“Now the bars!”
“All right, sweetheart.” She followed the little girl around the playground encouraging her but letting her play without her help, at the same time, keeping an eye on the twins and every now and then turning to check on Tommy.
They’d been there nearly an hour and she was thinking about how much longer she should let them play before taking them home and starting dinner.
“Mom, Mom!” Tommy’s voice interrupted her thoughts. She spun around, her heart racing as for just a moment she thought something was wrong. “Look who I found!”
She blinked and looked up at the man a couple feet behind her son, following reluctantly. It took her a moment to realize the unshaven face, sweatpants, sneakers and sweat stained t-shirt belonged to Thorne. She only had a moment to wonder where he’d come from before he was close enough to speak.
“Hey, I was out for a run when Tommy spotted me.” Thorne gave her a half-apologetic smile. “I didn’t intend to crash your time with the kids.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m just sorry he interrupted your run.”
“I was about done for the day anyway.” Thorne waved away her concerns. “Are these all yours?”
Nancy looked back toward the play structure where about ten kids climbed and played, and realized he was teasing her.
“No, only about half.” She could take it and dish it out. “The little red head, that boy on the monkey bars and the girl at top of the big slide.” She pointed out each of the kids in turn.
“The littlest looks just like you.”
“She does. The twins look like their dad, Tommy looks a lot like him too.” She turned back to see her oldest had gone back to playing catch with his new friend.
“You live around here?” Thorne asked.
“A few streets over. There’s another park a little closer, in the other direction, but this one’s nicer. I like the shade over the equipment.” Nancy motioned to the big canopy overhead. “You?”
“That complex over there.” Thorne jerked his thumb toward the street and the apartments on the other side.
“I’ve noticed them, they look like nice apartments.”
“They’re not bad. The complex has some good amenities, even a gym, but I’d rather run out here when the weather’s nice enough.” He glanced up at the high, scattered clouds. “It’ll be turning nasty soon enough. I figure might as well get some fresh air while I could.”
“That’s what I was thinking a few hours ago when I offered to bring them out. Well, that, and the park is good incentive to get chores done without too much delay.”
“I bet.”
“I’ve been thinking about it. I’d like to switch to an electronic submission system, if you’ve got the time to walk me through setting it up?” She’d been thinking about it since he’d mentioned it but had hesitated until faced with the stack of essays needing grading this morning.
“Sure. It’s a little fiddly but not complicated. When would you like to get it set up?”
“Soon. I won’t switch the students over till next semester, but I want some time to play with it and get used to it.”
“Makes good sense. How about we plan to sit down at lunch on Monday and talk about it. I’ll help you get set up.”
“Sounds good. Thank you.”
“Momma, Momma!”
Nancy turned to see Mason waving from the top of the monkey bars. She waved back, then checked on Mia and Tommy. Jasmine was still circling, going up the steps, then down the slide, right there where they were standing.
“I guess I’ll see you Monday then. I’ll leave you to enjoy the afternoon.” He looked down at himself. “I think I’ll go take a shower.” Thorne wrinkled his nose as he plucked at his shirt and stepped away.
“Go ahead.” Nancy shook her head and laughed at him. “Thanks again.”
“No need.” Thorne turned and headed toward the road and his apartment complex on the other side. Nancy found herself watching him go, wishing he’d stayed just a little longer, until Jasmine tugged at her hand.
“Yes, baby?”
“I’m hungry.”
“Me too, sweetheart. Let’s round up your brothers and sister and head home. Then I’ll fix dinner, how’s that sound?”
Jasmine cheered.
Nancy picked the little girl up and balanced her on one hip as she called to the others. One last glance toward the apartment building across the street and she herded the kids toward the car.
Chapter 10
Thorne stood under the steaming spray of the shower, trying and failing not to think about Nancy. She was his co-worker, she was a widow still dedicated to her deceased husband, and she was a mother. He listed reasons he shouldn’t be thinking about her the way he was, but nothing seemed to help.
He’d thought she was attractive dressed for school, cute when she’d been casual but still at a school event, but today when he’d found her at the park, dressed down to play with the kids, he’d found it hard to keep from reacting. It had been all he could do to keep from embarrassing himself while he wore the thick cotton pants that would have made his reaction all the more obvious.
Now, when he didn’t have to hide his reaction he should have let his imagination run wild, but it seemed wrong. Not just disrespectful, but something else, something he didn’t quite know how to put into words.
Instead, he turned his thoughts to dinner and what he had in the house as he finished his shower.
Monday morning, Thorne walked into his classroom and set down his messenger bag and coffee cup on his desk before turning to look at the white board. It was still covered with his ‘Go Wolves’ from Friday. He picked up the eraser and cleared it so it would be ready for class today.
“Do you have a moment?” The soft voice from behind him made him stop and turn around. Nancy stood in the doorway, looking a little nervous. He was surprised she’d stopped. This was the first time she’d come by his classroom, it had always gone the other way around, until now.
