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Taking the stairs two at a time, Will hurried to Caroline’s room. Rosalyn was brushing Caroline’s long black hair. His heart felt squeezed that he was here when it should be his brother Adam with her.
“Rosalyn, I’ll read to her and I’ll call you when I’m ready to go back downstairs.”
“Yes, sir,” Rosalyn said, looking at Caroline in the mirror. “How pretty you look, Caroline. Here’s Uncle Will.”
As Rosalyn left the room, Caroline turned to look at him. He wondered if anyone would ever be able to reach her, and if he would ever stop hurting over the tragedy in her life. “You do look so pretty, Caroline.” He picked her up. “I’ll read to you. You find the book you want, okay?”
She looked at the bookcase as he approached it and set her on her feet. She smelled sweet, fresh and clean, a faint lilac scent left from soap. Her pink pajamas covered in kittens were soft. She touched a book and he pulled it out.
“Ah, good choice,” he said, picking her up again and holding the book. He carried her to the rocker to sit with her on his lap.
“Caroline, my friend Miss Ava would like to spend the day with you tomorrow. I’ll be home, but I’ll be in my office some of the time. Will this be all right with you?”
She gazed at him solemnly and nodded.
“Good. She wants to help you with your reading and she’s trying to find a reading tutor for you.”
As Caroline focused her big brown eyes on him, he marveled at the length and thickness of her lashes.
“Caroline, Miss Ava has sad moments sometimes because she has lost someone she loved just as you have. She was married, but her husband is no longer alive and there are times this makes her sad.”
Caroline gazed at him wide-eyed and solemn. How much did she understand? Did she feel any sympathy or a bond with Ava?
“Now let’s look at this book you picked about the brave puppy and the rescued kitten.”
He held Caroline, rocking her as he read to her, his mind wandering to Ava and back to Caroline. Halfway through the book Caroline’s breathing deepened. He continued reading a few more pages until he saw her dark lashes on her cheeks. He carried the sleeping child to bed and covered her lightly, brushing a kiss on her cheek and standing over her.
“Adam, I’m sorry,” he whispered, hurting and feeling helpless, something he was unaccustomed to in his life.
Ava looked around to see Will walk up and pull a chair close to hers.
“Sorry to leave you so long. Caroline is asleep now and Rosalyn is with her.”
“How many nannies has she had?
“Actually, Rosalyn is the only nanny we’ve had. She was her nanny when Adam was alive. Rosalyn had fifteen years’ experience, plus her own kids and grandkids. She had great references.”
“I’m surprised she didn’t become a substitute mother to Caroline, someone your niece would relate to emotionally.”
“Rosalyn has tried—sometimes I think too hard. She comes on too strong and it makes Caroline withdraw. Rosalyn means well and loves Caroline. She’s very good to her. I told her your plan to stay with Caroline tomorrow, and I’ll be home, so I gave her the day off. Still want to do that?”
“Yes, I do. I’d like to get to know her. I don’t expect to need you,” she said, smiling at him.
“I know, but just in case.”
“We’ll be fine, and I appreciate your concern. It’s only a day, perhaps two at the most.” She gazed into his dark eyes and could tell he was assessing her, trying to decide whether she could take care of Caroline or not. “By the way, you were right about her ability to read. The two books I read to her today are both beginner reading level and I know she can read them. I realized after a few pages she knew when to turn the page without being told, so she had to be reading along with me. Then I began to do things to make certain, like pausing on the last line and looking at the picture. Little things, but she had to be reading with me to know, because otherwise she would turn before I indicated I was through.”
“That’s a plus, but not too great if she won’t participate at school.”
“Let’s see what happens this summer. Time helps some on loss.”
He focused on her again. “Sorry about yours. I told Caroline. As always, I got no reaction from her except a stare, but she knows about your husband.”
“I don’t know if she’ll bond, but I feel a tie of sorts with her. As for my coping, I keep busy and am involved with children and coworkers, so I don’t think about it as much.”
“Maybe you need to get out and socialize more,” he said.
She smiled. “I socialize plenty. And I know you do. If there’s someone in your life and you want to see her tomorrow evening, go right ahead.”
