by Judith Yates
Holly dialed yet another number, mentally crossing her fingers. Jordan would be arriving any minute to take her out to dinner and a movie. Unfortunately, replacement baby-sitters were hard to come by at six o’clock on a Friday night.
“I want Kelly to come,” Steph sniffled as she crawled onto the sofa. “She was gonna play hairdresser with me.”
“She got sick, honey. I told you that.” Holly grimaced when she reached another answering machine.
“Can’t Kristen stay with me, then?”
“She’s sitting for someone else tonight.”
After Gracie, the Sanderson twins were her daughter’s favorite baby-sitters. She always had a ball when one or the other took care of her.
Holly glanced at the last name on her list. “I’ll try Roger Franklin. You liked him. Remember?”
“No, I didn’t. He won’t play hairdresser.” Stephanie buried her face in a pillow.
As Holly waited while Roger’s dad called him to the phone, Jordan arrived at the screen door. Her heart fluttered when she saw him standing there, dressed for their casual date in a navy linen sport coat over an open-necked polo shirt and khakis. Despite her qualms after yesterday’s lunch, she’d been looking forward to seeing him again all day long.
Holly’s last hope for a sitter died when Roger informed her that he had a date that night. Feeling as dejected as Stephanie, Holly waved Jordan in as she hung up the phone.
He greeted her with a bright hello, but his smile faded when he noticed Stephanie’s muffled sobs. “What’s the matter?”
Explaining about the Sanderson twins, Holly sank onto the sofa near Stephanie and began rubbing her back gently. “Finding a baby-sitter at the last minute isn’t easy, Jordan. So far, I’ve come up empty-handed.”
“What about Gracie?”
“There’s a bingo tournament at the church hall tonight. I couldn’t ask her to give that up.”
“I see.”
The grim tinge in his voice made Holly wonder if he did see. He couldn’t have run into this sort of snag very often.
“And there’s no one else?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I’m really sorry, Jordan, but I’m afraid I’ll have to take a rain-check on tonight.”
Jordan said nothing. Yet the disappointment on his face compelled her to apologize again. “I’d cook something to eat here,” she added, kicking herself for not yet getting to the supermarket this week. “But all I have is the frozen pizza the baby-sitter was going to heat up for Steph’s supper. You wouldn’t want that.”
“Can’t say that I would.” Shoving his hands in his pants pockets, Jordan glanced at Stephanie’s back. She hadn’t yet shown her face to him. “Hey, Steph, want to go out to eat?”
The sulking child didn’t respond.
“Honey, Jordan’s talking to you.”
“No! I want Kelly and pizza,” she mumbled into the pillow, refusing to look up.
“Stephanie, Kelly is sick,” Holly reminded her. “And that’s no way to talk to an adult. I want you to take that pillow off your face right now.”
“How about we go out for a pizza, Steph? You can order any kind you want.”
“That’s not necessary, Jordan,” Holly said, shaking her head.
“It’s okay, really.” He inched closer to the hiding child. “What do you say, Steph? Want to go?”
Holly flinched. It wasn’t okay. She didn’t like him offering her pouting child a treat—a bribe—to get her to do what he wanted. She was about to point this out, when teary brown eyes peeked above the sofa pillow.
“Mommy said you were going to the movies. Can we go to the movies, too?”
“Jordan didn’t invite you to the movies, and it’s rude to ask.” Holly didn’t like her child behaving this way.
Steph dove back behind the pillow.
“Hey, kid, come back out.” Jordan gave the pillow a playful tug. “There might be a children’s movie playing at the Randlestown Mall.”
Stephanie poked her head out again. “Really?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised. And you know what? If we leave right now, we’ll probably have time to have pizza and see a movie.”
Stephanie jumped out from behind the pillow, raring to go. Jordan got up, too, smiling like a man who’d negotiated his way through a tough deal.
Swallowing her irritation, Holly held her tongue. As a parent, bribery and rewarding contrariness went against the grain. Still, Jordan was inexperienced in dealing with children; he probably had no idea he’d done anything wrong. Besides, she didn’t want to chastise him in front of Stephanie.