“Of course, what do you need?”
“I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to help me this afternoon. You don’t have to give up your lunch break to help me but you’ve been willing to help with anything I need and I want to make sure you know I appreciate it.”
“It’s not that big of a deal. Besides, I’m not giving up my lunch break. I’ll be eating, I’ll just be sharing the time with you. You want to do it in one of the classrooms or in the lounge?”
She blinked at him, eyes wide and he realized how that sounded. He could have kicked himself for not being more careful choosing his words.
“Excuse me, I’m an idiot.” He shook his head. “We can talk in either of our classrooms, or the teachers’ lounge, wherever you’re more comfortable.”
“My classroom’s fine. I know you didn’t mean anything by it, it just caught me by surprise. I guess I spend too much time with teenagers, everything anyone says starts to sound like some kind of innuendo.”
“You’re not the only one. I generally ignore it, but once in a while it smacks me upside the head.”
Nancy shook her head, the hair she’d pulled back into a ponytail swinging.
“I’ll see you at lunch then?”
“Sure, any idea where?”
“Come on over to my classroom. I’ve got my laptop. I’ll set it up on my desk where you can walk me through what I need to do.”
“No problem. See you then.”
She left and Thorne couldn’t resist watching until she was out of sight before he turned back to his chore. Students would be in any time and he needed to be ready.
Hours later, as he lay in bed trying to sleep. Images and moments flashed through his mind. Nancy as she frowned and struggled to understand some step in setting things up, her smile when she’d final gotten it to work. The sound of her laugh, the way she’d been playing with her kids a few days before, the attention and care she’d given a student who had stopped to ask a question during lunch.
Finally, desperate for at least a little sleep, he turned his thoughts to Thanksgiving. He’d need to ask Ma what he should bring when he spoke to her on Saturday.
Chapter 11
Nancy took a deep breath and held it for the count of five before exhaling slowly. It was the last day of school before the Thanksgiving break, everyone was eager to get out of school and do something more fun, even her. That was probably why the students were getting on her nerves, she knew.
Just a few more hours, she reminded herself. Why they even bothered with a two-day week, she didn’t know. The students weren’t paying any attention and it was next to impossible to do anything but watch movies or possibly play games with the holiday and travel on their minds.
She couldn’t blame them. She’d considered taking the kids to see her parents, but they were going to one of her brother’s in New York, Nancy didn’t feel like dragging four kids that far. Then Warren called, somehow he seemed to know she’d needed something. He’d invited her and the kids to have Thanksgiving dinner with him and Hayley. She’d been glad to accept, and not to have to cook the whole meal herself. She’d offered to help and he’d accepted but told her she wasn’t going to spend all day in the kitchen. She couldn’t help but be grateful for her brother. He’d been a lifesaver in more ways than she could count.
“You have plans for the holiday?” Thorne asked as he appeared in her classroom doorway.
“We’re going to my brother’s for Thanksgiving dinner.” She gathered her lunch bag, made sure the drawer with her purse was locked and stood. Thorne had gotten into the habit of stopping by and walking with her to the teacher’s lounge for lunch every day. She liked having someone to talk to, even if it was about piddley crap. “If I can talk Warren into keeping the kids, and Hayley into going with me, I might hit a couple of the black Friday sales and see what I can pick up for the kids for Christmas. What about you? You going home?”
“I am. I’ll stay with Frost, he’s got plenty of room. We’re doing a big meal at Mom and Dad’s though, do every year.”
“I thought about taking the kids to my folks but they’re going to see Eric in New York. I could take them there, but that’s too far to drive, especially for such a short holiday.”
“You’d spend the entire time in the car.”
They reached the lounge and found a couple spots at the table. There were a few other teachers in the room but not many, most ate either in the cafeteria or in their classrooms.
“You have any luck getting them to listen today?” Nancy opened her bag and one by one pulled things out, laying them out on the table.
“Not a bit. It’s always like this. I don’t know why we even bother with classes this week.” Thorne opened his bag and lifted out a sandwich then unwrapped it
“That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
Thorne started on his sandwich while Nancy took her left over Lasagna to the microwave and heated it.
“I thought the two and half day weeks when I was a kid was torture. Of course, we were still expected to pay attention and get something done. Now? It’s like we just get them settle down by the end of Monday and then it’s Friday and they can’t wait to get out.”
“I know. But we do what we’re told and work the days the district sets for us, whether it makes sense or not.”
“Too true.”
The microwave finished, and she took her food back to the table.
“Tell me what your Thanksgiving’s going to be like? You said you’re going home, but that doesn’t tell me much.”
“Hmm. Ma will fix a meal that will feed us all for a couple days, turkey, dressing, potatoes, pies, the whole nine yards. Dad will spend the morning telling Frost how to run his place, and Charlie how to run theirs, Yeats? Who knows about him, teenagers are hard to predict.”
