Relentless Pursuit

“That’s an enormous amount to pay,” she said, not hiding her surprise.

“I can afford it, and this is top priority,” he stated, determined to get what he wanted.

“You know there are excellent private schools where you can board her and they work with the children all day and have activities at night.”

He could tell the question was a test, but one he knew he’d pass. “I’m not sending her away.”

Her green eyes flashed. “That’s commendable.”

“Will you come to Dallas?”

While he waited for her answer, his pulse sped. He wanted her to accept his offer, and it wasn’t altogether because of Caroline. This morning he had expected to fly to Austin, have lunch, go over the candidates and fly home, mission accomplished. Instead, from the first moment he looked at Ava, he had scrapped his original plan and purpose and was going by instinct, determined to get help for Caroline but also to get to know Ava.

“When are we talking about?” she asked.

“Whenever you want. You can fly back with me now. Fly tomorrow or next week. Whenever you can work the trip into your schedule, but the sooner, the better.”

As she gazed beyond him while she thought it over, he took the opportunity to study her again. Her silky hair was meant for a man’s hands to tangle. Thick, long sandy lashes framed her seductive eyes. The sight of her mouth made his temperature climb. All he wanted to do was flirt, ask her out, take her to dinner and then kiss her until they were both on fire. She didn’t want to be entangled with anyone and he didn’t, either, so passion would not lead to complications.

The waiter brought their orders. As soon as they were alone she leaned forward. “What time are you returning to Dallas?”

“I have one appointment at three this afternoon to stop by the office of one of my customers. It won’t take long and then I planned to fly home. I can change my schedule easily.”

“In a couple of hours I can be ready to return with you tonight if you’d like. The weekend is coming up, plus I have a few days with nothing scheduled.”

“Excellent. We’ll fly home and you can meet Caroline. Stay a week if you can.”

She smiled. “It won’t take that long to get to know Caroline a little. I’ll stay tonight and tomorrow night and fly back Saturday. I just got my doctorate and I plan to spend the summer and this next year working on opening my own private school.”

“That’s admirable,” he replied, his pulse humming because she would be at his house for the next three days and he could get to know her.

“I assume you read to Caroline,” she said. “If you can give me a list of some of her favorite books, I might be able to add to them with a new book or two.”

“Sure. Better yet, when we finish lunch, I’ll take you to a bookstore and we can look things over and get what you want.”

“As long as you still leave me a couple of hours to get ready to go.”

He couldn’t imagine what she would have to do that would take a couple of hours because she looked ready now except for packing clothes and necessities. “You take all the time you want.”

“You’re very determined about this.”

“I’d do anything to help Caroline. I know what she was like before she lost her father.”

“I think I’ve misjudged you. I had preconceptions built by tabloids and television,” she admitted.

“It’s good news to discover your opinion of me is improving. Hopefully, we’ll get better acquainted.”

She smiled. “I’m flying to Dallas to get to know Caroline.”

“I’ll have to work on my image. I’m not accustomed to having someone I’m with tell me she is not interested in getting to know me.”

“It really isn’t important that we become buddies,” she said, pausing over her salad.

“It will be far more fun, and you might be surprised what you discover. I know I want to get to know you,” he said, his voice lowering a notch.

“I ought to tell you no flirting,” she said, shaking her head, “but I suspect that’s impossible. I imagine at this point in your life, it’s as much a habit as breathing.”

“And where a beautiful woman is concerned—as necessary. You’ll be gone in two days, so what does a little flirting hurt?”

“Maybe you deserved your media coverage after all.”

“Forget the media. I really don’t know that much about you except you’re excellent in dealing with children and reading. You’ve taught and you said you recently earned a doctorate.”

“Correct.”

“What do you plan to do with the degree?”

“I publish texts on teaching reading, children’s books on reading and games. Hopefully, the degree lends more credibility. I plan to open a private school—at this point, limited to first and second grade—and use some of my own methods for reading instruction. I’m working on securing grants. I have limited funds for this.”

“Opening a school is ambitious,” he said with admiration, reassessing his opinion of her. “A woman with drive.” And one who hoped to get grants for the financial backing—a bargaining point that gave him an advantage.

Beautiful, driven and intelligent—an enticing combination that excited him.

“A lot of the praise I received about you was about your ability to work with children,” he stated.

“I like kids and feel at ease with them. I have younger siblings. I try to make all this interesting and appealing to kids. Not necessarily easy, because learning isn’t always easy. I love working with kids and want to dedicate my life to them.”

“How many siblings?”

“I have two younger sisters, Trinity and Summer. Trinity is a technical writer for an exclusive Austin clothing store chain. My youngest sister is home for the summer. She’ll be a sophomore in college and wants to teach.”

“Parents? And where’s home?”

“My dad has a feed store in Lubbock and my mom is a dental hygienist. So what about your family other than Caroline?”

“Besides my late brother, Adam, I have two other brothers. Zach, who is rarely home because of his job, and the youngest, Ryan, works in Houston. My parents divorced years ago, and my mother is twice remarried and lives in Atlanta now. My dad recently passed away and his estate isn’t settled yet. That’s it.”

“Your brother who is rarely home—does he have any responsibility in Caroline’s care?”

“No. I’m her guardian and I’ve always been closer to her and to Adam. He was born three years before I was. Zach is thirty-two, four years younger than I am. He’s in demolition and travels because he works in Europe and Japan—all over the world, actually. He’s good at what he does, but rarely home. Ryan is twenty-nine. He’s the one who lives in Houston and has taken over a drilling company we own. None of us are really daddy material.”

“So tell me about Caroline, as well as her nanny. What does she like to do? All kids have something they like.”

“Swimming. If you like to swim, bring your swimsuit. It’s a way to interact with her. Also, she likes to read.”

“She’s five and can read—that’s early, and it’s good news.”

“She won’t participate at school, so they don’t know how well she reads. I tell her teacher that she reads at home, but since she won’t read at school or say what she’s read, her teacher is skeptical.”