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Zac rolled his eyes and turned away, laughing to himself. The woman was naturally humorous, whether she knew it or not. No wonder Justin had taken to her so quickly and blossomed in her class. Tina Braddock was more than a good teacher. She was a very special person, too.
Chapter Three
Concerned about safety, Tina strolled toward the van while she waited for Zac to return. She understood why he’d chosen to leave the motor running. Justin needed the cool air. The weather was typical of summer in the Ozarks: steamy and hot, good for flowers and veggies but not as pleasant as it would be in a month or so when fall arrived.
She shaded her eyes and peeked in the van window. Justin was asleep on the bench seat in the center, close enough to the driver to be watched, yet protected from the front air bag. It didn’t surprise her that Zac had chosen the best location for his son. The man didn’t miss a trick where safety was concerned.
The boy stirred. Holding very still, Tina willed him back to a deeper sleep. For a few minutes she thought she’d gotten her wish. Then the boy’s eyes fluttered open, and he realized almost immediately that he’d been left alone.
“Daddy!” Panicky, Justin began to struggle to undo his seat belt.
Tina rapped on the window and called to him. If he got loose, there was no telling what he might do. She made a grab for the door handle and gave it a wrench. It didn’t open!
“I’m here, Justin,” she shouted. “I’m right here. It’s okay. You’re fine. Daddy will be right back.”
The child began to sob. Tina pounded on the window with the flat of her hand, then ran around to try the doors on the opposite side. They were all locked. She knew she didn’t dare leave the van long enough to fetch Zac. If Justin managed to undo his seat belt while she was gone, he might inadvertently slip the van into gear and cause an accident. If only his idiotic, overprotective father hadn’t locked the blasted doors!
Close to panic herself, Tina shouted at the house. “Zac! Zac!” She needn’t have worried that he might not hear her. In seconds he was charging across the lawn.
“What happened?”
“He woke up and…”
Zac reached for the door. “Why did you let him get so upset? I warned you…” He jerked the handle. Nothing happened! He whirled. “Why did you lock the door?”
“I didn’t lock it. You did.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Well, somebody did,” Tina countered. “Maybe you pushed the wrong button when you got out.”
“No way.” Zac’s eyes widened. “Oh, no. He’s loose.” Fighting to appear calm, he called, “Hey, buddy. Here I am. Come open the door for Daddy.”
The child was too overwrought to respond. He threw one foot up on the back of the front seat and was struggling to scramble over.
“We have to do something. We can’t let him get to the driver’s seat,” Tina shouted.
“I know.” Zac ran around to the other side of the van and dropped to his knees by the driver’s door. He’d stashed an extra key under there for emergencies. What he hadn’t counted on was the mud he found caked in hard ridges where the metal key holder should have been.
Scraping frantically with his fingernails, he called to Tina, “Get me something to break this off with!”
In the bedlam, Tina heard only part of his request. She quickly hefted a rock the size of a cantaloupe and whacked the front passenger window. Safety glass fragmented into a million tiny, harmless pieces the size of peas.
Zac came up off his knees with the box in his hand and a wild look on his face. “What the—?”
“You said to break it, so I did,” she explained.
“Break the mud off my spare key—” he waved the muddy box “—not break the window!”
“Well, why didn’t you say so?”
“I did.” He swiftly unlocked the door on his side of the van and held out his arms. Justin was just landing in the front seat. Relieved, Zac grasped his small hand and helped him step down. “It’s okay, son. I’ve got you.”
The frightened boy wrapped his arms around his father’s leg and held on as if it were a lifeline. His breath came in halting, shuddering sobs.
Waiting, Tina stood back and watched father and son try to regain their composure. Zac rested his hand on the boy’s hair. When he tilted his head back and closed his eyes for a few seconds, Tina imagined him sending up a silent prayer of thanks. She’d already done the same. Breaking the window might be considered foolhardy by some people—but how was she to know Zac had a spare key? Given her assessment of the situation, she’d done the right thing. Anyway, Justin was safe. That was all that really mattered.
