Family Ties: Family Ties / Promise Of Grace. Bonnie Winn K.

let her play.”

      “No, but I’ll spend the entire time keeping her off the field if you take her out there.”

      “That’s an exaggeration,” Flynn replied.

      Tom cleared his throat. “I’d better get back to the practice.” He held up the cooler. “I’ll put this on the bleachers.”

      “Thanks,” Cindy replied, wondering why Flynn was scowling as though he had ants in his shoes.

      “Sure,” Tom replied, walking away quickly.

      “What’s with you?” Cindy asked.

      Flynn’s scowl didn’t lighten. “Problem?”

      “You just chased away one of the nicest people here. Some special reason why?”

      “You tell me.”

      Puzzled, Cindy grasped Alice’s hand a little tighter. “So, are we going to grapple over taking the girls on the field?”

      He looked at her for a long moment. “No, I don’t guess we will.”

      Then his gaze shifted toward Tom. “Nothing to argue about at all.”

      Confused, Cindy stared after him as he stalked on to the field. And for the life of her, she couldn’t imagine why he hadn’t taken to Tom.

      “Men,” she muttered.

      “Men?” Beth asked.

      “Yes, sweetie. We’ll talk more about them when you’re older. For now we’ll stick to Cinderella and Prince Charming.”

      Mandy drew her brows together. “Like Daddy?”

      Yep. However, Cindy was the only girl in the world whose glass slipper wouldn’t fit. At least not for Prince Flynn.

      Chapter Seven

      Two mornings later, Cindy carefully banded the remaining stacks of paper, making certain each was straight and in order. She glanced down at the three nearly filled cardboard boxes, then back at the almost bare desktop.

      It didn’t take a crystal ball to know that Flynn wouldn’t appreciate the fact that she’d packed everything without consulting him. But a late-night phone call had taken precedence over Flynn’s makeshift office.

      Her Rainbow class, already strained by growing pains, had suddenly acquired six new members. And even Cindy, who possessed an inordinate amount of energy, knew she didn’t have enough stamina to spread that thinly. The only solution was to cut the class in half so they would be manageable groups. That meant two different meeting times.

      And they had run out of space at the church. Rosewood Community had begun a small private academy in the Sunday school building the last year, and they already needed the space allotted to Cindy’s Rainbow class. Obtaining it for an additional day each week wasn’t possible.

      As her class had grown, she and Katherine had discussed the necessity of relocating the Rainbow group. That’s when Cindy had handpicked her own conservatory for the purpose. Then Flynn had needed an office and she’d been able to put off the move. But now there was no other choice. Her parlor, with all its breakable collectibles wasn’t suitable. And she couldn’t keep the kids in the yard the entire time.

      “Hey, what’s going on?” Flynn demanded from the doorway, his sleep-tousled hair still a bit wild.

      Cindy glanced up, immediately assessing his displeasure. “I need to use this room for my Rainbow class.”

      He frowned. “So you’re just clearing out my stuff?”

      “You did tell me you wanted to handle your own office arrangements, in fact all your arrangements.”

      He gestured to the boxes. “Is this what you call allowing me to handle my own decisions? Packing my things without consulting me?”

      She rolled her eyes. “Do you want me to remind you how often you’ve mentioned that you’d prefer the office space you rented to this one?”

      “One small point—it’s not ready yet.”

      Cindy shrugged. “Michael offered to help. But you wouldn’t even let him make a phone call. If you had, maybe the space would be finished by now.”

      “I don’t impose on strangers.”

      “Michael’s not a stranger!”

      “Not to you. I barely know him.”

      Exasperated, she tossed down a manila folder. “By your choice. My friends have extended themselves, but you purposely remain distant.”

      “Another thing I don’t believe I asked for,” he reminded her in a tight voice.

      She leaned back against the desk. “Look, Flynn. I don’t know how things were done with your friends. But in a small town like Rosewood, we depend on each other and our faith.”

      “One more strike and you’re out.”

      Dismayed, she stared at him. “I still can’t believe you mean that.”

      Impatiently he smoothed one hand back over his chestnut hair. “And you accused me of ignoring what I didn’t want to hear?”

      She fiddled for a moment with the deep blue antique glass inkwell. “I hate to think of you having such a gaping hole in your life, one nothing else can fill.”

      “And I hate to think I’m going to have to endure a sermon. If I’m going to move today, I’d better get to it.”

      But she didn’t stir, instead raising her eyes. “I wouldn’t have put you out of your office if it wasn’t for a good cause. My Rainbow class has nearly doubled and there’s no other space available.”

      Flynn muttered under his breath.

      Cindy couldn’t distinguish the words, but suspected she wouldn’t want to hear them if she could. Turning around, she scribbled on a notepad, then ripped the page free. “We can still call Michael about your office.”

      “How about if you let me make that one decision?”

      “Of course.” She handed him the paper. “Here’s his number.” She took one more step toward the door, then hesitated. “I know you think I want to wrestle away your control. But it’s never been about that. I feel how much pain you’ve been in since you lost Julia, then all the responsibility of raising the girls on your own. I was just trying to make things easier for you, to let you not have to worry for once.”