“Maybe, but she’s had people around who have lost someone and kids around who have lost parents and she wouldn’t respond to them at all. It’s more than that.”
“I’m surprised the kids didn’t reach her.”
“They didn’t. Maybe everyone came on too strong. I notice you’re pretty low-key with her.”
“There’s no magic formula and I don’t know why, but she’s responding slightly to me.”
“It isn’t slight. For her to hug you is huge.”
“You’re making so much out of so little, I’m scared to tell you anything else.”
“Now you have to. What else?”
“Just don’t get carried away. She asked me tonight if I hurt.” For an instant he stared at her and she wondered if she would regret telling him. “Will, don’t blow everything out of proportion. I see big hope for your tutor because the woman I have in mind should be wonderful with Caroline.”
“Let’s sit. What did you tell her?” he asked, taking her arm and moving to the sofa to sit close, facing her. Their knees touched and his hand still rested on her arm.
She told him about the brief moment she had had with Caroline.
“You did it. I knew you could,” he said. “You’ve gotten through to her.”
“Will, stop making something colossal out of this. It’s a tiny step, a baby step in the right direction.”
He framed her face with his hands. “We’ve tried so much. You should see the list of people I’ve had work with her and the play groups I’ve put her into.”
“Maybe she just wasn’t ready and time has passed and now she is,” Ava said, her voice breathless. His hands were on her cheeks and he sat close, his eyes blazing with emotion.
“I’m overjoyed, Ava. Maybe I’m clutching at straws, but straws are more than I’ve had in the past. This is real hope. She communicated with you, however briefly. She interacted with you.”
His gaze dropped to her mouth and her heart pounded. He leaned down to kiss her hard and she responded to him, knowing he kissed her with emotion and joy over his feelings for his niece. As his kiss changed, he lifted her onto his lap. A half day with him tomorrow. It wouldn’t last, so what did a few kisses hurt? She wrapped her arm more tightly around his neck and kissed him passionately, forgetting everything except Will, who was exciting, sexy, temporarily changing her life.
When she withdrew, his breathing was as ragged as hers. He stared at her as if he had never seen her before, his gaze roaming over her features while he combed his hand through her hair. “You’ll continue to spend time with her tomorrow, won’t you?”
“Yes, but I’ve really learned what I wanted to know—who would make the best tutor for her. I told her you might take us to a bookstore and she can pick out some books.”
“Sounds great. I should go tell Rosalyn that she can have another day off, so if she wants to make plans this evening, she can. I’ll be right back.”
He left and she watched him go, looking at his long legs, remembering him in his swimsuit and thinking about his kisses. Tonight was the last night with him—a good thing. No one-night stands, either. It would take her a long time to forget him and his niece. She was going to miss Caroline. The little girl in her quiet way was lovable.
In minutes Will was back. “She’s glad for another day to catch up on some things, so everyone is happy and I’m sure Caroline will be.” He sat close on the sofa again. “Want anything to drink? Tea, pop, wine, beer, milk, margaritas, rum… I have a full bar.”
“A glass of iced tea would be good,” she said, standing to go to the kitchen with him. She watched as he fixed her a tall glass, gave her some sliced lemon and got out a cold beer for himself. He motioned toward a sofa in the far side of the kitchen where there was an adjoining sitting room.
When she sat on the sofa, Will sat close beside her. He raised his drink. “Here’s to miracles.”
She smiled patiently and touched his glass with hers. “Something to dream about.”
“No dream today. I told you—you have no idea what we’ve gone through with none of the experts getting that much reaction from her.”
“Now that I’ve met Caroline, I plan to contact Becky first because she’s the best choice as tutor. She’s free for the rest of the summer and she lives in driving distance of Dallas so she can stay or drive back and forth, either one. Now I can tell Becky more about Caroline and know what I’m talking about. I think you’ll like Becky.”
“Ava, I’ve thought over who I want to hire,” he said, setting his beer on a coaster on the table. “I didn’t come up with my plans tonight or even earlier today. I promise.”
She set her drink on the nearby table. “You don’t approve of Becky? You read all I sent you, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did. One person stands out.”
“And who is that?”
He took her hands. “I’d like to hire you to tutor Caroline this summer.”
Four
Even though Ava had suspected this request was coming, it still surprised her. She thought of Caroline and felt torn.
“Will, thank you for your faith in me. Caroline is adorable and I think she can be helped. She’s a precious child.” Will was desperate, and she had already gotten to know him well enough that she disliked disappointing him. She hated even more hurting Caroline, although his niece would never know about his offer or her rejection.
“If you feel that way, don’t rush to answer me. Think about it tonight and give me an answer tomorrow. You see the situation here, so you know what we’re like and where you’d live and what you’d be doing. Just give it some thought.”
“When we first met I told you my plans. I’ve received my doctorate. I intend to open my own school where I can hire the teachers I want and include some of my teaching methods with my books in the curriculum.”
“I appreciate your ambition. All I’m asking you to do is postpone your plans a little,” he said, leaning slightly closer.
“Opening my own school has been my dream since I was a student aide in high school and helped in a reading program.”
“An admirable dream,” he remarked. His dark gaze consumed her and her heartbeat raced. She had no intention of letting him derail all her plans. She took a deep breath, ready to launch into a refusal.
“You’re perfect to work with Caroline and it’s already June,” he said before she could speak. “It would be the rest of this month, July and only part of August until shortly before school begins. Not quite three full months actually. It would be a three-month delay in your plans at most.”
“I don’t want to put off my dream. I’m really not a private tutor. When you meet and interview Becky, I think you’ll agree that she’s the best person for the job, and I’m sure Caroline will like her.”
He reached in a pocket and brought out a piece of paper, which he unfolded.
She was tempted to refuse to even look at it. She suspected it would be an exorbitant sum of several thousand dollars, like the amount he was paying her for the two days in Dallas.
“I figured you would turn me down, so I’ve thought about what might induce you to stay. Don’t give me an answer now. Promise me you’ll take this and think about it tonight.”
“Will, I know what I want to do,” she persisted. “This isn’t the place for me to get sidetracked, because it’s more than just taking a job for the summer. This involves a child and you—It