Texas Baby

by Tanya Michaels

  After Tanner's interruption yesterday, Addie had sprung away from Giff as though he'd been on fire. Which I definitely was. Instead of answering the kid's question, she'd distracted him with a barrage of her own. "Oh, you're awake, honey? Do you want anything? More to drink? Do you need to go to the bathroom?" She'd then maneuvered it so that Tanner spent most of the rest of the game sitting between the two adults. But she'd stolen glances at Giff for the rest of the game and thanked him breathlessly "for everything" when they'd said goodbye.

  Had she pulled away from him because she regretted their kiss or simply because of their young audience? "Baker, you are paying attention, aren't you?"

  "Of course," Giff said automatically.

  "Good, because I think this is our chance. The contract for the Groverton job fell through—the engineering firm declared bankruptcy—and they've announced a short, emergency window for accepting bids to complete the project. I'll have my management team put one together this week. Since it's been such a challenge for you to find evidence months after the fact—" a hint of disdain crept into Bill's tone, suggesting that maybe the "challenge" was Giff's competency level "—maybe this will give you the opportunity to find the culprit before he, or she, erases her tracks."

  Giff pondered this. "It could work, assuming the person pushes their luck by attempting it another time."

  "Crooked people who've repeatedly gotten away with their crimes start to feel invincible," Bill said.

  "I'll take your word for that, not being crooked myself."

  Bill glared. "I think we're done for now."

  "Yes, sir." Giff tried not to bound out of his chair with noticeable enthusiasm. He also restrained himself from making a beeline to Addie's desk. His sole compunction about that kiss they'd shared was that it had been in full view of her office mates. Would she be uncomfortable that they'd seen it? As a woman in a male-dominated field, she probably already felt as if she were under scrutiny. Giff's opinion was that they were consenting adults, temporarily working together at a place where there was not an antifraternization tenet, so there was no problem. However, he understood that she would remain here after he left and might feel differently.

  Please don't let her feel differently.

  As it happened, she wasn't at her desk. He found her in the break room, pouring coffee. He strolled in, keeping his voice and expression casual even though they were the only two people present. "Morning, Addie."

  She lurched at the sound of his voice, reminding him of the day they'd met, but her coffee didn't spill. And her tone was just as nonchalant as his.

  "Morning, Giff."

  He crossed the small room, wanting to be close to her, wanting his arms around her without the sweet but awkward obstacle of Nicole between them. "I was hoping to talk to you…"

  The fact that she quick-stepped back against the counter didn't bode well for them being on the same wavelength.

  Giff stopped short, trying not to look as crestfallen as Tanner after being denied cotton candy. "I'm guessing you're not happy about yesterday."

  "Are you kidding?" she asked brightly. "Yesterday was fantastic. Tanner and I had a great time—he fell asleep last night talking about it and then kept chatting on the subject all through breakfast. You were so great with Nicole and such a big help to me. And we won the game!"

  "Addie," he said patiently.

  She sighed. "Look, I've never made out with a coworker before. And we're not even equals in the office hierarchy."

  "You're sorry I kissed you."

  For an unguarded moment, heat flared in her eyes and it was all the answer he needed. She'd wanted that kiss. At least part of her wanted to kiss him again.

  Go for it, some unrecognizable inner voice prompted. Giff blinked. He certainly was not going to try to seduce an uncertain woman into changing her mind in the middle of their workplace! Since when did he even have thoughts like that?

  "Addie, the last thing I want is for you to be uncomfortable around me."

  "You don't need to apologize." A shy smile appeared like the sun from behind clouds. "I did kiss you back."

  "Trust me, I haven't forgotten. I thought about it all night," he admitted baldly.

  She blushed but didn't look away. "Me, too."

  "Is it worth mentioning that we'll only be coworkers in the short run?"

  "I'm Tanner and Nicole's guardian," she said gently. "And I'm in that for the long run."

  "But I'm crazy about them. I'm not one of those guys who would run from the idea of dating a woman with kids."

  "Tanner's already crazy about you, too. And…Look, he's been through a lot. Although he never really bonded with Christian, I had been with the guy since Tanner was a preschooler. He was used to him making an appearance at Christmas and such. They weren't friends, but Christian was a constant. Tanner's lost all the constants in his life—his parents, his school, his home, his friends. I want you to come to his soccer game, I do, but how completely do I let him attach to you? If I dated you and things didn't work out, you'd be one more loss in his young life."

  He could contend that maybe things would work out, but it seemed a rather psychotic argument to make, that she risk Tanner's emotional well-being on a "maybe" with a man she'd only known a week.

  But perhaps after they'd known each other longer a lasting relationship would seem more plausible. Giff hadn't become successful in business by quitting at the first sign of adversity. All he needed were time and proximity on his side.

  He gave her his most winning smile. "What are you doing this weekend?"

