.
"It's nothin' Momma," Lucas lied again.
The bird chirped in his pocket and he closed his eyes, knowing full well that he'd been caught.
"Doesn't sound like nothin'," Lucinda teased as she looked down at her little man that had gotten caught in his own lie, "Show me what you got to hide."
Lucas pursed his lips and thought about it. He didn't want his momma to be upset with him for denying her to see what he had found. He carefully pulled the baby crow from his coat pocket and showed the animal o her.
"I found her," Lucas answered, "She broke a wing."
"Did you break it," Lucinda asked carefully as she cupped the bird in her own hands and brought it to her eye level, looking the pretty creature over.
"No Momma," he answered honestly, "I saved her. I named her Anastasia."
"Lucas what did your daddy tell you 'bout pickin' up lost puppy dogs?"
"Not to," he grumbled, "but she likes me. Honest she does. I'm gonna teach her to speak to me."
"You are are ya," she asked with a smile as she ran a finger softly over the soft feathers of the baby bird, "She is pretty."
"You gonna tell Daddy," he asked carefully as he watched his beautiful momma smile at his treasure.
"No," she said with a sigh as she handed Anastasia back to him, "I'm not gonna tell him."
Lucas beamed as he took the bird from her.
"You ain't?"
"Nope. You are Little Man," Lucinda said with a smirk.
"But Momma he's gonna say no," Lucas whined.
"You don't know that," she answered, she paused as she looked down at her beautiful baby boy who was growing up too quickly for her liking, "You're gettin' to be so much like your daddy."
