“Okay,” she said, fighting a smile. “I guess I’m just a victim of coincidence and there’s no one to thank.”
“I guess so,” he grumbled. “Of course, you’re losing a lot of hours by missing two days of work every week. And I’m short-handed Saturday afternoon since Evelyn quit. I could really use some help if you’re interested in putting in some extra hours.”
Bent over his paperwork, he never looked up as he casually threw out the offer of more work. Watching him, torn between tears and laughter, Natalie could have kissed him. The rat! He didn’t need extra help on Saturdays—Evelyn had quit two months ago and he’d said on more than one occasion that he hadn’t really needed her, anyway! He was just trying to help her out financially.
If the world had been a perfect place, she would have sincerely thanked him for the offer and turned him down. She was spending too little time with her boys as it was, and she hated being away from them. But money was tight, and she had to make up the time and money she was losing wherever she could.
The boys would understand, she assured herself. And it wouldn’t be forever…just until she finished college and got a teaching job. Then she would be home whenever the boys were out of school, and she would no longer have to feel guilty for leaving them.
“I would love to work Saturdays or any other time you need me when I’m not in class,” she said huskily. “Thanks.”
Not surprisingly, he only grunted, “Don’t thank me. You’re doing me a favor. Now get to work before I dock you for standing around shootin’ the breeze.”
“Yes, sir,” she retorted, saluting smartly. “Anything you say, sir. I’ll get right on it, sir.”
Whirling, she stepped out of his office…just as he hit her in the back with a wadded up piece of paper. Grinning, she went to work.
Chapter 3
“Hi, sweetie. Did everything go all right at school?”
“Harry put a worm on the teacher’s desk after recess,” Tommy said proudly. “You should have heard her scream, Mom. She thought it was a snake.”
Natalie groaned. She always called the boys during her break and checked with Susan Reed, their babysitter, to make sure everything was all right. Invariably, the boys had one outlandish tale after another to report. “I’m sure the entire school heard her,” she said dryly. “Let me speak to your brother.”
“Sure, Mom. Is he in trouble?”
“What do you think?” she replied. “Let me speak to him.”
She didn’t have to ask twice. Not wanting to get in trouble himself, he quickly handed the phone to his brother. “Hi, Mom,” Harry said glumly.
“You got in trouble, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Am I going to have to meet with your teacher?”
“She sent a note home.”
Natalie could just imagine what it said. “We’ll discuss this later,” she told him grimly.
Thankful to get off so easily, he said quickly, “Luv ya, Mom,” and hung up before she could ask to speak to Susan and get the real lowdown on what happened.
Her break over, she didn’t have time to call Susan back, so she returned to work. When Derek had walked out on her, she’d readily admitted that the thought of raising boys by herself terrified her. She was an only child with no close male cousins, so boys had always been a mystery to her. How could she teach them to be boys?
Even now, thinking about her mindset before they were born made her want to laugh. Obviously, her sons needed no help being boys. They were wild and outrageous and a constant source of delight to her, despite worms and snakes and frogs and an endless array of clothes that would never come clean. Given the chance, she wouldn’t have traded them for anything.
Wondering how she was going to discipline Harry without breaking into a smile, she headed back to her station, grabbing a couple of menus for the couple who’d just claimed one of her tables. She couldn’t see the man, but the woman was drop-dead beautiful. Blond with a sophistication that was seldom seen in Eagle Creek, Colorado, she was simply dressed in a black knit top and white slacks, yet she still managed to draw every eye in the room.
Wondering if she could wear her hair in the same sleek style, Natalie approached with a friendly smile. “Hello,” she began. “My name is Natalie. I’ll be your server for the evening—”
She always introduced herself to her customers, then told them the day’s specials, but when her eyes fell on the woman’s companion, the specials flew right out of her head. “Professor Sullivan!”
A slow grin curled the corners of Max’s sensuous mouth as his dancing eyes met hers. “Mrs. Bailey! You know, it’s funny the way we keep meeting this way. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you were following me.”
“Actually, you’re the one who turns up everywhere I am, Professor,” she retorted, “so I believe that’s my line.”
“I beg your pardon.” He chuckled. “You’re right.” Suddenly remembering his manners, he turned to his companion. “Katherine, this is Natalie. She’s one of my most promising students.”
“I don’t know about promising,” Natalie said ruefully, “but I’m certainly one of his oldest. It’s nice to meet you, Katherine.”
“You, too,” she said easily. “I bet Max is a hard taskmaster.”
She sent him a smile that told Natalie that this was no first date—they knew each other well and liked each other. And something twisted in Natalie’s heart, something that felt an awful lot like disappointment. From the first moment she’d met him, she’d known that he was a man who enjoyed the company of women. And why shouldn’t he? He was young and carefree and didn’t answer to anyone.
So why was she suddenly so sad? she wondered. If she was in the market for a man—which, again, she wasn’t—he was nothing like the kind of man she would pick, anyway. She needed a family man, someone who was responsible and settled and ready to be a father to her boys. As much as she was attracted to Max Sullivan—and there was no point in denying it further—she didn’t think he would be ready for fatherhood anytime soon.
“It’s too early in the semester to tell,” she replied. “I’ll know more after the first test.” Handing them each a menu, she took their drink orders, then added, “If you like fish, you might consider trying the grilled rainbow trout. It’s fantastic.”
Giving them time to study the menu, she hurried away to fill their drink orders, and in the quiet she left behind, Max looked up from his menu to find Katherine studying him with a glint of amusement in her brown eyes. Surprised, he lifted a dark brow at her. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“She’s very attractive.”
“Mmm.”
She grinned. “And older than most of your students.”
“I believe she did mention that.”
“You like her.”
“I like all my students.”
“Max! Stop that. You know what I mean.”
He did know what she meant—and he wasn’t going there. “I don’t date my students, Katherine. You know that.”
“I know you haven’t in the past,” she replied. “But you’ve never been interested in eighteen-year-olds. Natalie’s different. What’s her story?”
“None of your business—”
Natalie arrived then with their drinks,