“What about you? If Frost and Charlie will be listening to your dad, what will you be doing?”
“Probably trying to help Ma and only succeeding in getting in her way and annoying her.”
Nancy laughed. Somehow, Thorne had the ability to make her see the humor in a situation, even when she didn’t think it was possible. It made her fonder of him than she should be. She knew that, but so far she hadn’t been able to see any harm in it. Besides, it made her day a little brighter, so why not.
Nancy sat behind the wheel of her car and took a deep breath as she sat at a red light, waiting for it to change. Already tired from baking the day before, this morning had been more than a little trying. Getting the kids ready and moving today had been a challenge and that was putting it nicely. The only kid who hadn’t given her a hard time this morning was Tommy. He’d done everything he could to hurry the others along but nothing seemed to help.
She’d also been working on getting the pies she’d made the days before packed and loaded so that they’d make the trip to Warren and Hayley’s house without being damaged. The combination hadn’t been conducive to a good morning. Her trial for the morning achieved, she was finally on her way.
Not wanting to arrive as frustrated and wound up as she’d gotten, she took every chance, every red light to relax and let it go. Twenty minutes after leaving her place, she pulled into the driveway behind her brother’s pickup. She got out and opened the door to let the older kids out before helping Jasmine out of her car seat.
By the time she’d freed her youngest, the older three had disappeared through the door. Their excited yells trailing out the door and through the yard.
“Jake, Jake, Jake!” Jasmine yelled, kicking her feet to be let down.
“Yes, Jake. I’ll let you down as soon as we’re inside.” Nancy knew better than to set her down out here. Sometimes Jasmine got so excited she forgot where she should be going and Warren’s front door was too close to the street for Nancy’s peace of mind.
“There you are.” Hayley held the door open. “Hey little one, Uncle Warren’s in the kitchen.”
“Jake!”
Hayley laughed. “Your brothers and sister took Jake in the backyard, go on out.” Together they watched the little one race toward the back screen and pushed her way out. “Come on, they’ll be fine back there. I’ll help you unload.”
“Thank you.”
Working together, they got the pies and other things Nancy had packed, carried into the kitchen.
“What’s all this?” Warren looked at the box she’d set on the counter with a frown. Hayley had already disappeared out back to keep an eye on the kids and dog. “I told you pies. That’s all.”
“I know, but I felt bad. I wanted to help more.”
Her brother pinned her with a scowl but she ignored him, stepping past him to start unpacking.
“I asked if you’d thought about cherry pie salad, but you never answered, so I brought the stuff.”
“I didn’t answer because I wasn’t sure what you were talking about.”
Nancy fought the urge to roll her eyes at her brother, but it wouldn’t help so she resisted.
“Pink stuff.”
“Oh, no, I didn’t plan on it, mostly because I don’t know how to make it.”
“Not a problem, because I do. Second question,” she waited for him to look up.
“What?”
“What are your bread plans?”
“Homemade rolls, the dough’s rising on the dryer.” He nodded toward the door that led to his pantry slash laundry room. “It’s almost time to shape the rolls so they have plenty of time to rise.”
“I can do that if you’re busy. Let me mix this up and get it in the fridge, it won’t take but a few minutes.” She made short work of mixing up the sweet pink treat.
“I’m going to want you to send me how to make that,” Warren said as she slid the large gl
ass bowl into the fridge.
“It’s pretty easy. I’ve got one more step, but I’ll do that just before we’re ready to serve, while the rolls bake. Let me just grab that dough.”
She ducked into the pantry before he could say anything to stop her and came back with an almost overflowing bowl which she set on the counter with a thump. It had to be knocked down and kneaded a little so knocking some of the air out now wouldn’t hurt. “Cookie sheets?”
Warren tilted his head toward a cabinet. They worked in companionable silence for a few minutes, Warren working on chopping things for the dressing while she shaped the rolls and arranged them on the baking sheet. She couldn’t help but be reminded of when they were teenagers, when they’d helped Mom cook, though then it was against their wills.
This time though, it helped to remind her why she loved him so much. Warren was always there when she needed him. She hadn’t had to ask him to move down here after Thomas had died, he’d just seen that she needed and done it. She didn’t know how she’d ever repay him for that. She hoped her brother would never have need of that kind of support, but if he did, she’d be right there beside him.
She finished with the rolls and set them back on top of the dryer to rise.
“All right, what’s next?”
“You sitting your ass right there.” He nodded to the bar stool across the counter top from where he stood. “You’re done. I told you I was cooking. If you want, you can talk to me and keep me company but if you can’t behave I’ll send you out back with the children.”
“I should go check on them. I don’t get as much time with them as I should.”
“They’re fine. Hayley’ll let you know if there’s a problem. Let them run around and wear Jake out for a while.”
“The upside is that Jake will wear them out too and they’ll be easier to deal with tonight.”
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