by Doreen Alsen
She dropped her head into her hands. He watched her with a sinking feeling. “Please don’t cry. I’m not going to call social services. You’re a good mom.”
“Dave, please.” Ainslie shook her head. “What happened today?”
She looked sad. A blunt, simple word, but all encompassing. “I think he’s getting bullied. He’s obviously miserable.”
Her eyes widened and flashed with anger. “Who’s doing this?”
“That’s what I need you to find out.”
“He’s a sensitive boy.” Her mouth flattened into a straight line.
“That’s clear. There’re more than a few girls crushing on him, so that’s going to make more than one classroom Casanova jealous.”
She laughed. It sounded like liquid gold. “Classroom Casanova?”
“You know what I mean.”
Bobby took that moment to come in, bearing fish and chips and Chicken Alfredo. “Soup’s on!”
Dave smiled. “This looks great.” The fish looked fresh, the beer batter a golden brown. He couldn’t wait.
Ainslie frowned at the pasta. “I can’t possibly eat that.”
Bobby didn’t care. He dropped it down in front of her. “Eat what you can. I’ve got a bunch of wings I made by mistake. They’re in a bag in the cooler. Pick ’em up on your way out.”
Ainslie raised her eyebrows. Eau de distress wafted off her in waves. “I haven’t finished my shift.”
“We’re slow tonight. After you’re done with Dave here, you should punch out and go home.”
“Bobby, I need…”
“You need to go home.” Bobby was formidable when he wanted to get his way. He handed her a couple of fives. “Here’re the tips from your last two tables. Punch out, and check in with your kids.” He smiled one of Bobby’s frightening smiles, the real toothy one designed to make alligators swim away in fear. “You’re no good while you’re worrying. We’re dead tonight and not gonna get busy. Go home.” He moved back toward the kitchen. “Don’t forget the wings.” Bobby left.
After an eternity of uncomfortable silence, Dave poked his fish with his fork. “Looks good.”
Ainslie pushed the plate of pasta away from her. “So, tell me about my boy.”
No sugar coating it for this mom. Dave drew his courage to the sticking point. “I didn’t get there in time, but I definitely interrupted Ruark getting harassed by some other kids.” Dave sprinkled too much salt on his fries. “I think you should ask about his iPod when you get home.”
“Oh, no, not his iPod. He loves that thing.” Her voice quivered, most likely in distress. “It’s old and doesn’t do the games and videos, but it’s his most precious possession.” She shook her head. “If you’re so sure about it, why can’t you go to the other children’s parents and get them to replace it?”
“Yeah. You’d think I could do that. But I got there too late to see how it really went down.” Dave rubbed his chin. “These kids have mad skillz, as they say. And Ruark was really tight-lipped about the whole thing. Which is where you come in.”
She swung her head, clearly mourning. “I barely see my baby these days, never mind have a meaningful conversation with him.” She stabbed her fork into the pasta, mushing it all up. “I hate this. I used to know the family tree of each and every one of his friends. I even knew the pedigree of their dogs.”
“I can help you with that. Be a chaperone for the Homecoming Dance. You can be my date.” The words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them.
She goggled at him. “Your date?” she squeaked.
“So to speak.” But the more he thought about it, the more the idea appealed to him, the more she appealed to him. “I need chaperones, you need to meet his friends and some of the other parents.”
“I’d need to get the time off. When is it?” Ainslie bit her lip. “I don’t even know if Ruark is going. Shanna is, but Ruark hasn’t said a peep.”
“You could meet Shanna’s friends too. It’s a win-win situation.” Why did he suddenly feel so desperate to get her to help chaperone that dance with him?
“It wouldn’t really be a date, right?” Ainslie pocketed the money Bobby had put on the table, then stood. She looked at him with those amazing brown eyes. Fringed by long, dark lashes, they were wide and wary.
He supposed he couldn’t blame her.
“Well, no, not really.” Dave stood and nearly sent his chair flying behind him. His hands felt like they were six sizes too big and covered with thick, wet woolen mittens.
