A Gleam In His Eye

“Do not.”

“Do, too.”

Johanna cleared her throat and glanced at her wristwatch. “Just look at the time,” she exclaimed. “Why, it’s almost eight-thirty! I need to get home or I’m going to miss my bedtime.”

Aaron studied her in wide-eyed amazement. “But Miss Johanna, eight-thirty is our bedtime, Mikie’s and mine. Even Karen and Robby gets to stay up until nine o’clock and you’re lots older than them.”

“Nine o’clock? Wow. Karen and Robby are lucky ducks, huh?” She sighed. “Poor me. If I’m not in bed on time I’ll be in lots of trouble. Gotta go, guys. Come give me a hug, then I’m out of here.”

The four of them crowded forward, squeezing and hugging as though starved for affection. Johanna wondered about their parents again. Her own mother had no choice but to be gone much of the time. Relatively older at the time, Johanna had still hated her absence. How could these little ones possibly understand their parents’ desertion? Wherever they’d taken themselves off to, she certainly hoped it was worth the separation anxiety their children were suffering.

And not just the children were suffering.

Hunter looked tired, Johanna thought as she glanced his way for the thousandth time that night. Darn, but he was prime male material. The least she could do was get the kids started in the right direction, she supposed. He looked as if he could use the help and she didn’t mind lending a hand—as long as she could still go home to her own life at the end of the day.

Giving the closest two a nudge, she started them on their way. “Let’s see who can brush their teeth till they shine the most, okay? Uncle Hunter can be the judge, and you can make a chart and draw a star by your name if you’re the winner. I bet Uncle Hunter would get a little prize for whoever has the most stars at the end of the week.”

The kids took off like a stampeding herd.

“I’ll be first done.”

“Nuh-uh. I’m gonna beat you.”

Johanna called after them. “First doesn’t count, Robbie, unless it’s also the best.”

“Karen already gots a cabity. So she shouldn’t win no way.”

“You’re so stupid” came the immediate protest. “It’s just a baby tooth, which is all you’ve got, big baby. The dentist said my grown-up teeth would come in like brand-new and I could start all over again with everything perfect.”

Hunter shook his head as the voices faded up the stairs. “They’re unbelievable, aren’t they? I swear they’d argue over whether the sun was going to come up in the morning.” But he was encouraged by the smile on Johanna’s face. It proved he was on the right track. The woman actually liked young children and all the squabbling and immature behavior they entailed. Sick, but who was he to complain? He took her hand. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

Johanna looked down at the big hand swallowing hers. It was large, but Hunter was definitely not ham-handed. He was simply big-boned with long, almost elegantly tapered fingers. His nails were cut blunt, short and were impeccably clean. The back of his hand was lightly furred with glossy deep brown hair.

Johanna stared at those few hairs and couldn’t help but wonder about his chest.

Was it hairy or smooth?

She’d bet on hair.

Sparse or plentiful?

A thick, dark mat of hair, she hoped. Thick enough and just coarse enough to make a woman crazy when she pressed up against—what? What? She was quite probably the only twenty-four-year-old virgin in town, heck, in the state of Indiana, and here she was daydreaming about what?

Good grief.

Johanna ran a hand through her hair, pushing it back off her forehead as she blew out a breath. Get a grip, Johanna. Before you blow a gasket.

“Aubrey, sweetheart, run upstairs and tell everybody good-night,” Johanna instructed, and hoped like heck Hunter wouldn’t notice the slight breathlessness in her voice. What was wrong with her? “I’ll wait for you out by the car.”

“Okay,” Aubrey agreed, and took off, flying up the stairs. “Be right down. Hey, you guys!”

Shaking his head, Hunter gently tugged on Johanna’s hand. He’d meant to merely initiate a little forward propulsion, get Johanna out of the house before his niece’s and nephews’ behavior degenerated from squabbling into true bickering. Over all, he was pleased with the evening. The kids had generally held themselves together pretty well, if you discounted the near drowning. Judging by Johanna’s smiles and easy behavior with them, they’d been a hit, too. However, their behavior was showing definite signs of fraying around the edges. No point in pressing his luck. He wanted her on her way before it became too much of a good thing.

