The Back-Up Plan

by Debra Webb

  She tucked the book back into its spot and moved to a work table on the other side of the room. She scanned the artwork only a mother could love for Melissa’s name. Though the work was dry, the essence of finger paint still hung in the air. Textures ranged from thick globs of paint to thin smears. Houses, stick people, and other subjects which she could not readily identify graced the little artists’ pages.

  “May I help you?”

  Donna started at the deep, male voice. The sound reverberated through her, hinting at secret fantasies and making her pulse react. She turned around slowly to face the stranger who had rescued her on that dark country road less than a dozen hours ago.

  A wide smile spread across his face as he recognized her. Heat rushed to her cheeks as she pushed away the vivid images from last night’s dreams. The man was even better looking in the full light of day. His presence seriously diminished the size of the room. He reminded her of one of those big muscular guys who played professional sports.

  And she hated that type, she reminded herself sternly.

  “So, we meet again.” Amusement twinkled in his blue eyes, the bluest she had ever seen. “Since you didn’t leave a glass slipper behind, I figured I’d never see you again.” He closed the distance between them with slow, deliberate steps; using the time to take in every aspect of her. From the top of her pony-tailed head to her loafers and back.

  Did she always have to look her worst at the most inopportune times? “I’m waiting to see my daughter’s teacher, Ms. Bradley.” Donna forced a smile into place. Who is this guy? He could be the principal or a physical education teacher. That had to be it. Jeans, Nike sweatshirt and shoes. Now that she thought about it, he did look like a phys ed teacher. A jock through and through.

  He stuck out his hand. “I’m Hank Bradley.”

  Donna’s mouth dropped open, but no sound came out. No. This man couldn’t possibly be Melissa’s kindergarten teacher.

  “I guess I’m not what you expected.”

  “Excuse me?” Her mind reeling, those two words were all that sputtered out of her mouth.

  “You were expecting someone about this tall.” He indicated the middle of his impossibly wide chest. “Gray hair, maybe?”

  Certain his amused state resulted from her gaping mouth, Donna snapped it shut. She had to say something. But what? “I’m sorry,” she replied wanly. “I thought that...that you were a woman.”

  “Well...” He grinned rather wickedly now. “Last time I checked I was definitely a man.”

  Her cheeks were on fire with embarrassment and no small amount of frustration. “I just assumed a kindergarten teacher would be a woman,” she defended.

  “No one told you otherwise?” The urge to laugh out loud was written all over his handsome face.

  “She didn’t—I mean...I had no idea.” Flustered, she felt like giving herself a bop upside the head for behaving like a school girl herself. No, no, on second thought, if anybody deserved to be bopped, it was Patty. They would be talking…soon.

  Dear sister Patty had some serious explaining to do. Not only had she not mentioned his being a man, Melissa hadn’t mentioned it, either. How—better yet, why—had it been kept a secret? Donna had a sneaking suspicion she would not like the answer.

  Hank Bradley’s big hand reached for the one she’d failed to extend. Before she could sidestep the gesture, long fingers curled around hers. Like last night, his touch prompted a startling tingle that licked a path up her arm and tipped her completely off balance.

  The clamoring voices of the children snapped her back to attention. She summoned her best attempt at a professional bearing and opted to start over. “I’m Donna Jacobs. Melissa’s mother.”

  “Ah, so that’s your name. And all this time I thought it’d be Cinderella.”

  He flashed another of those devastating smiles and she felt her knees go weak. He gave her hand a final squeeze before letting go. Did this man have any idea how sexy he was? Whoa! Get a grip. This guy was so not her type. Besides, he was Melissa’s teacher.

  Oh, God, this man is your daughter’s teacher.

  “Was there something I could do for you this morning, Ms. Jacobs?”

  She forced her eyes to focus on his, despite the havoc those baby blues played with her equilibrium. “I’m here about the discipline slip.”

