Doctor's Orders

“Let you?” Shaking her head, she laughed, but the sound held no humor. “I’d be grateful for anything you can do or suggest.” When it came to her daughter or her daughter’s welfare, Cassie had no pride. She’d do anything and everything she could to keep her daughter happy, safe and secure, and if that meant dancing with a devil, well, all someone had to do was play the right music and show her the proper steps.

Giving another quick glance toward the back, wanting to make certain Sofie wasn’t within earshot, Cassie shoved back her dark hair with a shaky hand. “I don’t want my daughter thinking that the solution to any problem is running away.”

“No, of course not,” Beau said. “One of the most effective tools we can use right now to help Sofie through this is something we call the three C’s.” He smiled at her look of confusion. “It stands for caring, cooperation and conflict resolution. The caring obviously comes from you and all the adults in Sofie’s life. She needs to know that you understand this is a difficult time for her, and that she should feel free to tell you when anything has upset her, especially at school.”

“That’s fine from my end, but where does the cooperation come in?” Cassie asked, crossing her arms, simply to hide her nervousness. “How do we go about getting the cooperation of the kids who are teasing her?” Thrashing them probably wasn’t a viable option even if it did sound appealing at the moment.

“Why don’t you let me work with Sofie on that?” he asked, and she hesitated, but finally nodded. Beau was thoughtful for a moment. “Generally, Cassie, when a child is teasing or bullying someone else, it stems from their own lack of self-esteem or their own feelings of inferiority. Or perhaps it has to do with an emotional crisis they’re going through. A divorce, a death, any number of things can trigger these feelings in kids, especially when there’s a decided disconnect between the child and his or her parents. If a child feels powerless in a situation, then he tends to gravitate toward behavior that will make him or her feel powerful.”

“Teasing and bullying?” Cassie asked, suddenly understanding, and he nodded.

“Exactly. Sofie’s new at school and the science fair is really a big deal here. Maybe someone felt a bit intimidated by Sofie’s knowledge, maybe they were afraid she might have a better project or show them up. As a result, they began teasing her.”

“And teasing her shakes her confidence and her self-esteem,” Cassie said with a nod as things grew clearer. “And makes them feel better about themselves?”

“Exactly. Maybe that wasn’t the original intention, but it is the result.”

“I just don’t want her to be hurt,” she said softly, blinking away a surprising flash of tears.

“Cassie.” Beau laid his hand on her shoulder and her gaze flew to his. She hadn’t known he’d crossed the room and was standing so close to her. Her heart began doing a wicked two-step. He was so close she could smell his scent. Warm, woodsy, masculine and very appealing. She tried not to scowl.

“I promise you we can fix this, and fix it in such a way as to have as little damage emotionally, physically or psychologically to Sofie as possible,” he said, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze of encouragement. “But, you’re going to have to trust me,” he added quietly.

“Trust you?” She hadn’t trusted a man in a long time and the idea of trusting a man when it came to her daughter, well, that idea was outright foreign to her. She didn’t trust any man that much.

Besides, how was she supposed to trust the man when she wasn’t comfortable standing in the same room with him?

Cassie took a deep breath and forced herself to meet Beau’s gaze. She didn’t have much choice in the matter, she realized. If she wanted to help her daughter, if she wanted her daughter to learn how to deal with life’s problems and not think running from them was the answer, she was going to need his help.

And that apparently meant trusting him. At least in this limited capacity. If only for Sofie’s sake.

But that didn’t mean she had to like it!

“Okay. Fine,” she said abruptly, taking a step away from him to turn and busily fold Sofie’s coat and winter garments. “Do you have a lot of experience with this teasing stuff?” she asked, glancing up at him nervously.

“Actually, I do,” he said. “As I mentioned I’ve been working with the schools to develop an anti-teasing and anti-bullying campaign. And,” he added with a sigh, “I had my fair share of teasing when I was in school as well,” he admitted. “Which is what started my interest in this subject and kids to begin with.” He paused for a moment and she watched something dark and unfathomable move into his eyes. “Growing up, there were times I was teased unmercifully. Running away would have been a great option if only I’d thought of it,” he admitted with a self-deprecating chuckle that actually made her smile. “So I know how Sofie feels. It’s hard to be the smartest kid in school, and it’s hard when you’re the object of teasing. Which is why it was so important for me to start this program at the schools in the first place.” He shrugged. “Like I said, it’s been working pretty well, but once in a while…” His voice trailed off as his gaze met hers. Cassie merely stared at him, trying to absorb everything he was telling her.

“You were teased?” she repeated in surprise, then she chuckled. “I can’t imagine anyone teasing you. For what? Being too perfect?” The moment the words were out, she flushed, realizing what she’d said, but he merely smiled. It warmed his eyes, chasing away the darkness, and softening his entire face.