Holly’s annoyance dissipated as the three of them dined at the mall pizzeria before heading to the cinema complex to catch the newest Disney film. Perhaps sensing her mother’s displeasure, Stephanie was on her best behavior. Jordan seemed lighthearted and relaxed. Holly decided she should relax, too, and enjoy herself—especially the happy banter between Jordan and her daughter. She couldn’t get over how in tune they were with each other.
“Would you ladies like popcorn?” Jordan asked after handing their tickets to the theater usher.
Holly had no room left after their pizza dinner, but Steph was all for it. “I love pupcorn. It’s my favorite thing to eat.”
“Mine, too,” Jordan claimed with a wink. “I have to warn you, though, I like my popcorn with lots of extra butter.”
“Me, too!”
“You don’t say.”
“’Cept Mommy says a lot of butter’s not good for me.” Stephanie turned to Holly with pleading eyes. “Can I have pupcorn with butter? Please? Jordan’s having some.”
“I’ll buy a small tub for us to share,” Jordan offered. “Would that be all right, Holly?”
At least he’d checked with her this time, Holly silently mused before giving the okay. As Stephanie danced a happy jig around them, Holly shot a teasing glance at Jordan. “Pepperoni pizza with double cheese and hot buttered popcorn in one night, eh? You must have a castiron stomach.”
Not to mention a wickedly fast metabolism. As he toted Stephanie off to the concession stand, Holly’s gaze fell to his flat stomach. She closed her eyes for an instant, remembering the feel of his smooth, hard muscles pressed against her as the river flowed over them.
“Hello there, Holly.”
The firm tap on the back accompanying this cheery greeting startled Holly. She turned to find Karin Mahoney, the director of Steph’s preschool, beaming up at her. “Caught you daydreaming,” Karin said with a laugh. “From the look in your eyes, it must have been a good one.”
Holly felt her face grow red. “What are you doing here?”
“Seeing a movie, of course. The Mel Gibson flick—my sister and I adore him.” Karin peered over Holly’s shoulder. “Are you alone?”
As if on cue, Stephanie came rushing over from the concession stand. “Miss Karin!”
“Pumpkin!” Karin held out her arms for a hug. The two chatted until Jordan returned with the popcorn. The preschool director eyed him up and down, making no attempt to hide her admiration.
“How nice for you to have a friend like Mr. Jordan to take you to the movies, Pumpkin,” Karin told Stephanie. But she winked at Holly.
Holly averted her gaze. “Ah, I think our movie’s starting soon. We should go inside now.”
“And I’d better get back before my sister gives away my seat.” Karin gave Stephanie a pat on the head. Then she turned to Holly. “I forgot to mention that I have about fifteen tickets left for the dinner dance. Do you think you could sell a few at the shop?”
“Sure. I’ll put up a poster in the window.”
“Great. This promises to be the best one yet, Holly. Maybe this year you’ll come,” Karin added with a pointed glance at Jordan.
“Just bring the tickets by the shop tomorrow,” Holly said as she edged Stephanie and Jordan toward their theater.
Talking Stephanie out of the front row, they settled her between them in seats a comfortable distance
from the wide screen. Steph dove into the popcorn right away.
“Hey, save some for the movie,” Jordan said with a laugh.
“He really means save some for him,” Holly teased.
“Your mom’s got my number, kid.”
Stephanie, entranced by the preshow advertisements flashing across the screen, wasn’t paying attention. Jordan looked over Steph’s head at Holly and shrugged.
“So, Holly,” he continued, leaning back in his seat, “what’s this about a dance?”
“It’s an annual thing the area preschools put on as a fund-raiser,” she explained, surprised he had brought it up. “They rent out the River House and the parents get the chance to dress to the nines.”
“You don’t ever go?”
“I don’t have time for that stuff.” She glanced down at her hands. “Besides, I had my fill of formal affairs back in Boston. Every month there was something. Remember?”
“I remember.”
The theater lights dimmed, and the loud music accompanying the coming attractions put an end to the discussion. Holly was glad. There were other reasons she skipped the dance every year—reasons Jordan wouldn’t understand.
