“Watch the game.” When she stared at him blankly, he added, “The Super Bowl. You know, the big end-of-the-season matchup. This is what it’s all about.”
She looked appalled. And unyielding. “Only if you’re a cretin,” she said emphatically.
He sighed heavily. “Oh, Annie, there were such sad gaps in your education.”
“There were no gaps in my education. I have my B.A., my M.A. and my Ph.D.”
“But you obviously missed cheerleading.”
“Thank God.” She said it so fervently he had to hide a smile.
“Now, Annie, how do you expect to identify with your average American male if you know nothing about the sport that consumes most of his Sunday afternoons from late summer through winter? You owe it to yourself and the future of your practice to watch the Super Bowl.”
“I prefer to identify with his poor wife, who’s left to raise the children, mow the lawn and suffer in silence while the slob sits in front of a TV and stares at a bunch of grown men beating one another’s brains out.”
“Obviously you’ve missed the finer points of the game,” he said dryly.
“That’s okay by me.”
This clearly wasn’t getting them anywhere. Ann’s beliefs seemed entrenched. With only ten minutes to go until game time, he didn’t have a lot of time to win her over. He gazed longingly at the comfortable sofa and the thirty-four-inch television screen. “Is there another TV in the house?”
“Jason and Paul have an old tube TV in their room.”
Hank felt his heartbeat screech to a halt. It would be a travesty to watch the Super Bowl on a tube TV. “I don’t suppose…”
“Not on your life,” she said adamantly, turning the sound back up with a quick flick of the remote control.
If he drove like hell, there was still time to get to a bar. Or he could suffer through the game on the smaller screen. Or, he decided with a certain amount of roguish delight, he could use his considerable charms to get Annie to change her mind about sharing. As skittish as she was, ten minutes ought to be just enough time for that. He dropped down on the sofa beside her, mere inches from her.
“So what are you watching?”
She regarded him warily. “It’s a report on herbal medicine in China.”
“Any good?”
“It’s fascinating.”
“Good. Tell me what’s happened so far.”
She gave him a sharp look. “Why?”
“So I can catch up. If this is what we’re going to watch, I don’t want to feel left out.”
“This isn’t a suspense thriller. You won’t be confused if you don’t know what’s already happened.”
“But you said what you’d seen so far was fascinating. Fascinate me.”
“I thought you wanted to watch the Super Bowl.”
“I did, but I’d rather spend a quiet evening right here with you.” He allowed his hand to drift innocently to her thigh when he said it. He felt the muscle jerk beneath his touch, but to her credit Ann never glanced away from the television.
“Go away, Hank.”
“Am I bothering you?”
“Yes.”
He chuckled at her honest, heartfelt response. She turned a fierce scowl on him.
“Go away,” she repeated.
“Why? I think this is cozy. I want to share your interests. If this herbal medicine thing is as good as you say it is, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it just as much as a football game.”
With a deep sigh, she turned and handed him the remote control. “You win. Watch the game.”
“Are you sure?” He’d flipped the channel before the question was out of his mouth.
“Very sure,” she said wryly, getting to her feet.
Hank grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down. “Stay and watch it with me.”
“When pigs fly.”
“Give it a chance. I was willing to watch the China thing with you.”
“Sure you were.”
“Honest.”
She chuckled despite herself. “Your nose is growing, Riley.”
“Okay, so it was a calculated risk. Stay and watch this with me. Football’s no fun alone.” He reached behind the sofa and came up with two beers. “Here you go.”
To his astonishment, she took the bottle without protest and tilted it up. When she took another long swallow and then another, he began to get worried. “Maybe you should slow down,” he said.
“Why? Isn’t this the way you’re supposed to watch the game? A beer in one hand, a bowl of chips in the other. Where are the chips, by the way? I’m sure you have them hidden away somewhere.”
Still watching her warily, he reached behind the sofa again and retrieved the potato chips.
“Any dip?” she inquired as she took a handful.