Acting on impulse, she approached the child, dropped to one knee beside him and began to gently stroke his back, while he continued to cling to Zac. “You’re fine now, honey. Your daddy’s right here. You know he’d never leave you.”
To her surprise, Justin released his usual hold on his father’s leg, threw himself at her, wrapped his little arms tightly around her neck and began to weep anew. Tina got down on both knees to hug him close.
“Oh, baby. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.”
Tears of empathy filled her eyes and slid silently down her cheeks. This emotionally needy child had touched her as no other had. She kissed his hair, his wet cheeks, then cupped his face in her hands so he’d have to look at her when she reassured him.
“We love you, Justin. We’d never let anything bad happen to you.”
As soon as she’d spoken she realized she’d made an inappropriate inference by combining her own compassion with that of Zac Frazier. Well, too bad. Knowing there was more than one person in the world who cared about him was critical to Justin’s peace of mind. If his father didn’t like it, tough.
She dried the child’s tears with the hem of her skirt and made sure he’d stopped crying, before she gathered her courage and stood to confront Zac. “We need to discuss a few things, Mr. Frazier. In private.”
To her surprise, he still seemed aggravated.
“Insurance will probably pay for the damage,” Zac grumbled, scowling at his van. “What a mess. I wish you’d asked me instead of getting so carried away.”
“You’re worried about the mess from a broken window?” Exasperation filled Tina’s voice. “Fine. I’ll help you clean it up. But I don’t give a hoot about your stupid window, okay? It’s your son I’m worried about.”
“You weren’t so worried when you dropped broken glass all over him.”
“All the new cars have safety glass. It’s not sharp when it breaks. I knew it wouldn’t hurt him.”
“How about scare him to death,” Zac countered. “He was already having a fit over waking up alone.”
She wanted to scream, So hug him. Show him some real affection, but she held her tongue. Yelling at the man wasn’t going change him, especially since he didn’t seem to have a clue he was doing anything wrong. If he agreed to rent the property she’d shown him, however, she’d have lots of opportunities to observe his interaction with his son and offer a few subtle pointers on parenting. Unfortunately, with the Fraziers so close by, she wouldn’t be able to escape from that duty, either. Even if she wanted to.
“So, are you going to take this house?” Tina asked, deliberately changing the subject. “You should commit yourself as soon as possible, you know. It won’t stay empty for long.” In her heart, she half hoped he’d say no, and relieve her of the God-given responsibility she was feeling.
“I suppose I will,” Zac said flatly. “I haven’t found any other place close to my job, and the rent is reasonable.”
Well, that was that, Tina thought. She was stuck. “Okay. I’ll let the landlord know. He can drop the rental agreement by your office, if you like.”
“That’ll be fine.”
Tina held out her hand as if to shake on the deal, then quickly withdrew it when she recalled the way she’d reacted when they’d touched before. “Good night, then. I’ve done my good deed for the day, so I guess I’ll be going. Do you think you can find your way back to your motel by yourself?”
“Probably. Can I borrow a whisk broom and dustpan before I go? I need to sweep up the broken glass.”
“And I said I’d help you, didn’t I? I really am sorry. I was sure you said you wanted me to break the window.” She flashed a wry smile.
“What I said was, give me something to break loose the dirt that was keeping me from getting to my spare key. I don’t understand where all that hard mud came from. It hasn’t rained since I’ve been here.”
“Probably from wasps. Mud daubers,” Tina told him. “They make nests in everything, even motors. Thankfully, they’re not as aggressive as the big, red, paper-wasps. Those can be nasty. If you see a nest with a bunch of exposed cells, kind of like honeycomb, don’t put your hand into it.”
“I’ll remember that. Thanks, neighbor.”