Her eyes widened, something he didn’t think possible, at the crash of the chair. She caught her generous, lush lower lip one more time between her teeth.
From zero to sixty, just like that, he got a lead pipe hard erection. He wanted, needed to kiss her. He took a deep breath and held it. Not trusting himself, he busied himself with righting the chair he’d toppled.
It took several tries, and the whole time all Ainslie did was stare at him with those incredible eyes and that come get me mouth.
Something inside him snapped with a sharp thwang. He moved around the table and lifted her chin with his right index finger. “I’m gonna go to hell for this,” he whispered. Then he kissed her.
And kissed her.
And kissed her some more.
Her lips softened under his, so he pulled back ever so slightly, to tease her, to make her want to chase him. She did, parting her beautiful lips, an invitation on a rose velvet pillow for his tongue to come in and feast.
Not being a stupid man, he did just that. He used the tip of his tongue to tease her mouth more open. She sighed and settled into his arms.
She fit like she was made for his embrace. His aching arms closed around her. “Mm,” she hummed as she laced her arms around his neck. Crushing her breasts against his chest, she made him feel like Superman.
“Hey Ainslie! I wonder if…”
Ainslie tore her mouth away from Dave’s and jumped two feet backward. “Oh my God.” She slapped a hand over her mouth.
Chelsea stood there like a pig poisoned, her jaw slack and hanging open. “Um, hey, Ainslie. I, uh, wanted to know if you can trade shifts tomorrow.”
“I’ve got to go.” Ainslie pushed her way out of the break room. She ran as if the devil was lighting matches under her feet.
Dave started to follow her, but Chelsea got in his way, so he had a hard time getting around her. She stood there looking at him with clear disapproval on her face.
“Excuse me,” he said as he dodged left.
“Sure.” She crossed her arms under her breasts. She didn’t break any speed records getting out of his way.
He couldn’t worry about that. He had a woman to chase.
Chapter Eight
Ainslie still trembled when she pulled into the driveway of the tiny house she rented. She took a minute and rested her forehead against the steering wheel.
Dear Lord, she’d kissed her children’s principal. What kind of mother was she?
A horny one.
Christ on a cracker, she had to pull herself together, focus on her children, and not men who were too handsome by half and could win the world’s best kisser award, hands down.
Of course, it had been a very long time since she’d been involved in recreational smoochage.
A very long, long time.
The children had left the porch light on, as usual. She felt a huge surge of love, all warm and gooey, run through her just thinking about them. It about took her breath away. She smiled as she opened her front door.
The smile disappeared as soon as she got inside. Shanna held a sobbing Patsy in her arms. Shanna also had tears in her eyes and was white as a sheet. Ruark’s jaw clenched tight, and his eyes sparked with anger.
“What’s going on?” Ainslie dropped her purse and went over to Patsy and Shanna.
Patsy flung herself into her mother’s arms. “The man on Youtube said our daddy is a crook,” she wailed.
“Shh, baby, shh.” Ainslie rubbed
her cheek over the top of her little girl’s head. “What man?”
“Camilla Jackson sent me a link to a video.” Shanna swabbed tears out of her eyes. Camilla had been Shanna’s enemy since their junior high days. “She’s so mean. It had a bunch of people who gave money to daddy’s company.”
“The people he stole from, you mean,” Ruark snapped.
Shanna wiped her nose with her sleeve. “It had pictures of us too.”
Tears threatened to spill out of her eyes. Ainslie refused to let them fall. She needed to be strong for her babies. “How did Patsy see it?”
“She looked over my shoulder at the computer. I didn’t mean for her to see it.” Shanna looked down at her feet.”
Patsy engaged in a fresh, feverish bout of weeping.
“Hush, baby.” Ainslie hugged Patsy tighter as she looked at Ruark. “Can you please dial it down until I get your sister calm?”
“Whatever.” He turned his back to her and stalked out of the room, toward the kitchen.