  “I see.” He glanced in the direction of the restless children and then back to her. “Just give me a minute to get the kids started on something.”

  “Of course.” She managed a tight smile.

  “Just don’t take off on me,” he called over one broad shoulder as he strode across the room.

  A new flush of embarrassment rushed up her throat and across her cheeks. What in the world? She hadn’t reacted like this to a good-looking man since...she couldn’t even remember when. But then extreme stress often caused uncharacteristic behavior. Pressure and stress had been her constant companions for the last six months.

  No matter the reason, she had to be getting pretty desperate to be attracted to a man who personified the term jock. You couldn’t trust them as far as you could throw them. This one would be no different. And this one, unfortunately, was in a position to have a great deal of influence on the most important person in her life—her child. This was not good.

  Maybe that was prejudiced of her but she had her reasons.

  She watched, still half in denial, as the man handed out colorful, wooden puzzles to his little students. He patiently answered the barrage of questions fired at him. When can we go outside? Is it time for lunch yet? Do we have to do our ABC’s today?

  Donna tried again to shake the disbelief as she drifted in the direction of his desk. This was too weird. Whoever heard of a kindergarten teacher like this? The man looked like the jolly green giant next to the five-year-olds. Only he wasn’t green, he was...gorgeous.

  He swaggered back to where she waited and she was helpless to look away. How could simply walking across the room be that sexy?

  She really had lost it…her sister had been warning her that this was coming. You can’t ignore your needs forever, little sis.

  “Have a seat, Ms. Jacobs.” He indicated a chair near the desk he now leaned against.

  “I’m kind of in a hurry this morning.” She squared her shoulders. “Since I arrived so late last night, I haven’t had the opportunity to speak with Melissa about the discipline slip.” A stiff smile pushed the corners of her lips upward. “Thanks again for coming to my rescue.”

  He nodded an acknowledgement. No ring, she noted as her eyes darted down to his hands resting on the desk on either side of him. He didn’t wear any jewelry at all. But that didn’t mean anything; lots of married men for one reason or another chose not to wear their wedding rings.

  She cleared her mind of the ridiculous distraction and took a deep breath before continuing. “I realize I should have made an appointment, but I thought it best to take care of this right away.”

  He said nothing. He merely waited for her to continue. A long ago learned, but never forgotten, psych class reminded Donna to precede the bad with something good. “Patty and Melissa have sung your praises since day one, by the way.” She arched a speculative brow. “Although, they did fail to mention that you were a mister.”

  He gave her another of those nods that told her nothing at all.

  “Anyway,” she muddled on. “I only came by to clear up the misunderstanding.”

  “Misunderstanding? I’m not sure I follow you.” He cocked his handsome head and studied her more closely.

  Donna wet her lips and forged on. “Melissa is a quiet, reserved child. Disrupting the class and displaying violence are completely out of character. I thought that perhaps you might have her confused with another student.”

  He straightened and crossed his arms over his broad chest. A full foot or two stood between them, yet her skin tingled as if he were touching her. This was ridiculous!

  “Ms. Jacobs, I’d never send home a discipl
ine slip unless I was certain of who needed the discipline.” His voice had taken on a more formal tone, but remained warm and amiable.

  “I didn’t mean to imply that you’re incompetent,” she said quickly. She needed him cooperative, not defensive. “With so many new faces to learn, surely there’s room for error.”

  “I understand your concern about your daughter’s behavior.”

  “Melissa has never behaved in a violent manner. It’s hard for me to believe that she would.”

  “I wouldn’t call Melissa’s behavior violent, but shoving her classmates for no apparent reason is just not acceptable behavior. I let it go the first couple of times, but a pattern’s been developing and I think it’s important that we take care of it before it becomes a real problem.”

  Indignation pushed aside her apprehension. This man could not possibly be talking about her child. The idea was ludicrous. Melissa was not now, nor had she ever been, a discipline problem. Donna had to make him understand how wrong he was. “But she’s never behaved this way before. There’s no reason, just out of the blue, for her to behave that way now.”