“In the refrigerator,” he murmured, bemused by her odd behavior. Chips? Dip? Why wasn’t she yelling her head off by now? “I’ll get it.”
When he came back, to his amazement she hadn’t switched channels. He held out the onion dip. She loaded down a chip with the sour-cream mixture, then popped it into her mouth.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine.”
“But you hate all this stuff.”
“But I’m a good sport. Don’t forget that. Now be quiet. They’re playing the national anthem.”
All through the first quarter, Ann sat stoically beside him, drinking her beer and eating potato chips as if she’d been deprived of them since childhood. She did not, however, look as though she were enjoying herself. She closed her eyes every time she anticipated the players making contact, which meant she was missing most of the game.
She watched the aftermath of a particularly violent third-down defense with a sort of avid fascination, then shivered. “Brutal. What is wrong with you? How can you stand this?” she said, turning her gaze on him. She actually looked shaken.
“Annie, this isn’t just a matter of brute force out there. It’s not just twenty-two guys trying to see how hard they can slam into one another.”
“You’ll never prove that to me.”
“I can if you’ll keep your eyes open for a couple of plays here. Now watch this. See the receiver going out for that pass. See that leap, the way he turns his body and reaches over his shoulder for the ball. Have you ever seen a ballet dancer execute a turn any more gracefully than that?”
“What do you know about ballet?” she scoffed.
“Season ticket holder, Miami City Ballet,” he retorted.
She stared in obvious astonishment. “You?”
“Me. Do you know that male dancers have almost as many injuries as football players? They wind up with bad backs, knee surgery, hip replacements. Do you wince when you see them on stage?”
She considered the argument thoughtfully. “I never thought of it like that.”
“These men are just as agile in their own way. If you watch a game as an exercise in athletic skill, rather than a display of brute strength, it takes on a whole different perspective.”
She glanced at the screen, then back at him. “Ballet, huh?”
“Pirouettes, leaps and all.”
“I’ll give it another inning.”
He groaned. “Half, Annie. Another half.”
Chapter 5
The last of Ann’s patients had left an hour ago. She’d finished her notes, put away the files, emptied the teapot and tidied her desk. She’d even plumped every last cushion on the sofa and aligned every slat in the vertical blinds. Practically the only thing left that could possibly delay her departure for home was kneeling down and picking every piece of lint from the carpet. She glanced down consideringly, then muttered an oath that rarely crossed her lips.
She was losing it. If this wasn’t proof enough, then yesterday’s behavior was. She had sat in front of the television through an entire football game. She had actually caught herself cheering for one extraordinarily evasive runner. She’d only barely noticed the violent tackles that had cleared
his path. She had eaten more than her share of a huge bowl of greasy potato chips slathered with sour-cream-and-onion dip. She’d allowed the kids to order pizzas for dinner. Stunned by the unexpected permission, they had asked for fat-laden pepperoni and sausage. She hadn’t even blinked. She blamed it on the beer.
Worse, though she would never on pain of death admit it to another soul, she had enjoyed herself. More precisely, she had enjoyed sharing the evening with Hank. Over the past few days, she had even started looking forward to their morning runs. Now she awoke to coffee already perking and Hank waiting for her on the back porch. The five miles had started to go by all too quickly.
Which was, of course, exactly why she didn’t want to go home now. Hank was going to be there. Every sexy, self-confident, increasingly intriguing inch of him. Lord only knew what temptation he had planned for her tonight. He seemed to have established himself as some sort of guiding spirit whose only purpose in life was to make her forget all of her long-held, rational beliefs. He was doing a darn good job of it. He was proof incarnate that opposites attract. She was struggling to keep in mind that it was usually disaster when they did. Maybe a review of a few of her case files would drive home the point.
When the phone rang, she grabbed it, praying for a reprieve from yet another struggle against some perverse fate that had tossed her into this emotional fray.
“Dr. Davies.”
“Ann, it’s Tom. How’d you like to do your civic duty tonight?”
