The Best Bride

by Susan Mallery

  He swallowed. “I don’t know if I can wait that long. She makes me nervous. I don’t know what to say to her.”

  “Why do you have to say anything?”

  “I don’t mean about the crush. Just in general. Like I told you the night I took the kids to the movies, I don’t want to encourage her, and I don’t want to hurt her feelings.” He closed his eyes briefly. “She’s always trying to be next to me. I’m hiding behind a ten- and eight-year-old.” He glared at her. “Don’t you even think about laughing at me.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.” She bit on her lower lip to keep from grinning. “But I do have one question. Why is this such a big deal? Aren’t you used to women throwing themselves at you?”

  His dark eyes met her own. “You’re trying to set me up. If I say yes, then you’re going to call me an egotistical jerk.”

  “I promise I’m not.” She gripped the steering wheel and stared straight ahead. “I’m stating a fact. Why is dealing with Lindsay’s crush such a problem for you?”

  “She’s just a kid. She’s sensitive, vulnerable. I would find it easier to confront a woman. Besides, despite what you think, I don’t have women lined up for miles.”

  She made a show of glancing around the outside of his house. “I can see that.”

  “You’re not helping.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. Let’s be logical. You’re very good with children. Why don’t you treat Lindsay like one of the kids?”

  “I’ve tried that. She makes it a point to tell me how grown-up she is.” He shuddered. “She offered to do my laundry.”

  Sandy chuckled. For the first time, she realized being around Kyle made her feel good. As if the world had been set right. “I can’t get her to do her own laundry. Why don’t you let her do yours, then you can do hers and we’ll call it even?”

  He growled her name.

  She held up her hands in a gesture of surrender. “Okay, no more teasing. If you don’t want to treat her like a child, then treat her like a teenager. You were one once. What do you remember?”

  “That having a crush on someone could hurt like hell.”

  “Really?” She glanced at him. “You had a crush? On whom?”

  He shrugged. “It’s not important. The point is, I don’t want her to be rejected like I was.”

  “You were rejected? By whom?”

  He touched the tip of her nose. “You’re suddenly interested in my past.”

  “Why not? It’s fascinating. I never knew a Haynes had been rejected in love.” She tried to remember back to high school. “Do I know her? Oh, probably not. You were a couple of grades back, weren’t you?”

  “Yeah, you’re older than me.”

  She grimaced. “Thanks for the reminder. Was it one of the cheerleaders? That foreign-exchange student from Sweden? What was her name? I can’t remember. Didn’t she date Jordan?”

  “Enough with my past. You’re not helping here. What am I going to do with Lindsay?”

  “Wait it out. Maybe something will happen to convince her you’re just some guy who’s not very interesting at all.”

  “Gee, thanks. I can’t wait for that to happen.”

  She smiled. Their gazes locked and she felt her heart begin beating faster. Tension crackled between them. She hadn’t realized how close they were, with him leaning in the car window. They were close enough that she could see the individual whiskers on his cheeks and chin, and the shape of his mouth. That same mouth that had tempted and teased her nine days ago. Suddenly, her lips felt dry and she was compelled to touch them with the tip of her tongue. She could see him follow the movement and he seemed to catch his breath. For a moment, she thought he might lean forward those last few inches and kiss her again. She wanted him to. She willed him to. Instead, he stretched his arm inside the car and grabbed her left hand.

  “You took off your ring.”

  She pulled her fingers free of his touch and clasped them together on her lap. “So?”

  “Why did you do it?”

  “I’m not sure. Maybe it was time. I’ve decided to see how it feels. If it bothers me too much, I’ll put the ring back on.”

  She wanted to tell him not to read anything into her actions, but that statement seemed like too much of a confession of what she was thinking. He wasn’t that interested in her. If anything, he was probably intrigued by a woman who didn’t willingly fall into his arms at every moment. Then she remembered the kiss and how she had fallen into his arms, so there went that theory.

  “I found her, Mommy,” Nichole called as she raced back toward the car.

  “Good. We need to get going.” Sandy didn’t care if it looked as if she was running away. “See you later,” she told Kyle.

  He straightened. “Don’t forget about the barbecue. And the salad.”