The gentle tug on her hand, however, catapulted Johanna forward. She crashed into his side.

“Oops,” Johanna said.

“I’m so sorry,” Hunter immediately apologized. “I never meant to pull that hard. Are you all right?” He evidently didn’t know his own strength. Leaving the woman black and blue was not the note on which he wanted to end the evening, although he certainly had no argument with having Johanna tucked up against his side. Man, she was warm. And she smelled like ripe fruit. Just the right height for him, too. The top of her head matched the top of his shoulder.

Hunter wrapped an arm around Johanna’s waist. He sneaked another sniff of her light perfume when he bent his head to solicitously offer, “Here, let me help you.”

Johanna’s face burned. Heck, her whole body turned pink. Thank God he couldn’t see that. Here the poor man was apologizing all over the place, and the truth was, he hadn’t pulled all that hard. She’d only tumbled into him because she hadn’t been paying attention. No, Johanna had been lost in a sexual fantasy involving both their naked chests. She could hardly explain that to him, now could she?

So what could she say?

Hunter took a slow step forward, cautiously guiding her, and Johanna immediately stumbled.

Johanna was completely mortified. All her life she’d been an athlete and taken her coordination for granted. Now here she was reduced to tripping over her own feet by a chest she’d never even laid eyes on. It was humiliating, that’s what it was. Mortifying and humiliating.

“You okay, honey?”

Ooh, he’d called her honey. Wasn’t that the sweetest thing?

“I’m fine. Really. Just a little dizzy spell, I guess. It’s already gone. Seriously.” Johanna concentrated on her feet until she got outside. For as long as she could remember, she had spent every free moment in or around a swimming pool. She’d done age-group competitive swimming since she’d been seven years old. In that time she’d seen hundreds, no thousands of not just naked male chests, but mostly naked guys. Male racing suits did not leave a whole lot to the imagination.

In all that time never had she reacted like this.

Left foot. Okay, now your right foot. Almost there.

When Johanna got home she’d have her mother feel her forehead. Maybe she was getting sick and didn’t even know it yet.

It was possible.

They reached her vehicle without further mishap. Johanna breathed a prayer of thanksgiving.

Thank you, God.

Hunter propped an elbow against her minivan’s roof. “So, I guess the crew and I will be seeing you again tomorrow.” With the nonsupporting hand he tucked a lock of hair back behind her ear.

As his hand skimmed the side of her face briefly, Johanna’s skin tingled. She stared at him uncomprehendingly. “Wha—oh, right. You mean swim practice.” She nodded her head. “Yes. I’ll be there. Absolutely.” Oh, for crying out loud. Get a grip, girl.

“I know I’ve already told you…I wish I knew what else I could do other than repeat myself over and over. Thanks again for everything you did earlier. Here, too. I like the chart and star idea. Sure cut down on arguments over getting ready for bed. And I know I’ll be watching Aaron and Mikie a lot closer from now on.”

“It’s okay,” Johanna murmured. Oh, she was in a sad way. Just watching his lips move had her mesmerized. She was having trouble attaching meaning to the words and probably sounded as if she’d left her IQ at home. She looked away from his mouth and cleared her throat. “Seriously. It’s okay. Part of the job description. Although maybe we, uh, that is to say, you ought to think about getting the little ones some swimming lessons. You know, at least get them to the point where they can tread water so somebody at least will have enough time to get to them next time they go in the drink.”

Hunter stared into those brown doe eyes. “Absolutely. It’s already on my list. I’ll see to it.” He straightened away from the car and leaned forward to brush her forehead with his lips. “I’ll see you then. Tomorrow.”

Johanna nodded solemnly. Tomorrow. Then she took a deep breath and put a hand over her heart. Man alive, the poor little thing was working overtime for sure. Her entire chest wall was heaving. You’d have thought he’d just asked her to help practice some of the more difficult positions from the Kama Sutra. Not that she’d ever seen a copy, but Johanna had an extremely vivid imagination and her heart wasn’t the only thing working overtime just then. No, it wasn’t.