Andrew stiffened, his expression neutral.
“I have a student who will be graduating this year.” She hurried ahead with her explanation before she lost her nerve. “I would like to place him in a job in the community before he leaves high school. He’s a wonderful, hard worker who would be an asset to any company that hired him.”
“And you want IFI to hire him?”
“If I can get the biggest employer in Cimarron City to participate in the program, others will follow. I want to try him out on a trial basis for a few hours each afternoon. There’s a funding source that will pay his salary while he’s training.”
“What if it doesn’t work out?”
“Then you don’t hire him after graduation. But if you agreed to this program, it would be with the serious intention of hiring him when he’s out of high school.”
“Is this why you couldn’t get by Mrs. Fox?”
“Yes.”
He frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t know about this, Sadie.”
“Please meet Chris first before you decide.”
“Will he be there Thursday night?”
She nodded.
“Now I know why you didn’t take your donation and just buy uniforms.”
“What I said was true. We need a sponsor, but I won’t kid you. My main reason for betting on you was for Chris. If I didn’t think this would benefit everyone, especially IFI, I wouldn’t have pursued it so vigorously. I just need a chance to prove this job program can work and my students can be a valuable asset to a company.”
“This means a lot to you.”
It wasn’t a question, but she said yes anyway.
“So this whole date was really work to you?”
“It started out that way, but quickly changed last night.”
“When?”
“When you took me to see your home.”
Silence descended between them, the hum of the engines the only sound.
“You know, I should be angry with you. But how can I be when you’ve just proven you’re more like me than you think?”
“How so?”
“Your work—your students—they’re very important to you. Your life revolves around them, I suspect.”
“I do have a balance.”
“And I don’t?”
“What do you think?”
“I don’t.” He lifted his briefcase onto his lap and opened it. “Which reminds me, I have work to do.”
Sadie watched him shuffle through some papers before he pulled out a stack of them. He had effectively shut a door in her face, and she couldn’t blame him. She was afraid her plan had backfired.
“That concludes our business. Now I would like to introduce Mr. Andrew Knight from IFI, who has an announcement for us.” Smiling at Andrew, Sadie stepped to the side.
He walked to the podium in the high school auditorium and waited for the applause to die down before saying, “Miss Spencer, I appreciate the opportunity to come here tonight and present Cimarron High School Special Olympics team with a check from IFI for two thousand dollars. We are proud to be a sponsor of such a fine endeavor.”
Surprised at the generous amount, Sadie took the check from Andrew while her students and their parents cheered and clapped. “On behalf of the team, I want to thank IFI for their support and you for coming tonight.” After shaking his hand, she continued, “I hope to see everyone at Mitchell’s for pizza.”
Several of her students swarmed her and Andrew, wanting to see the check. Sadie held it up for them to look at it, then said, “I don’t know about you all, but I’m starved.”
“Me, too,” a small girl who didn’t weigh more than eighty pounds said.
“Does this mean we get new shirts?”
“Chris, this means we get new uniforms.” Sadie folded the check and put it into her pocket.
“New ones?” A tall, thin boy with freckles and a ready smile asked.
“Yes, Kevin.”
“In time for soccer?” Chris asked, his optimistic gaze fixed on Andrew.
“Not for soccer, but hopefully in time for basketball. Our soccer tournament is next week.” Sadie began walking toward the back of the auditorium, where some of the parents were waiting for their children.
Andrew slowed his pace, allowing the students to go ahead of them. “Is that the Chris you want to work at IFI?”
“Yes. He’s twenty.” Sadie stopped halfway up the center aisle, realizing Chris’s small stature might make him appear younger to some people. Only five feet tall, Chris Carter had dark brown eyes, slightly slanted at the corners, and a broad, flat nose. The most appealing part of his appearance was his wide smile, which came readily to his face.
“You comin’, Miss Spencer?” Chris called as he started for the back door with his mother.
“Yes, we’ll be along.” She waved the group on, then turned to Andrew. “Have you made your decision yet?”
“I thought you wanted me to get to know Chris first.”
“Yes, of course. Then we’d better hurry.” She started forward.
“Why?” Andrew hung back.
“So we can sit at the same table as Chris. He’s very popular.”
“Does he know about this job you want to get him?”
A few feet away, Sadie pivoted toward Andrew. “He knows I’m looking for a job for him.”
“But not at IFI?”
“I didn’t want to get his hopes up.”
“His hopes up?”
“His father worked at IFI until he died.”
“Who was his father?”
“Harold Carter.”
“Harold Carter?” Andrew creased his brow. “Didn’t he die a few years back from a heart attack?”
“Yes. He was only forty. Chris took it very hard.”
The auditorium door slammed shut, and Sadie realized they were the only ones left. She stared at Andrew, drinking in the sight of him in a three-piece gray pinstripe suit with a dark red tie, a bold statement in his otherwise conservative attire. She’d missed him these past few days and often had found herself daydreaming about their thirty-hour date in New Orleans.
“Then we’d better get to Mitchell’s. I want to meet this young man. I won’t agree to the pilot program unless I think he has a good chance of employment after graduation. That’s only fair to everyone.”
