by Judy Duarte
“I’ve always liked frogs and toads,” Adam said, his gorgeous brown eyes glimmering as he chuckled once more.
Julie glanced at Cassie, who appeared to be more curious now than frightened.
“I think Miss Julie makes a pretty frog,” Adam added.
Oh, yeah? A smug smile stretched across Julie’s face, as she reached into Mason’s paint with her index finger then smeared a line across Adam’s brow.
“Hey,” he said.
Unable to leave her artwork undone, she turned the line into a Z—for Zorro.
Adam placed his hands on his hips, but his expression wasn’t the least bit stern. “I might have to arrest you for defacing a police officer.”
“I don’t think that charge would hold up in court.” She winked at him, then glanced at the giggling children. Even Cassie had joined in, wearing a great big smile, the biggest Julie had ever seen.
“Let’s get these little rugrats cleaned up before we all get in trouble,” Adam said.
Several minutes later, the kids’ hands were spick-and-span. Their clothes? Not so much.
When the art room door squeaked open, Mrs. Wright entered the room. She glanced first at the messy table and paint-splattered floor, then at the adults who’d been supervising the kids. “Oh, my. Don’t tell me. A paint fight?”
Julie smiled. “I guess you could say that.”
“Why don’t I take the children outside for recess,” the teacher said, clearly fighting a smile. “Then maybe the two of you can...settle your differences.” She chuckled as she herded the kids outdoors, leaving Adam and Julie to wash up.
Instead, they merely stood there, studying each other. They seemed to be at a loss for words. At least Julie was.
Finally, Adam said, “I’m sorry for laughing, but you have to admit, it was pretty funny.”
“I know. And when Cassie actually giggled, I decided to get even sillier. It was a huge relief to see her open up.”
“Sometimes, letting loose and being playful is a good thing. It’s actually therapeutic. Like music.”
He had a point.
“So what do police officers do for fun?” she asked.
“We have paintball fights.” He laughed, then turned on the water, dampened a paper towel and turned toward her.
She reached to take the paper towel from him, but he stopped her. “Here. Let me.”
In spite of all the convincing self-talk she’d had after he canceled their plans on Saturday night, she lowered her arm.
As Adam gently wiped the green splatters, his movements slow and steady, he cupped her jaw with his left hand, his fingers stretching dangerously close to the sensitive soft spot behind her ear. Her cheeks heated, and her skin tingled at his touch.
He wasn’t just wiping her face, he was stirring her senses and making a simple touch into something akin to foreplay.
But dang. That was exactly what this was—at least, as far as she was concerned. Before her knees buckled, revealing her weakness for him, she cleared her throat and took a step back. “Thanks. I’m sure you got it all. Besides, I need to get this room cleaned up so I can go outside and help supervise the kids on the playground.”
She expected to see a cocky grin stretched across his face, but his expression was serious, his gaze heated. She could only speculate on what he might be thinking, but she’d rather not go there.
Thankfully, he didn’t comment, which was just as well. Talk about opening a Pandora’s box of trouble.
Julie had dreamed of finding a special man to love, but Adam Santiago wasn’t that guy, no matter how hot he was, how dazzling his smile. Of that, she was sure.
Now all she had to do was convince her raging hormones.
Chapter Five
Last Friday, when Julie had been within arm’s reach, Adam had been just one heartbeat away from kissing her, and a breath away from asking her out. Fortunately, he’d frozen up and did neither.
Despite being a guy who’d been awarded several commendations for his courage under fire, he morphed into a wimp when he was with Julie. She scared him. Or rather, to be more accurate, he scared himself.
He’d never felt so conflicted over a woman, and he’d experienced more than his share of relationships—if you could call them that.
But Julie wasn’t like the others. She was a novelty, a complete puzzle that he felt compelled to solve. And there lay the problem. She was the kind of woman who deserved more from a relationship than a good time, great sex and an amazing afterglow, which was all Adam would ever be able to give her.
Only trouble was, he was so tempted to kiss her that the next time he had the chance, he might not be able to resist. For that reason, he’d decided to keep his distance before he did or said something stupid.
But that plan fell apart when he stopped by Kidville on Monday afternoon. He told himself the unexpected visit would give him the opportunity to check on Cassie and Eddie, to see how the kids were doing. And although that was certainly a concern, there was more to it.
How much more, he couldn’t say. All he knew was that the Bronco seemed to have driven itself to the children’s home, and he hadn’t done a damned thing to alter the route.
So what if he felt drawn to Julie? What was wrong with enjoying her company?
After parking, Adam headed toward the classroom located in the red schoolhouse. Just as he reached the front door, Karen stepped outside, followed by a line of children.
“Jesse’s not here,” Karen told him, obviously assuming he’d come to see the boy he’d been mentoring.
Adam didn’t correct her. “Where is he?”
“Having a play date with his younger brother. He’s been doing much better since you took him under your wing, so we thought it was time to test the waters.”
“I came to the same conclusion, so I’m glad to hear that.” Adam made a quick scan of the kids, realizing only half of them were with the teacher. “Where’s everyone else?”