The movie got under way and soon Stephanie was giggling with the other children in the audience. Holly gazed over her shoulder at Jordan and her child, their faces haloed by the movie’s flickering light. Leaning against Jordan’s arm as she shared his tub of popcorn, Stephanie kept her eyes glued to the screen. Watching them sitting that close, munching away on their beloved snack, made Holly smile. No doubt about it, her daughter had taken a shine to Jordan. From all appearances tonight, the feeling appeared to be reciprocated.
Finding a mesmerizing peace in their easy togetherness, Holly couldn’t tear her eyes away. She had longed to give Stephanie a semblance of actual family, but the obstacles in her heart and mind had been great. Now there was a flesh-and-blood uncle sitting right there for Stephanie to claim as her own. If she knew. If he knew....
Holly would make the truth known—at the right time, in the right way. Yet the memory of her long-ago attempt at the truth still filled her with pain. And seeing Jordan and Stephanie together like this made her feel so very sad that Scott hadn’t allowed her a chance to tell him about their baby.
“Come on and play, Jordan,” Stephanie squealed over the music blaring from the portable CD player. “It’s fun.”
“All you gotta do is dance,” added little Tommy Barron as he gyrated wildly with his brother, Sean, in the middle of Holly’s living room.
“Mommy plays with us all the time.”
As Steph’s gleeful brown eyes peered up at him, Jordan fought the urge to scoop her up and swing her around the room. He had to admit, the kid had grown on him in the past ten days. Although quick attachments had never been his style, he felt so connected to her at times. It was amazing, really.
Still, that didn’t mean he was ready to surrender his last shred of dignity to a game she called Rock and Roll Freeze. “I don’t see your mother playing now.”
“That’s because she’s making lunch for us,” Steph said between breathless giggles. “You know that.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “I’ll play only if your mother does.”
In the blink of an eye, Steph had turned tail for the kitchen. “Mom-mee!”
Chuckling, Jordan plopped down on the sofa to watch the Barron boys dance to a vintage Beach Boys tune. He couldn’t believe he got such a charge out of a bunch of preschoolers. No one back in Boston would believe it, either. But his life there seemed worlds away from Golden and kids and Holly. He wasn’t complaining, though. Not in the least. Jordan couldn’t remember a time when each day felt so good or when he felt so good. The past ten days had just flown by.
“Here she is,” Stephanie cried, dragging Holly in by the arm.
Jordan got a kick from the impish twinkle in Steph’s eyes. That same light in her mother’s eyes, however, never failed to trip his pulse into overdrive. Like now.
“What’s this I hear, Jordan? You’re too faint of heart to play a little Rock and Roll Freeze?” Holly taunted with an alluring smile.
“Faint of heart?” He got to his feet. “Them’s fighting words, lady.”
“Oh, yeah?” Holly came up to him, hands on waist. “Then are you going to play or not?”
She stood so close Jordan could almost feel the tips of her breasts grazing his chest. How he wanted to hold her close against him! After what had happened between them in the river, he’d kept tight rein on his physical impulses. But the more time he spent with Holly, the tougher that got. At this point, it was damn near impossible to keep from touching and kissing her the way he really wanted to.
Stephanie saved Jordan from temptation by shoving herself between him and Holly. “He’ll play if you’ll play, Mommy. He said so.”
“Well, let the game begin,” Holly declared with a wave of her hand, and the kids began jumping up and down in delight. Holly peered up at him with a mischievous gleam in her eye. “Do you need us to explain how to play?”
“Very funny, Holly,” he replied. After all, the name of the game said it all. “I think I caught the drift of it watching the kids play.”
She tossed him a wink before turning to the kids. “Okay, guys, who’s going to man the music?”
Tommy Barron shot his hand up. “Let me, let me. I know how to work the player.”
“And he is the oldest,” Steph added for good measure, clearly unwilling to give up her chance to play this round with Holly and him.
Holly slipped on a new CD and let Tommy have at it. The fast beats of an old Beatles song soon pounded from the speakers, and Holly, Steph and three-year-old Sean began to dance. Jordan shifted from one foot to the other, feeling awkward until Holly grabbed his hand.