Neighbor? He soon would be, wouldn’t he. Phooey. Well, like it or not, that was apparently what the Lord wanted, because the only available house in town was the one they were standing in front of.
How could she argue with providence? Clearly, God agreed that it would be much easier for her to help Justin if he lived close by. All she had to do was continue to keep his good-looking daddy at arm’s length so she wouldn’t be tempted to repeat past mistakes.
As Tina turned away to fetch the broom, her empty stomach growled. Combined with her guilt over not really wanting the Fraziers to become her neighbors, her hunger reminded her of Sunday’s sermon about feeding a needy brother or sister. She didn’t know how needy Zac and Justin might be, but it was long past her suppertime and she was starving to death. So why not invite them to eat with her?
Because it was a stupid idea, she argued. It was also a perfect opportunity to make them feel welcome and begin to educate Zac about children.
Hurrying back with the cleaning tools, she made her decision. “Why don’t you two stay for supper? We can have a picnic in the backyard. I keep lots of hamburgers and hot dogs in the freezer, so I’m ready for any emergency.”
Raising one eyebrow, Zac regarded her quizzically. “Is that local cuisine?”
“Not unless we wrap the whole sandwich in dough, dump it in a pan and deep fry it, too,” Tina said with a light laugh. “Even some of the pies are fried around here.”
“So I’ve heard. The thing that surprises me is how these people can live to be so old when they eat so much food that’s supposed to be bad for you.”
“Clean living— Was that a yes?”
“I think we could both use a break from restaurant food,” Zac said, looking to his son for confirmation. “How about it, buddy? Want to eat at Miss Tina’s tonight?”
“Yeah!”
Pleased, Zac nodded. “That makes it unanimous. We’ll be over as soon as I get this mess…” His jaw dropped. Instead of clinging to him the way he usually did, Justin had raced back to Tina’s side and immediately grabbed her hand.
“We’ll wait for you,” Tina said, careful to consider his feelings. He had been the boy’s only refuge for a long time, and she didn’t want him to think she was trying to take his place. “I’d rather cook outside in this kind of weather, and I’m probably going to need your help lighting the barbecue.” Her grin widened. “I’ve heard that men are especially talented at getting cooking fires to burn properly.”
“You heard right,” Zac quipped. “We pass the secret down from generation to generation.”
“I’d always suspected it was something like that. I hope you paid attention to your lessons. I don’t want to use my stove unless I absolutely have to. Summer or winter.”
“Spoken like a truly modern woman. Personally, I’ve found I like to cook. It’s kind of a challenge.”
“You’re joking.”
“No. Not at all.” Bending over, he stuck his head and shoulders inside the van and continued to brush crystalline shards into the dustpan. “For instance, Justin and I love Mexican food. Around here, if you want a decent meal like that, you have to make it yourself.”
“Boy, no kidding. I haven’t had a good chili relleno since I left—” The color drained from her face.
Zac glanced up from his task. “Since you left where? Sorry. I didn’t catch everything you just said.”
Another close call! What was the matter with her? “Never mind. I was just rambling.” All Tina wanted at that moment was to get away from him and restore her waning composure. “If you don’t mind, I think Justin and I will go dig around in my freezer for something good to eat.” She pushed aside her anxiety to smile down at the child.
“I’ll come with you,” Zac told her, straightening. “I’ve done about all I can with this broom. After dinner, maybe I can borrow your vacuum to finish the job.”
“Sure. Always willing to be neighborly. Especially since the mess is my fault.”
Feigning nonchalance, she led the way across the adjoining lawns to her house. On the outside she was calm. Inside, her thoughts whirled madly. What had lowered her defenses and loosened her tongue? It had been over a year since she’d moved to Serenity and gone to work for Mavis, yet until recently she’d never mentioned anything that might accidentally lead someone to discover her secret shame. Now, all of a sudden, she was turning into a regular fountain of information. Why in the world was that happening?
