That Touch of Pink Page 5

  “Okay.” He flipped the phone open and checked his speed dial list until he found the number he wanted and pushed the connect button. Then he arranged to have her car looked at. “Bob will be here in about forty-five minutes to check it out. If it is the battery, he’ll pop one in for you.”

  “Good. Thanks.” Then she frowned. “But I can’t wait for him. I have to pick up Kimmie before six. That’s when her day care closes.”

  “You don’t need to be here. He’ll check it out and give you the good, bad and ugly.”

  “That only solves one of my problems. I have to get to Kimmie’s day care.”

  “I’ll take you.” The words rolled out of his mouth before he could stop them. But he wouldn’t have stopped them even if he could have. A guy didn’t abandon a lady in distress.

  She shook her head. “I’ve already inconvenienced you enough.”

  “No inconvenience. It’s quitting time.”

  “Then you’re probably anxious to get home. I’ll just call a friend to get Kimmie.”

  “But I’m already here. Ready, willing and able. Why drag someone else out?”

  “I don’t know. It’s just—”

  “Look, you can beat around the bush for a while if you want. I can’t stop you. But the bottom line is I don’t mind and if you say the word, we can get your daughter before she’s even aware there’s a problem.”

  This was where he was getting into dangerous territory. It wasn’t abandoning her if she had someone else to call. But he’d just made a case for her to accept his help. Above and beyond the call of duty. Damn it. Every time he did that, it bit him in the backside. And the high level of anticipation for her affirmative answer told him exactly how ready, willing and able he was. It also told him how much he needed to keep his mouth shut from now on.

  He watched expressions come and go over Abby’s face. And she had one very beautiful, very expressive face, he noted. He could see her reluctance to take anything from him, for which he couldn’t blame her. His charm, and he’d been told he did have some, had been in short supply whenever he’d been around her. He saw apprehension in her eyes and wondered what she was afraid of. Finally, he noted capitulation when she realized he was right.

  “If you’re sure—” She chewed the corner of her lip as she met his gaze.

  “If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have offered. My car’s over here.”

  She followed and he opened the passenger door of his SUV. She started to step up, then hesitated. Instantly he saw her dilemma. The tight skirt, while pleasing to his eye, would make it a challenge to get into the vehicle without compromising her modesty.

  He put his hands at her waist and said, “Allow me.”

  Before she could protest, he lifted her onto the seat. She swung her legs inside, and he shut the door. He jogged around the car and got in. In spite of his warning, he felt oddly pleased about this turn of events. It was times like this when being a man of action was good. Act first, think later.

  “Thanks for the lift,” she quipped.

  “You’re welcome.” He just hoped his impulsive good Samaritan routine didn’t land him in do-gooder hell.

  After Riley shut her door, Abby wanted to fan herself and chirp fiddle-de-dee. Was there anything that made a woman feel more womanly than a man who could practically span her waist with his hands, then actually lift her off her feet without grunting, groaning or asking what she’d been eating lately? Her heart hammered and she struggled to get it under control. She needed a distraction. Talking would be good. It would probably make the drive less awkward, too.

  “Thanks again for the lift,” she said, when he got in.

  His responding grin liquefied her insides.

  “No problem.”

  “Car trouble is part one of my worst nightmare.”

  He glanced at her, then returned his gaze to the road. “What’s part two?”

  “That I can’t get to my child for some reason. Heart attack, car accident. Some trauma that keeps me from her and she’s waiting all alone and scared because she doesn’t know why I’m not there.”

  He smiled. “You’re a little young for heart trouble.”

  Not so much, she thought, studying his oh-so-masculine profile. The rugged chin and well-shaped nose with a slight bump that told her it might have been broken. His five o’clock shadow that was right on time. The Sir Galahad routine. Under these circumstances, she could be just the right age for heart trouble. And he was just the guy who could give it to her if she wasn’t careful.

  “I worry.” She shrugged. “Can’t help it.”

  “You’re a mom. No need to apologize. Your devotion to your daughter is commendable.”

  “Then why are you frowning?” she asked, studying the dark intensity on his face. “Were you raised by wolves?”

  Briefly, he met her gaze, then shuttered the darkness that had glittered in his eyes for a split second. “Not wolves. I was adopted.”

  “Nora, too?”

  He shook his head. “My parents thought they couldn’t have kids, so they adopted me. Then they got pregnant with my sister and life changed.”

  “Babies have a way of doing that.” She noticed the muscle in his lean cheek contract and figured there were some memories he wasn’t sharing. “To quote my daughter, you have to learn to live with disappointment.”

  “She was pretty clear that her father let her down.” He met her gaze then, and one of his eyebrows lifted at what he saw. “Are you living with the same disappointment?”

  “Not any more. I’ve put it behind me.”

  “That’s not what the bite in your voice says.”

  “You’re not going to drop this, are you?”

  “It’s not my plan,” he agreed. “And we’re ten minutes from day care so I have plenty of time to carry it out.”

  “Okay, then. Here’s the scoop. But I need to warn you it’s pretty pathetic.” She sighed. “Fred Walsh was—probably still is—a good-looking, macho type. Like you,” she added.

