Texas Baby

by Tanya Michaels

  Climbing out of the car, she sent up a silent prayer that she got better at this parenting stuff. Quickly. Bro, if you're watching from on high, I could use some assistance.

  The smell of fish sticks wafting from the cafeteria hit her the minute she opened the front door. Down the hall, children passed in a line, herded by a teacher who continuously reminded them to "use walking feet" and keep their hands to themselves. Addie's mind flashed back to the principal's warning on the phone. "We have a very clear policy, Ms. Caine, on suspending any student who lays hands on another child. When it comes to bullies and physical violence, we're a zero-tolerance school."

  Addie's stomach clenched. Would they really suspend a confused and hurt six-year-old? She almost groaned at the prospect of having to stay home with him. She'd already used a ton of personal days in the past couple of months, and she doubted that asking for more now would earn her points with the new project manager.

  Rounding the corner, Addie walked into the main office, feeling just as guilty and self-conscious about being called in to see the principal as she imagined kids did. She cleared her throat tentatively to catch the attention of the woman filing behind the longer counter.

  "Excuse me? I'm Addie Caine."

  "Ah, yes." The woman slid her wire-rim glasses up onto her nose and regarded Addie through piercing blue eyes. "Tanner Caine's guardian, here to see Principal Willott."

  The way she said "Tanner Caine" caused Addie's hackles to rise. She might as well have called him Miscreant Caine, and Addie wanted to shake the prim little woman. Don't judge him, he's been dealt a blow that would devastate adults five times his age! Since Addie didn't want to foster any misconceptions about violence running in their family, she kept her hands folded in front of her and nodded tightly.

  "Right down this hall, first door on your left. They're expecting you."

  Inside the principal's office sat not only Tanner and the principal but Heidi Lee, the school guidance counselor. Addie had met with the round-faced brunette the week before school started. Addie was gratified to see that the woman was sitting close to Tanner, her arm resting on the back of his chair in a friendly, almost protective manner.

  "Ms. Caine." The principal's face was expressionless, but her voice sounded less stern than it had on the phone. "I applaud your getting here so quickly. It shows that you appreciate the gravity of the situation."

  Sparing a brief nod to the woman behind the desk, Addie turned her full attention to her main concern—Tanner. "You okay, buddy?"

  He squirmed, not meeting her gaze. "Sorry, Aunt Addie."

  She swallowed, undone by the defeat in his tone.

  "Tanner wasn't hurt in the altercation," Principal Willott said gently. "The other boy, however, had to see Nurse Connie."

  "I didn't mean for him to fall!" Tanner squeaked, looking up then, his doe-brown eyes desperate. "I got so mad, and I know I shouldn't have pushed him, but I didn't mean for him…He was bleeding, Aunt Addie."

  She winced on the other child's behalf.

  Heidi Lee rose, one hand still on the back of Tanner's chair. "Tanner, I believe you're missing your lunch period. Why don't you come and eat in my office while the principal and your aunt talk?"

  He cast Addie such a fearful glance that she wanted to gather him in her arms and refuse to let him out of her sight. Instead she told him, "That sounds like a good idea."

  "But I'm not hungry."

  "You shouldn't miss meals." The boy was already too scrawny. "Go with Ms. Lee. I'll be there in a few minutes." I hope. When she'd sped away from her office, Addie hadn't given much thought to how long she'd be gone. By the time she returned, Pepper would no doubt be campaigning for her termination.

  The counselor led Tanner out and quietly shut the door behind them. Addie slumped into one of the vacated chairs.

  "I'm so sorry," she said, sounding a bit like her nephew had. "He really is a good boy. Very sweet, wouldn't intentionally hurt a fly!"

  "Yes, well. It won't be particularly easy to persuade the other boy's parents of that." Principal Willott leaned over her desk, steepling her chin on her fingers. "Ms. Caine, I realize that Tanner has just gone through a very tough time. It's unfortunate that the substitute teacher was unaware of the situation when she read the book about family to the class. But there are nearly eight hundred children in this school and dozens of them have gone through some sort of tragedy in the past year. I cannot accept that as an excuse for fighting."