His eyes twinkled. “Don’t try to get rid of me. There’s no one in my life and the only woman I’m interested in seeing tomorrow night is you. Aside from Caroline, I have a life. Go to dinner with me Friday night and I’ll show you.”
Her heart skipped a beat. For the first time since Ethan’s loss, she was tempted to go out with someone else. She wanted to accept, yet it would be folly to get involved with Will. He was a heartbreaker, with a reputation for going from woman to woman. Right now she needed no such distraction in her life. He was a sizzling attraction that she’d fought steadily through the afternoon and evening.
She was not complicating her life by seeing him beyond these two days. The physical reaction she had to him had shaken her. She didn’t want to risk succumbing to an affair with Will because it would be brief and meaningless to him. A casual affair was the last thing she ever wanted in her life. With Will, she suspected a date would ultimately lead to an affair. The best course was to go home and never see Will Delaney again.
“Thank you, but I think I should stay right here Friday night.”
“Scared to go out with me?”
“Definitely,” she said, smiling at him. “I don’t need a complication in my life. I’m here only to help Caroline. As quiet as she is, she’s adorable, Will. In her own unobtrusive way, she wraps herself around your heart. I can see why you’re concerned.”
“Looks like I have two females to win over now,” he said quietly, and her pulse jumped a notch.
“Stop flirting, Will,” she said, smiling at him.
“I can’t. I want to take you out.”
“It isn’t going to happen. Your brother must have been a great parent,” she said, determined to get the subject changed.
“He was, and he loved her beyond measure.”
“Were you and your brother close?”
“Yes, the closest brother. I’m close with my other brothers and some friends I’ve known all my life.”
“I noticed the rodeo memorabilia in your room. Do you still ride?”
“I haven’t for the past two years. Mostly because of lack of time.”
They talked about their friends and their lives until she realized the hour was late. Standing, she smiled at him as he came to his feet.
“It’s past my bedtime. Plus, I haven’t taken time to unpack. I should go.”
“I’ll go up with you in case you’ve forgotten the way.”
“Have you ever thought about getting Caroline a puppy?” Ava asked as they headed upstairs
“No, it never occurred to me,” he admitted, glancing at her. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of that, or why it wasn’t suggested earlier by someone.”
“It may not be something she wants.”
“It would be a little puppy to take care of. How could she resist loving one if it has a good disposition? When we were kids, my brothers and I had dogs. That’s a good idea,” he said. “I should have thought of a dog myself.”
She nodded. “A puppy might elicit a few laughs from her. Puppies are hard to resist. They do have sharp teeth though, and that can be a drawback for little kids.”
“I’ll get someone to check into which breeds are good with children. Big or little,” he mused. “Seems like little might be easier.”
“It probably would be. Talk to a veterinarian.”
“That’s a great idea. I need to keep you around.” Startled, she glanced at him and smiled when she saw his smile and realized he was teasing her.
They reached her suite and he entered with her, switching on lights and taking her arm. “Come look around and see if you need anything.”
“I’m sure I won’t.”
He turned her to face him. “I’ll be forever grateful to the principal who gave me your name.”
He stood close and his hands were on her arms. Her heart raced, and at the moment she was no longer thinking of him as Caroline’s uncle, a man with a problem who needed her help. Instead, she could only see the handsome, sexy man who was inches away and holding her lightly. When he looked at her mouth, she couldn’t get her breath and wondered if he could hear her heart pounding. She wanted to wrap her arms around him to kiss him. Her desire shocked her.
“I think you’re bringing me back into the world and I’m not certain I’m ready,” she whispered.
“You’re ready,” he said in a husky voice. “I can see it in your eyes.” He leaned closer and bent down to brush her lips with his.
The moment his mouth touched hers, she closed her eyes. Her heart thudded. She had not been kissed by a man since Ethan—six long years ago. Her pulse roared in her ears.
Will’s breath was warm. He brushed her lips again and then his mouth settled possessively on hers, hard, demanding, no longer light and tentative.
Her toes curled and her heart pounded. Her body reacted to his kiss from head to toe. She slipped her arms up to wrap them around his neck and hold him, feeling his body hard and warm against hers.