  "Giff!"

  "I'm not asking for my own selfish reasons." He placed a hand over his heart. "Well, not just for my own selfish reasons. How would you like some help making Tanner's nightmares go away?"

  * * *

  ACCORDING TO THE ROSTER on her clipboard, Addie was now the coach of eight first-graders—six boys and two girls—who comprised the Sea Turtles. So far, organizing their inaugural practice session felt like herding cats. Seven hyperactive cats and a sobbing kitten who wouldn't release his death grip on his mother's skirt. Buckled into her stroller on the sideline, Nicole watched the proceedings with avid interest, sort of an assistant coach who didn't speak much.

  Addie wished other people on the field would follow her niece's silent example.

  "But this is ridiculous," one father complained over the hubbub of assembled kids. "Did you look at the game schedule you just handed out? The Meteors, the Raptors…and we're the lousy Turtles? What kind of mascot is that? How are we supposed to beat a team like the Sharks?"

  "Sir, you do realize that both teams will be made up of six-year-olds and not actual sharks or sea turtles?" She tempered her sarcasm with a chipper tone and dazzling smile; the combination confused him enough to temporarily shut him up.

  "Now." She clapped her hands together and tried to project authority so that no one, including parents, challenged her, while also looking harmless and cheerful so that no small children would find her intimidating. Especially the kid who was now crying so hard he seemed on the verge of hurling. His mother was trying to pry his fingers away from her clothing and kept insisting from between clenched teeth, "This will be so good for you, Sammy!"

  This particular league didn't use a goalie for games until the third grade bracket. Instead, Addie was simply supposed to put two kids up front on offense and two kids in back as defense, switching out players in regular intervals so that each child got approximately equal field time. Whether he wants it or not? She'd planned to let them get the feel for the different positions, then practice dribbling, passing and kicking but maybe that had been overly ambitious. Right now, she'd settle for getting all eight of them in one spot with no crying.

  "Okay, everyone, huddle up!" The words felt unnatural and silly, but it had seemed like the kind of thing a coach would say.

  And Tanner seemed to approve. Beaming, he was the first to join her in the center of the child-sized playing field. Everyone else followe
d suit except for the Team Crier and a boy and girl who were occupied in a shoving match about gender equality. Addie noticed that the boy's father was far more concerned about the team name than the fact that his obnoxious son had announced "girls can't play soccer." She supposed Mia Hamm was slightly before the little punk's time.

  "Hey." She approached the two squabbling kids and pointed to the girl. "Your name's Bridget?"

  The girl nodded.

  "Nice to meet you. I'm Coach Addie, and all these kids are our teammates. Including this little boy…?"

  "Caleb," he said defiantly.

  "We support our team," Addie said sternly. "We work together and we don't fight amongst ourselves."

  "But he said girls can't play soccer," Bridget balked.

  Addie bent her knees, squatting to the boy's eye level. "I'm a girl. Do you think you can beat me at a one-on-one soccer game, Caleb?"

  He glared but moments later shook his head in defeat.

  Thank goodness. There was a slim chance he could have beat her, and then she really would have been up a creek. "All right, then I guess we're all agreed that girls can play, too. Now, everyone. Huddle. Up." She asked for a quick show of hands to see who had ever played soccer before, then said they were going to learn some basic terms and do a few drills.

  The other little girl—not Bridget—shot her hand into the air. "Is this an 'assessment'? Last spring we did skills assessment. You don't have to asses me. I'm good at all of it."

  "Well, humor me anyway—" Addie checked her list "—Mandy."

  For the entire second half of practice, Addie kept one eye on her watch to see if it was time to quit. Jonna would meet her here after work; they planned to grab dinner somewhere near the fields. By the time Jonna arrived, Addie's main restaurant criteria had become "Is it still happy hour anywhere?"

  Jonna grinned as she helped Addie load practice balls and orange cones into the trunk of the car. "Rough first day, Coach?"

  "Aunt Addie was terrific!" Tanner said. "We're gonna win every game."

  Addie considered her lineup and winced. "Honey, you know the point is to have fun, get exercise and develop good sportsmanship, right?"

  Tanner nodded. "And win."

  Jonna chortled.

  "Are you gonna come watch me play?" Tanner asked her.

  "Absolutely. Is it okay with you if I bring my boyfriend? He likes sports."

  "Ab-so-lutely," Tanner echoed back at her. "Aunt Addie's gonna bring her boyfriend, too."

  Jonna stopped dead in her tracks.

  Addie smiled weakly. "I can explain."

  * * *

  "OKAY, ENOUGH STALLING," Jonna chided. "You've made me wait long enough."

