“The machine can pick it up.”
The phone rang again and the answering machine beeped on. “Erin, this is Mike,” the machine recorded. “I wanted to know if you’d like to go to the symphony tomorrow night. I’ve got the bank’s box, if you’re interested. I thought we could have dinner first, maybe around seven?”
Erin lifted a shoulder, her face still flushed. “Mike Kell,” she explained. “He teaches with me at St. Michaels.”
Mike Kell. Sure, he remembered. Class president and valedictorian. His father owned the bank. Wade’s jaw clenched.
“…so give me a call when you get in,” Mike finished. The machine clicked off, paused, then whirred as it rewound.
“I take it you’re dating?”
“Not really.”
He scowled. “Dinner and the symphony sounds like a date to me.”
“We’re just friends.”
But Mike wanted it to be more, he guessed. And Mike was exactly the type Erin belonged with. Classy, educated. Irritation surged in his gut.
His gaze settled on the shadows under her eyes, the fatigue lining her face, and his temper rose. So why wasn’t Mike taking care of her? He wouldn’t let her suffer if she belonged to him—teaching rowdy kids all day, slaving over her grandmother at night, scraping by on borrowed money while her house rotted apart. Why didn’t Mike grab a chain saw and cut up those limbs in the yard or pick up a hammer and fix the porch?
Erin’s gaze caught his. “Look, I’m going to pay back the money. I just need time to organize things, that’s all.”
“And I said I don’t want it.”
Her chin came up. “Well, that’s too bad because I’m still going to pay it back. This isn’t your problem.”
“Norm made it my problem.”
She crossed her arms, her pride apparent in the tilt of her head. But another emotion flitted through her eyes. Worry. Anxiety. And suddenly she looked vulnerable, lost, like that abandoned kid she’d once been.
The kid with rejection haunting her eyes from a mother who didn’t want her. The kid who’d flashed him that sweet, shy smile, despite his bad reputation. The one who had accepted him.
A hard fist twisted his heart. He didn’t mean to trample her pride, and he sure didn’t want to hurt her. He never could stand to wound Erin.
But she obviously couldn’t solve this alone. Even if she paid off the loan, the house still needed attention. And who knew what other debts she had, or what she’d do in the future?
Which meant he had to get involved, whether she liked it or not. She had no one else to help her.
“You don’t mind if I stay here, do you?” he asked slowly. “While I’m going through Norm’s things, I mean.”
“Of course not. You can stay as long as you want.”
“Good.” That would give him time to fix the house and solve the rest of her problems. He turned and strode toward the door.
“Wade.”
He paused and turned back. Her green eyes narrowed on his. “I’m serious. I said I don’t want a savior.”
But she sure as hell needed one. And it appeared it was going to be him.
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