  "I understand," Addie said numbly.

  "I believe Tanner when he says he didn't mean for the other child to fall into the art center, but Tanner never should have shoved him in the first place. The plain truth is that no student is going to make it through his school years without someone saying something upsetting to him, and striking out physically can never be the answer."

  "I will talk to Tanner about that," Addie promised, glad to hear that the principal sounded at least empathetic and not like the woman up front who seemed prepared to label Tanner a bad seed at age six.

  "According to our policy handbook, I have no choice but to give him some form of suspension," the principal said. "But, since we still have several hours left in the school day, here's what I can do. He'll go home with you, sentenced to one half-day suspension off the premises and, tomorrow, he can serve one day in-school suspension, doing his work in Ms. Lee's office.

  "After that, he can return to his classroom with his peers—at which time, he'll need to apologize in front of the other kids to the boy he knocked down. And the teacher will see to it that the other boy apologizes for his insensitive remarks about Tanner no longer having parents."

  "All right," Addie agreed. Not ideal, but it could have been worse.

  "You'll impress on Tanner how important it is that nothing like this happens again?"

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "Good, then I'll let you go collect him and his things from Ms. Lee's office. I hope you'll take her up on her offer to provide whatever assistance she can. Please make appointments with her whenever necessary to discuss the transitions in Tanner's life. We want him to succeed, Ms. Caine, just not at the expense of our other students."

  It was probably good advice. Addie could definitely use the help of a professional, although the thought of missing work to meet with the woman in the middle of the day made her cringe. Her employer had been fairly lenient about the two unexpected weeks she'd taken off when Zach died, but she got the sense that she was beginning to push her luck. Which begged the question…

  Did she miss work for the rest of the afternoon to stay home with Tanner, or should she take him to the office with her?

  Somehow, she doubted either solution would endear her to the new green-eyed boss.

  Chapter Four

  "You promise you'll be on your very best behavior?" Addie asked as she turned into the parking garage below her office building.

  Tanner nodded, his gaze locked on his window. "Aunt Addie, can kids get suspended from other places besides school?"

  Since she'd been busy trying to compose the world's most effective apology for Giff Baker, Addie didn't register the question at first. Even when she did a moment later, she wasn't sure what he'd meant by it. "What kind of other places?"

  "Like if…if me or Nicole did something bad at home," he began, his voice tremulous.

  "Oh, Tanner, no. I would never send you away. Not for one day, not even for a couple of hours. You are stuck with me," she said emphatically.

  He finally met her eyes then, and she almost wished he hadn't. "Unless you die."

  Oh, God. What now? Was she supposed to lie and tell the kid she was immortal?

  Leaning across the parking brake, she hugged him from the driver's seat. It was awkward but heartfelt. "I love you. Hey, want to know what I did today?" She hoped she didn't sound as manic and desperate to change the subject as she felt. "I signed you up for a new soccer team."

  "Soccer?" Was that a hint of enthusiasm she heard in his voice?


  Hallelujah. "Yep! And I'm going to be your coach. Cool, huh?"

  "Really?" He mulled this over before asking tentatively, "Are you good at soccer?"

  "Sure am." It wasn't, strictly speaking, a dishonest answer. For all she knew, she might be great at soccer. She couldn't recall a specific instance of actually playing the game, but didn't all kids at some point? Maybe she'd turn out to be a natural. "But, uh, it's been a long time since I've been on a soccer field, so you may need to give me some pointers. Can you do that?"

  His brown eyes were now positively shining. "Yes!"

  Whatever else happened today—including the grim possibility of being asked to pack her desk—she knew she'd done at least one thing right. That call to the community soccer league had been a stroke of genius. Not that I'll be able to pay his entry fee if I lose this job.

  "Come on, kiddo, Aunt Addie needs to get back to work if I'm gonna keep you in cleats and your sister in diapers."