“I’m taking the second and third graders out for PE,” she said. “You’re welcome to join us for a game of kickball on the playground, unless you’d rather help with a beadwork project.”
It shouldn’t be a tough decision. Hell, Adam was far more interested in sports than art. But Julie was probably supervising the younger kids with that craft project.
“I’d like to visit Eddie and Cassie while I’m here, so I’ll head over to the art room.”
“Great.” She studied him a moment. “This isn’t your normal day to visit us.”
“You’re right. But whenever I work over the weekend, they give me extra time off.”
“It’s nice that you want to spend those days with us.”
Tell that to his buddies, Clay and Matt, who’d started to complain that he didn’t have time for them.
Karen offered him a smile before leading the older kids out to the ball field.
Adam crossed the yard and entered the art room, where Julie and her younger charges were stringing brightly colored beads on strings of red yarn. A basket containing a roll of yarn, a pair of scissors and a plastic bag of extra beads sat on the rectangular table.
He suspected they were nearly finished, although it would take some time to pick up all the beads that had fallen to the floor.
Julie glanced up from her project, caught his eye and dazzled him with a dimpled grin. “What a surprise. You’re just in time to see the necklaces we made.”
“Very nice,” he said. “Pretty, in fact.” But he wasn’t just talking about the beads they’d strung.
Each time he saw Julie, even today, when she’d dressed casually in a pale yellow long-sleeve T-shirt, blue jeans and a pair of sneakers, he found her more and more attractive. In fact, he no longer had to envision her dressed in a fancy red cocktail dress to spark a sexual fantasy.
Julie scooted back the small chair upon
which she was sitting, got to her feet and approached Adam holding the necklace she’d made. “Let’s try this on for size.”
Adam might have objected and refused to let her put it around his neck, but when the children giggled at Julie’s silly antics, especially Cassie, who found it especially funny, he went along with it.
“Perfect,” she said as she adjusted it, her hands lingering on his shoulders, her citrusy scent taunting him. “I made it just for you.”
He doubted that, but he thanked her just the same.
“All right, kids.” Julie turned around to face the children. “Let’s pick up our mess so we can go out to the playground.”
“Are we going to play freeze tag again?” Mason asked. “It was fun yesterday.”
“I don’t see why not.” Julie glanced at Adam. “Are you up for a fast-paced game?”
“Always.” He winked, and his lips quirked in a crooked grin.
If she had any idea what he was thinking, she didn’t let on. Instead, she encouraged the children to clean up. “Mason and Eddie, I’d like you to pick up the beads on the floor.”
Eager to please, Eddie dropped to his knees and got busy. Mason, who’d scrunched his face when he heard his assignment, blew out a sigh and reached for the basket on the table.
“Here,” he told Eddie. “Put them back in the bag.” As he swung around to hand the basket to Eddie, he lost his grip and it fell to the floor, spilling its contents.
Beads flew every which way, bouncing and skidding and rolling, until they had a real mess on their hands.
Mason gasped. “It was an accident. I was just trying to help. I’m sorry.”
“I know, Mason. I’ll help you pick them up.” Julie avoided several of the plastic balls on the floor, only to fail to notice a few others. When she stepped on then, she lost her footing. “Oops.”
Adam reached out to grab her, hoping he could stop her from falling, but his efforts knocked him off balance, and they both took a hard tumble. He did his best to protect her as they fell, his shoulder taking the brunt of it when they landed on the floor.
“Are you okay?” he asked, as he continued to hold her.
“I think so.” She didn’t move. She merely stared at him, as if she was afraid to shift her weight and end the awkward embrace.
But he didn’t care. It felt good to hold her close, to smell the citrusy scent of her shampoo. And he didn’t give a rip that they had a pint-size audience looking on.
Mason began to sing, “Julie and Adam, sitting in a tree...”
Adam was familiar with the playground ditty. And he was tempted to wrap up the show by K-I-S-S-I-N-G Julie senseless. In fact, he almost did just that, when the door squeaked open and footsteps sounded, telling him the audience had grown.
“My goodness!” Karen called out. “What in the world happened?”
“It was his fault.” Mason pointed at Adam. “He knocked Miss Julie down and wouldn’t let her get up, even when she said she was okay.”
“Actually,” Adam said, as he slowly got to his feet, avoiding any stray beads that might unbalance him again, “I was trying to keep Miss Julie from falling, but it didn’t work very well.” He reached for Julie’s hand to help her up.
Again, the children giggled, but Julie didn’t find the situation the least bit funny. She might have lost her footing when she stepped on a couple of beads, but she faced an even bigger risk of falling hard and getting hurt if she were to act on her growing attraction to Adam.
Still, when she took the hand he offered her, her breath caught. His palm was warm, his fingers long, his grip strong. And while she was upright once again, she didn’t feel the least bit steady.
“Why don’t you two take the children out to the playground?” Karen asked. “I’d hate for one of them to slip and fall. I’ll clean up this mess.”
“No,” Julie said. “I’ll do that. You and Mr. Adam can take them out.” That would give her the opportunity to ponder what she was feeling, what she was sensing.
