One kiss, that was all. It was ridiculous to worry about the effect of one kiss. Of course he shouldn’t have done it. She’d been working in his house, and that alone made her out of bounds to him.
Even if that hadn’t been the case, he’d learned something when his wife’s death, so soon after she’d left him, had made patching up their failing marriage impossible. Even if Karin had survived, even if she’d come back to the small-town life she detested, he’d known then that finding the love of a lifetime was an illusion. Reality was raising his son properly and maintaining the business this whole town relied on. He didn’t intend to chase any more romantic rainbows.
So what was he doing watching Paula’s smooth, easy stride, eyeing the swing of blond hair against her shoulder when she looked down to smile at Jason? He should have better sense.
She paused at the pool, bending to dip her fingers in the water. “Nice. I’ll bet you’re in the pool all the time, now that school’s out.”
Jason shrugged. “Mostly my dad uses it. To make his leg better.”
Alex braced himself for the look of pity, but she just nodded.
“Good idea.”
“If you’d like to use the pool while you’re here, please do.” He disliked the stilted tone of his voice. Paula’s presence had thrown him off balance. She was part of an embarrassing incident in his past, and she was also a reminder of the plane crash.
But she’d probably long since forgotten about that kiss. As for the accident, that was something every survivor had to deal with in his own way.
“Thanks.” She stood. “I don’t know if I’ll be here that long.”
Her words challenged him, but he wouldn’t be drawn in. He’d ignore that particular problem for the moment. Jason had gotten several strides ahead, leaving them side by side. As they headed for the housekeeper’s cottage, Alex lowered his voice. “How did Maida seem when you visited her? I hope she’s not too worried about the surgery. Or about not having told me. She needs to concentrate on getting well, rather than worrying about us.”
She hesitated, frown lines creasing her forehead. “She seems to trust the doctor to put things right. We didn’t talk long.”
“That sounds a bit evasive.”
She shot him an annoyed look. “Don’t you think it would be more polite not to say so?”
He’d forgotten that directness of hers. It made him smile—when it wasn’t irritating him. “I’m worried about Maida, too. Remember?”
“Are you?”
“Yes.” All right, now he was annoyed. Maybe that was a safer way to feel with Paula, anyway. “Believe it or not, you’re not the only one who cares about her.”
Her clear green eyes seemed to weigh his sincerity. Then she nodded with a kind of cautious acceptance. “The surgeon says she should come through the operation with flying colors, and then Brett will supervise her rehabilitation. That’ll take time, and he wouldn’t guess how long until she can come home.”
He glanced at his son. “I haven’t mentioned the surgery to Jason. I just said Maida needed a rest. The less he knows, the better.”
She frowned as if disagreeing, but didn’t argue. She moved toward his son. “Just put that on the porch, Jason. I’ll take it in later.”
She dropped her bags and sat down on the step, then patted the spot next to her. “Have a seat and tell me what’s been going on. I haven’t seen you for a long time.”
Jason sat cautiously, seeming ready to dart away at a moment’s notice.
Had Alex been that shy when he was Jason’s age? He thought not, but then his father had always insisted on the social graces, no matter what he actually felt. Maybe, if his mother had lived, things would have been different. He stood stiffly, not comfortable with sitting down next to them, not willing to walk away, either.
“Bet you’re glad school’s out for the summer,” Paula said. “I know my kids were.”
Jason glanced up at her. “You have kids?”
“My students,” she corrected herself. “I teach kindergarten. My school finished up yesterday, and everyone celebrated. Did you have a party the last day?”
Jason nodded. “We played games. And Maida made cupcakes for me to take.”
Alex hadn’t known that, but, of course, it was the sort of thing Maida would do. He shifted uncomfortably, trying to ease the pain in his leg. With the crucial business deal pending, he’d had trouble keeping up with anything else lately, including second-grade parties. He should go in and get back to work, but still he lingered, watching Paula with his son.
“I’ll bet the kids liked those,” she said. “Maida makes the best cupcakes.”
Jason nodded, glancing down at the step he was scuffing with the toe of his shoe. Then he looked up at Paula. “Did you come here to teach me?”
“Teach you?” she echoed. “Why would I do that? School’s out for the summer.”
Jason shrugged, not looking at either of them. “My dad thinks I should do better in school.”
Shock took Alex’s breath away for a moment. Then he found his voice. “Jason, I don’t think that at all. And it’s not something we should talk about to Paula, anyway.”
Paula ignored him, all her attention focused on Jason. Her hand rested lightly on his son’s shoulder. “Hey, second grade is tough for lots of people. I remember how hard it was when I had to start writing instead of printing. My teacher said my cursive looked like chicken scratches.”
“Honest?” Jason darted a glance at her.
“Honest.” She smiled at him. “You can ask Aunt Maida if you don’t believe me. She probably remembers when I used to try to write letters to her. Sometimes she’d call me to find out what I’d said.”
She’d managed to wipe the tension from Jason’s face with a few words. Alex didn’t know whether to be pleased or jealous that she’d formed such instant rapport with his son. Paula seemed to have a talent for inspiring mixed feelings in him.
Her blond hair swung across her cheek as she leaned toward Jason, saying something. The impulse to reach out and brush it back was so strong that his hand actually started to move before common sense took over.
Mixed feelings, indeed. The predominant feeling he had toward Paula Hansen wasn’t mixed at all. It was one he’d better ignore, for both their sakes.
Paula stood on the tiny porch of the housekeeper’s cottage the next morning, looking across the expansive grounds that glistened from last night’s shower. The sun, having made it over the steep mountains surrounding Bedford Creek, slanted toward the birch tree at the end of the pool, turning its wet leaves to silver. The only sound that pierced the stillness was the persistent call of a bobwhite.
The stillness had made this secluded village seem like a haven to her when she was a child. She’d arrived in the Pennsylvania mountains from Baltimore, leaving behind the crowded row house echoing with the noise her brothers made. Four brothers—all of them older, all of them thinking they had the right to boss her around. Her childhood had sometimes seemed like one long battle—for privacy, for space, for the freedom to be who she was.
Here she’d stepped into a different world—one with nature on the doorstep, one filled with order and quiet. She couldn’t possibly imagine the Caine mansion putting up with a loud game of keep-away in its center hall. It would have ejected the intruders forcibly.
Paula glanced toward the back of the mansion, wondering how much Alex had