  Tanner reached for the door handle, wrinkling his nose. "She uses a lot of diapers."

  "That she does," Addie agreed. But the number of diapers Nicole went through wasn't nearly as daunting as what the future held: potty training. Taking deep breaths, Addie reminded herself that was still years away and resolved not to think about it. She'd already had her meltdown for the day.

  In the elevator, she rifled through Tanner's book bag to see if he had enough to keep himself entertained for the afternoon. A math worksheet and a Ready, Freddy! chapter book looked like they'd be a good start. Beyond that, he had a plastic case of art supplies. There was a collection box for scrap paper that would be recycled near Gabrielle's desk. Maybe Addie could snag some in case Tanner felt like coloring.

  "This way," she murmured.

  He looked at her funny. "Why are you whispering?"

  She supposed she'd been subconsciously encouraging him to be quiet while he was here, which was ironic. Ever since he'd come to live with her, she'd worried about how silent and withdrawn he'd become. She'd repeatedly attempted to draw him out of his shell, hoping for flashes of his old, animated self.

  "Does everyone hafta whisper here?" he asked.

  "No." Just people who ducked out of important meetings and were trying to sneak a kid inconspicuously into the office. "Come meet my friend Gabrielle. You'll like her. If you're polite, I bet she'll give you a piece of candy."

  The oversized candy bowl Gabrielle kept behind her desk was legendary. No generic peppermints, but instead premium candies and minisized chocolate bars. People from all departments found excuses to come talk to her, especially late in the day when they needed the sugar rush to help get them to five o'clock.

  Gabrielle's "office" was actually a top-of-the-line cubicle that went from the floor to the ceiling. No windows, but there was a doorway in the partition. The woman's dark eyes widened when Addie poked her head inside.

  "There you are! Where on earth have you been? I heard you went AWOL."

  Addie sighed. "Minor emergency at Tanner's elementary school." She ushered the little boy in front of her. "He's, uh, going to hang out with me for a few hours."

  Gabrielle's eyebrows shot up, disappearing beneath her bangs. But she smiled gamely at Tanner. "Glad to meet you. I'm Gabrielle Lopez. But you can call me Gabi. I don't suppose you like chocolate do you?"

  His eyes brightened and he took an automatic step toward her before stopping, his shoulders slumped. "I love chocolate. But I'm sorta in trouble right now. I probably don't deserve any."

  "Do you swear to me," Addie began, "that you will never shove another child, even ones who tease you about not having a mother or father?" She tried diligently not to think vindictive thoughts, such as children who would tease parentless orphans probably deserved a poke in the arm.

  "I promise."

  "Then it's okay with me if you have a candy bar," Addie told him.

  Friendly sympathy laced Gabrielle's voice as she held up the flowered plastic bowl. "How 'bout you, Aunt Addie? You look like you could use a candy bar, too."

  Truer words…

  Licking chocolate from her fingers a few satisfied minutes later, Addie felt comforted enough to face Giff Baker with her apologetic explanation.

  But feeling ready didn't keep her from flinching when she nearly ran into him at the entrance of Gabrielle's cubicle. "I was just coming to find you," she blurted, resisting the impulse to shove Tanner further behind her.

  Giff seemed skeptical. "What a coincidence. I guess it's lucky then that the marketing director asked me to come talk to Ms. Lopez about a software update." His gaze trailed downward, his bland expression giving way to surprise. "And who do we have here?"

  "My nephew, Tanner Caine." She mentally crossed her fingers that Giff was the type who could be swayed by a cute kid. He'd been on the brink of marriage—was he an aspiring family man, or had he, like Christian, balked at the idea? "Tanner, this is my project manager, Mr. Baker."

  "Addie, if you and Mr. Baker need to talk," Gabrielle piped up, "Tanner can keep me company. That is, if the software discussion can wait just a little bit?"

  "Certainly," Giff agreed. "Ms. Caine? I'd like the opportunity to catch you up on what you missed in the IT meeting."

