Chapter 2- The Good Kind Of Candy
Jo was sitting coloring in a motel room in some city. She didn't remember which one. Her daddy had told her, but she had seen a puppy in another car and hadn't heard him. She was on summer vacation before first grade and she was on a trip with her daddy.
Her mommy had to go and see her grandmother about something so Jo went with daddy on one of his trips. She couldn't be happier. She loved her daddy more than anything and wanted to go everywhere he went.
There was a knock at the door. Jo looked up from her coloring then at the bathroom door. Daddy was taking a shower. She bit her lip trying to decide if she should answer it. Daddy didn't say anything about not answering it. So she hopped off the chair and walked over to the door.
She opened it to a man who smiled down at her. "What's your name?" he asked in a warm tone. Jo eyed him up and down. She wasn't supposed to talk to strangers. She crossed her arms as her mommy always did.
"What's yours?" she asked pointedly. This caused the man to laugh. She liked his laugh, but she kept her arms crossed. He stopped laughing and smiled down at her. He bent down to her level which Jo appreciated. She didn't like it when grownups talked down to her.
"Fair enough," he said with a nod, "You can call me Lou. Your turn." Jo uncrossed her arms and stuck out her hand for him to shake.
"I'm Joanna Beth Harvelle, but you can call me Jo," she said. He grinned wider at her, shaking her tiny hand.
"Are you a friend of my daddy's?" Jo asked. She hoped he was, he smelled like candy. The good kind of candy her mommy never let her have.
"You could say that. He actually told me to watch you for a little while," Gabriel said. She eyed him. Her daddy would never do that. He'd never leave her with someone she'd never met before.
"You're lying. Are you a bad guy?" Jo asked raising a little blonde eyebrow at him. Gabriel held back a grin. He liked this little girl, a lot.
"Naw, do I look like a bad guy?" Gabriel asked. Jo studied him closer, getting right up in his face. He smelled so good; she really wanted to follow him wherever he went because he smelled that good.
"No, I guess not," Jo said stepping back to where she had been standing. She glanced at the bathroom door wondering when her daddy was gonna come out.
Gabriel thought for a moment. He needed to teach Bill a lesson, but Jo was proving harder than he had originally thought. She was smart, spunky, a lot like him actually.
"Do you like pranks?" Gabriel asked. Jo gave him a confused look. She wasn't sure she knew what pranks were.
"You mean like a whoopee cushion?" Jo asked. Gabriel grinned and nodded.
"Exactly like a whoopee cushion," Gabriel said glancing at the bathroom door. He motioned his hand a little bit making sure Bill stayed in there a little longer making the water the perfect temperature.
Jo grinned right back and nodded. She liked those toys. She always played tricks on the guys who came into the bar. It was funny; well it was funny until she got in trouble which was a lot.
Gabriel smiled. "Wanna play a prank on your daddy?" Gabriel asked knowing he could just zap her anywhere, but it was always more fun when they were cooperative.
Jo bit her lip mulling this over. She glanced back at the door. Her daddy thought some of her tricks were funny; well he did more than her mommy did. Maybe he'd think this was funny too and like it.
Jo nodded eagerly. Gabriel held out his hand for her to grab. He slowly stood up as she took his hand...