“Nice work, Mom.” Myles slammed his backpack on the kitchen floor, startling Kari so much she almost dropped the laundry basket she was carrying.
“Hey,” she said sharply before she saw the pain in his eyes and his torn t-shirt. She put the basket on the table and softened her voice. “What?”
“The kids at school were talking about Mr. Evans’s new girlfriend. You! Everyone was looking at me in the hall. Don’t you ever think about anyone but yourself?” Myles pushed by her.
She grabbed his arm. “Stop right there. You’re upset, but that doesn’t give you the right to yell at me. Do you want to talk about it?”
He pulled away from her. “What’s there to talk about? You and Mr. Evans are having a thing, and I didn’t even know it. You’re such a hypocrite, sneaking around behind my back. I had to slug Liam Russell.”
Charlotte’s son. If Myles weren’t so upset and his words hadn’t tied her stomach in knots, she could have smiled at his paternalistic outrage.
“Sit down. Please.”
He grabbed a chair, threw himself into it and glared at her. “Don’t worry. You’re not going to get a call about me fighting. The other guys broke it up before anyone saw us.”
She sat next to him. “Get this straight. Mr. Evans and I aren’t having a thing. We aren’t sneaking around on anyone.”
“That’s not what Liam said.”
The knot in her stomach tightened. Myles was going to believe a kid at school over her? Of course he was. Myles was a 14-year-old boy, and Liam was a senior and the school’s star athlete.
“He said his mother brought Piper and Mady home and you and Mr. Evans came down from upstairs looking all guilty.”
She crossed her arms. “His mother told him that?”
“No, he heard her on the phone.”
Terrific! The whole town probably knew. “Mr. Evans and I were insulating the attic.”
Myles avoided her gaze. “You left the bowling alley with him Friday night. They all saw you.”
Kari had no idea who “they” were or that so many people were interested in her. “Eli walked me to the car. We’re on the same team.”
Myles pounded the table with his fist. “What about Dad? Have you forgotten all about him?”
So, that’s what this was all about. She could worry about Charlotte’s gossip later. Her baby was hurting.
She reached over and put her hand on top of his. “I know you miss your dad. I miss him, too.”
He shook off her hand. “Yeah, right. Mr. Evans isn’t half the man Dad was. You know Liam’s older brother, Brett? Mr. Evans is his father, but he won’t own up to it. Liam said so.”
“Stop! You don’t know that’s true.”
Eli wouldn’t abandon a child, although he wouldn’t have been much more than a child himself when Brett was born. And a pretty wild one from what he’d said. No, if nothing else, Leah would have made him take responsibility for his actions. Unless that’s why he joined the Air Force. He’d said the service had saved him. Was that what he’d been saved from? It would explain the tension between him and Charlotte. Her thoughts ricocheted off each other threatening to explode into a killer headache.
“And you don’t know it’s not true.”
“Enough!” She stood and shoved the clothes basket across the table to him. “Put your laundry away. I have to pick up Piper and Mady from Girl Scouts. We can talk when I get back.”
“How do you know I’ll be here when you get back?”
She breathed in deeply. “Because I trust you to be here.”
“Fine.” He grabbed the basket and left the room.
Kari walked out to her car and got in. As she pulled onto the road, her car stalled. She turned the key to restart it. The engine made a feeble vroom and stopped. Kari pressed the hazard lights button. The dashboard signal didn’t flash. The battery must be dead. She got out, opened the hood and checked the terminal connections. They were tight. She had jumper cables in the back. Maybe she could flag down the next car to come along and get a jump. Or maybe not. The alternator belt was missing. It must have broken and fallen off in the driveway.
A red pickup stopped parallel to her.
Eli knocked on her window and she opened the door. “The car’s dead.”
He stepped back. “I can look at it. I have tools in the truck.”
“Thanks. There’s nothing you can do.” She explained the situation. “And I’m supposed to be picking Piper and Mady up from scouts.”
“Is Myles home? We can push the car into the driveway, and I’ll take you to pick up the girls.”
Kari thought back to the argument with Myles. “You and I can do it.” She bit her lip, expecting Eli to object. To her relief, he shrugged his shoulders.
With Eli steering through the half open door and them both pushing, they got the vehicle off the road without too much trouble. He walked her to his truck and opened the passenger side door for her.
“Thanks.”
“No big deal. I was driving by.”
Seated in the truck, Kari tried to call the scout leaders. She frowned when she couldn’t get any cell reception.
“Another problem?” Eli asked as he started the truck and headed toward Route 74.
“I tried to call the girls’ scout leaders, and I can’t get any reception.”
“Try my phone.” Eli motioned to the truck cupholder in the console.
Kari picked up his phone and checked. It didn’t have any reception either.
“Where are we going?” he asked at the corner.
“The school.” She checked the clock on the dashboard. “I was supposed to pick them up 20 minutes ago.”