  “You think I’m good-looking?”

  She huffed out a breath. “Like you don’t know.”

  He grinned again. “Thank you. But based on the mocking tone of your voice, I’m not sure I’ll cop to it.”

  “You were an Army Ranger. If the combat boot fits—” She shrugged. “Anyway, Fred and I are complete opposites who somehow hooked up in high school. When I got pregnant with Kimmie, we got married.”

  “I see.”

  “The odds of success were not in our favor. To be fair, I give him points for duty and sticking with us until I finished college and started working at the high school.”

  “Then what?”

  “He decided it was his turn. He wants to be an actor. So he went to California for an audition for one of those survival-based reality shows. Figured he’d get noticed and a career would be born.”

  “And was it?”

  “Not that I’m aware of. Although he found a woman to be his partner for couples stuff—you know, eating bugs and dropping out of the stratosphere from a dirigible.”

  “I can see you’re not bitter.”

  “Does it show?” She smiled. “I did care and I can’t help feeling betrayed. When he didn’t come back, I got a divorce. That part was between adults, but there are no names bad enough to call him for what he did to his daughter. He signed away his parental rights because he didn’t want to pay child support. I haven’t talked to him in almost two years, and I’m okay with it. But he’s turned his back on Kimmie.”

  He glanced at her, then pulled into the parking lot of Kimmie’s day care. “Like I said—I’m glad you’re not bitter.”

  Animosity welled up inside her. “He promised Kimmie he’d be back. I’ll never forgive him for breaking his word to her.”

  “That stinks.”

  She reached for the door handle. “Yeah, it does.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  “That her father loves her very much, but he has a dream and can�
�t make it come true in Charity City.”

  “Does she buy into that?”

  “You heard her. She remembers that her dad promised to come back and didn’t. I won’t bad-mouth him. But I can’t give her what he won’t. And—to quote you—it stinks.” She glanced at him. “But Kim and I are fine. We don’t need him or anyone else.”

  “If you say so.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I’m the guy you bought at the auction because you needed a wilderness guide.”

  “And look how well that turned out.”

  She opened the door and slid out. Unlike relationships, getting out of the car was a lot easier than getting in. Which was why she didn’t plan to get sucked into another one—relationship, that is—especially with a man like her ex.

  Riley pulled up in front of Abby’s house and turned off the engine. He glanced to his right as she unfastened her seat belt. “So, Bob put in a new battery and the car’s good to go. But it’s at the high school. Are you sure I can’t run you over there?”

  She shook her head. “Your white hat is getting whiter by the second. But you’ve done more than a good guy’s fair share. I’ll have no problem getting a ride to school in the morning.” She glanced over her shoulder at the child who’d been pretty quiet since getting in. “C’mon, Kim. I’ll call Caitlyn’s mom and see if we can hitch a ride to the The Bluebonnets meeting tonight.”

  “I don’t want to go.”

  “Why not?” Abby asked. “You love the meetings.”

  “I don’t feel good.”

  “Is it your tummy?”

  “Kind of.”

  “You’re probably just hungry. I’ll make some soup and toasted cheese sandwiches.”

  “I don’t want to eat.”

  “That’s not what you said when I picked you up at day care. You told me you were starved.”

  “Not any more. Can I stay home tonight?”

  “Let’s eat and see how you feel.”

  “I’m not gonna feel any better. Why can’t we just not go?”

  Riley couldn’t help overhearing the exchange since Kimmie wasn’t moving at the speed of light to undo her seat belt. No one could accuse him of having the inside track about kids, but he had a feeling he knew what was bothering her.

  “Caitlyn’s getting her last badge tonight, isn’t she, Kimmie?” he asked.

  “Yup,” she mumbled.

  Abby’s gaze snapped to his. “How did you know that?”

  “You mentioned it. That night I stopped by the house.”

  The night he’d been sucked in by a little girl who’d seen more than she should of disappointment. Now she was facing more she’d have to live with. And he felt some responsibility. He wouldn’t take responsibility for her blisters or for Mother Nature and the stray storm that had freaked the little girl out. But he could have done more to make it easier for her to be successful. This wasn’t the time to figure out why he hadn’t. He needed to make it right.

  Abby opened the rear car door. “Kimmie, I thought you liked The Bluebonnets.”

  “I do, but…” She sighed. “It won’t be the same if I’m not with Caitlyn.”

  “So you’re giving up?”

  “It’s for the best.”

  Like mother, like daughter, he thought, wondering how many times the little girl had heard that phrase.

  “But, Kimmie,” Abby said, “I know how important this is to you. We can figure something out. Walshes don’t give up.”

  “Daddy did. If he was here, probably it would be different. But we don’t know how to be campers on our own.”

  That did it. Riley got out of the SUV and went around to the rear passenger door where Abby was standing. He looked at the little girl, into eyes so like her mother’s and filled with the same shadows.

  “Here’s the deal,” he said. “No one gives up. Not on my watch. You’re going to get the badges you need.”

  “She is?” Abby looked surprised, with a little skepticism thrown in.

  “I am?” Kimmie looked surprised, with a little hope around the edges.

