Lone Star Cinderella (8 page)

“W
ell, what do ya know?” Sam said as Melody slid into the seat across from Seth. “How are ya?”

She plucked the menu from its sitting place between the napkin holder and the bottle of hot sauce, feeling uneasy. They'd been driving back to her house when Seth said he was heading into town to grab a burger. He'd suggested that since it was so late she might want to join him. She kept reminding herself that his asking was simply because it was the polite thing for him to do. She could have refused, given him the easy out, but she hadn't.

Something told her that her phone at home was probably ringing, and she just couldn't face that notion tonight.

“I'm fine, Mr. Greene,” she said. “How are you?”

“Now, hold on a minute. How many times do I have to tell you to call me Sam? My daddy was Mr. Greene, and he didn't much care for the formality of it either.”

“Yes, sir—Sam.”

“Now that's more like it. Ain't nothin' in this town
formal, most especially this joint with all these ugly ole cowboys.” A big hoot rang out from the roomful of cowboys and brought a good-natured scowl from Sam. “Not only are they ugly but they've got big ears. And this ugly thang your with ain't much better—”

“Hey,” Seth protested with a grin. “You're supposed to be nice to your customers, not harass them.”

“I am bein' nice—to the one who counts.”

Melody smiled. Sam loved to give the cowboys a hard time. But he was always sweet to the women. Most of the women, that was—he did like to tease Norma Sue and Esther Mae. “I'll bet you'll be glad when Miss Adela gets home,” she said quietly.

He beamed. “Tomorrow can't get here soon enough! I know my Adela and Norma Sue and Esther Mae had a good time, but I don't know if I could make it another day without seein' her beautiful smile.”

“I'm sure she's just as anxious to see you, too,” Melody said.

Seth raised a brow. “Obviously, all we ugly cowboys will be glad for her to get home too, so he'll stop mistreating us.”

That brought on a wave of grunted agreements, and when Melody met Seth's gaze, he winked at her. It was pretty pathetic that a wink could send her world spinning, but it did. In all her life not once had it ever happened before.

Seth cupped his hands together on the table and leaned forward after Sam left with their order. “So, tell me what you like most about teaching.”

Her heart warmed to him even more at the question. “I love the kids.”

“Why?”

That threw her a little. “Why not? They're great.”

He shook his head. “Too easy. I'm digging for info here, and you're hording it. Why do you love to teach?”

A small laugh escaped her. He really wanted to know her better. It was a breathtaking thought. “Fourth graders are my favorite age. Because, see, they're really settling into their personalities. They're finding out who they are and exploring that. While at the same time, they are very open to influence. And they are just so funny, so full of life.” In the background, someone had put a quarter in the jukebox and Vince Gill's beautiful voice gently filled the room.

“And you, the quiet teacher, likes them to be full of life?”

“I love it! I encourage it.”

He was taking a drink of his tea and choked at her answer. “Like how?” he coughed, his eyes dancing over the top of the fist he'd lifted to his lips.

“Well, like this one little girl who was so shy at the beginning of the year that she wouldn't ask questions. She sat beside the cutest little blond. He had a rep from the year before as being the class clown. And it was so true. This boy just couldn't stop himself from entertaining once he realized he had an audience. The kid would just get louder and louder, and I'd have to ask him to quiet down. It was very disruptive so I had to start giving him assignments to help me do things. By the end of the year he'd become a leader in the best sense of the word.”

“Really?”

“Well, no,” she confessed. “But, he had
moments
when he shined and he took his tasks seriously. And he did them with a smile. He will be a leader, it's obvious.
But the best part was he actually countered the girl's quieter side.”

“Yours, too.”

She gave him a teasing smile. “Yes, but don't tell anyone.”

“I wouldn't think of it.”

“Good.” She propped her elbow on the table and cupped her chin as she looked at him. “I absolutely loved that kid for bringing the little girl out of her shell—which he worked at.”

He really liked her. “I can see why you would.”

“Yes, but I love the teaching, too. I mean, you know me, how I get when I'm talking about history.”

“I like it when you talk about history.”

“You do?”

“I can't imagine anyone not enjoying
you
talking about anything.”

Melody's heart started drumming. She could talk to him without feeling self-conscious. She wondered if he even knew that he made her feel pretty with the intense way he held her gaze with his. Or with the flirting—or teasing that he was doing.

She wondered if he had any idea how alive she felt sitting across from him.

When Sam finally brought out their food, it was a given that Melody had never had a better burger and fries in all of her life. Their meal had taken a rather long time to get to them—not that she minded. She enjoyed talking to Seth, and it was nice to think that Seth had enjoyed talking to her.

 

“I had a good time today,” she said as they drove up in front of her house. The night was bright. Moonlight
bathed everything in a silver shadow, and Melody felt breathless with the romance of it all. Not that this was really romance. But a girl could dream.

“I did, too,” he said, softly turning to look at her, resting his right arm across the back of the seat.

Melody was so aware of how close his fingertips were to her shoulder. It was silly, but she yearned with every fiber of her being that he would touch her. And yet she knew wishing such a thing was dangerous. The baggage she carried into a relationship…it was too much. What man would want a woman who had the troubles that clung to her because of Ty? “I have to go,” she said, fumbling for the door handle. She was certain he could hear the pounding of her heart, she was in such a panic. The door opened at last, just as he'd started to reach across her to open it. She almost fell out of the truck trying to get away.