“What kind of pizza do you like? I’m buying,” Sadie said as they left the auditorium.
“Nonsense. I can—”
“You are my guest, Andrew Knight. It’s the least I can do for you, for coming here to present the check in person.”
“Canadian bacon. How about you?” Andrew held her car door open for her.
“A supreme with everything on it except anchovies. I’m not big into fish, especially on my pizza.”
“Then we agree on something. I’m not either.”
“If you don’t watch out, before you know it we’ll be in complete agreement.”
“I doubt that will ever be the case. We look at life entirely differently.”
“Ah, but that adds spice to the mix.”
“Sometimes too much spice can lead to heartburn.”
“At least you know you’re alive.” Sadie started her engine. “I’ll meet you at Mitchell’s.”
On the short drive, Sadie reflected on what Andrew had said. She’d grown up in a household where her mother had agreed with everything her father said. She often wondered if her mother had an original thought since she’d married. There were times she found herself wanting to stick up for her mother and having to bite her tongue to keep from saying anything. Perhaps her mother and father were very well matched. Or perhaps her mother had discovered it was easier not to disagree. Sadie knew one thing from watching her parents’ marriage—she could never be involved with a man who didn’t accept her differences. Was there even a man like that?
Sadie pulled into a parking space near the front of the restaurant. Inside Mitchell’s, she scanned the tab
les and saw that Chris and his mother were still alone. While heading toward them, she noticed Andrew enter.
“Mind if we join you?” Sadie asked, aware of Andrew weaving his way through the crowded restaurant toward them.
“Oh, no. It gives me a chance to personally thank Mr. Knight for the generous donation.” Amanda Carter removed her purse from a chair so Sadie could sit down.
“Me, too.” Chris chimed in as Andrew pulled out the chair next to Sadie and eased into it. “We needed uniforms for ages. Thank you, Mr. Knight.” A grin split his face almost ear to ear.
“You’re welcome.”
“You know what we want, Chris. Do you want to order for us?” Amanda asked, opening her purse for some money.
Chris leaped to his feet. “Sure. Can I have a large soda?”
“No, not so close to your bedtime.”
Sadie started to rise. Andrew placed his hand on her arm to still her movements. “I’ll order for us. It gives me a chance to talk to Chris.”
“Well, then here’s—”
“I’m paying.”
“But—” Sadie was protesting to a retreating back. She snapped her mouth closed and thought of how heavy-handed her father could be at times, never considering her wishes. Was Andrew like that? Then she realized she was overreacting. Most gentlemen would do exactly what Andrew had done.
“I remember Mr. Knight from when Harold worked at IFI. He’d just been promoted to his new job in human resources, and everyone was glad. They thought he would be fair and willing to try new things. I also heard he works twenty-four seven. How were you able to persuade him to come to the high school tonight?”
Sadie glanced at the man in question and noticed he was talking with Chris. Her student, who had a big grin on his face, laughed and gave Andrew a high five. “It wasn’t that difficult. I asked. He accepted,” she answered, her gaze still fixed upon Andrew and Chris, deep in conversation.
“Then maybe he isn’t immune to a pretty face. At work it was always strictly business with that man, if the rumors are to be believed.”
Sadie felt the heat of a blush slowly rise on her face. She remembered Jollie’s comments at the bachelor auction and wondered if everyone—at least the women—sat around discussing Andrew Knight. There was an air of vulnerability about him, but he guarded that secret. To the world he presented a confident, controlled facade, which she had glimpsed cracks in.
“I wouldn’t know anything about those rumors.” Sadie waved to one of her students sitting with her whole family.
“They’re coming back to the table. I see Chris has made a new friend. He doesn’t know what the word stranger means.”
That was one of the things Sadie was counting on. Chris probably knew all fifteen hundred students at the high school, if all the greetings he received in the hallways were any indication.
“Miss Spencer, Mr. Knight is gonna come see us.” Chris slipped into his chair.
“When?”
“I told Chris I would try to come see his soccer match next Friday,” Andrew said, setting the drink on the table.
Her eyes widened. “You did?”
“He’s never been to a soccer game.” Chris stopped one of his friends, who was going back to his table. “This is James. He’s one of the goalies.”
James mumbled something, his eyes downcast.
“Mr. Knight’s coming to see us,” Chris announced to James and another student going by.
“Only if I can get away,” Andrew tried to explain, but Chris had already jumped up from the table and left to spread the word.
Sadie sank her teeth into her lower lip to keep from smiling. Andrew didn’t know what to do to stop the rumor of his visit from flying around the restaurant. He started to rise, then shrugged and relaxed in his chair.
“I guess I’d better try to make it.”
She decided to give him an out. “If you can’t make it, they’ll understand. They love playing in front of people, and you’re their newest hero.”
“Hero?”
Sadie nearly laughed out loud at the stunned expression on Andrew’s face. “They’ve been wanting new uniforms for quite some time. Wait till you see their old ones on Friday. That is, if you can come.” She quickly went on to cover the uncomfortable silence. “They’ve been practicing for the past month with their special partners.”
