wrangler.”
The other challenge was to keep from getting caught in the warmth of being part of a family, especially this family, with a man she found so attractive and kids she had learned to love. She barely tasted the food she ate trying to keep her conflicting emotions in balance.
After dinner, Lucas was excused from dish duty while Quanna helped him craft the first draft of his essay. It was a relief to have Jack in the kitchen during this process, as Lucas’s assignment was to write about someone who had been important in his life. As Lucas had said, he’d chosen his dad, which wasn’t great for Quanna’s peace of mind.
The exercise began with a laundry list of Jack Richardson’s virtues. And as Quanna already knew, he had many, although it was tempting to add a few to Lucas’s list. Not only was he a great dad who looked after his boys with care and love, as Lucas pointed out, but his protective streak extended to women alone in bars. And he was the fantasy hero of half the staff of the Golden Years Retirement Center. But that probably wasn’t an appropriate addition to his son’s essay, although it was pretty high on Quanna’s list of his virtues.
• • •
Jack stayed in the kitchen after he and Daniel loaded the dishwasher. He told his son it was to finish wiping up the counters and set up the coffeepot for the morning. It was actually so he could eavesdrop on the conversation in the dining room. He told himself he was curious about what his son was writing about him, but he knew he really wanted to hear what Quanna would say.
What he heard made the eavesdropping well worth it. Lucas talked about what a great dad he had, and Quanna agreed that he had an “amazing father.” As an additional highlight, Luke made a couple jokes and she laughed, giving Jack the chance to hear the musical sound of her laugh, which he’d grown to like. He listened as she gently prodded Lucas to get ideas from him and to organize them into something resembling an essay. Between his pleasure at what Lucas said and Quanna’s reaction to it, his ego was stroked quite nicely before the hour was up and the draft Lucas needed for the next day was ready to turn in.
“I’ll let your dad finish up your math with you,” Quanna said. She picked up the textbooks and notebooks she’d piled on the sideboard. “Time for me to get home and do my own homework.”
She was headed for the front door when Jack interrupted her departure. “Let me walk you out. I want to talk to you.” He noticed she seemed to walk far ahead of him through the living room, perhaps in a hurry to get away.
He followed her to her car. The sweet smell of the plains mingled with the spicy smell he’d begun to associate with being around her. It was a combination hard to resist.
When they got to her car, he touched her arm to turn her toward him. “I don’t think I’ve told you how much I appreciate what you’ve done helping Lucas since he broke his arm. Both the boys love having you around. So do I.” He added quickly, “Appreciate having you here, I mean.”
“I’m glad you’re happy with my work.”
He noticed she emphasized the words
my work
. “We’re more than happy. All three of us. You’ve made a big difference in our lives.”
She seemed nervous, dropping her gaze and jingling her car keys. “Thank you for saying such kind things.”
“Not kind. The truth.”
He shifted gears away from a subject that seemed to be embarrassing for her. “There’s something else I wanted to talk to you about. I don’t want the boys to get excited before I decide if it’s going to work out, which is why I wanted to do this out here.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Before the boys’ mother was sick, my brother and I used to swap kids every summer. Sam, my brother, wants his boys to have some appreciation for the kind of life we lived growing up. After his boys were here for a couple weeks, I sent Daniel to the city. Luke would be
The other challenge was to keep from getting caught in the warmth of being part of a family, especially this family, with a man she found so attractive and kids she had learned to love. She barely tasted the food she ate trying to keep her conflicting emotions in balance.
After dinner, Lucas was excused from dish duty while Quanna helped him craft the first draft of his essay. It was a relief to have Jack in the kitchen during this process, as Lucas’s assignment was to write about someone who had been important in his life. As Lucas had said, he’d chosen his dad, which wasn’t great for Quanna’s peace of mind.
The exercise began with a laundry list of Jack Richardson’s virtues. And as Quanna already knew, he had many, although it was tempting to add a few to Lucas’s list. Not only was he a great dad who looked after his boys with care and love, as Lucas pointed out, but his protective streak extended to women alone in bars. And he was the fantasy hero of half the staff of the Golden Years Retirement Center. But that probably wasn’t an appropriate addition to his son’s essay, although it was pretty high on Quanna’s list of his virtues.
• • •
Jack stayed in the kitchen after he and Daniel loaded the dishwasher. He told his son it was to finish wiping up the counters and set up the coffeepot for the morning. It was actually so he could eavesdrop on the conversation in the dining room. He told himself he was curious about what his son was writing about him, but he knew he really wanted to hear what Quanna would say.
What he heard made the eavesdropping well worth it. Lucas talked about what a great dad he had, and Quanna agreed that he had an “amazing father.” As an additional highlight, Luke made a couple jokes and she laughed, giving Jack the chance to hear the musical sound of her laugh, which he’d grown to like. He listened as she gently prodded Lucas to get ideas from him and to organize them into something resembling an essay. Between his pleasure at what Lucas said and Quanna’s reaction to it, his ego was stroked quite nicely before the hour was up and the draft Lucas needed for the next day was ready to turn in.
“I’ll let your dad finish up your math with you,” Quanna said. She picked up the textbooks and notebooks she’d piled on the sideboard. “Time for me to get home and do my own homework.”
She was headed for the front door when Jack interrupted her departure. “Let me walk you out. I want to talk to you.” He noticed she seemed to walk far ahead of him through the living room, perhaps in a hurry to get away.
He followed her to her car. The sweet smell of the plains mingled with the spicy smell he’d begun to associate with being around her. It was a combination hard to resist.
When they got to her car, he touched her arm to turn her toward him. “I don’t think I’ve told you how much I appreciate what you’ve done helping Lucas since he broke his arm. Both the boys love having you around. So do I.” He added quickly, “Appreciate having you here, I mean.”
“I’m glad you’re happy with my work.”
He noticed she emphasized the words
my work
. “We’re more than happy. All three of us. You’ve made a big difference in our lives.”
She seemed nervous, dropping her gaze and jingling her car keys. “Thank you for saying such kind things.”
“Not kind. The truth.”
He shifted gears away from a subject that seemed to be embarrassing for her. “There’s something else I wanted to talk to you about. I don’t want the boys to get excited before I decide if it’s going to work out, which is why I wanted to do this out here.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Before the boys’ mother was sick, my brother and I used to swap kids every summer. Sam, my brother, wants his boys to have some appreciation for the kind of life we lived growing up. After his boys were here for a couple weeks, I sent Daniel to the city. Luke would be
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