  She followed him to a small meeting room where she sank into a chair as soon as possible, shaky from the day's events. Giff closed the door and remained standing, his arms folded across his broad chest. For a long, barbed moment he said nothing. Addie's stomach flipped—she needed job security more than ever, this was not the time to be screwing up at work—and she bit her lower lip to prevent nervous babbling. He was peering at her with such intense scrutiny that she squirmed in her seat, half expecting that he'd start firing questions at her. Where were you on the night of August fourth?

  In contrast to her imagined interrogation, his tone was softly inquisitive. "I'm guessing Tanner is the reason you had to leave. Call from the school nurse?"

  "School principal," she corrected. With some of the flu epidemics in recent years, she didn't want him to think she'd brought a sick child into the office. "He, uh, got into a bit of trouble this morning. You probably never got in trouble in school." The last was an overly familiar afterthought, not meant to be spoken aloud. He just looked so annoyingly perfect, gorgeous in his well-tailored suit, a touted golden boy in the business world.

  She immediately wished she could take it back, but he didn't look offended by the observation. On a day where she'd fallen apart in the break room and bailed on a meeting, one throwaway comment probably didn't even register.

  "Only trouble by association," Giff said, leaning on the edge of the table. "My best friend was a hothead. He had good intentions but didn't always think through the consequences."

  The admission was disarmingly human. With his six-foot height and strong jaw, it was difficult to picture Giff as a little boy with a best friend, much less a hotheaded buddy who dragged him into scrapes.

  "Tanner's a great kid, but he lost his parents this summer. He and his baby sister ended up with me as a guardian and it's been…" She trailed off, since saying it had been hard for her nephew seemed like such an inane understatement. "We're all still adjusting."

  Giff's green eyes reflected a flash of surprisingly deep emotion. "I know what it's like to lose a parent," he said. "Although, I was fortunate to have my father for all of my childhood. He died when I was in college. I'm sorry for Tanner's—for your—loss. You said he was your nephew?"

  She tried to swallow past the lump in her throat, nodding when she couldn't quite find her voice. "M-my brother and his wife died after their boat capsized. Both of my parents are alive and even though I've been reading books and talking to the counselor at Tanner's school, I just can't wrap my head around what he must be going through. What it's like for a little boy to be completely uprooted and—Nicole, who's five months, cries all the time and I don't have a clue what I'm doing, but I actually think she'll bounce back easier. She barely knew her parents. Tanner…"

 
While she was talking, Giff had come closer. Now he startled her by reaching out to gently squeeze her shoulder. It was a simple, innocuous touch, just a gesture of reassurance. But she'd felt so isolated lately, the person who'd been doling out comfort, not on the receiving end of it.

  "Thank you," she breathed. "I didn't mean to get carried away like that. You've really caught me on a bad day," she concluded with a hoarse chuckle.

  "The bad days will get fewer and farther between," he said. "Eventually."

  She sniffed. "You're a nice man."

  "Don't sound so surprised."

  "I just meant…Considering what your impression of me must be, you're being nicer than I deserve." Odd, how a stranger was showing her more kindness than the man she'd been planning to marry. From the day Christian had realized she now came with two children to the day he'd left for good, he'd been increasingly cold and impatient.

  Giff was no longer touching her—probably for the best, since they were in full view of anyone who walked by the windowed room—but he was just close enough that she could feel his warmth, breathe in the rich smell of expensive soap.

  "Don't shortchange yourself, Ms. Caine. Your coworkers have a pretty high opinion of you, and that helps shape my impression. During the team meeting, several topics came up that led to people telling me that I should get your opinion."

  Addie was flattered. And dutifully ignored the cynical voice in her head that said if Pepper had been one of those suggesting he get Addie's input, she was only doing so to highlight Addie's absence. "I really am sorry that I wasn't there. I can't stay late this evening, but maybe tomorrow—"

  He held up a hand. "I trust that you can get up to speed without burning the midnight oil. Will Tanner return to school tomorrow?"