“Special partners?”
“Students in regular education classes. We play unified soccer. Half the team are students who are Special Olympians and the other half are special partners. Everyone has a lot of fun even if we don’t always win.”
Five minutes later, Chris came to the table. “They just called our numbers. I’ll bring our pizzas.”
While standing at the counter waiting for his order, Chris saw a group of high school boys come into Mitchell’s. He greeted each one with a high five. Chris dragged one of the students to the table.
“Mr. Knight, this is Cal. He’s on the team, too. He practices with us.”
“Did you forget our pizzas?” his mother asked, shaking her head as though she were used to this from her son.
Chris smiled sheepishly. “Sorry.”
Before Cal returned to his friends, he said, “Nice meeting you. Chris is excited about the new uniforms. He said you’re buying them for the team.”
“Well, not exactly. IFI is,” Andrew said, taking a large sip of his iced tea.
“That’s great! My dad works for IFI.” Cal joined his friends while Chris carried the first pizza to the table, then retrieved the second one.
The aroma of baking bread and sizzling meats that permeated the restaurant made Sadie’s mouth water. Her stomach rumbled. The minute Chris placed her pizza between her and Andrew, she scooped up a large piece and took a bite.
“I know pizza is mega calories, but nothing beats it,” she said after washing down her food with a sip of her soda.
For the next ten minutes silence prevailed at the table while they all satisfied their hunger. Halfway through her third piece, one of Sadie’s students stopped by the table.
“Miss Spencer, I’ll see ya tomorrow.” The girl threw her arms about Sadie and hugged her. “You’re beautiful.”
“Thank you, Melissa. You’ve made my day.”
Chris leaned over the table as though imparting a secret. “Melissa always thinks everyone is beautiful. But she’s right about you, Miss Spencer.”
“If I wasn’t blushing before, I’m sure I am now.”
“Yep, you’re a nice shade of red,” Andrew said with a wink. He lifted his glass and downed the rest of his iced tea, his gaze linked to hers the whole time.
She grinned. “Which clashes with my maroon shirt.”
“Oh, no, Miss Spencer, you look great. I like what you’re wearing.” Chris waved to another student across the room. He rose and tossed down his paper napkin. “Mom, I’ll be over there.”
Chris left, threading his way through the crowded dining room. Sadie chuckled. “And people ask me why I teach students with special needs. They’re absolutely great for the ego.”
“I’m beginning to get the picture.” Andrew watched Chris for a moment before continuing. “Is there anyone he doesn’t know?”
“Not at Cimarron High.”
“I can attest to that. Our phone is constantly ringing. Thank goodness I don’t have a life outside the home or I would never hear from them.” Amanda gathered her purse and stood. “I’d better pull Chris away. Tomorrow is a school day, and it will take him at least an hour to calm down after your news, Mr. Knight. Thank you for the donation.” Amanda held out her hand, and Andrew shook it.
“I’m glad IFI could help.”
While Chris’s mother made her way across the restaurant to get her son, Sadie finished her pizza, suddenly not sure what to say to Andrew. She surveyed her few students who were still eating with their families and friends. Their open, guileless faces confirmed her reason for teaching in the first place.
“Because I want
this pilot program to work, I want to run this by Mr. Wilson. If we’re going to do this project with your school, I want to do it right.”
What would her students say if she followed Melissa’s lead and threw her arms around Andrew? She refrained from doing that, but she could feel her whole face beaming with a smile.
“Don’t say anything. It’s not official, Sadie.”
“Not a word from this mouth until you tell me I can.”
“Now that’s an intriguing idea.”
“Let me rephrase that. Not a word from this mouth about the project until you tell me I can. Is that better?”
“No, I like it the other way.” His eyes danced with a twinkle.
“If I didn’t know better, I would think the Andrew Knight is teasing me. I didn’t think you had a playful bone in your body.”
“I have my moments. And speaking of time—”
“We were?” Sadie couldn’t help asking, knowing where the conversation was leading.
“I need to leave. I still have some work to do tonight. I’ll walk you to your car.”
“You don’t have to. This isn’t a date.”
“Still, I’ll walk you to your car.”
The firmness underlying his words reminded her again of the control the man exhibited. He wasn’t used to people denying him anything. He definitely needed his cage rattled.
“Okay,” she said slowly, trying to decide what to do. “I need to say good-night to my students who are still here.”
“Fine.” A wariness crept into his voice as he watched her push back her chair.
Sadie made the rounds of her five students and their families left at Mitchell’s, refusing to look toward the table where she’d had dinner with Andrew. If she caught his hard gaze, she’d probably lose her nerve to teach him a point.
She held Melissa’s baby sister for a few minutes, contorting her face into silly expressions to get the child to laugh. She took an extra moment to go over the plans for the soccer tournament the following week with Kevin’s mother. By the time she returned to the table twenty minutes had passed. She expected to see Andrew fuming or gone, but he sat calmly, bent over his paper napkin, writing some notes on it.
Family for Keeps & Sadie's Hero Page 25