“They called him a thief and wished that he got the death penalty for taking all those people’s money.” Shanna sniffed. “They showed pictures of him in prison. He looks like a million years old. And now, all the kids at school are gonna know about him.” She flopped down on the couch. “You promised if we moved up here where no one knew us everything would be okay. But nothing’s okay.”
“Oh, sweetie.” Ainslie’s heart shattered into a million pieces.
“I hate him.” Blunt and to the point, Shanna frowned and swiped at moisture in her eyes again. “I wish I’d never been born,” she snarfled.
“Oh, baby, no!” Ainslie put Patsy down, sat next to Shanna and threw her arms around her. “I would be so sad if you weren’t here.”
“Oh, Momma!” Shanna burst into tears, a full blown, gasping, snotty mess.
Patsy reached over and rubbed Shanna’s back with a tentative hand. Ainslie smiled at her. She had never been so proud of her little baby girl.
The three of them sat on the sofa, clutched to each other, crying and comforting. At that moment, not only did Ruark come out of the kitchen, sandwich in hand, but the doorbell clanged. “I’ll get it,” he said, shaking his head, most likely at the three teary females in his life.
Ainslie gifted him with a wet and grateful smile.
****
Ruark shuffled to the door. No one ever visited them. They had no social life at all. His life sucked, sucked, suckedity, sucked, sucked. Damn, what he wouldn’t give to open the door and have Prince Charming there, with his white stallion, ready to take him away from all this bullcrap.
He opened the door only to find the man of his dreams on the other side. Speak of the devil. “Mr. Mason,” he stammered. His voice broke, just like it had when it was changing. His face heated up.
“Hey, Ruark. Is your mom home yet?” Mr. Mason looked a little shy. He held up a plastic bag holding take out containers.
He still smelled good, though.
Without a tie, and with his shirt unbuttoned a couple of buttons, he was rumpled and adorable. He was also looking past Ruark to where the females in his life were a veritable water works.
“Uh, yeah. She just got home.” Ruark eyed the take out bag. It smelled and looked like Bobby’s chicken wings. His stomach growled. Bobby’s wings were made of awesome.
Mr. Mason must have heard his stomach. “Bobby made too many wings by mistake. Your mom forgot to take them when she left.” He held the bag out to Ruark.
Ruark grinned as he took the bag. “He does that a lot.”
His mom came to the door. “Mr. Mason, thank you for remembering the wings. Ruark, darlin,’ Can you take these into the kitchen before they go all cold?” She held her head high, even though she was blushing.
“Sure.” Ruark’s throat closed up tight, so he had trouble swallowing. His feet felt like lead boots. “G’night, Mr. Mason.”
Mr. Mason was staring at his mom. It was pretty intense.
“Good night, Ruark.” He finally looked at Ruark and smiled. “Enjoy those wings.”
Momma pulled the door almost shut.
As if he could enjoy anything right now. He hightailed it into the kitchen.
The wings didn’t smell so good anymore.
****
“Thank you for bringing the wings, Mr. Mason.”
“No problem, Mrs. Logan.” He cleared his throat and looked at his feet. “We’ve got some things to talk about.”
“No, we don’t.” The proof of that was in her house, miserable and needing her.
“I don’t regret kissing you.” Dave took hold of her hands. Warm, strong and reassuring, she couldn’t have let go, even if she’d wanted to.
She didn’t want to.
“I want to kiss you again.” He gently pulled her in toward him. Dipping his forehead to gently rest on hers, he murmured, “And you want to kiss me again too.”
Lord have mercy, she did want to kiss him again. It’d been so long, she’d forgotten long, slow, sweet kisses existed.
Something unfurled in her body, forgotten and rusty, in hibernation for too long a time. It swamped her, set every nerve in her body to tingling.
Dave touched his lips to her forehead, the tip of her nose, the sensitive spot behind her ear. How had he known how much she liked that?
His eyes locked with hers. Caught in a dream, she lifted her mouth to his and let him lead the way.
The minute his lips met hers, everything went blank. Nothing mattered except kissing Dave Mason. He seemed to know every single, amazing thing that pleased her. His tongue tickled her lips, and she opened up and let him in. Every nerve sizzled.