His tongue went deep, thrusting over hers, creating an intimacy they hadn’t had and taking them to a different level in their relationship, shifting from business to pleasure, from impersonal to personal. For the moment she wanted him as she had wanted few men in her life. Her reactions to him surprised her. Reasoning stopped while her body and heart ruled.
She held him tightly, kissing him back and feeling his heart pounding with hers.
Even though she had decided to keep her relationship purely professional with him to protect her heart from succumbing to his charm, she couldn’t resist his kisses. She had been steeped in grief so long, this was sunshine pouring into a dark night. Somewhere within her conscience a dim voice whispered stop, but she paid no heed. She felt the rough stubble of his whiskers, inhaled his aftershave, savored his mouth.
How long they kissed, she had no idea. Will’s hand traveled to her nape, warm, lightly caressing her, and then his hand slipped down her back to her waist, then lower over the curve of her bottom.
Pausing, she looked up at him while he still held her. “We should stop this, Will. It’s total foolishness. Risks neither of us want.”
“Speak for yourself.” His brown eyes blazed and he wound both hands in her hair. “I want you, Ava. I want to know you,” he said. “And you like being kissed. Your response sets me on fire,” he whispered, pulling her close again and then kissing away any answer she might have.
Again, a wave of desire swept her and she held him tightly, kissing him, relishing the feel of his hard body against hers. She tingled from head to toe, heat pooling in her. Special kisses when they shouldn’t be. Or was it simply so long since she had been held by a man? Thoughts spun away and she was lost in his kisses, returning them passionately until she had to stop.
“Will,” she said, trying to get some firmness to her breathless voice. “You need to go.”
Desire blazed in his dark eyes, making her racing heart pound faster. He wrapped his fingers in her hair to hold her head. “For now,” he said. He released her, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.
Immobile, she stared at the closed door, but all she saw was Will. Locks of his dark hair falling over his forehead, his gaze boring into her, his mouth red from kisses. Had she made a giant mistake by succumbing?
Not succumbing—she had kissed him passionately in return, wanting more. It was a good thing she had only two days here. Will was a sexy, appealing man. Caroline, an adorable child. Both could wind around her heartstrings until she was bound in unbreakable shackles with a man who had no intention of a serious relationship and a child who wasn’t hers and would soon go out of her life forever.
Each event would lead to heartbreak.
Three
In the morning, Ava stepped into the kitchen to find Will’s chef working at a counter.
Short, stocky, an apron around his waist, the man paused and smiled. “Good morning.”
Before she could answer, Will entered the room and for seconds as her gaze met his, she forgot all else. In a knit shirt and chinos, he looked casual, more appealing than ever. “Good morning,” he said, gazing warmly at her. He touched her arm lightly and his tone became brisk.
“Ava, meet my very fine chef, Rainey Powers. Rainey, meet Miss Ava Barton, a teacher who will be working with Caroline.
“Good morning,” she said, smiling at the man who had thick red curly hair and big brown eyes.
“What’s your preference for breakfast, Ava?” Will asked. “Rainey has a specialty—omelets. If you would like one, just tell him what kind.”
“I usually have some fruit.”
“You can have that, too,” Will said, “but don’t pass up a chance to have one of his amazing omelets.”
After she decided on spinach and mushroom, Will led her to a casual dining area overlooking the veranda and pool.
“You look gorgeous today,” he said, pulling a chair out for her, his eyes on her blue cotton shirt and matching pants.
“Thank you,” she said, aware of how close he stood. When his gaze lowered to her mouth, her heartbeat quickened. He sat across the table where a newspaper lay folded neatly and his coffee cup was half full.
He picked up a pitcher. “Orange juice?”
“Yes, please,” she said. “I’m surprised Caroline isn’t here.”
“Occasionally, she sleeps late.”
“Maybe she’s dreading the day and being with someone new.”
He paused in his pouring. “Maybe. You’ll never know. I have no idea what runs through her mind. Good or bad. She accepts everything, comments on nothing. It’s that total unresponsiveness that will hurt her in school.”
“Have you considered home schooling or a special school?”
