“Maybe you’re right. Could be she doesn’t have enough confidence in the instructors.”
Angela smiled. Heather was too much like her. “Trusting people doesn’t come easily to her.”
“Did she learn that from her mother, too?” Adam asked quietly, the warmth in his eyes never wavering. A warmth she’d never seen in Dan’s gaze.
But Angela looked away without answering. Uneasiness settled over her. It had been a long time since she’d really trusted anyone except family members. And she hadn’t planned to allow herself to be in such a vulnerable position again. Ever.
“Mom!” Heather climbed out of the pool and reached for her towel.
“Hi, hon!” Angela waved. “I’ll be right there.” She glanced back at Adam to say goodbye, only to find him looking over at her daughter.
“Good job, Heather.” He stood up, walking with Angela around to the other side of the pool where Heather was drying her face and hair with a beach towel. “Would you and your mom like to go out for some ice cream?” Adam asked the young swimmer.
Heather’s face lit up, just as Angela frowned.
“That would be great!” the child responded. “Can we, Mom? It’s not very late and I don’t have any homework to do when we get home.”
Angela looked from Heather’s bright eyes to Adam, who stood studying her thoughtfully.
“Think you can trust me enough for that?” he inquired with a half smile. He was not at all certain she’d agree.
“Do I have a choice?” she countered as Heather wrapped her arms tightly around Angela’s waist.
“Can we, Mom? Please?”
“I guess we could go for a little while,” Angela replied. She regarded Adam’s expression of satisfaction with irritation. “You cheated.”
“Next time, I won’t need to,” he responded, and reached for Heather’s hand as they headed toward the door. “I want to lock up my office. When Heather is changed, meet me at the front door.”
“See you in a minute,” Heather said, pulling free from Adam’s grasp and running into the locker room.
“All right?” He tilted his head to the side, awaiting Angela’s reply.
She nodded. “See you in a minute,” she echoed her daughter’s comment. “Ready or not.”
“I’ll be ready,” he responded, then disappeared through the door to his office.
But would she ever be ready to have another man in her life after living through twelve years of the mistake she’d made in marrying Dan Sanders? Was her judgment of men good enough that she’d ever take another chance with one? “No,” she reminded herself, “no, no, no.” She wouldn’t risk making the same error again, wouldn’t even come close to it…or to any man who might interest her enough to threaten her freedom. No one could be worth that Not even this guy.
Heather dried her hair quickly and changed into her jeans and a T-shirt. “Mom, I’m ready. Let’s go!” she said, motioning Angela toward the door. “Adam’s waiting.”
“Yes, he is,” Angela sighed, and they headed for the lobby.
“Mint chocolate chip.” Heather gave her order to Adam. “Two scoops. It’s my favorite.”
“And what is your mom’s favorite?” Adam asked Heather, but looked over at Angela for a reply.
“A small chocolate milk shake would be great,” Angela said immediately, hoping to squelch Heather’s probable response.
“But Mom, you always have that big caramel sundae with the peanuts and all that whipped cr—” Angela’s hand moved deftly to cover her daughter’s open mouth—a move it had made numerous times in six years. She caught the smile of amusement on Adam’s face. Angela had eaten only one sundae like that in the past six months, but Heather made it sound as though it was a part of her daily diet. She started to explain, but suddenly it was their turn at the counter.
“Mint chocolate chip, double-scoop cone and two large caramel sundaes with nuts and whipped cream,” Adam requested.
“The milk shake would have been fine,” she said, and released her hold on her child.
Adam’s laugh was gentle. “There’s no need to settle for ‘fine.’ This will be better.”
“That’s true,” she admitted, her mouth curving into a reluctant smile. Oh, well, she knew she’d never have a figure like Tiffany’s. Not even if she gave up eating altogether.
Soon they were seated at a table, enjoying the desserts. Conversation flowed between Adam and Angela, more easily than it had at the Open House. They discussed some activities at the center, and Angela’s job as principal. Heather added some thoughts of her own along the way. Then the youngster had a serious question for Adam.
“Are you a Christian?” They were the blunt words of a six-year-old.
Angela cringed. She would have asked him, too, but not quite so openly or loudly.
“Yes,” Adam answered easily, “I go to First Church on Third Avenue.”
“That’s where my sister-in-law attended before she and Rob moved away,” Angela said, suddenly distracted from Heather’s tactlessness.
“Lots of people go to church,” Heather continued. “But I mean are you really a Christian?”
“Yes, I accepted Christ into my heart over seven years ago,” he explained to Heather before turning his attention back to Angela. “You mean Rob, the lawyer turned minister? His wife?”
“Yes, Micah Granston. Shepherd was her last name before she married my brother. Do you remember her? She had very long reddish hair then. It’s much shorter now. She’s a teacher and an artist.”
“I’ve only been going there since I moved to this area about a year and a half ago. She may have left before I joined that church. How long have they been married?”
“About two years. A little more than that, actually,” Angela said. “So she would have been gone by the time you started there. But she always liked that church.”
“I do, too. It’s just what I was looking for,” Adam added. “Where do you attend?”
“Mount Pleasant on Oakwood Avenue,” Heather answered for her mother. “We’re Christians, too, you know.”
“I know,” he answered.
“How?” Heather asked, a frown scrunching up her freckled face. “How could you know without asking?”
“I guess…,” he began, “it’s just something I sensed.” His eyes rose to meet Angela’s and, for a long moment, held them. She couldn’t remember a look feeling any more intense than the heart-stopping gaze she now shared with Adam. Did he feel it, too?
But interruption came swiftly. Heather had more ground to cover. “My brothers are Christians, too, and Grandma and Grandpa, and so are Uncle Rob and Aunt Micah and Uncle Eric and—”
“I think he gets the picture, hon,” Angela interjected before glancing back at her daughter. “Heather may become the next preacher in the family.”
“She’d be good at it,” Adam said. “She could have a lot of converts under her direct style of witnessing.”
“Right, she’ll either have a lot or know the reason why not,” Angela replied with a laugh. She allowed herself to study Adam’s face. Touches of humor lingered around his mouth and eyes, but something about the set of his jaw