Miss Liz's Passion

She stepped closer to Kevin and put a protective hand on his shoulder. She glared defiantly at Todd, the look meant to put him in his place. He had to admire her spunk. Under less trying circumstances, he might even find it a turn-on. Right now, it was only an irritant. He scowled right back at her.

“Save your attempt at intimidation, Mr. Lewis. When I found Kevin, I realized that in my desperation to find him, I forgot to get your number. Kevin did not run away. Don’t take your frustration out on him or, for that matter, on me.”

He stared from her to his son and back again. Swallowing hard, he tried to regain control over his temper. “I don’t understand.”

“Tell your father what happened,” she urged. When Kevin appeared to be hesitant, she smiled at him. “It’s okay. Tell him what you told me.”

“I went to get a drink. Hank gave me the money. And there was this cat.” He regarded Todd hopefully. “It was a great cat, Dad, but he’d gotten all wet. I guess he fell in that big mud puddle in back of the trailer. Anyway, I tried to get him so I could clean him up, but he ran. I chased him across the field. When I came back, you were all gone. I must have been gone longer than I thought, ’cause Mrs. Gentry says you all were worried. I’m sorry I scared you.”

Relief rushed through Todd. A cat! Kevin had been chasing a stupid, wet cat. He massaged his temples. The pounding in his head began to ease as his tension abated. He stared at Elizabeth Gentry and gave a small, apologetic shrug before grinning sheepishly at Kevin. “Did you catch the cat?”

“No,” he said, obviously disgusted. “He was too fast. Anyway, he ran inside a garage. I guess he must belong to somebody.”

Suddenly exuberant, Todd picked Kevin up and swung him in the air. “You want a cat that badly?”

“Not really. I’d rather have a dog, but you said we couldn’t have one, ’cause we’re not home enough.” He recited Todd’s old argument without emotion. “I just wanted to play with this one.”

“Maybe we’ll have to rethink that,” Todd said. He caught Elizabeth Gentry watching them. She was smiling, but there was something about her eyes that got to him. She looked sad. He couldn’t imagine why. Everything had turned out just fine. His son was safe. He felt like celebrating.

“I’d better be getting home,” she said, the flat declaration tempering his mood.

Suddenly uncertain, he said with awkward sincerity, “Thanks for helping with the search.”

“I’m glad it wasn’t really necessary. I will see you at the school tomorrow, won’t I?”

The woman had the tenacity of a terrier with an old sock. He grinned. “I promise not to stand you up again.” He took her hand, holding it just long enough to confirm the solemnity of his commitment. Her grip was firm, her skin like cool silk, but she trembled. That tiny hint of vulnerability set off warning bells again. He released her hand, but not her gaze. The air sizzled with electricity.

“Hey, you guys, what about my hamburger?”

Todd glanced away at last to stare blankly at Kevin. When he looked back at Elizabeth Gentry, her cheeks were flushed, her eyes hooded.

“I don’t think today is…” she began with surprising uncertainty.

Kevin’s face fell. Todd was torn between his son’s disappointment and his own need to escape the confusing emotions this redheaded firebrand raised in him.

“I’ll take you out for a hamburger, son. Mrs. Gentry probably has to get home to her family.”

“No, she doesn’t. She doesn’t have a family. She told us her husband died,” Kevin announced ingenuously.

Todd’s heart took an unexpected lurch. Glancing over Kevin’s head, his eyes met hers. “I’m sorry.”

“So am I,” she said quietly, but with a surprising lack of emotion.

Todd felt guilty at the relief that swept through him. He had not wanted Elizabeth Gentry to have a husband. He was equally glad to see that it didn’t appear she was living with ghosts, though why it mattered was beyond him. He didn’t date women like the one standing before him. He ran like crazy from innocence and vulnerability and commitment.

“See, Dad, I told you,” Kevin was saying. “Besides, she promised. She should come, too. She’s probably really hungry by now.”

Suddenly bolder, Todd surveyed her from head to toe with lazy deliberation, then felt renewed guilt at the look of confusion his teasing aroused. For some reason he wanted to provoke her into a mild flirtation. Perhaps he merely wanted to prove to himself that she was as unfeminine and boring as he’d once imagined her. Maybe he just wanted to shake her cool facade. Either way he knew he was playing with fire.

“Are you?” he asked in a voice thick with innuendo.

Startled eyes blinked at him. “What?”

“Hungry?”

As if she suddenly guessed the rules by which he was playing, she returned his impudent look with a touch of defiance. “Starved, actually.”

Todd laughed at the prompt response to his challenge. “Then the two of you go on. I’ll meet you there in a few minutes. I just want to finish up a little paperwork and give Hank a call to tell him not to worry.”

“Dad, it’s already late. Couldn’t you just phone him on the way?”

“It won’t be long.”

Kevin’s forehead creased with a worried frown. “You won’t forget or something, will you?”

The question told Liz all too much about his tendency to get caught up in work. He caught the quick flare of concern in her eyes. Todd’s gaze locked with those serious amber eyes. “No,” he promised softly. “I won’t forget.”

With an odd tightening in his chest, he watched the two of them walk away from the trailer. She bent down to listen to something Kevin was saying, then the two of them laughed, the happy sound rippling through the evening air. How long had it been since he’d shared laughter like that with a woman? He hadn’t trusted any of them since Sarah. Something told him, though, that he could trust Elizabeth Gentry. He wondered if he’d have the courage to try.

Before he could immerse himself in wasted philosophical musings, Hank came back. He gazed after the departing woman, noting the child by her side, then directed a searching look at Todd.

“Everything okay?”

“Fine.”

“Who’s the looker?” The interested query was made with Hank’s usual lack of tact and reflected his appreciation of all things feminine.

Todd bristled. “Kevin’s teacher,” he said stiffly, not sure why he felt so resentful of the innocently appraising remark.

“Why didn’t I ever have a teacher who looked like that?” Hank said wistfully. “I might have learned more.”

“You have an engineering degree now. What more would you have learned?”

“Life, my friend. A woman like that could teach you all about life.”

Todd groaned. “Does your libido ever take a rest?”

“Not since junior high,” Hank retorted with an unrepentant grin.

“Go heft a few girders, then. Maybe it’ll wear you out.” He picked up a folder of papers and stuffed them in his briefcase.

“Not a chance. Let me know if you’re not interested in that one. Maybe I’ll take a shot at her. I have a real thing for redheads.”

Todd looked up, incensed. “She’s Kevin’s teacher, dammit. Not some floozy you saw in a bar. Stay away from her.”

Hank stared at him consideringly. “So, then, you are interested.”

Todd slammed his fist on the desk, scattering papers. “I am not interested. I am just trying to see that my son and I get through the school year without being responsible for his teacher’s downfall.”