“I’m afraid with home schooling she would become more withdrawn and antisocial. I don’t want a special school. At least not for now. I’d rather try to find someone who can break through the guard she keeps. If I ever do, I think all the withdrawal will vanish.”
“I imagine you’re hopeful with each thing and person you’ve tried,” she said, watching him nod. “Don’t get too hopeful with me. I’m out of my element here. I have never worked with a child who had problems like this.”
“I understand. But no one has higher recommendations than you in this field. I know a happy little girl is locked away somewhere inside her. I want her back again.”
“I’ll do my best with her.”
“I’m sure you will. How did you sleep?” he asked, changing the topic abruptly.
“Fine,” she answered, yet her cheeks grew warm because she instantly thought about their kisses.
He looked amused. “About as well as I did.”
“I met your housekeeper in the upstairs hall this morning.”
“Edwina. My staff are all here on Tuesdays and Fridays and then some of them are just here when I ask them to be or when I’m in town.”
“So you travel a lot.”
“Yes. I hear Rosalyn.” He stood, and in seconds Rosalyn and Caroline walked through the door.
“Good morning,” Will said, greeting them both and picking up Caroline to hug her. The girl’s pigtails swung. She wrapped her arm around his neck and hugged him in return, Ava noticed.
“Rosalyn, go give your order to Rainey and then come join us. He knows Caroline’s. I already have places set.”
As Rosalyn left, Will set Caroline in one of the chairs.
“So Rosalyn joins you for breakfast. That’s nice.”
“Rosalyn is like a relative. Actually, all of my staff have worked for me long enough now that I feel like they’re my family. And you’ll have to adjust your view of me again.”
“I shouldn’t have told you what I expected.” He was one continual surprise, and she promised herself never to prejudge anyone again. “The articles and press about you just present a different type person—not quite so down-to-earth and caring. I’m impressed,” she said.
“Good. That’s a step in the right direction.”
Rosalyn joined them and conversation became impersonal, polite, chatty among the three adults, swirling around the silent child as if she didn’t exist.
After breakfast they divided up, Rosalyn leaving, Will heading to his office while Ava went to the upstairs playroom with Caroline. “Come to my room, Caroline. I want to get a package I brought. I have a new game for you.”
Obediently, Caroline followed and Ava retrieved a large colorful sack that held gift bags and books. She pulled out a gift to hand to Caroline, seeing no spark of interest in Caroline’s eyes.
“This is for you,” Ava said, setting it in front of the girl, who glanced up at Ava and then looked at the sack. After pulling out tissue paper, she picked up a game that she turned in her hands.
“Thank you,” she whispered politely and set it on the floor.
“I’ll show you how to play it. All right?”
Caroline nodded.
“Before we do, here’s another little present I got for you.”
Caroline opened a small gift sack and once again tossed aside blue and red tissue paper to reveal a small brown teddy bear.
“Thank you,” she said, looking intently at it.
“You’re welcome. Now I’ll show you how to play this game. Let’s go to the playroom.”
In the playroom, Ava put her things on a sofa and turned to Caroline. “I think you’ll like this game. We can sit on the floor to play.” Ava kicked off her shoes while she got out cards.
“See these, Caroline,” she said, glad when she noticed that the girl still held the small bear. Was she grasping at straws about Caroline’s responses the way Will did? “Each card has a letter. We’re going to place them all facedown,” Ava added, putting cards facedown in a row. “Then we’ll take turns. Each of us can turn over two cards and the object of the game is to match the letters. If you turn over an A and a C, the next time if you turn over an A, try to find the matching A again. The one with the most pairs of matching letters wins the game. Is that clear?”
When Caroline nodded, Ava continued, “As soon as I put out all the cards, you can go first. Do you want to help me put the cards facedown?”
Caroline shook her head no, so Ava placed the cards in silence. As soon as she finished, she told Caroline to go ahead.
During the game, Ava glanced around to see Will standing in the doorway. As soon as she looked up, he left and she wondered how long he had been there.
Other than her silence, Ava thought she could be playing with any first grader she had known, and Caroline was just going into kindergarten.
