by HELEN HARDT
She slung the chair over her shoulder. “Grab your ball, Maya.”
Maya picked up her size-three soccer ball and smiled up at Kathryn. “Ready, Mommy.”
“Let’s go then. I promised you a milkshake, didn’t I?”
“A milkshake sounds great.”
Kathryn turned toward the deep timbre. Brett had heard her?
“I think Zoe might like a milkshake. Do you mind if we join you?”
He had to be kidding. “Uh, well, no, of course not.”
“We can go over to The Robin’s Nest and the girls can have a milkshake and play on the tot lot. You and I can catch up.”
Kathryn’s cheeks warmed.
“That would be fun, Mommy,” Maya said. “Zoe’s real nice.”
Nice to be put on the spot. She couldn’t talk to Brett. She just couldn’t. So much history. Too much unresolved between them.
“Please, Mommy?” Maya tugged on Kathryn’s sleeve.
Kathryn had a hard time saying no to Maya these days. She missed Danny so much. Divorce was hell on a kid, but Kathryn wouldn’t be doing her child any favors by letting her have everything she wanted. She wasn’t going to have one of those spoiled children of divorce.
“I have an early day tomorrow, sweetie. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, Mommy, please! You did promise me a milkshake.”
So she had. She sighed. “You’re right. I did. If Coach Brett and Zoe want to join us, that would be wonderful.”
“Oh good!” Maya jumped away from Kathryn and grabbed Zoe’s hand. “My favorite’s vanilla. What’s yours?”
“Strawberry,” the other girl said.
“I remember your favorite, Kath.” Brett’s breath warmed her neck. “Chocolate. Right?”
Kathryn’s skin bristled. No one else had ever called her that. Her mom called her Kathy. Everyone else, including Danny, had always called her Kathryn. Kath. Brett’s husky timbre trickled over her like thick, dark chocolate. Her knees weakened. She remembered. Remembered exactly how he’d licked chocolate off her warm neck…
The warmth of a flush drifted over her flesh. “I stopped eating chocolate when I was pregnant with Maya,” she said, her voice shaky. “I couldn’t stand it during morning sickness.”
Actually, she’d stopped eating chocolate years before, after she had left town. She’d stopped eating it for a reason she wasn’t ready to think about right now. Maybe not ever.
“Really?” Brett stepped beside her. “I’m surprised. I remember you as a true chocoholic.”
“Things change,” she said.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine. It’s…it’s good to see you again, Brett.”
“I didn’t realize you were back in town.”
“I’ve only been here a few months.”
“You kind of dropped off the face of the earth, you know.”
“Yeah.” She cleared her throat. “I had my reasons. You did marry Michelle, didn’t you?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I did.”
“That’s what I figured.” Kathryn shifted her gaze to Maya and Zoe skipping ahead.
Twenty years earlier
Kathryn’s throat constricted as she walked into Mrs. Knott’s math classroom. She’d refused to see Brett in her home or his for tutoring, so Mr. Phillips had arranged for their use of a classroom after school. She shook her head. What was the world coming to? To go to such effort just for baseball seemed fruitless to Kathryn.
Brett, to her surprise, was already in the classroom. She’d hoped they’d be chaperoned by Mr. Phillips or a teacher, but that wasn’t possible. However, the principal and Mr. Phillips would be in the building until five, so if she needed them, she could contact them via the intercom. Not that she feared for her physical safety around Brett. No, he wasn’t like that. Especially not with her. She just didn’t want to be alone with him for reasons of her own.
“Hey there,” he said.
“Hi.” She whisked through the maze of student desks quickly and took a seat at the teacher’s desk. Why not? She was the teacher, right?
“Can’t you sit beside me?”
“No. You’re here to learn. I’m here to tutor you. That makes me the teacher, you the student.”
He let out a drawling guffaw. “If you say so, teach.”
“Cut the attitude,” she said. “I’m here to help you, and according to Mr. Phillips, you wanted me and no one else.”
“True.”
“So treat me with respect, or I leave.”
The muscles in Brett’s perfectly sculpted face tightened. She’d hit a nerve. Interesting. But why? Why did he insist on her as a tutor when several other just as qualified individuals existed who didn’t share their history?
Of course, maybe he didn’t even remember their history. He’d left her alone for the past four years. He was one of the beautiful people, the popular crowd. He probably didn’t remember how he’d tormented her, made her middle school years hell, been the cause of many tears shed into her pillow.
Not that she ever let him see her cry. No, she was too proud for that. She’d always waited until she got home to her empty house before letting the dam break.
No time for that now. She was bound to tutor Brett Falcone, and the sooner they started, the sooner they could finish.
“What exactly do you need help with?” she asked. “Mr. Phillips said you’re failing math.”
“Dummy math.”
“Intro to Algebra?” Kathryn shook her head. Brett Falcone was an asshole to the nth degree, but she’d never thought he was stupid. Not a genius, to be sure, but failing Intro to Algebra? Something else was at work here. “I didn’t know seniors could take that class. Isn’t it a Freshman class?”
“Not for us dummies.”