The mayor! Perfect. The gods were listening after all. She lifted her eyes heavenward and without asking a single question said a fervent, “Yes!”
Tom laughed. “Don’t you even want to know what I’m after?”
“Well, of course, but I trust your judgment. It must be important or you wouldn’t be asking.”
“How come you’re never that complimentary when I’m asking for a date?”
“Maybe it has something to do with knowing that I’d be competing with the entire female population of the Keys.”
“I’d throw them all over for you.”
“You say that, knowing you’re safe. If I took you up on it, you’d develop a nervous tic. Now what exactly did you need me to do tonight?”
“There’s a hearing in Key West on offshore drilling. Can you go? I’ll drive. We need bodies down there.”
“No brains?”
“Okay. That goes without saying. What about it?”
“Of course I’ll go. Let me call home and make arrangements for the kids.”
“Terrific. I’ll pick you up at the office in ten minutes. Sorry about the late notice, but we just got word that the state officials were coming tonight. We’d thought it was only a preliminary strategy session.”
“No problem. See you soon.”
She disconnected the call, then dialed home. She knew Hank was there but she didn’t want to make him feel like he had to completely take over when she wasn’t home. She’d ask Tracy to cover dinner. Melissa answered. Next to overflowing bathtubs, the telephone was her favorite thing.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Ann said.
“Hi.” Melissa whispered the response so softly Ann could barely hear her.
“Honey, is Tracy there?”
That was greeted by a long silence, then finally a hesitant, “No.”
So much for that idea. “How about Jason?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Can you get him for me?”
“Okay.”
Melissa hung up the phone. Ann gritted her teeth and called back.
“Hi,” Melissa said cheerfully.
Ann used her sternest tone, the one that always got results. “Melissa, I want you to get Jason at once.”
This time the phone clattered to the floor. She heard Melissa’s footsteps receding, accompanied by choking sobs.
“Oh, Lord. Now what?” Tapping her fingers against the desktop, she waited on the off chance that Melissa would actually get Jason. She could hear the shouts of various children in the background.
“Hey,” Paul yelled. “Who left the phone off the hook?”
“Paul!” she yelled back, just as the phone clicked off.
She dialed again. This time Paul answered.
“Paul, it’s Mom.”
“Oh, hi, Mom. Have you been trying to call? The phone’s been off the hook.”
“I know,” she said with rapidly ebbing patience. “Would you please get Jason for me?”
“Sure thing. Hey, Jason, Mom wants to talk to you. Are you coming home soon? Melissa’s crying something fierce.”
“She’ll be okay,” Ann promised just as she heard Tom’s horn blow. “Is Jason coming?”
“Yeah, he’s right here, but I gotta ask you something first. Is it okay if Hank takes Tommy and me to the construction site tonight?”
She couldn’t imagine Hank volunteering to do that. “Is that your idea or his?”
“He said it would be okay.”
She sighed. “I’m not sure that’s an answer, but if he’s willing, fine. Be careful, though, and do exactly what he tells you to do.”
“Okay,” he said quickly. “Here’s Jason.”
Visions of Tommy tumbling off a girder twenty feet in the sky suddenly made her shake. “Wait, Paul… Paul!”
“It’s me, Jason. What’s up, Mom?”
“Tell Paul to be sure to hold Tommy’s hand the whole time they’re at that construction site.”
“I’ll tell him, but how come you didn’t tell him yourself?”
Ann very nearly groaned. “Just tell him, Jason. And tell him to do exactly what Hank says.”
“Is that all you wanted?”
“No, it is not all I wanted!” She took a deep breath and lowered her voice. “I have to go down to Key West for a meeting. Can you make sure the kids all get their dinner? Tracy should be home soon.”
“Wrong. She’s staying in Key West tonight. She called a while ago.”
That gave her second thoughts. Maybe she shouldn’t be taking off like this. Jason was old enough to babysit, but he didn’t have a lot of experience at it and he didn’t get along with the little ones the way Tracy did. With him in charge, she was likely to find all of the kids still up when she got home. A thought occurred to her.