  “I won’t.” She waited until Nichole had buckled her seat belt, then hit the gas. The quicker she got away from Kyle, the quicker she would stop making a fool of herself. She was worse than Lindsay, mooning over a man she shouldn’t want. If only she could stop thinking about his kisses.

  * * *

  Kyle stared after the station wagon until it turned onto the main road and disappeared. Then he glanced at the hedge he’d been trimming. The poor plant was about as neat as it was going to get. He should leave it alone. But if he did, that would mean his chores outside were finished and he wouldn’t have an excuse to avoid the house. Lindsay was inside, making lemonade. Maybe he was a coward, but he didn’t want to be alone with her. She terrified him.

  He put the clippers in the garage, then hesitated by the back door. He was the adult, he reminded himself. He was the one in control of the situation.

  “You’re scared,” a boy called.

  Kyle whipped around toward the sound.

  “Am not” came the answer.

  He recognized the second voice. It was Blake. A thick hedge and several trees separated Sandy’s property from a narrow private road. Kyle pushed through the bushes, ignoring the scratches from the branches, and came out at the top of a slight rise. The grassy slope rolled into the private dirt road. Two boys stood directly in front of him. Three feet away, facing them, was Blake.

  Kyle could see he was scared. His eyes were wide behind his glasses, his body stiff. The taller of the other two boys moved closer.

  “You’re scared, and I’m gonna make you more scared. You can’t tell me what to do.”

  Kyle recognized the neighborhood bully. “Gary Warner, stop that right now.”

  Blake looked up at him. Gary took advantage of the boy’s distraction and hit him right in the mouth.

  “Damn little brat,” Kyle muttered. He started toward the trio. The third boy took off running. Gary hesitated, then darted for home. Blake stood there looking stunned. He touched his hand to his mouth. When he drew it away, he saw the blood. Instantly, tears rolled down his cheeks.

  Kyle reached his side. The other two boys had disappeared, so he put his arm around Blake. “He popped you good. Let me see.”

  Blake sniffed and raised his chin. He continued to cry. Tears dripped from his eyes, but he didn’t make any sound. The silence tore at Kyle’s gut. He wanted to catch that little punk and teach him what it felt like to be bullied by someone. Instead, he stared at Blake’s mouth. Carefully, he turned down Blake’s lower lip.

  “You’ve got a cut here,” he said. “How do your teeth feel? Are any of them loose?”

  Blake closed his mouth and used his tongue to check. He turned away and spat out blood. “They’re okay.”

  “Good. Let’s get you home and we’ll put some ice on your mouth. You’re going to swell up like a chipmunk.”

  Blake tried to smile, but the movement made him wince. He sniffed. “It hurts,” he mumbled.

  “I know, kid. It happened to me a bunch of times. I never seemed to remember the pain before I got in a fight. It’ll get better.” Kyle bent over and picked him up. Blake wrapped his legs around Kyle’s waist and buried his head i
n his shoulder.

  Kyle could feel the dampness on his skin. He wasn’t sure if it was from the tears or the blood. He didn’t much care. Instead, he started back the long way, going to the end of the private road, then turning left and walking until he reached Sandy’s driveway. An occasional sob shook Blake’s skinny body. He held the boy close, patting his back and murmuring soothingly. Poor kid. If this was his first fight—and from the way he’d reacted, it had been—he was scared, sore and defeated. Hell of a way to spend a summer afternoon.

  As he turned down the fork in the driveway toward his house, he saw Lindsay waiting by the back door.

  “Where were you?” she anever ses had ses, hthe lemonade.” She glanced at her brotherr sesWhat happened to him?”

  “He got into a fight.”

  “Really?” Her eyes widened. “Mom’s gonna kill you, Blake.”

  Kyle glared at her. “He doesn’t need to hear that right now. Why don’t you go home while I take care of your brother? When your mom gets back, would you please ane her to come see me?”

  Lindsay glanced at the boy in his arms and shrugged. “Sure. I’ll be by later to help you with the cooking, Kyle.” She gave him her best smile, then sashayed up the walkway.

  Kyle groaned softly.