He broke off the kiss and rested his cheek against the top of her head again. His breathing was ragged. “We’re going to have to deal with this,” he whispered.
“Yeah,” she managed to make her voice work. “The kids are in crisis mode, so I’ve—I’ve got to go be a mom.”
Dave’s eyes glittered like two cobalt balls, hungry and full of lust. “You’re a good mom.” He touched her cheek.
Breathe, Ainslie, breathe. “I don’t feel that way.”
“Well, I see all kinds of moms every day, and I know a good mom when I see one.” He brought her hand up to his mouth and tucked a kiss into her palm. “We’re not done, not by a long shot.” He gave her a hot look. “I can be very persuasive when I want to.” He kissed her forehead. “Good night.”
And off he went, jauntily whistling Dixie.
She turned to go into her house, her legs as wobbly as a newborn colt’s. Taking a cleansing breath before going in to deal with her babies, she realized that Dave Mason was a dangerous man.
She opened the door and heard Patsy sobbing quietly into Shanna’s arms. Ruark was standing by the window, all pale and stiff.
They’d gone through so much. Her heart broke for them.
Pangs of regret pinched her.
She couldn’t afford a dangerous man. She had to focus on her family.
Chapter Nine
“So, want to tell me what happened in school yesterday?” Ainslie dropped a slice of raisin bread into the toaster. The scent of cinnamon filled her tiny kitchen. It was the best way to get Patsy down to breakfast.
Ruark was the only one of her children in the kitchen at the moment. He intensely studied the cereal in his bowl, ignoring Ainslie completely. She dropped a hand on his shoulder, frowning when he flinched.
“Ruark, honey, I know something happened because Mr. Mason came to The End Zone last night to tell me so.”
Ruark glanced up at that. His eyes were bright and icy. “Nothing happened.”
“That’s not what Mr. Mason said. He told me that he thinks somebody destroyed your iPod.” Her right foot beat out her frustrated impatience.
His mouth tightened into a little line. He looked so much like his daddy. “I’m sure.”
Okay, she was going to have to do this the hard way. “So, you won’t mind letting me see your iPod, so I can
see for myself.”
He stood. “It’s in my locker at school.”
“Make sure you bring it home, then.”
“Whatever. I gotta go.” With that, he was gone, poof, like trace of smoke.
It wasn’t like him to be so cold toward her. She prided herself in being open, for having her kids talk to her. In this case, her boy was downright rude to her.
And that wasn’t like him. She raised him to be polite, a true southern gentleman. An honest kid, not like his thief of a daddy.
Of course, he no doubt had bad feelings about Bobby Lee. Who wants a daddy who’s a crook? She didn’t blame him. She herself had bad feelings toward Bobby Lee. The video sent to Shanna just brought those emotions back.
Poor kid. She had to put him first and foremost. Ruark was a sensitive kid, an artist, and he felt things deeper than most people.
****
Dave decided he had to be very visible in the cafeteria during Ruark’s lunch period. Finding out what was happening with him had become a personal quest.
It didn’t take a Ph.D. to figure out why. He was falling in love with Ruark’s mother.
He’d been waiting all his life to fall in love. So far, he’d failed spectacularly at it. He’d learned the hard way to not date anyone he worked with. Things hadn’t ended well with math teacher Laura Plunkett. It was difficult for her and he felt sorry for that. However, he’d been doing both of them a favor when he’d ended it.
He was where he wanted to be career-wise. He loved kids, he loved being a principal. All he needed now was a woman to fall in love with.
To start a family with.
Just at that particular moment, Shanna Logan walked by with some of the cheerleaders, dressed in their uniforms for the pep rally that afternoon. She was laughing, quite a different state from last night.
A beautiful girl, she would grow into an amazing woman, resilient and strong. He could imagine Ainslie like that, full of life and promise.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Ruark scurrying out of the cafeteria. The boy glanced Dave’s way, scowled, and moved out of the room faster.