She felt a tug on the hem of her T-shirt and looked down to see Cassie gazing up at her. “I... I’ll help you.”
At the sound of that sweet little voice, Julie nearly dropped to the floor once again. Had the words come from any other child, Julie would have thanked her for the offer and sent her out to play. But there was no way she would refuse Cassie. Not when those were the very first words she’d spoken since Adam had brought her and her brother to Kidville.
“Thanks,” Julie told the girl. “I’d really appreciate your help, honey. But promise me you’ll be careful not to step on any beads. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Cassie brightened, clearly delighted to have such an important job to do, then she dropped to her knees and began picking up stray beads.
“Since Miss Julie already has someone to help her pick up the mess,” Adam said, “let’s go out to the playground.”
“Mr. Hoffman is supervising the kickball game,” Karen said. “Tell him I’ll relieve him in a couple of minutes.”
Moments later, when Julie and Cassie had the mess cleaned up, Karen said, “You two make a good team.”
“Yes, we do.” Julie placed a hand on Cassie’s small shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m so glad you offered to give up some of your recess time, honey. You were a huge help. Why don’t you go on out and play?”
Cassie smiled, clearly pleased to have been useful, then she hurried out the door. Once she was outside, Karen said, “You and Adam make a good team, too.”
Julie wanted to argue, but she couldn’t. In spite of all her reservations about the guy, that seemed to be true.
“I can hardly believe it,” Karen said. “You were the first one who was able to get through to Cassie. She finally opened up and spoke. And I couldn’t be happier.”
“Me, too.”
“I talked to Jamison, the counselor on staff. She’s been working with Eddie and Cassie. Apparently, she talked to Eddie about his sister’s silence, and he told her that Cassie used to talk all the time. But one day, Brady, the man they’d been living with, smacked her in the face and told her to shut up. Then he threatened to knock her head off if she opened her mouth again. It seems she took the threat seriously.”
“I’m sure she did.” Julie blew out a sigh. “From what I heard, the man was a brute—and maybe a murderer. I hope he stays in jail for a long time.”
“So do I,” Karen said. “Ms. Kincaid, Eddie and Cassie’s social worker, is looking for the perfect placement for them.”
“I’m not sure why she doesn’t realize this is the best place for them to be.”
“I agree with you, but Ms. Kincaid isn’t convinced that our program will work, especially for them. She thinks they should have an actual family experience so they’ll know what one is really like. That way, when they grow up, they’ll be able to have a loving, stable home of their own.”
Julie could understand the reasoning, but didn’t Ms. Kincaid realize that the kids were happy here, that they’d begun to bond with the Hoffmans, their teacher...and Julie?
“Apparently,” Karen said, “the kids have relatives who have come forward to take them, but they’re questionable, as far as I’m concerned.”
Karen nodded to the door. “Come on, I’ll explain while we go outside. I need to supervise recess.”
Julie followed her out, but before she could get more than a few of her mounting questions answered, a loud spat broke out on the handball court. Two boys disagreed about whose turn came next, and it looked as if they planned to slug it out.
Karen blew the whistle she wore around her neck and headed toward them before things could get out of hand. “That’ll be enough, you two.”
Adam, who’d been talking to Eddie near the slide, laughed at something the boy said, then turned and walked away.
Julie watched his a
pproach, noting his sexy swagger and his heart-strumming smile.
“I never used to feel sorry for teachers when I was a kid,” Adam said. “But damn. I had no idea how tough their jobs were.”
Julie offered him a smile. “You’re right. But it can be rewarding, too. Like today, when Cassie spoke for the first time.”
“I know. That was cool. She really seems to have taken a liking to you.”
Julie’d noticed that, too. “Just so you know,” she said, tapping the handmade necklace Adam still wore, “that’s why I placed those beads around your neck. And that’s also why I painted the Z on your face the other day. I like hearing children laugh, especially Cassie. And I decided it would be fun to stretch things out a bit.”
Adam chuckled. “I didn’t know it before, but you have a playful side I hadn’t expected.”
“You’re right. It’s hard not to when you’re a music therapist who sings silly songs and dances with children. But sometimes, like today, you just have to put on a happy face and pretend everything is going to be all right.”
He studied her for a moment, as if trying to process her comment. When he finally spoke, it was a question. “What’s wrong?”
She sighed. “Karen just gave me some unsettling news. Apparently, Eddie and Cassie have some relatives who mentioned that they could take them.”
“Wouldn’t it be better for them to be with members of their own family?”
“You’d think so. But...” Julie sucked in a breath, then let it out in a jagged huff. “From what I understand, the couple is a little...sketchy.”
“What’s that mean?”
“I’m not sure. But apparently, their maternal uncle is a friend of the guy they’d been living with.”
“Brady Thatcher? Their mother’s boyfriend who was in jail for child abuse? That isn’t a good sign of their character.”
“Neither is the fact that they asked what the state paid foster parents these days.”
“You got that right.”
“For that reason,” Julie said, “I’m going to offer to take both kids.”
“Really?” Adam looked surprised. “That’s a big step.”