“All right, enough of that talk. It’s counter-productive.”
He laughed. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It means if you keep telling yourself you’re a dummy, you’ll become one. So shut up already.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted her.
“Ha-ha. Okay, where are you having the problem?”
“First, let me ask you a question.”
“Sorry. I’m the tutor here. I ask the questions.”
“No, I’m the student. I’m the one with questions.”
He had a point. She blew a strand of hair out of her face. “What’s your question?”
“Why did you agree to tutor me?”
“That’s not a mathematical question, Brett.”
“No. But I’d like to know.”
She huffed. “Fine. If I answer that, I get to ask you a question.”
“Fair enough. So why?”
“Mr. Phillips made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
“What offer?”
“None of your business. I answered your question, now you answer mine.”
“You didn’t answer mine.”
“Oh yes, I did. It was a perfectly acceptable answer to the question as posed. Next time, ask a more specific question.” She couldn’t help a slight smile. “Now, why did you insist on me for a tutor?”
“You’re the smartest person I know.”
“You haven’t said two words to me in four years. How do you know I’m the smartest?”
“You’ve always been the smartest, Kath. Since we were little kids.” His lips curved into a churlish grin. “And there’s another reason.”
“Which is?”
“You’re a fox.”
Kathryn caught her chin before it dropped to the floor. A fox? This from Brett Falcone, the boy who’d tormented her for being an ugly nerd? Granted, once the braces had come off and she’d gotten contact lenses, her looks had improved. Her mother told her she was beautiful, but she was her mother, for God’s sake. No one else had.
“I’d much rather look at you for an hour than one of those other nerds.”
Heat crept up her neck. Damn! She didn’t want him to see that his words affected her. This was Bre
tt Falcone, the boy who’d made her life miserable, the boy who’d made her cry. What did she care if he found her attractive now? He was probably lying anyway. He wasn’t a nice person.
“Looking at me won’t get you the C you need.”
“But studying with you will.”
“Let’s get one thing straight right now.” Kathryn raked her fingers through her feathered hair. “We aren’t studying together. I’m teaching, you’re learning. There’s nothing magical about sitting here with a student who knows math. You aren’t going to learn through osmosis, Brett. You need to take an active part in this process.”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”
Kathryn stood and gathered her books. “I’m leaving.”
She was halfway to the door when a warm hand gripped her elbow.
“Please. Don’t go. I need you. Really.”
She turned. This would be so much easier if he weren’t so damn good-looking. Every teenage girl’s fantasy. “You’ve got a funny way of showing it.”
“I’m sorry. Most girls like it when I tell them they’re pretty.”
“Most girls didn’t get tormented by you in middle school.”
His high cheekbones reddened. Had she actually embarrassed him?
“I was hoping you didn’t remember that.”
“Not remember that?” She shook her head. “You really think I can forget being told I’m ugly on a daily basis? Being made fun of in gym class at every opportunity? Being tripped in the hallway?” Kathryn closed her eyes and inhaled. Deeply. Never let them see you cry.
She opened her eyes and met Brett’s dark gaze straight on. He bit his bottom lip.
“I didn’t think you cared. You never said anything.”
“Oh. So you would have stopped if I’d given a damn? If I’d cried my eyes out for you? Is that what you wanted?”
“No. I mean…” He sighed. “Aw, hell. I don’t know what I mean. I was a punk, okay? A stupid kid. I honestly didn’t think I was hurting you. I honestly didn’t think you cared. I’m sorry.”
An apology from Brett Falcone? What’s more, it even sounded sincere. For a moment, elation speared through Kathryn, until she realized he needed her. He was just trying to get her to tutor him so he could get his grade up and play freaking baseball. That’s all this was. A forced apology. An act.
She could act as well as the next person. “Fine. You’re right. I didn’t care, and I don’t care now. Frankly, I don’t care if you flunk out of high school and never play baseball again. But I made a deal with Mr. Phillips and I, unlike you, am a person of honor and integrity. I keep my bargains. So I accept your apology. Now let’s get down to business.”
Brett took a seat and smiled. Though she didn’t want it to, her gaze gravitated to his full red lips, his perfect white teeth, that cute dimple on his left cheek. The heavens had wasted so much charm and good looks on this boy. If only he had a kind heart to go with it all.
“You are a fox, you know,” he said.
She rolled her eyes. “If you say so. Now, tell me what you’re working on in class.”
Chapter Three
“They seem to get along well,” Brett said, as he handed Kathryn her vanilla milkshake.
Zoe and Maya had already clamored to the tot lot. Brett carried the girls’ and his own shakes to a table. He waited for Kathryn to sit before he sat down across from her. Always the gentleman, Brett Falcone. That had surprised Kathryn when she first found out.
“So how is Michelle?” she asked, taking a sip of the thick shake.
“She’s good.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“We’re not together anymore.”
Kathryn swallowed quickly to avoid choking on the creamy, smooth shake. “Oh. I’m sorry.”
He nodded. “Thanks. But it’s okay. We drifted apart over the years. Our two older girls are nineteen and seventeen. We thought having Zoe would save our marriage.” He shook his head. “It didn’t.”