  Inside the house, he set Blake on the counter and examined his mouth more thoroughly. There was only one cut and it had almost stopped bleeding. But his cheek was swelling fast. Kyle grabbed a frozen bag of peas from the freezer and had the kid press it against his face.

  Blake touched the bag to his skin, then jumped. “It’s cold.”

  “It’s supposed to be. It’ll help take the pain away and make you look a little more normal so your mom might not kill me along with you.”

  Blake held the bag with his left hand and pushed up his glasses with his right. “It wasn’t your fault. Gary is the one who hit me.”

  Kyle leaned against the counter at right angles to where Blake was sitting. He folded his arms over his chest. “I saw that. You want to tell me why?”

  The boy lowered his head slightlyr sesWe were playing ball. I even hit a double.” He looked up and tried to smile. “That hurts. Anyway, the next guy to hit was Robby. He’s nice. He said I could come swimming at his house.”

  “So Gary punched you?”

  “No.” Blake sighed. “Robby hit his ball out. Gary was pitching, and he got mad. The next time Robby came up to bat, Gary hit him with the ball. We all knew it was on purpose. But no one would stand up to Gary except for Robby and me. A lot of the boys went home. I guess they were scared.”

  Blake looked scared, too, as he told the story. Kyle knew he’d had nothing to do with cultivating the strength of character Blake showed, but he couldn’t stop the feeling of pride swelling inside of him. The kid had guts. Standing up to a bully to protect a new friend. Sandy had done a hell of a job with her kids.

  “Then what happened?”

  “Gary started chasing Robby. I tried to protect him. Gary hit Robby, then he turned on me.” He shrugged. “You saw that part.” He sighed. “Lindsay’s right. Mom’s gonna kill me. She hates fighting.”

  Kyle knew it was wrong, but at this moment in time he wanted to get his hands on Gary and shake him until the kid’s teeth rattled. He wouldn’t, of course, but he would do the next best thing. When he went on duty, he would pay a visit to Gary’s parents and have a talk with them. He knew the Warners and suspected they would be as angry as he was at their son’s behavior.

  “You weren’t fighting,” Kyle told him. “You didn’t even raise your hands to defend yourself. Someone hit you. It’s not the same thing.”

  Blake looked a little brighter. “Yeah?”

  Kyle grinned. “Yeah.” He moved closer to the boy. “How’s that cheek?”

  Blake lowered the bag of frozen peas. “It doesn’t hurt so bad.”

  It might not hurt, but it sure looked ugly. A large bruise had formed on the left side of his mouth. The skin was puffy and discolored. At least the bleeding had stopped. Kyle touched the tender area.

  “You’ll live,” he said, then stared at Blake. “Did your dad ever teach you how to defend yourself?”

  Blake shook his head.

  Figures, Kyle thought. He was probably too busy with his own life to notice how he was ignoring his son.

  “Do you know why Gary hit you?” he asked.

  “’Cause I said he’d thrown the ball at Robby.”

  “That’s only part of the reason. Gary hit you because he thought he could get away with it. Bullies pick on people who let them. If you stand up to a bully, he usually backs off. At heart, they’re cowards.”

  Blake frowned. “Gary didn’t act like he was scared.”

  “He was. Trust me. Did you see how fast he ran off when I showed up? Also, he hit you when you turned toward me. It was a cheap shot, when he knew you couldn’t fight back. What you need to do is learn how to defend yourself. I’m not saying you should start a fight, but if one finds you, you have to be able to keep from being taken advantage of. Do you understand?”

  “I guess.” Blake looked doubtful.

  “It’s not that hard. I’ll show you.” He took the bag of peas and set them on the counter, then he grabbed Blake under his arms and lowered him to the floor. He heard the sound of a car going past. Sandy was home. Lindsay would tell her what had happened and she would come right over. He couldn’t wait to tell her how well her son had behaved. She was going to be proud of the kid for defending another boy.

  “Stand like this.” Kyle demonstrated the stance, with his feet apart and his weight balanced. “You need to be able to move quickly in either direction. There’s no shame in ducking a punch.”

  Blake mimicked the action. “I wanna duck for sure, because it hurts to get hit.”