“You’ve got to shake it up a little, Jordan.”
She yanked him into a rocking jitterbug type step where they pushed, pulled and swung each other around. Moving to the music with Holly was all it took for Jordan to forget himself.
“Freeze!” yelled Tommy as he hit the Pause button on the CD player. They all stood stock-still—even little Sean—until the music resumed.
From then on all four of them took turns dancing with each other or dancing alone while Tommy picked and chose his moments to freeze the music. They had danced through three songs, and although he and Holly were breathing hard, the little ones showed no signs of tiring.
“Jordan, dance with me again,” Stephanie called, running to him from across the room.
She jumped into his arms and he twirled her around and around while Holly twisted and jumped with Sean. As the Beatles sang about rock-and-roll music, Jordan swung Steph up in the air.
“Freeze!”
Holly and Sean fell over laughing, dizzy from their whirling dance. Stephanie shrieked with glee as Jordan held her in midair.
“Don’t drop her, for heaven’s sake.”
All heads turned to the front door. Gracie stood inside it with a bolt of sheer pink fabric tucked under her arm, her worried eyes glued on Stephanie.
Jordan set her down carefully.
“We’re playing Rock and Roll Freeze, Gracie,” Stephanie chirped. “Jordan and Mommy danced together.”
“That must’ve been a sight to see.”
The absence of disapproval in Gracie’s voice surprised Jordan. And although he wouldn’t call her expression cheerful, the look of disdain Holly’s housekeeper usually saved for him was missing, too. He didn’t know what to make of it.
Noticing the extra two kids in the house, Gracie looked to Holly. “I thought we were going to cut the material for Stephanie’s new curtains.”
“Is it that late?” Holly glanced at the crystal clock on the mantel. “Nancy asked me to watch the boys for a couple of hours and give them lunch—which I haven’t even done yet.”
The mention of lunch caught Sean’s attention. “Me hungry.”
“Oh, darlin’, I just bet you are
.” Holly took his hand. “Everyone to the kitchen.”
The kids skipped out after Holly, leaving him alone with Gracie. The inscrutable expression on her face continued to baffle Jordan. “I dropped by to pick up the architect’s preliminary drawings for Holly’s shop,” he said, feeling compelled to explain.
“Oh, I’m not surprised to see you,” she said, hooking her handbag on the closet doorknob. “You do an awful lot of dropping by.”
For some reason, the pointed suggestion in her voice made him grin. “Yes, Gracie, I suppose I do.”
Holly emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. She apologized to Gracie for running late. “When the boys are finished eating, I’ve got to take them over to their father’s office. Do you mind starting without me?”
Since Jordan had free time before his appointment with the architect, he offered to drive the boys back to town. When Stephanie caught wind of the revised plan, she begged to come along for the ride. She loved the sunroof in his car.
By the time they reached Phil Barron’s law office, Jordan’s ears were ringing from the kids’ nonstop clamor. He couldn’t believe three small kids could make such a racket. Jordan handed Sean’s car seat over to Phil. “They’re all yours.”
Phil chuckled. “My boys got a little rowdy in the car, did they?”
“Yeah, but our Stephanie’s no shrinking violet herself.”
“Maybe she’d like to come swimming with the boys and me,” Phil suggested. “We’re heading over to the lake as soon as I close up here.”
Jordan called Stephanie over and repeated Phil’s invitation. Her eyes lit up at first. “Are you coming, too?”
“I can’t honey. I’ve got an appointment in less than an hour. That’s why I had to get those papers from your mom.”
“Come with us, Stephanie,” Phil urged.
Tommy called out his two cents’ worth from across the room. “It’ll be a blast, Steph. My dad gives the best flips in the whole world.”
But Stephanie shook her head and hid her face against Jordan’s leg. “I don’t want to,” she mumbled.
Phil followed them out to the car, asking Jordan to send his thanks to Holly for watching the boys. “I never would’ve completed this brief on time without her help,” he admitted. “Our schedules are in chaos now that Nancy’s on the preschool dinner-dance committee. We probably won’t see much of her in the next two weeks.”
