Distracted for a moment from the bigger issue, she asked, “And did you? Play ball, I mean?”
“For a while,” he said, though his expression shut down. “So, what do you say? I can promise you’ll make more money than you do here.”
Though Helen had seen to it that Walter was generous, Sarah was not getting so much money in alimony and child support that she could afford not to consider a higher-paying job. It was just that this particular job was so far out of her comfort zone, it scared her to death. Since her marriage, she’d been even less likely to take chances than she might have years ago.
Which is all the more reason to say yes, a voice in her head nagged. Do something outrageous for once, something risky and new. Find out what you’re really made of.
“I was hoping to start teaching in the fall,” she said, clinging to the one last objection that made any sense.
“Well, I suppose if this doesn’t work out the way I think it will, you could always do that,” Travis said. “Unless, of course, you’ve already made a commitment to the school.”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t even know if there’s going to be a position available.”
“Then why trade a sure thing for something that might not happen?” he asked, then leaned a little closer and coaxed, “Come on, Sarah. Think how much fun the two of us can have starting this together.”
He made it sound tempting and far more intimate than any job offer that had ever come her way. Helen would probably have a lot to say about the legalities of mixing business and personal agendas, but Sarah wasn’t sure this really qualified as any kind of potential sexual harassment when right this second it felt so good.
She lifted her gaze to meet his sea-green eyes and slowly nodded, even though her heart was climbing into her throat and her palms had turned clammy. Unfortunately, she couldn’t be entirely certain if that reaction was due to fear about the job or pure terror at being drawn into the world of Travis McDonald, who seemed to do disconcerting things to her common sense.
Raylene had dinner on the table when Sarah got home. The kids were in the backyard playing catch with Walter, who appeared to be showing admirable tolerance for Libby’s ineptitude.
“He’s making progress,” Raylene noted after handing Sarah a glass of sweet tea. “I hardly had to do any arm-twisting at all today to get him to include Libby. The way she toddles around after him, hoping for just a tiny bit of attention, breaks my heart.”
“I know,” Sarah said. “Has he said anything about his plans? When’s he going back home? He’s never hung around this long before.”
“He hasn’t said anything to me,” Raylene told her. “I get the feeling he has something on his mind, though. Maybe you should find out what it is.”
“My mind’s on overload as it is,” Sarah said, sitting down at the table with her glass of tea. “I don’t think I can take on Walter’s problems.”
Raylene regarded her worriedly. “What’s wrong?”
Sarah shook her head. She needed to absorb all the implications of this agreement she’d made with Travis before she laid it all out there for everyone else to pick apart. “I’ll tell you later. I don’t want to bring it up while Walter’s around.” Heaven knew what he’d think of the crazy idea of her going on the radio. He might be okay with it, but she could hear his mother raising a ruckus about how unseemly it would be. She hadn’t been able to completely eliminate the strident criticisms that came no matter how hard she’d tried to make peace with the woman.
“You sure?” Raylene asked.
“I’m sure. Let me get those three in here and cleaned up for supper.”
She walked to the back door and called out to them.
At the sound of her voice, Walter glanced up and gave her an unguarded grin that reminded her of the way he’d looked at her back in college whenever she surprised him by stopping by his dorm or, later, his fraternity house. It was a sexy, all-male smile that had once made her heart catch. Now her reaction paled in comparison to what the most innocent glance from Travis did to her. Not that many of Travis’s glances were all that innocent, when she thought about it.
When Walter came inside, he leaned down and planted an impulsive kiss on her cheek that had her scowling.
“What’s up with you?” she asked suspiciously.
“I just had a good day, that’s all. Spending time with the kids without worrying about turning right around and heading home has been great. The Serenity Inn’s not such a bad place, either.”
Sarah immediately went on the defensive. “I know you think it’s ridiculous to waste money on a hotel, but there’s no room here.”
“Hey, I wasn’t being critical. The inn’s fine.”
She regarded him curiously. “You’re being awfully agreeable this weekend. What’s that about?”
He hesitated, then said, “Maybe if there’s time after supper, we could talk some. I’ll tell you what’s going on.”
“Okay.”
The meal was surprisingly pleasant. Nothing the kids did seemed to faze him, not even when Libby knocked the top off her sippy cup, sending milk in all directions. In fact, he didn’t utter one single criticism of Sarah or the kids. He even mustered up a couple of sincere-sounding compliments for Raylene’s cooking. It wasn’t like Walter at all, or at least the Walter of recent times.
As soon as they’d finished bowls of ice cream with fresh peaches, Raylene offered to give the kids their baths.
“I’ll do that,” Walter said, stunning Sarah.
Raylene waved off the offer. “Let me. You can help Sarah with the dishes. That’ll give you two some time to catch up.”
Before Sarah could object, Raylene shooed Tommy and Libby from the kitchen.
“Well, that was subtle,” Sarah said, oddly disconcerted at being left alone with her ex-husband.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was matchmaking,” Walter said. “But she’s pretty much made it clear that she’s against a reconciliation.”
Sarah’s mouth dropped open. “Reconciliation? Where’d that come from?”
“I’m just saying she seems to be against it,” he said defensively. “Not that I’m looking for one or anything.”
Something in his eyes told Sarah that wasn’t entirely true. “Okay, that’s it,” she said decisively. “Leave the dishes. We need to talk. Grab a beer or tea or something and we’ll go outside.”
As soon as they were settled on the patio, Walter looked around, clearly trying to avoid her gaze.
“Mind telling me why the subject of a reconciliation came up?” she finally asked. “I might have initiated the proceedings, but you couldn’t wait to be divorced.”
He didn’t respond immediately. Eventually he sighed, then said, “I had a confrontation with my dad the other day.”
She still wasn’t following. “So, what? You want to get back together to spite him?”
He frowned at her sarcasm. “No, it just got me to thinking about why we split up.”
“We split up because you showed no respect for me and you let your parents get away with bullying me,” she said flatly.
“I know.”
He spoke so softly that at first she wasn’t sure she’d even heard him correctly. “You’re admitting it?” she asked incredulously.
He shrugged.