Kathryn didn’t know what to say, so she took another sip of shake.
“Not that I regret having Zoe. She’s been great for both of us, and for Candy and Evelyn.”
“Those are your older girls?”
“Yeah. They adore her. And Michelle has a new lease on life. We were both so young when we had Candy and Evelyn. We’re definitely better parents now, even if we aren’t together.”
“You never remarried?”
“The divorce was only final about a year ago. I haven’t really dated. Haven’t really wanted to. It’s weird when you’ve really only dated one person your whole life.”
That comment sliced into her gut. Then again, he was right. She and Brett had never actually dated. “I see.” Another sip. Her hands seemed conspicuous. What could she do with them?
“How about you? How long have you been married?”
“I’m not,” she said. “Maya’s father and I separated last year. When the divorce came through, I relocated back here.”
Was that a smile trying to escape his beautiful lips? She wasn’t sure. Wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
“What do you do, Kathryn? I always imagined you’d do something absolutely great with your life.”
“I’m a pediatrician.”
“Wow. I bet you’re fantastic at that.”
She let out a chuckle. “I try. It’s very rewarding most of the time. Heartbreaking sometimes, though.”
“I can imagine.”
“How about you? What are you doing?”
“Construction, like my dad did.”
“Did you end up going on that baseball scholarship?”
“Only for a year. I couldn’t stay in school. Michelle got pregnant, and there were other circumstances.”
“I’m sorry.” Her heart plummeted to her stomach. All she’d hoped for him had never happened. “I wish you could have finished.”
“Me, too. Believe it or not, I actually liked college, Kath. I think I have you to thank for that.”
Her skin tingled as warmth crept to her cheeks. “You don’t owe me any thanks. You were always intelligent. You just didn’t know it.”
“You told me I was and I believed it.”
“If I hadn’t told you, someone else would have.”
“You did. No one else did.”
Again, Kathryn had no idea what to say. She took a long loud sip of her shake and turned her head to watch the girls playing. They were laughing as though they’d known each other for ages. But that was the way of it with little girls. They could become best friends in an instant.
“There’s something I’ve always wondered, Kath.”
She turned to face Brett’s dark, burning gaze. “What’s that?”
“Why did you leave?”
She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. “I had a scholarship to Stanford. You know that.”
“Yeah, I knew that. But you didn’t go to Stanford.”
“Of course I went to Stanford.”
“Not right after high school.”
Embarrassment burned up her neck, her face. How did he know? “I took a year off.”
“Why? No one knew where you’d gone. I tried to get in touch with you. Your mother wouldn’t tell anyone where you were.”
“I asked her not to.”
“Why?”
“Why did it matter? You were all set to marry Michelle.”
“I almost didn’t.”
She jolted. “What do you mean?”
“I tried for months to find you. And the night before my wedding, I went to your house. I begged your mom to tell me where you were.”
“Why would you want to find me? You’d been pseudo-engaged to Michelle throughout all of high school.”
He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, opened it, and took out a yellowed piece of paper. He handed it to her. “I wasn’t in love with Michelle, Kath. I was in love with you.”
Twenty years earlier
“Thank you.”
Had her ears dec
eived her? Or had Brett Falcone just thanked her?
“You’re welcome.” She forced the words out. “Same time next week?”
“Tomorrow, actually.”
“Brett, I don’t have time to tutor you tomorrow. It’s Friday. I have…an engagement.”
“An engagement?” He laughed. “You sound so businesslike.”
“It is business for me. I have a job, you know. You think it’s cheap to go to Stanford?”
“I thought you had a scholarship.”
“I do. For tuition. Not for room and board. Or books. Or incidentals. So I need to make money.”
“Where do you work?”
“I work for my neighbor. I babysit her two-year-old on Fridays and Saturdays. She works the late shift.”
“Fridays and Saturdays? You’re kidding, right? Those are the nights to party.”
“Well, this may have escaped your notice, Brett, but I’m not much of a partier. We nerds never are.”
He smiled. Then he reached forward and touched her cheek. A tremor raced through her.
“Who said you were a nerd?”
“You did. In sixth grade. And seventh. Remember?”
“Hey. You just accepted my apology for that.”
“Right. I can forgive, Brett. I’m just not too quick to forget.”
“Wow, I had no idea I hurt you so bad. I really am sorry, Kath. Truly.”
He absently rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip. Did he have any idea what he was doing to her? No boy had ever touched her before.
“You’re eighteen, right?” he said.
“Yeah. Last month.”
“Me, too.” He smiled. “I guess we’re twins.”
She rolled her eyes. “Something like that.”
“You want to get a soda or something? To thank you for your help today, you know.”
“No, thank you. I have homework to get to.”
He was still touching her face. “Come on. A soda’ll take fifteen minutes. We don’t even have to leave campus. I’ll get them out of the machine.”
“No.”
“Please?”
“Why do want to get me a soda so badly?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I’m just not quite ready to go home yet.”
“Go find one of your jock friends to hang out with. I’m sure they’re in the gym doing whatever you guys do.”