“Hey, you tried. You would have been early if you hadn’t had car trouble.”
She pressed her fingertips to her lips. His ready encouragement gave her a glimpse of how Eli dealt with the kids as a guidance counselor and 3Ts leader. She dropped her hand to her lap.
“I wouldn’t mind if someone else is late, too.” Especially after last Saturday when Charlotte had brought Piper and Mady home.
Kari studied Eli’s profile out of the corner of her eye. The aquiline nose, strong cheekbones. Charlotte’s oldest son, Brett, flashed in her mind. The college student had the same sandy brown hair as Eli. Did he have his other features, too?
“Don’t worry. I’ll get you there to pick up Piper and Mady.”
“Hmm?”
“Your expression. You looked concerned.”
She pressed her lips together. “Myles told me something when he came home today. About something that happened at school.”
“He didn’t come in and talk with me about anything.”
“The kids…” She clasped her hands in her lap. “Liam Russell was taunting him about you and me.”
“I take it Myles didn’t like the idea.”
“No. I set him straight about nothing going on between us.”
He stared ahead, seemingly intent on his driving. “Good.”
His sharp tone slashed through the small distance separating them. She looked down at her hands. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Shoot.”
“You and Charlotte.”
His jaw tightened.
“Is…” She swallowed. “Is Brett yours?”
“No.” The single word reverberated off the close walls of the truck cab.
Kari shifted over toward the door. “That’s what Liam told Myles.”
“And that I refused to acknowledge him,” Eli finished for her. “Brett couldn’t be mine. Charlie wanted to use me as her ticket out of Paradox Lake. I don’t know, or care, what she thinks now.”
“It’s none of my business. I only wanted to let you know there was talk at school.”
“No, I want to get what everyone else in Paradox Lake already knows out front and center for you. When I came home on leave after basic training, Charlie was pregnant. We’d gone out a couple of times. Nothing serious on either her or my part.”
“You don’t have to explain.”
“Yes.” His voice softened, sending a pulse radiating down her spine. “I do. When I denied Charlie’s accusations, my mother wanted me to take a paternity test. I told her my word should be enough. She and everyone else could believe whatever they wanted to believe.”
Kari reached over and touched his arm. “She was trying to protect you.”
“Yeah, I realized that later, much later. While I was somewhat of a troublemaker, I didn’t lie to my mother, not about anything important. She should have known.”
Kari pictured a 17-year-old Eli, back from basic training, full of himself and earnest in his righteousness. “For what it’s worth, I believe you.”
“It’s worth a lot. A whole lot.”
Eli turned into the school parking lot. He looked at his office window and grimaced. He’d better put a stop to any lingering gossip at school tomorrow. Across the parking lot, two cars sat parked near the school door. “See, someone else is late, too.” His voice boomed in the quiet cab.
Kari smiled. “I’ll only be a minute.”
She crossed in front of the truck, head down against the wind and sleet. Right before she reached the door, Kari slipped and landed flat on her back. Eli’s heart stopped. He threw open the truck door and raced over.
“Are you all right?”
She propped herself up on one elbow and rubbed the back of her head. “I think so.”
He offered his one hand and slipped the other under her elbow as she rose. They stood completely still, him looking down at her upturned face into the depths of her dark-brown eyes. He tilted his head and leaned closer.
“Seriously.” Charlie Russell stood at the door of the school frowning.
Kari spun around to face her. “I slipped and fell.”
He squeezed her elbow. She didn’t have to explain herself to anyone, especially not Charlie.
“Sure.” Charlie’s gaze flitted between him and Kari. “Piper and Mady are the last ones left. Even Mady’s Brownie leader has left.”
“We’d better go in, then.” Kari looked back before she marched into the school, shoulders back, eyes straight ahead with a precision that would have done a drill instructor proud.
“Kari, you’re here,” the scout leader said as they entered the cafeteria. “When you didn’t call, I was worried you’d had car trouble…” Her gaze moved past Kari to Eli. “Or something.”
Kari stiffened. “I did have car trouble and couldn’t get a cell connection. Eli came along and gave me a lift.” She turned slightly toward him. “Have you met Eli Evans, the new guidance counselor?”
“No, but I’ve heard of him.”
Eli bristled. What was that supposed to mean? He was standing right here. He looked at the scout leader hard, and she started.
“Eli, this is Sonja Hephlin,” Kari said.
They nodded to each other.
“Come on, girls. Let’s go.” Kari put an arm around each of the girls. “See you next week, Sonja.”
“Nice to meet you,” Eli said, unable to escape his upbringing and training in personnel.
“Same here.” Her sour expression belied her words and made him wonder what Charlie had said. It didn’t matter to him. But it might to Kari, especially if Piper and Mady had overheard.
He caught up with Kari and the girls and opened the cab doors for them.
Kari slumped in the seat beside him.