“I'll pick you up in the morning?”

She nodded.

“Then it's a date.”

She wished.

She nodded. “Thanks for a lovely day,” she managed to say. “See you in the morning.” And then she ran…well, she walked, but mentally she was running. When she reached the porch, she dared to turn and watch him drive away on the silver ribbon of road that glistened like a moonbeam.

She told herself she was on dangerous ground. If she woke tomorrow to realize none of the day had really happened she wouldn't be surprised at all. She knew it was too beautiful to be anything but a dream. She'd been right to come to her senses and remember that she had Ty and his addictions hanging around her neck like a dead weight.

And as if she needed any proof of what her reality
was, she found it as soon as she opened her door and saw the blinking red light on her answering machine.

 

“You ready for some adventure?” Seth asked the next morning as Melody tugged open the door. But one look at her and he knew something was wrong. He'd found himself fascinated by her the day before. He'd been champing at the bit for the morning to come so he could see her again. Last night he'd intentionally steered the conversation toward finding out more about her. And he'd liked her all the more. Two weeks ago he couldn't begin to picture her controlling a class of rambunctious fourth graders. He'd figured they'd run all over her, but now, having seen her spunk shining through on several occasions, he knew that she might struggle every once in a while, but from the stories she told as a whole, her class didn't push her too hard. For that, he also found himself saying a prayer of thanks to the Lord…obviously He'd gone easy on her by giving her students who wanted to learn. Of course, once she started talking it was pretty hard to look away from her, and he could see her having the exact same effect on her class. She was infectious in a wonderful way.

Today he wanted to learn everything he could about her. And he wanted to start by finding out why her eyes looked haunted today instead of excited. He had a feeling he knew.

“Sorry,” she said. “I'm running a bit late. The—a phone call held me up.”

He'd known it before she confirmed his suspicions. “Do you mind if I grab myself a cup of that coffee I smell?” he asked, following her into the hall.

She looked nervous standing there with her bare feet
peeking from beneath her jeans as she fingered her socks. “I just need to get my boots on and then we can run—get out of here.”

He strolled into the kitchen with her following him. “No need to hurry,” he said, fully suspecting that her words hadn't just gotten mixed up. She was ready to bolt as quick as she could, and he wanted to know why someone on the other end of a phone had the power to make her want to run. “You put your boots on, and I'll pour my own coffee.”

She hesitated as if contemplating telling him that they didn't have time for him to drink a cup of coffee. He reached for a cup from the drain board, and she sank into a chair at the table and started to pull on her socks. He tried to choose the right approach as he poured his coffee, then leaned a hip against the counter and watched her. Seeing her fumble to get the socks in place sent that out the window. “Is something bothering you?” he asked frankly.

Her head shot up. “No.”

“You really aren't going to sit there and tell me that when anyone with half a brain can see something is bothering you.” A bit harsh but he suddenly wasn't feeling real touchy-feely. He wanted to know what was causing that look in her eyes.

She yanked her second sock on and stood up just as the phone rang.

“I'll get that,” he said, reacting to the fact that she'd jumped at the sound. He didn't know what was going on but it was about to stop—

“No!” she exclaimed, shooting past him to snatch the cordless phone from the counter. “I'll get it,” she said, and strode past him into the hall.

He watched her go, heard her hesitant hello as he
stalked to the kitchen door. He had to plant his feet in order not to follow her and take the phone back from her. There was no rain to shield her words, and because she hadn't closed her door all the way, her words drifted easily to him.

“Ty, don't start. N-no, I'm sorry you don't have any money…I wasn't ignoring you…take it easy. No, this isn't my fault…”

Seth's fist curled around the door frame.

“I—I can't keep living like this—” she said, and he heard weariness in her voice. “All right, all right. I'll call the bank tomorrow and transfer the money.”

“What?”
Seth growled, strode down the hall and pushed open her door.

“I have to go,” she said quickly and clicked the disconnect button. “What are you doing?” she asked as he took the phone from her.

“You might be surprised to know I'm not a man who'll stand by and see some jerk mistreat a woman. Is this Ty your boyfriend?”

“You had no business listening to my conversation,” she snapped, brushing past him and stalking down the hallway.

“Wait, you're mad at
me?
” he asked, following her back into the kitchen, totally baffled by her. “You're as white as a sheet, and you're shaking, too.” He yanked a chair out from the table, grabbed her by the shoulders and gently guided her to sit. He stooped down in front of her. She wouldn't look at him.

“I'm not mad, I just—let's just go treasure hunting.”

“Forget it. You're upset. Look, if the guy is mistreating you then tell me. I'll put a stop to it.” Seth hadn't been this mad in a long time.

“You don't understand. It's not like that. Ty is my brother.”

That set him back on his heels. “Your
brother?
” He stared at her as she nodded. Seth didn't think he'd ever seen anything as sad as the look in her eyes. “Why would your brother treat you this way?”

Her lip trembled and a tear rolled down her cheek. She brushed it away and looked away from him. Unable to help himself, he touched his hand to the side of her face, gently turning it back to him. “Talk to me,” he urged gently. “It looks to me like you could use someone in your corner.” It was hard for her. Her eyes said so, but Seth thought he saw a glimmer of want in there. She looked away, not ready. He'd only heard her side of the conversation, but that was enough for him to know that he would have hurt Ty if he could have gotten to him.