A tight smile played at the corners of her mouth. “Believe me, Sheriff Garrett, I understand only too well, and I can assure you that my frustration equals, if not surpasses, yours.
“For my part I promise to investigate every new teaching technique available. There is always some educator coming up with new and different methods of instruction. Some are better than others, but it won’t hurt to try a few of them.” The sound of her stomach growling punctuated the statement. Her freckled face flushed deep red.
“Look, I was up half the night,” he told her, not offering any reason why. She’d never know he hadn’t slept for thinking of their argument and...her. Frowning, he scrubbed a palm over his bristly cheek. “When Danny came to get me, I didn’t even have time to shave much less have a cup of coffee. Would you mind if we continued this conversation at Ellie’s?”
An expression of pure panic flitted over her face.
“Please,” he coaxed. “Let me treat you to breakfast. I’ll be able to think much better once I have some coffee, and I think your stomach will agree that a plate of ham and eggs wouldn’t come amiss.”
He accompanied the request with a stiff smile. If possible, she looked even more flustered. He could see in her eyes that she was about to refuse.
“Look, Miss Grainger, I’m doing my best to make up for yesterday,” he said in his most persuasive tone. “How about meeting me halfway?”
After regarding him with a solemn expression for long moments, she rose. “Well, then, since you put it that way, I accept. We really must reach some agreement about the children.”
* * *
The instant she and the sheriff walked through the door of the café, all eyes turned their way. Allison heard the murmurs of conjecture sweep through the crowd. Grasping her elbow, he ushered her to a table and pulled out her chair, the epitome of a Southern gentleman.
Ellie approached carrying two mugs of steaming coffee. “Straight from the pot for Allison,” she said, setting the cup down in front of her and pressing a sisterly kiss to her cheek. “The usual, Colt?” Ellie asked.
“Yep. And thanks for bringing the coffee right over. I needed it.”
“I could tell,” Ellie said with a slight smile.
Allison watched wide-eyed as he added a generous amount of cream and two heaping spoonfuls of sugar. If she used cream and sugar in every cup of coffee or tea she drank, she would soon be waddling, but the sheriff’s lean, muscled body didn’t appear to have an extra ounce of fat anywhere.
“Allison? What for you?”
“Just a piece of toasted bread and an egg, please.”
“That’s it?” Colt asked.
“No sense arguing with her,” Ellie said. “It’s what she usually has.”
Allison felt decidedly uncomfortable at being the topic of conversation. Heaven knew—everyone knew—that she didn’t need a full breakfast.
His shoulders lifted in a shrug of disbelief. “Bring the lady some toast and an egg.”
“Got it,” Ellie said, and walked away, her slim hips swaying.
Colt sighed.
“She’s lovely, isn’t she?” Allison’s tone was wistful.
“She is.”
His agreement brought a lump to her throat. Well, she had asked, and there was no denying the obvious. “And just as beautiful on the inside.”
It was the sheriff’s turn to look uncomfortable with the turn in the conversation. He took a hearty swig of the steaming coffee without flinching.
“She deserves a good man.”
He scowled. “You’ve probably heard the scuttlebutt that it won’t be me.”
Allison had heard from Ellie that she’d told Colt they had no future since she had no idea if the husband who’d deserted her when Bethany was born was alive or dead. Besides, as nice a man as he was, she didn’t love him.
“I’m sorry.”
“So am I. She’s a sweet person and wonderful company, but I think we both always knew we were never going to be more than friends.”
The knot in Allison’s chest loosened.
“Back to the children,” she said, deciding that she should return the conversation to their mutual problem. “What did Cilla have to say about her behavior?”
Colt cleared his throat but met her curious gaze head-on. “It seems that as a father, I’ve fallen far short in the attention and support areas of their lives.”
“I’m not certain I understand.”
Colt placed his elbows on the table and leaned toward her. Allison listened as he explained what Cilla had told him about the reason she misbehaved.
When he finished, Allison said, “She misbehaves to get your attention?”
“So it seems. She says that even when I’m at home with them, my thoughts are far away.” He leaned back in his chair and lifted his coffee mug. “As bad as I hate to admit it, she’s right. It took me a long while to get past losing Patty. Maybe I still dwell on it too much sometimes.”
He met Allison’s troubled gaze. “When Patty was alive, she took care of most of the child rearing, and I made the living. When she died, it all fell to me. I didn’t know what to do besides feed and clothe them, and that’s more or less all I’ve been doing. It seemed to work okay when they were small, but now that they’re growing up, they need more.”
Allison looked at him, wondering what it would be like to be loved by a man who still missed you after so many years. “That makes sense. Most men would probably handle things the same way. And Cilla’s comment fits with something she said yesterday.”
“What’s that?” He took another swallow of coffee.
“She said that she stepped on my glasses because she was standing up for Brady. After I thought about that awhile, I realized that almost every time she gets into trouble, it’s after Brady and I have had some sort of exchange about his schoolwork. I believe one reason she acts out is to take my attention away from her brother.”
Colt looked dumbfounded. “She’s always been protective of him, so that makes a strange sort of sense,” he said after a moment. “Sometimes I think she’s trying to take the place of her mother.”
While Allison tucked that bit of information into a corner of her mind to ponder later, he explained how Cilla was feeling sorry for herself over not having a mother to instruct her in the ladylike pursuits her schoolmates enjoyed.
“She also told me they tried to wreck my relationships because they’re afraid a stepmother might take me away from them, and a new wife will have children that I will love more than I do them.”
“You can’t be serious!”
“I assure you I’m quite serious,” he said. “Where do they come up with all these strange notions?”
“Never having had children, I couldn’t say.”
“I may as well tell you that she has a problem with you, too.”
“Me?” Allison’s shock was apparent. “What sort of problem can she possibly have with me? It isn’t as if you’re looking at me as a candidate to become their stepmother.” A rush of color flooded her cheeks the instant the words left her lips.
“No, no, nothing like that,” he replied, his agreement blunt and crisp. “Uh, Cilla says you’re too...happy all the time.”
Allison’s