“You okay?”
“Fine, although I’ll probably have a doozy of a bruise tomorrow.”
He hadn’t meant her fall. He should let it drop. She wasn’t one of his students who needed him to draw out her problems and concerns. “I’ll take care of Charlie.”
“Who’s Charlie?” Mady piped up.
He winced. He’d forgotten about the little ears in the backseat.
“He means Katy’s mother,” Piper answered.
“Is she hurt or something? She looked okay to me, except kind of mad when she was talking to Ms. Hephlin.”
Fatigue shadowed Kari’s face. “Mady, it’s not nice to talk about other people.”
Which was only one of the reasons he was going to take care of Charlie, whether Kari wanted him to or not.
Aside from the girls fidgeting in the back, they rode the rest of the way to Kari’s house in silence.
He pulled in the empty driveway. “Do you need to get into work tomorrow?”
“No, I’m not scheduled in the office, and one of the midwives can swing by and pick me up if we have a birth.”
“If you do, call. I’m sure you could borrow Mom’s car. She’s holed up in her studio working on a new project.”
“Thanks. I’ll call her if I do. Hopefully, Tom will have mine fixed tomorrow.” She turned toward the back seat. “You guys go in. I want to talk with Mr. Evans for a minute.”
“Grown-up stuff. Boring.” Mady scrunched her face, and Piper rolled her eyes. “Bye, Mr. Evans.” They waved back at him as they trudged to the house.
Kari cleared her throat. “I appreciate your offering to run interference for me with Charlotte. But please don’t.”
He bit the side of his mouth to stop himself from blurting out, “Why not?”
“Obviously she’s spreading gossip about you and me.” She eyed him. “For whatever reason.”
Eli slapped the keys against his thigh. It stung that she might think he’d done something to intentionally cause Charlie’s viciousness. For the first time in years, he thought about having a paternity test. Eli had been sober enough that night he and Charlie had spent at the Maple Shade Motel to know nothing had happened. But he’d begrudgingly give Charlie the benefit of the doubt that maybe she hadn’t been. If the test would shut the woman up…
“I don’t know if I can stay out of it.”
A muscle worked in Kari’s cheek.
No! This wasn’t about him and old grudges. It was about Kari. Charlie’s stories hurt Kari more than him. “What do you want me to do?”
“We need to avoid being seen together. If we don’t give Charlotte anything to talk about, she won’t have anything to say about us.”
He doubted that. But Kari looked so serious. Too serious. He controlled the grin tugging at his lips. “So we should sneak around so no one sees us.”
Her eyes went blank. Then, a blush tinted her cheeks, kicking his protective instincts into full force. Kari was an intriguing puzzle of independence and vulnerability.
“No!” She laughed and raised her hand as if to swat him, then dropped it. “I like being with you.”
He pressed his shoulders back into the seat.
“As a friend,” she finished. “Charlotte’s gossip isn’t good for the kids.” Her voice dropped. “Or for me. Piper doesn’t understand why Katy can’t come over anymore. And Myles is angry and hurt. He thinks I…we’re betraying his father somehow.”
“Myles is a teenage boy who’s trying to be the man of the house. He’d think that about any man you were seeing.”
“But I’m not seeing you.”
That sliced his ego in half. “So, what, we avoid each other?”
She released a sigh, making him feel like a petulant child. “We limit our contact to a guidance counselor/parent relationship.”
“I can do that.” But he wasn’t going to like it. “So, I’ll look for an opening in one of the other bowling leagues.”
“Of course not. I’m the newbie. I’ll drop out.”
“Come on. You don’t want to.”
She scrunched her face in an expression that was a mirror image of Mady’s earlier one. He waited for her argument.
“You’re right. I don’t want to quit.” She grinned. “At least not before I beat you. We’ll set rules.”
Meaning she’d set rules.
“You don’t walk me to my car. No buying me the cheeseburger special. Nothing to make anyone to think we’re more than teammates. Because we’re not.”
He got it.
The curtain at the living room window moved. “Don’t look now, but we’re being watched,” he said.
“Add no sitting alone in the car to the list.” She made an invisible check in the air. “Seriously, I should be going in.”
Eli reached for his door handle.
“You don’t need to walk me in.”
He got out of the truck and walked around to open her door. “I’ll wait until you get to the door.”
Her lips parted and snapped shut as if she were going to tell him it wasn’t necessary but decided not to.
She climbed out. “Thanks. I’m sure you had better things you could have been doing.”
“Not really.” He smiled and stood by the truck watching Kari walk to the house, head down against the wind. She waved as she closed the front door behind her.
Right now, he couldn’t think of anything he’d rather have been doing than spending time with Kari—except spending time with Kari and protecting her from Charlie Russell. But he’d promised Kari he wouldn’t step between her and Charlie unless it was on Kari’s terms. Terms that weren’t going to be easy to honor.