“Thank you.” He wasn’t sure what else to say. He had expressed his gratitude—at least, as much as she had allowed him to—which was all he’d intended to do. He hadn’t planned on an extended visit. After all, despite a couple of memorable past encounters, he and Jamie Flaherty were basically strangers.
“How old are they?”
“Sam turned five last month. Abbie’s fourteen months.”
“I heard that your wife died last year. I’m sorry.”
He had no intention of talking about his late wife. He merely nodded in response to her expression of sympathy.
“Are you a good father?”
She asked the question completely seriously, as if he should be able to easily reply with a simple yes or no. Even when they were kids, he’d never known quite how to respond to many of the things Jamie said. “I do my best.”
“Your nanny—”
“I fired her this evening.”
Jamie blinked. “You fired her?”
“She almost let my son drown. She told me herself that she never saw him go in the water. She knew he couldn’t swim.”
“She was playing with Abbie. She seemed very fond of her.”
“Yes, she was good with Abbie,” he conceded. “But she didn’t bond well with Sam. Because she couldn’t communicate well with him, she tended to ignore him. I have two kids. I need someone who will look after both of them while I’m working.”
Jamie studied his face a moment. “You always were a bit intolerant of other people’s failings.”
“When it comes to my children’s safety, I will always demand perfection,” he answered flatly, oddly stung by her criticism.
“Of course.”
He couldn’t quite read her expression now. Satisfied that he’d made his point, he added, “Tomorrow, I’ll make sure that sorry excuse for a lifeguard loses his job, as well.”
“I hope you don’t do that. He’s young. The pool’s only been open for a couple of weeks. He was completely shaken by what almost happened today. I’m sure he’ll be more vigilant from now on.”
“Not at the pool where my children swim, he won’t.”
Jamie’s eyes narrowed. “Funny,” she said, her voice soft. “I remembered you being stuffy and arrogant, but I never thought of you as a complete jerk.”
“Jamie, he almost let my son drown!”
“He made a mistake. A huge one, I’ll admit, but I think he deserves a second chance. Do you expect me to believe that you have never in your life made a mistake, Trevor McBride?”
“No.” His voice was grim. “I don’t expect you to believe that.”
“Give the boy another chance. Have him reprimanded, if you like—or do it yourself—but don’t make him lose his job.”
Even when they’d been young, even when Trevor had known Jamie would only bring him trouble, she’d always been able to sway him. He sighed. “All right. I won’t have him fired. But I hope you’re right that he’ll do a better job in the future. Lives literally depend on it.”
“I know. And I wouldn’t risk them recklessly,” she assured him.
“I’ll take your word for it.” He watched as she shifted on the couch, folding her long, bare legs into a more comfortable position. Her baggy shorts gapped at the tops of her legs, revealing intriguing glimpses of smooth thighs. His reaction to those glimpses made him scowl and abruptly raise his gaze to her face again. “I heard you’d moved back here,” he said. “I have to admit I was surprised.”
“I came back in March,” she acknowledged. “My aunt, who still teaches at the elementary school, called me about the opening for a drama teacher at the high school for the remainder of the second semester. The former teacher hadn’t planned to leave for a couple of years, but when her husband was diagnosed with cancer, she retired to take care of him. They needed someone on very short notice, and I just happened to be available.”
“I didn’t even know you had teaching credentials.”
“My college degree was in secondary education with a theater minor. I’ve always believed in having a back-up plan, and teaching was mine. I worked as a sub in New York schools between acting gigs. This job’s a piece of cake compared to that experience.”
“I can imagine. So, are you staying on now that the school year’s finished, or are you headed back to Broadway?”
“I spent much more time off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway,” she corrected him with a wrinkle of her short nose. “I was ready for a change. I’ve signed on for another year at Honoria High. The kids want to put on a production of Grease in the spring, and I promised to help them.”
“Sounds like a big job.”
“It should take most of the school year to put it together. We’re going to do a smaller production in December—A Christmas Carol, maybe, or The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. I’ll also be teaching speech classes.”
“So you’re giving up acting?”
“I didn’t say that. I’m just taking a break for a couple of years.”
Trevor knew what a two-year “break” could do to an acting career—especially for a woman nearing thirty. There was more to Jamie’s story than she had told him—not that it was any of his business, of course. But he wondered how long she would be content to live in Honoria after her years in New York.
He wondered how many people were speculating about him in much the same way.
Glancing again at his watch, he stood. “I have to get back to the kids. Thanks again, Jamie. If you ever need anything…I owe you one.”
Her mouth tilted into a funny smile. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She pushed herself slowly off the couch and walked him to the door. “It’s good to see you again, Trev.”
“It’s good to see you, too.” Which was, he decided, the truth in a strange sort of way. “Good night, Jamie.”
Her arm brushed his when she reached unexpectedly around him to open the door. His reaction to the casual touch seemed out of proportion—which only illustrated how stressful his day had been, he mused. It had left him completely rattled. He made his exit while he could still do so with something approaching dignity.
JAMIE WAITED until Trevor had closed the door behind him before she sagged bonelessly onto the couch. Oh, wow, she thought dazedly. The guy had been gorgeous in high school. He was even more so now that he had a few years of maturity on him.
He still seemed as skittish and elusive with her as he had ever been. And he still looked at her in a way that made her heart pound in her throat. It gave her some comfort that she had managed to hide her reactions to him.
This time, she told herself, she would not let Trevor break her heart. If anything happened between them now—and she still wasn’t ruling that out—it would be on her terms.
AS WITH MOST small Southern towns, shopping at the local discount superstore in Honoria was a major social event. Sooner or later, everyone ended up there. It was almost impossible to stop in even to grab a couple of items without running into someone you knew. There were several women who wouldn’t dare go shopping for toilet paper without doing their hair and makeup.
Dressed in a striped tank top, khaki shorts and heavy leather sandals, Jamie ran a hand through her short hair and applied a light coating of lip gloss, the full extent of her primping before she entered the store Friday afternoon. She bumped into three people