“I always practice more than that.”
“That’s great. You know what they say. Practice makes…”
“Perfect,” the two of them said in unison, then laughed.
When Jaye started to pack up, Abby came directly toward him. His pulse sped up until he realized she only meant to hand him a sheet of paper.
“I wrote down the name of a beginning violin book I’d like you to buy before the next lesson. Any of the area music stores should have it in stock.”
“I’ll do it,” he promised, even as he wondered when he’d have the time.
She’d started to retreat when Jaye stopped her with a loud whisper. “Aren’t you going to ask him?”
“Ask me what?” he said.
“Can I use the bathroom, Abby?” Jaye said before she could answer. It didn’t escape Connor’s notice that she used her teacher’s first name, which Abby must have authorized. Good. The child needed a female role model in her life, and Abby fit the bill. The more comfortable Jaye felt around her, the better.
“Sure. It’s upstairs, first door on the right.” Abby waited until the girl was halfway up the stairs before turning to him. “Jaye wants me to talk to you about her after-school care.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Why can’t she talk to me about it herself?”
Abby shrugged. “I get the impression she thinks you’ll pay more attention if it comes from me.”
He frowned, troubled by the notion that Jaye thought he wasn’t paying enough attention to her. He knew firsthand how that could undermine a child’s confidence. Connor had grown up in the shadow of a younger brother so athletically gifted he’d stolen the spotlight whenever he’d taken a field or a court.
Their parents had dwelled so heavily on J.D.’s accomplishments that it often seemed as though they had little time left for him and Diana. After J.D. had died, they’d become even more hyper-focused on him. Not that Connor had resented his brother for any of that. He’d loved J.D., too. Everybody had.
“What about Jaye’s after-school care?” he asked Abby.
“She hates it.”
He sighed because he’d expected the answer. “I’m not completely oblivious to what’s going on with her. One of the teachers there told me she wasn’t mixing well with the other students.”
“Then you won’t be surprised that she wants you to make other arrangements for her.”
“I’m ahead of you on that. I already got the names of the day-care centers in the area that can pick her up after school.”
“That’s great.”
“No, it’s not. All of them were full. Since I can’t get off work at three o’clock every day, she’s stuck. I don’t have anywhere else for her to go.”
“Maybe the mother of one of her friends will take her.”
“As far as I know, she hasn’t made any real friends.” He thought of the way Jaye had smiled at Abby and called her by her first name. “Except you.”
“Unfortunately that also doesn’t help you,” she said, “because I can’t take her.”
“Why not?” Now that the solution had occurred to him, it seemed perfect. “I’d pay you.”
“It’s not a matter of money. I give private lessons after school four days a week. A child would be bored to tears.”
“Not a child who loves music,” he argued.
“I don’t know if it’s a good idea,” Abby said slowly.
“You don’t want me, either, do you, Abby?” The small voice came from the staircase. Jaye sat frozen in place on one of the middle steps, looking small and vulnerable. And very, very sad.
“It’s not that, honey,” Abby tried to reassure her. “I’m just afraid you wouldn’t like being here while I was giving lessons.”
The misery in Jaye’s expression ebbed, but only slightly. “I wouldn’t be bored. I could watch TV or play games on your computer.”
“Or, better yet, read and do homework,” Connor added. To Abby, he said, “What do you say? Are you willing to give it a shot?”
A part of him knew he was being unfair to Abby by putting her on the spot, but a bigger part wanted her to agree. Because then not only would Jaye get to see Abby more often, he would, too.
Jaye held her body tautly, with her shoulders hunched, as though expecting a blow. It couldn’t be more clear that she expected to be rejected.
Abby realized it, too. Connor could tell by the way her mouth softened while she regarded the child.
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s give it a try.”
“Do you mean it?” Jaye’s voice held a mixture of hope and suspicion.
“I mean it,” Abby said. “I’m only at your school one day a week, but the rest of the time I’m across the street at the middle school. I’ll collect you at three and bring you here. Your uncle can pick you up when he gets off work.”
Jaye’s face creased into a rare smile. She jumped to her feet and scampered the rest of the way down the stairs, not stopping until she flung her arms around Abby’s waist.
Abby stroked the girl’s hair, exchanging a look with Connor above Jaye’s head.
He smiled at her, more sure than ever that she was a woman he wanted in both of their lives.
CHAPTER FOUR
JAYE HELD THE EMPTY BOX of brownie mix, little lines of concentration appearing on her forehead as she read the directions on the back. “It says we should add two eggs.”
Abby opened the refrigerator door, retrieved the eggs from the tray and put them down on the counter next to the mixing bowl. “You know how to crack them, right?”
The girl’s eyes rounded. “Of course. I added the right amount of oil and water, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did. In fact, you’re a natural in the kitchen. Want to tell me how you got to be that way?”
“My mom taught me some stuff,” Jaye mumbled.
Abby would have liked to pursue the subject, but the girl picked up an egg and kept talking.
“You tap gently on the edge of the bowl,” Jaye said, explaining to Abby the fine points of cracking an egg. The girl’s tongue stuck out slightly as she focused on the task. “Then you let the egg guts slide inside it.”
“Egg guts,” Abby repeated. “You do have a way with words as well as brownies.”
Jaye giggled, something that had been happening more as the first week of their new arrangement wore on. It was Friday, the fifth day they’d been together but the only one in which Abby hadn’t taught lessons.
So far, the arrangement had worked far better than Abby had expected. Because of Jaye’s penchant for attracting attention, she’d feared that the girl would disrupt her lessons.
But Jaye proved adept at entertaining herself. She usually chose to stay in the room where Abby gave lessons, but even that caused no problems.
Connor Smith was the one causing a problem.
He was just so…sexy.
Abby wasn’t sure when she’d started to associate that description with him, but now that she had she couldn’t