  “You’re telling me.” Kyle grinned. “So you want to make sure the other guy doesn’t get a clear shot. Next, keep your arms up. You want to protect your face and body. Hunch over a little, giving him a smaller target.” Blake bent in half. “Not so much. Like this.”

  Kyle hunched down, drawing his chest in. “Keep your head low, but watch what he’s doing. Try to anticipate the move.”

  Blake lowered his arms to his side. “I can’t remember all this.”

  “It’s hard at first. We’ll practice. In a couple of weeks, you’ll be able to stand up to Gary and feel confident that he won’t get in another sucker punch.”

  The back door jerked open. Sandy tore into the room. From the look on her face, Kyle knew she’d spoken to Lindsay. She didn’t even glance at him. She rushed to her son’s side and dropped to her knees.

  “What happened?” she aneve frantically. “Are you okay? Lindsay said you were bleeding. Oh my God, look at your face.” She clutched his chin and stared at the darkening bruise. “You’ve been fighting.”

  Blake tried to smile, then he winced. “Kyle’s been teaching me to do better, so next time Gary won’t get in a cheap shot.”

  “A what? Never mind. Are you hurt anywhere else?” She ran her hands along his chest and sides, then down his legs. Blake giggled when her fingers tickled him. “Nothing’s broken?”

  “He’s fine,” Kyle said. “The other kid got off one good hit. That’s all. I saw it happen.”

  The back door opened again. Lindsay came in. She wouldn’t look at him. Sandy stood up and pushed her hair out of her face. “Lindsay, take your brother back to the house and put some ice on his face. I’ll be right there. After I speak with Kyle.”

  He didn’t like the sound of that. “Look, Sandy, it’s not what you think.”

  She ignored him. “Now, Lindsay.” Her daughter grabbed Blake by the hand and led him out the door. Sandy followed them and stood by the screen, watching until they were out of earshot. Then she turned on him.

  “What the hell were you thinking? I leave my child in your care for a half hour and he gets in a fight. He’s bruised and bleeding and I walk in on you trying to teach him how to do it again. Are yo
u crazy? Where was your brain in all this? Your common sense? I don’t want Blake starting fights.”

  He held up his hand to stop her. “Sandy, it wasn’t like that.”

  “Sure it wasn’t. Let me guess. You weren’t thinking at all. You were too busy playing daddy.”

  “I was trying to teach him to defend himself.”

  “Against whom? You let him go play with children who are dangerous? I trusted you, Kyle. You said it was okay, and I believed you. You have to be more responsible than that. This isn’t a game. The well-being of my children is at stake here.”

  She paced across the kitchen and back toward the door. “I can’t believe this.”

  He couldn’t believe it, either. She wasn’t giving him a chance. “If you would let me explain.”

  She stopped in front of the door and spun to face him. Her chest heaved with each breath, anger darkened her eyes. “Explain what? That you were too busy with your car or your tan to supervise Blake? My ten-year-old son is bleeding and bruised from a fight. You’re the one who let him go off with those other boys. You even admitted you saw what happened. Did you try to stop it?”

  “Of course I did.”

  “Not hard enough.”

  “Dammit, Sandy, if you would shut up and listen to me, I can tell you what happened. You’re jumping to conclusions.”

  “No, I don’t want to hear it.” She approached him and raised her arm until she was pointing at the center of his chest. She stopped when she was less than a foot away. “Your problem is you won’t take responsibility for your actions.”

  He couldn’t believe she was being this unreasonable. Maybe it was a parental thing he couldn’t understand. He tried to hold on to his temper, although she was making it damn hard. “Your problem is you spend so much time being responsible, you’ve forgotten what it’s like to live.”

  She glared at him. “Maybe I have. So what? I’ve learned the hard way that I can only depend on myself. My dad walked out before I was born. My mother was an alcoholic. I spent the first twelve years of my life looking after her. When she died, I moved here to be with my aunt. It was the first time I got to be a child. Maybe it wasn’t enough. Maybe I couldn’t stop acting like a grown-up, but I’m glad. Because I’m going to make it work. Despite you, and despite Thomas, who instead of being a husband was worse than any kid I could have had. Do you know how he died? Do you?” Her voice was shrill.