  “You are. We’re going to hike to the campsite and spend the night outdoors so you can go on to the next level with your friend.”

  “But I got scared. We stink at camping,” the little girl reminded him. “We were really bad at it.”

  “That’s partly my fault,” he admitted.

  Because he wanted it over with, he’d thrown them into the deep end of the pool. Never test the depth of the water with both feet. He’d read that somewhere and thought it good advice. But it’s exactly what he’d done with these two beginners. If he’d prepared them adequately, Kimmie wouldn’t have been so frightened by the storm. Knowledge is power. “This time,” he explained, “we’re going to train before we go camping.”

  Kimmie’s face brightened. “We are?”

  “We are?” Abby echoed.

  “Yeah. Like athletes do for a big race. Like they do for the Olympics. You can’t just go out and win a medal. You need to get your body ready.”

  Standing this close to Abby, his was ready. But not for any athletic competition. Although what he was ready for could be defined as athletic. But that was something he would never let her know. He wouldn’t let this get personal. This was about a little girl and her dreams. He’d screwed up. He would make it right.

  “We’re going to go camping. You’re going to get your badges. And failure is not an option.”

  “Thank you.” Kimmie hopped out of the car and hugged him. “Oh, boy!”

  Yeah, oh, boy, he thought. Abby didn’t have a monopoly on the hugging thing. And for the second time since meeting her, he hoped he didn’t regret the decision he’d made.

  Chapter Four

  After sending Kimmie upstairs to change clothes and wash up for dinner, Abby turned on Riley. “Okay, what’s all this about?”

  He leaned back against the island in her kitchen and folded his arms over his chest. “Define ‘this.’”

  She didn’t mean all the masculinity crammed into her kitchen that made concentration a challenge. That was for her to know and him to never find out. “This,” she said, stretching out her arms to indicate the big picture. “Telling Kimmie she’s getting her badge. No failure on your watch. What’s up with that?”

  “It’s what I should have done in the first place.”

  “Which is?”

  “When I donated the weekend to the auction, I figured some guy who liked camping would buy it. I’d sharpen his outdoor skills and give him a few pointers. We both know that’s not what happened.”

  “Yeah. We both know a woman with absolutely no knowledge of outdoor activities bought the weekend for her equally fresh-air challenged daughter. And I say again, what’s your point?”

  “You needed the skills before deployment. The two of you are out of shape and that put you at a disadvantage from the get-go. I should have known better.”

  There was a lot of that going around, Abby thought. She should have known better than to count on anyone besides herself. Yet here she was listening to him and actually considering giving him another chance. And the child was right; they were bad at camping. If she was going to be successful, they needed Riley Dixon.

  Abby hated that she couldn’t be everything to her daughter. But because she couldn’t, she was listening to this good-looking macho type. It had nothing to do with the fact that he made her heart flutter and her stomach lurch as if she were on the express elevator in a skyscraper. It was because she wanted her daughter to be happy.

  But she was skeptical, too. His timing seemed a little suspect. The sad and pathetic details of her life with Fred The Flake had barely left her mouth when he decided failure wasn’t an option. He had assumed some responsibility for their first failure, and she knew that was baloney. In order to get her badge, Kimmie only needed to hike three miles. For various reasons, none of which were Riley’s fault, she’d been unable to accomplish that. He’d met his obligation, yet wa
s now offering to give them more time than she’d paid for. She had to assume it was simply because he was a nice man. She desperately wanted back the stubborn slacker-jerk she’d first met. He was no threat to her emotional well-being. This man was a clear and present danger.

  She moved around the island, putting as much tile-covered countertop as possible between them. “Okay, I need to know.”

  “What?”

  “Do you feel sorry for me?”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Come on. I’d barely finished telling you that my story was pathetic when you arbitrarily came to the conclusion that Kimmie needs to have her camping experience. And be successful,” she added, remembering the outdoor fiasco. “So I need to know if you’re doing this out of pity because it—”

  He reached across the island and touched a finger to her lips, stopping the flow of words along with her heart. “I don’t feel sorry for you,” he said.

  When he removed his finger, it took her a moment to catch her breath before going on. “It’s okay for me to say my story is pathetic. But it’s not okay for you to give us special treatment because of it. I can take care of my daughter by myself. There’s more than one way to get from point A to point B. And sometimes it takes Plan B after Plan A doesn’t work out.” He stared at her for several moments after she finished. “What?”

  “I was just waiting to see if you’d run out of steam.”

  She let out a long breath. “I’m done now.”

  “Okay.” He leaned his forearms on the island. “This isn’t about you. Or me. It’s about that little girl. About learning she can do anything she sets her mind to. And about not giving up.”

  “I was right. It is pity,” she said, shaking her head.

  “It’s about what’s right. I messed up. I want to rectify the mistake.”

  Speaking of mistakes, the potential for a really big one was standing a foot and a half away from her. What he was proposing meant they’d be spending time together. Not thirty minutes ago, she’d told him he reminded her of her ex-husband. She often told her students that mistakes were how you learn, but making the same one twice was just dumb. Yet here she was, seriously considering letting him into her life to get her and Kim ready for a camping weekend. How dumb was that?