“Uh, actually, I was teased because I was too smart, and because I was overweight and wore glasses. And to add insult to injury, everyone else had parents and I just had my uncle, Jasper—who everyone in town considers rather eccentric.”

“I’m so sorry,” Cassie said, hearing the pain from his youth still radiating in his voice. “But eccentric is a relative term around here. My mother’s the town psychic, remember? And my aunt Louella is the town astrologer. So you have to go pretty far and wide to convince me someone else is eccentric,” she finished with a laugh.

Together, her mother and aunt could easily qualify as the town’s certifiable eccentrics.

“I guarantee Uncle Jasper definitely qualifies as eccentric as well,” Beau admitted with a chuckle. “And he’s also an amateur astronomer. Sofie told me she’s very interested in the solar system and the stars and planets.”

“Yes, she is. In Madison, our next-door neighbor was a retired professor and an amateur astronomer. She would invite Sofie over and show her how to look through her telescope, explaining everything Sofie saw. She’s the one who got Sofie interested in science and astronomy and the solar system to begin with.”

“Well, we actually have an observatory on our property.”

“You’re kidding?” The rambling old house on the edge of town had been little more than a curiosity piece—fodder for gossip for years. It was hard to believe that there was actually an observatory on the grounds. Or much else.

“Nope. Not kidding. In fact, I invited Sofie to dinner this evening so she could see for herself. I think we might be able to use Sofie’s interest in science to help her with this teasing problem.”

“Dinner?” Cassie repeated suspiciously and his eyes twinkled a moment before he threw back his head and laughed. “What,” she demanded. “What on earth are you laughing at?”

“You,” he said simply, stroking a finger down her cheek and almost making her jump out of her skin. He shook his head. “Cassie, I wish you didn’t act like I’d just invited you to dinner in the devil’s den,” he teased, making her flush. “Most people in town think I’m a pretty upstanding citizen,” he reminded her.

“Well, you said…dinner,” she stammered and he nodded.

“That’s right, I did.” Casually, he slipped his hands in his coat pockets and rocked back on his heels. “But I was thinking more along the lines of chocolate, peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches with milk, as opposed to say roses, candlelight and moonlight.” He shrugged. “It’s merely to help Sofie, Cass. Like I said, she’s going to need our help if she’s going to conquer this problem.” He cocked his head and looked at her. “So what do you say? Do you think you can give me the benefit of the doubt and have dinner at my house tonight? For Sofie’s sake, of course,” he added with a twinkle in his eye that only made her more suspicious.

“Just dinner?” she clarified and he nodded, raising his hand in the air as if taking an oath.

“Just dinner. Promise.”

Cassie rubbed her chilled arms. “Fine,” she all but snapped. “Dinner it is then.”

He glanced at his watch. “I’ve got to run, but I’ll see you both around…six?”

“Fine.” Having dinner with the town Romeo wasn’t nearly as bad as having her daughter’s feelings hurt so bad that she was contemplating running away.

Cassie glanced at Beau one last time before he headed out the door and her traitorous heart flipped over and fluttered, annoying her to no end.

She could handle this. And him, she told herself.

She hoped!

Chapter Two

By the time Cassie closed the salon for the night she was late. A last-minute walk-in had delayed her by almost an hour and a half.

It was dark now, and the weather had turned bitter and nasty. Snow was falling much harder, slicking the streets and coating the sidewalks, making both walking and driving hazardous. Luckily, she didn’t have too far to go, and Beau had picked up Sofie earlier because Cassie was running so late.

Cassie shut off the lights for the night, grabbed her purse and let herself out the front door, locking up behind her.

Standing on the sidewalk, blanketed by fast-falling snow, she couldn’t help but grin when she looked at the front of her shop, feeling an unexpected thrill.

She’d done it, she thought giddily, resisting the urge to hug herself as she headed toward her car. It had taken her six long, hard years to accomplish her dreams, she thought with a sigh as she brushed snow off her windshield, then unlocked the car and got in. But it had been worth it. Every terrifying moment. Safety and security for herself and her daughter, as well as her own hard-won independence, were what were important to her, what she’d worked so hard to gain.

While other women her age were living a carefree existence, out shopping for shoes, sipping lattes and partying at night while they patiently waited for Mr. Right to show up, she was struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.

She’d learned firsthand how high the cost of trusting the wrong man could be. And she was determined not to make that kind of mistake—with any man—ever again.

Which was why Dr. Beau Bradford frightened her so much, she realized with a shiver. He reminded her far too much of Sofie’s selfish, irresponsible father. An immature young man who had used his good looks and charm to infiltrate her young life and take advantage of her inexperience and her youth. Then just as quickly he had used his parents’ money and power to extricate himself from her life once he’d learned they were going to be teenage parents.

In spite of all the hardships she’d endured in order to keep and raise her daughter, Cassie had never regretted her decision to become a single parent, not for one moment, because Sofie was worth more than life itself.