“When is Hank taking Paul and Tommy to the site?”
“I don’t know.” Jason’s voice immediately turned surly as he sensed her lack of faith. “Besides, I don’t need him. I can watch the kids.”
She decided to risk it. Hank would have Paul and Tommy with him. Maybe it would be good for Jason to develop a sense of responsibility. Surely he could keep an eye on David and Melissa for a couple of hours. “Okay. Make sure they get to bed on time.”
“Yeah.”
She’d hung up the phone and was halfway to the door when she began reconsidering. She picked up her phone again and scrolled through the numbers, searching for Hank’s cell. She found it and, after an instant’s hesitation, she dialed. It rang and rang before finally his voice mail kicked in. That reassured her. It must mean that he was already on his way to the construction site. Jason would tell him where she was when he came home. There was no need to leave a message.
Relieved on all counts, including the fact that she was being saved from another close encounter with the man who’d been awakening her senses from a deep slumber, she closed the office door behind her and left for Key West.
When Hank walked into the kitchen after taking Paul and Tommy on a tour of the construction site, he found the counter littered with the makings of peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches. A trail of milk extended from the refrigerator to the kitchen table. Ann obviously wasn’t home yet. He’d been hoping earlier that she’d be there in time to go along with him and the kids. He’d even considered waiting for her, but Paul and Tommy had been too eager to leave and he hadn’t wanted to look quite so obvious about wanting to include Ann in the outing.
He was wiping off the counter when Jason came in.
“I wa
s going to do that,” he muttered defensively.
“It’s no big deal. How about getting the milk off the floor before somebody slips?”
“You’re so hot to clean up, do it yourself,” Jason said, taking off and slamming the screen door behind him. Hank’s temper kicked into overdrive.
“Jason, get back here this instant!” he ordered as he yanked open the back door and hit the porch at a run. Jason already had one foot in the yard, the other on the bottom step. He turned slowly and came back onto the porch.
“Who’s gonna make me?” he said, facing Hank toe-to-toe, even though he stood barely shoulder height to him. Hank had to admire the kid’s guts, if not his sense or his rotten attitude.
“You don’t really need to ask that, do you? Now get back in here, mop up the milk and go to your room. While you’re in there, do a little thinking about minding your manners. If I ever hear you talking to Ann the way you just sassed me, I’ll tan your hide till they can use it for shoe leather.”
“Real tough guy, huh? Why don’t you just go back to Miami and leave us alone,” Jason muttered, but he went back in and cleaned up the floor.
When Jason had stalked off to his room, Hank fixed himself a sandwich, took out a beer and sat down at the kitchen table to wait for Ann. He couldn’t get his mind off Jason. The boy was trouble just begging to happen. Maybe what he needed, aside from some old-fashioned discipline, was an improved sense of self-worth. Maybe in the morning, after Jason had done a little thinking about his behavior, he’d talk to him about an after-school job. Good hard work and a little cash in his pockets might do wonders for him. He’d ask Ann about the idea tonight. If she agreed, he’d find something for him to do at the construction site.
Funny how he was starting to look forward to talking things over with her. He’d never been particularly anxious to get home after work before, but now he could barely wait to leave the office behind. It was nice having someone to share the day with, someone whose opinions he increasingly respected.
Face it, Riley, it’s a hell of a lot more than that. She’s getting under your skin.
All he’d been able to think about during the Super Bowl was the way her skin had burned beneath his touch, the way her cheeks had colored when he’d brushed them with his fingertips, the way her lips had parted breathlessly when he’d pressed an innocent good-night kiss against her brow. It had taken every ounce of willpower in him to keep from claiming more. He’d had to remind himself over and over that he had ruled out a casual affair with this woman days ago. His body, unfortunately, hadn’t gotten the message. Even now it tightened at the vivid memories.
Tea and Destiny Page 6
