Anders frowned. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Your son is smart,” Kate said. “Very smart. So you tell me—why isn’t he passing?”
“Exactly. What kind of a teacher are you?”
“A good one,” she said, not taking the bait. “You should talk to him. And I hope you do it gently and with genuine compassion, because he needs that. And he needs that from you.”
Griffin stood rooted to the spot, struck by how fierce she looked standing there defending one of her kids. And not even a particularly good kid. In fact, Grif had a feeling that that was exactly why she was being so adamant.
Griffin had been that kid. But he’d never had a teacher go to bat for him the way Kate was for Dustin.
“Dustin’s going to be big in baseball,” Trevan said. “I played baseball for Arizona State; it’s in his genes. I’d have gone pro if my knee hadn’t blown out, but Dustin’s going to take it all the way. He wouldn’t screw that up on purpose.”
Yes, he would, Grif thought. If pushed too hard, the kid would do exactly that. Just like Grif had when he’d been pushed by his father. He’d ended up turning his back on both the ranch and Sunshine.
“There are things just as important as baseball,” Kate said with surprising gentleness. “Dustin’s really great with the animals. He’s especially into the S&R dog demonstrations we’ve been having with Adam Connelly at Belle Haven.”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass how good he is with animals. Fix this, Ms. Evans. Or else.”
Kate said nothing, and Grif had to admire her restraint. He didn’t have any such restraint. So when Trevan headed to his car, Grif stepped into his path.
“Grif,” Kate said warningly.
He gave her a look and held up a finger. He only needed a second. Putting a “friendly” hand on Trevan’s shoulder, he leaned in like they were best buddies. “If I see you watching her,” he said, “or parking in front of her townhouse or hassling her in any way again, you’d best make sure you life insurance is paid up.”
“You threatening me?”
Grif glanced over Trevan’s head and found Kate’s eyes narrowed on his. He smiled at her.
She didn’t return it.
“Yeah,” Grif said to Anders. “I’m threatening you. Now smile at the pretty lady, get in your car, and drive away.”
Trevan did, leaving a good part of his tires smoking on the asphalt while he was at it.
“What was that?” Kate asked.
“What was what?”
“That ridiculous my-dick-is-bigger-than-your-dick presentation.”
He choked out a laugh. “Did you just say dick?”
“Would you rather I have said penis?”
“Actually,” he said. “I prefer cock.”
“Fine. What was that ridiculous my-cock-is-bigger-than-your-cock presentation?”
“Why Ms. Evans,” he said, grinning wide. “I do believe you have a potty mouth. I like it.”
Not amused, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Answer my question, please.”
Please. God, she was such a polite tyrant. “You really think that was some sort of macho display for your benefit?”
“Either that or you were peeing on me to mark your territory.”
Not exactly pining away for him, he realized, and he began to wonder if he’d been entirely off base with his worries. “I just came by to see if you were doing okay, and I saw him tangling with you.”
“I can handle myself.”
“I can see that.” And he could. It was attractive as hell.
“And why wouldn’t I be okay?” she asked.
Yeah, genius. Why wouldn’t she be okay?
She arched a brow and crossed her arms over her chest. “It can’t be because a grumpy dad yelled at me,” she said, “since you had no way of knowing that was going to happen here today. So what is it? Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
He was quickly his losing footing in this conversation. How did that always happen with her?
“Please tell me it’s not because we slept together. That you’re not thinking I might not be okay because of that.”
“Uh—”
“Because I already told you that it was one of the best nights of my life,” she said slowly, and then she went still. “Oh, I see,” she said. “I think I get it.”
Good. He was grateful she got it, because he didn’t.
“You still think I can’t handle that. The one-night thing. Is that it, Griffin?”
Yeah, he’d stepped into it, right up to his big, fat mouth. “Kate—”
“Oh no,” she said. “Don’t you Kate me.” She hitched her bag farther up on her shoulder and turned to her car.
Walk away, Soldier. Take your losses. Instead, he asked the question now haunting him. “How did you know?”
“How did I know what?”
“That Dustin doesn’t want to play baseball. How did you see that?”
She turned back, some of her temper appearing to fade as she searched his gaze.
“He’s a little punk,” he went on, needing an explanation. “It’d have been so easy for you to dismiss him, not really deal with him, just give him his detention or whatever and put him out of your mind to concentrate on the better-behaved kids, the ones who want to be here.”
Her eyes held his. “I don’t usually take the easy way out, Griffin.”
No. No, she didn’t.
“And anyway, when you’ve been a teacher for any amount of time,” she went on, “you learn to read kids. Or anyone, really. So it was no great mystery. A kid that age isn’t all that complicated. There isn’t a big, long list of things that could be making him act out like that.”
“But you put baseball at the top of the list.”
“It was a guess,” she admitted.
“A good one,” he said. “A smart one. No one else would have seen that.”
She shrugged then studied him. “This hits home for you.” She let out a sigh, unlocked her car, and tossed her purse in. “I don’t leave any kids behind, Griffin. I’m sorry that it happened to you. It shouldn’t have.”
He wasn’t easy to read, he’d made sure of it, and yet she read him like a book.
“Have you ever tried talking to your dad about it?” she asked.
“You mean the brick wall?” He blew out a breath and shook his head. “This isn’t why I came here.”
“Fine. Then let’s talk about why you did come. To make sure I wasn’t secretly devastated about our one night, right? To make sure you haven’t ruined me for all men?”
He grimaced and shoved his hands through his hair. “Okay, how about we leave it at the fact that I’m a complete idiot and move on.”