  “Moving to a new town is tough. Melissa was thrust into a new environment, one which you were absent from for the last couple of weeks. And that made it even tougher.” He shrugged one massive shoulder. “According to your registration information, you’re a single parent. Problems in your personal life could have set off this type of behavior. It’s not uncommon for kids to act out their frustrations this way.”

  Donna lifted her chin and glared at the man. All emotion, except one, vanished. Who did he think he was, judging her by his own preconceived notion of single parenthood? “Our relocation to Huntley may have had some ill effects on Melissa, but your assumption that there are problems in our home life is absurd. And furthermore, I do not appreciate the presumption. My marital status is, frankly, none of your business.”

  “I didn’t mean to suggest—”

  “I know my daughter, Mr. Bradley. There must be some other explanation for her behavior. I would suggest that you put your remarkable skills of perception to work at figuring out what it is.”

  The man blinked, taken aback. “I’m sorry if I’ve offended you, Ms. J—”

  “That’s Dr. Jacobs.” She was on a roll now. No fear. No attraction. Just plain old ticked off. He might be a knight in shining armor on a dark street when you had a flat tire, but he bore no resemblance whatsoever to the kind of teacher she wanted for her only child.

  “Dr. Jacobs,” he amended. “I know this is difficult, but sometimes children don’t react the way we expect them to. For whatever reasons, this is the behavior Melissa has displayed since her placement in my classroom.”

  “Perhaps that’s the problem.” Donna dropped the crumpled pink slip she’d been clutching onto his desk and turned toward the door. “If you’ll point me in the direction of the principal’s office, I’ll remedy that situation right now.”

  “M—Dr. Jacobs.” He followed her into the hall. “I’m sure we can resolve this matter without involving the principal.”

  Donna spun around at the abrupt change in his tone. His eyes no longer held that confident intensity. She couldn’t read the mixed emotions that played across his face, but it was clear that Mr. Hank Bradley wanted no part of the principal.

  “I’m not so sure, Mr. Bradley. How can I be certain that you won’t take your hostility toward me out on my daughter?”

  “Hostility?” Confusion joined the mixture of emotions. “If you’ve perceived my actions as hostile then you’re completely off base.”

  Donna eyed him for a long moment before responding. He was right. The man hadn’t actually been hostile. In fact, she was the one who’d been hostile. He’d been patient and polite, but that didn’t make him right about Melissa. No matter. She had to deal with the reality of this situation. She didn’t even know if this small town school had another kindergarten class.

  “Despite what you may be thinking, I am a reasonable person.” She saw the flash of doubt in his eyes. She tamped down the anger that wanted to rise again and turned on her most cooperative tone. Like it or not, she had to try to make this work. “I’ll speak to Melissa tonight and see if I can get to the bottom of things. I’m certain my absence has had some bearing on her behavior, but I’m here now.”

  “I’m sure your arrival will make all the difference. I’ll keep you posted.” Relief was evident as he extended his big hand once more. “I’m certain that together we can work this out.”

  “I hope so, Mr. Bradley.” Hesitation slowed her, but Donna took his hand. Her heart rate jumped at both his touch and his smile. What was wrong with her? Clearly Melissa wasn’t the only one reacting strangely to her new surroundings.

  Chapter Two

  Donna stood in the small parking area outside the building that was to be her clinic. There were words, she felt confident, that could describe what she saw and felt…but they eluded her just now. Mostly she just wanted to wilt into a heap on the ground and cry.

  “I told you the location is perfect,” Patty Russell announced. “Everyone who comes into town has to pass right by it.”

  Perched on the edge of a cornfield, the weathered building, probably one of the oldest in town, sat across the street from the local hardware store, circa 1882. A small convenience store was a stone’s throw away. The fact of the matter was the whole town appeared to have been dropped in the middle of one gigantic cornfield. There was a post office, the school, a small grocery store, a gas station and the hardware store, of course. The newest business appeared to be a larger convenience store on the far side of town where Main Street and the new interstate intersected.