Tina felt her pulse pound in her temples. When she’d first come to Serenity, she’d purposely adopted a new last name, a simple, traditional persona; kept to herself and had never so much as jaywalked, for fear of exposure. Her current life was an open book: Tina Braddock, volume two.
It was volume one she didn’t want anyone to know about.
Justin lost interest in the adults as soon as he met Zorro, Tina’s eccentric black-and-white cat. Its body was too long in proportion to its legs, it had the distinctive yowl of a Siamese and its favorite game was hide-and-seek. The game was in full swing on and around the back porch by the time Zac had the barbecue fire going.
“That animal is crazy.” Scowling, he watched the outlandish cat hide behind the crossed legs of a picnic table and pounce on Justin’s shoes as soon as the boy got close enough. “You’re sure he’s not dangerous?”
“Positive. I’ve even taken him to the preschool with me to show the children. He’s never laid a paw on any of them.”
“How about his claws?”
“He doesn’t have any front ones.” Tina took note of Zac’s look of disapproval. “I didn’t have his claws removed, if that’s what you’re thinking. It had already been done when I adopted him.”
“You didn’t get him as a kitten?” Listening, he leaned down to blow more air on the fire.
“No. He used to belong to one of the Whitaker sisters. When they sold their property they were desperate to find homes for Miss Prudence’s cats, so I said I’d take one.”
Zac arched an eyebrow as he watched the cat-versus-boy game progressing. “You picked him?”
“Not exactly,” Tina said. “Zorro was the only one they had left by the time I got there. I took him because I felt sorry for him. If I’d known what a character he was, I’d have chosen him, anyway. They told me he got his name because he always zigzagged when he ran.” She placed a finger in front of her lips. “Look. He’s hiding under the wicker chair. See his tail twitching out the back? Watch what he does when I sit down there.”
Justin raced by. Zac reached out to slow his progress. “Miss Tina wants us to watch something. Over there—” He crouched down beside the boy and pointed.
Still barefoot, Tina sauntered up to the chair, carefully sat down and began to swing her feet. In seconds the mischievous feline launched his attack. Wrapping his forelegs around her ankle, he pretended to bite it while his hind feet raked at her defenseless foot. If Zac hadn’t seen her giggling, he’d have been certain she was being hurt.
She bent over and began to tickle the cat’s tummy. It leaped to its feet and sprinted off in a blur of black and white, followed by the little boy.
“Zorro can dish it out but he can’t take it,” Tina remarked, grinning. “He loves to play that game. Especially when I act like I don’t know he’s there. I think he’s a frustrated predator. I suppose all indoor cats are.”
“Indoor? Uh-oh. You should have said something when Justin let him out. I never thought about it being a problem, or I’d have stopped him.”
“It’s fine as long as I’m here,” Tina assured him. “Without his front claws, Zorro would be helpless if he had to defend himself, though. He acts ferocious but he’s really a marshmallow.” Her smile broadened. “Hey! That reminds me. I think I have a bag of marshmallows in the pantry. Want to roast them for dessert?”
Justin’s loud “Yeah!” startled the cat and sent him on another wild lap over and under the raised wooden porch. On the final pass he disappeared into the shadowy recesses beneath the steps.
“Speaking as a guidance counselor,” Zac gibed, “it’s my professional opinion that your cat is severely disturbed.”
“Oh? What treatment would you recommend? Do you want to sit down with him and ask him about his early years?”
“If he were a person, that’s exactly what I’d do. You’d be amazed at the stories I’ve heard since I got my degree and started working with teens. It’s appalling.”
Turning away, Tina busied herself smoothing a fresh plastic cloth over the picnic table. Appalling was only the beginning. Given her experience with her younger brother, Craig, she could have added unbelievable, and terrifying, and life-shattering. Especially life-shattering.
The only good thing to come out of the situation with Craig was his eventual rehabilitation. Seeing him settled down with a wife, son and new baby almost made it all worthwhile. Almost.