Finally, he’d reached her. Her mouth curved, albeit slightly, but he’d take it. “I’m willing if you’re willing,” she said.
He nodded and turned to go, but he couldn’t stop himself from stepping in it one last time. “Oh, and online dating is dangerous.”
“More dangerous than dating, say . . . you?”Touché. “We haven’t dated,” he said.
“True.”
“We should change that.”
She actually paused, and he went for it. “Have dinner with me, Kate.”
“I’ve got a lot to go over in regards to my upcoming parent-teacher conferences . . .”
He knew a blow-off when he heard one. He’d certainly given enough of them in his life. Studying her for a moment, he said, “You change your mind about me?”
“No. No,” she said again more firmly. “I really do just have a lot of work.”
“I could help,” he said in that voice that had gotten him what he wanted more than once. “I’m an excellent . . . debriefer.”
She gave him a considering look, and as he’d intended, a sense of playfulness came into her gaze. “What would this debriefing involve?” She wanted to know.
He stepped closer and was gratified to hear her breath catch. “Personal, hands-on techniques come to mind,” he said.
“Oh,” she breathed, sounding a little short of air and also intrigued.
He smiled. “We’ll discuss at dinner.”
“Now?” she asked.
“Now.”
* * *
Halfway out of town, Kate’s cell phone rang. It was Holly. “Hey,” Kate said, going for casual. “What’s up, everything okay?”
“Depends,” Holly said.
“On?”
“You. Are you okay?”
Kate looked over at Grif, who was driving. “I’m okay.” And excited. And terrified. “Why?”
“Are we still best friends?” Holly asked.
“Well, of course!”
“Then when were you going to tell me you’re on a date?”
“I just texted you five minutes ago that I’d be out tonight.”
“With my brother?”
Kate twisted and looked behind them. “Are you following us?”
Griffin, much more used to Holly’s tricks, didn’t even glance in the rearview mirror.
“I’m not following you,” Holly said.
“Let me guess,” Kate said dryly. “There’s another rumor?”
“Adam asked Grif to go on a quad ride with him tonight, but Grif said he was busy. Grif’s never too busy for a quad ride. I took a wild guess.”
She glanced at Griffin. He was driving in his usual Zen-calm zone. Kate didn’t have a Zen-calm zone. “Was I this annoying when you were dating Adam?” she asked Holly.
“More,” Holly said on a laugh. “Listen, I just want to say that I love you. And take things slow, okay?”
“I will.” Kate looked at Griffin again. “I’ll take very good care of your brother, but he’s a big boy now, Hol.”
Holly laughed.
Griffin slid Kate a long, slow, thoughtful gaze that gave her a hot flash. She hung up with Holly and pocketed her phone.
“I’m a big boy?”
Kate thought about just how big and shifted in her seat, earning her another one of those looks, this one accompanied by a low, sexy laugh.
He drove her into Boise, where they went to a tiny little blues club she’d never been to before. They enjoyed great food, great music, and fantastic wine, and when she curled up with him on a comfy love seat to watch the musicians, kicking off the heels that were killing her feet, Grif pulled her feet onto his lap.
“What are you doing?” she asked, shocked. Panicked. Her feet were . . . well, not pretty. She’d spent years standing on them all day in classrooms. Not even Ryan would have touched her callused stumps.
But Griffin wrapped her foot in his big, warm hands and dug his thumbs into her arch.
She moaned so loud that he grinned and leaned over her to kiss her, probably to shut her up.
Later he drove her back to her car. When they reached the school, he woke her up, and she was mortified that she fell asleep on him. He unlocked her car for her and nudged her inside.
“Be careful,” he said, and hooked her seat belt.
To her surprise, he followed her home. “Is this where we get to the hands-on debriefing?” she teased as he walked her inside.
He smiled. “You’re too tired for what I have in mind.”
She was getting less tired by the second. “What exactly do you have in mind?”
“A proper debriefing is . . . intense,” he said. “You need to be on top of your game for that.”
Her good parts quivered, and she pressed him against the door. “You think I’m off my game?”
He stroked a hand down her back and palmed her butt in a possessive nature that was shockingly thrilling. “I think you’re exhausted,” he said. “Understandably so.” He patted her butt then and tugged off her sweater. He hung it up on its hook, his thoughtfulness warming her and making her suddenly not so tired. Because for the first time in recent memory, someone was taking care of her. She felt safe. Cared for. Cherished.
And this was a problem. A big one, given the man making her feel these things. The man she’d originally pulled into her orbit for nothing more than a tryst.
After all, he was leaving.
She was leaving.
And she was in over her head . . .
As if he sensed her sudden melancholy, he paused. “You okay?”
She managed a laugh. “I thought guys only asked that question in romance novels.”
He looked at her for a long moment. “We’ll do just about anything to get what we want, Kate. You should remember that.”
She sucked in a breath. “What if what you want is the same thing I want?”
This earned her another steadying gaze. “I don’t think that can be true,” he said.
“Is that why you haven’t tried to get back in my bed? Because you think I don’t want what you want?”
“I didn’t want to push you,” he said.
“I’m not easily pushed.” She put her hand on his chest. “So I’m going to ask again, what if we want the same thing?”
He stared down at her for what had to be an eternity, during which she let her hand shift a little, gliding from pec to pec.
“You’re going to get your way on this, aren’t you?” he murmured, voice low and a little husky.
“I usually do.” She kicked off her shoes. “Don’t try to fight it, Griffin. I’ll be gentle.”