  Donna had been prepared for small and quaint. And it was true that the main thorough that curved through Huntley passed right in front of this place. But it was old and a little creepy looking. The board and batten siding had a fresh coat of sand colored paint—thanks to Patty—but the metal sign mounted above the entrance needed another coat or two. Donna could see the ghost of the former business name beneath the new sandy color…Huntley Meats.

  “Please tell me this wasn’t a butcher shop.” Donna felt sick to her stomach. Every dime she’d had in savings had gone into this venture…into moving close to her only family.

  The plan had sounded so good in theory. Huntley was one of the South’s many small towns in need of a medical clinic. Since the old doctor retired, the closest doctor or hospital was at least thirty miles away. Sam, Patty’s husband, had the perfect house for Donna and Melissa. His aunt had left it to him. It was all just meant to be. Patty would get everything ready, including enrolling Melissa in school on time while Donna remained in Denver to settle the last of that nasty business.

  “No, no,” Patty insisted. “It hasn’t been a butcher shop for decades. Sam’s great-great uncle Silas used it for the lumber mill’s office and then the Martin family bought it for their son who was in medical school. Old Doc Martin ran a clinic here until he retired last year.” Patty slung an arm around Donna’s sagging shoulders. “I promise you’ll be pleasantly surprised when we get inside. The electrician’s already here doing the final inspection. And don’t worry about this.” She waved off the exterior concerns Donna voiced. “The new sign will be delivered and installed tomorrow. It’ll cover the past right up.”

  Donna moved her head up and down. She didn’t want to hurt her sister’s feelings. Their parents had died years ago. There was no one left in their hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, to call family. Patty and Sam had moved from Birmingham nearly a year ago to be near his mother. This was Sam’s hometown. He had a large family. It made sense for Patty and her kids to be here.

  Shame heaped onto the other troubling feelings Donna suffered at the moment. She hadn’t been to visit her sister in nearly a year. Patty and the girls had come to see her and Melissa, but the trouble in Denver had precluded Donna from doing anything but muddling through for months.

  That was finally over. She
was here to start fresh with the back-up plan her sister had single-handedly put together for her.

  They would make this work.

  Patty ushered Donna inside and a smile bloomed on her lips. “Wow. Talk about night and day.” If Donna had been shocked when she pulled up outside, she was blown away now.

  “Told you.” Patty beamed a triumphant smile.

  The lobby was small but well done with comfortable gray chairs flanking tables with neat stacks of magazines to keep patients occupied. The tile floors gleamed. A workable area for the receptionist included a partition that separated it from the lobby. Beyond the sliding window were a desk and several file cabinets.

  “This way to your office, Doctor.”

  Grinning like a proud mamma, Patty guided Donna through a door into a long narrow hall. There were six—no seven—doors lining the walls. At the end of the hall the two men gathered around the breaker box didn’t bother looking up.

  “On your left is access to the receptionist area. Beyond that is a supply room, your office and the bathroom. On the right side of the hall you have three small, but serviceable exam rooms.”

  Feeling like a kid in a candy store, Donna peeked in the exam rooms and her office. All were small but clean and well equipped. “This is incredible, Patty.” She gave her sister a hug. “You really did a great job.”

  Patty drew back. “Did you expect anything less?” She made a harrumphing sound. “I’ve got you set up, sister,” she said with a cocky sway. “Your baby girl, too.”

  Hank Bradley. The big guy’s image abruptly kicked all else from Donna’s head. “Speaking of my baby girl.” The irritation that had died a sudden and swift death when she rolled up in front of this clinic resurrected. “Did you honestly believe that I was so narrow-minded that I couldn’t grasp the concept of a male kindergarten teacher?” Donna propped her hands on hips and glowered at her sister. “I have a feeling there’s something you’re not telling me.”