Midmorning they paused for a snack and watched a short movie Ava had brought. Still holding the teddy, Caroline watched intently, never laughing or even smiling at the funny spots, and Ava didn’t think she was going to get to know the solemn little girl even a degree better. Ava’s satisfaction over Caroline’s abilities with letters and words was offset by her growing frustration at being unable to get a glimmer of emotional response.
The person who would get the job of working with Caroline had a big task ahead.
By eleven o’clock Ava asked Caroline if she would like to swim and Caroline nodded. Rosalyn had told Ava that she had laid out Caroline’s swimsuits and she could get one on by herself.
At the pool Ava shed the oversize T-shirt she had worn and her flip-flops while she watched Caroline go in cautiously.
Wondering whether Will would show up, Ava was acutely conscious of her new swimsuit—a conservative navy one-piece. The water was just cool enough to be enticing, and the circular pool was beautiful with a waterfall and a fountain.
She relaxed when Will did not show, nor did she see any sign of him.
Caroline splashed in the shallow end and then when Ava asked, Caroline showed her how she could swim, tread water and float.
Eventually, they lay on inflatable mattresses, looking at billowing thunderheads against a deep blue sky.
Will kept his word and disappeared for the day. By the time Caroline stretched out for quiet time in her room, she had a stack of books beside her.
Ava lay next to her.
“All right, which one do you want me to read to you first?”
Caroline handed her a book.
“Teddy’s New House,” she read. “You turn pages, Caroline.”
Halfway through the book, Ava stopped reading before the last word on the page. “Do you know that word?” she asked.
Caroline looked a long time at the word and nodded.
“Will you read it to me? I would like that so much,” Ava said quietly, holding her breath and wondering if she had alienated Caroline further.
There was a long silence and Ava waited, finally turning the page and reading the next one. Just before she reached the end, she paused and waited, finally reading the word. She did the same on the next pages. She was on the next to the last page when she paused again before reading the last word.
Caroline whispered, “Shoe.”
“Thank you, Caroline.” Ava’s heart skipped a beat when she heard Caroline’s faint voice. “Some things are just hard for us to do, but we can do them.”
As far as she was concerned, Ava saw the slight response as a tiny victory, one she didn’t care to push, so she didn’t ask Caroline to read anything else aloud.
The day passed with Ava learning a little about Caroline’s typical day and her responses. Ava suspected Caroline’s behavior wasn’t very different with Rosalyn or Will. Ava couldn’t feel much closer to the child because of the wall Caroline kept around herself. Will had been good to leave them alone—another surprise with him, because she had expected him to hang around and continue flirting. It was better he hadn’t, but she missed seeing him.
It wasn’t until almost dinner that he joined them in the pool. Ava didn’t see him coming until he was at the edge of the deep end. Her pulse jumped when she saw him. He was deeply tanned. His broad, sculpted chest tapered to a small waist, tight muscles on his flat stomach. He wore black-and-white patterned swim trunks. He made a flying leap and landed in the water with a loud splash, causing Caroline to smile.
He bobbed up by her, lifting her and then letting her splash down, but he held her the whole time.
“Want to do that again?” he asked her, holding her up again, and she smiled, nodding.
With a surprised expression he glanced over her head at Ava and then lifted Caroline higher to let her splash into the water again.
They played and he gave his full attention to Caroline, glancing once at Ava to say hello.
Later as Caroline splashed nearby, he swam close to Ava. When he bobbed up almost touching her, Ava’s heartbeat sped, a reaction she couldn’t control and one that happened too often with him. “Hi.”
She smiled at him. “Hi.”
“You know why I’ve been giving her all my attention.”
“Of course, and you should.”
“Caroline smiling at me like that—I think you brought that on. She hasn’t done that before with me. I was right about you. You are good with her.”
“Thank you. You may give me too much credit,” she said. “I did get her to read one word aloud today.”
Something flickered in the depths of his dark eyes. “I’m going to do some arm twisting and see if you’ll stay this coming week. We’ll talk about it later.”
“Will, the people I’m recommending will be better than I am in working with her.”
Smiling, he swam away to join Caroline, and she guessed she was in for a struggle with a man totally accustomed to getting his way.