  The closest restaurant to the soccer fields had been a little hamburger place that served great malted milk-shakes but no cocktails. They'd eaten there, with Addie hissing that the Giff conversation was best saved for later, and then Jonna had followed them back to Addie's apartment. Now that the kids were in bed and Addie had opened a bottle of wine, there was no more avoiding the topic.

  "So you're Giff Baker's girlfriend?" Jonna squealed, nearly sloshing white wine onto Addie's couch in her glee.

  "No, of course not." She deliberately made it sound as if the idea was laughable, but it wasn't. Not after this morning, with Giff telling her that he'd been thinking of her kiss and reminding her that they wouldn't be working together for more than a month or so. Girlfriend seemed a rather adolescent term, but he'd definitely been interested in pursuing some sort of relationship. "I'm not one of those guys who would run from the idea of dating a woman with kids."

  "Giff and I have become friends this week," she began, sipping her riesling to buy time.

  "Close friends?" Jonna drawled.

  Close enough that I could tell you how his lips feel. Firm and coaxing, but not pressuring or invasive. He didn't push, he simply made a woman want to surrender herself into his embrace.

  "Daughtrie had the annual Astros day that he always does for office morale or employee bonding or whatever. Tanner and Nicole and I ended up sitting next to Giff. You can imagine how much Tanner ate up the chance to hang out with a guy. The two of them really took to each other. And…I'm afraid Tanner might have gotten the wrong idea about Giff and I because of the KissCam."

  "The what?"

  "You know what I'm talking about. You've been to hundreds of baseball games. That thing where they zoom in on some couple and—"

  "You and Giff?"

  "Jonna, you're going to wake up the kids if you don't take it down a notch."

  "Sorry. Didn't mean to shriek." Her friend looked abashed for a millisecond before her voice rose again. "But are you telling me that you kissed Giff Baker?"

  "Yeah, but it was no big deal." Liar! "We were just following the custom, like kissing someone under mistletoe or the Italian double-cheek kiss."

  Jonna's eyebrows rose. "And did he kiss you on the cheek?"

  No, he frenched me and I was so caught up in it that I momentarily forgot about thirty thousand fans, including my nephew and my boss. Addie's face tingled with heat and she knew a blush stained her fair skin. That was more than enough answer for Jonna.

  "Adeline Marie Caine! And you didn't call me last night to share any details? Never mind, you probably spent the evening reliving nirvana." Jonna fanned herself with her hand. "So that explains why Tanner might think Giff's your boyfriend. Where did he get the idea that Giff was coming to watch him play soccer?"

  "Tanner asked him to, Giff said yes."

  Jonna looked suitably impressed. "Nice guy."

  "Really nice guy." Addie hadn't even worked her way around to telling her about Giff's brainstorm today, on how he might be able to help Tanner overcome his water phobia. But even though it looked as if she would be spending Saturday with Giff, that was to help her nephew. It wasn't a romantic date.

  She cleared her throat. "Giff and I talked today at work and he understands that dating can't really be my priority right now. Not with the kids."

  Jonna frowned. "Your brother adored you and he would have wanted you to be happy, like he and Diane were. I get the whole setting a good example thing, I do. You should probably refrain from public pole dancing—"

  Addie snorted.

  "But I don't think Zach would have wanted you to live a lonely, nunlike existence. There are other single moms out there in the world and some of them date."

  "I'm not saying I'll never go out with a guy for the rest of my life," Addie clarified. "But, Jonna, it's only been a month. Tanner's still pretty fragile and it would be easy for him to glom on to Giff. Plus I already feel torn in too many directions, trying to fit soccer games and PTA meetings and pediatrician appointments into my work schedule. I don't have the time or mental energy that developing a relationship takes, that a guy like Giff deserves."

  Jonna bit her lip. "I disagree."

  "There's a shock," Addie said affectionately.

  "Don't think of a man as one more responsibility, think of him as someone to help ease the burden of all your new responsibilities." She grinned. "It's amazing what a really good orgasm can do to relieve stress."

  "I am not having sex down the hall from those kids with a man I've only known for a week!" No matter how tempting it sounded. "No more wine for you. It gives you kooky ideas."

  "You're cutting me off after half a glass?" Jonna pouted. "First no details about the kiss, now no booze. What else do you plan to withhold?"

  She'll find out sooner or later. "Well, I was keeping to myself the news that Giff and I are taking the kids fishing this weekend."

  Jonna's face went slack with surprise. "You and Giff, together? The guy you're not dating?"

  "He has a former client who owns a luxury motor boat. Giff's a big believer in facing down your fears, and he thinks this could be fun and therapeutic for Tanner. I wouldn't have attempted it by myself, especially since I don't have access to a boat, but hopefully Giff's presence will calm Tanner down. He'll be excited about
doing something with his new buddy and being around a big strong guy may bring out his macho instincts. He might want to show Giff how brave he can be, which should help us get him on the boat. It's a highly generous favor Giff's doing for us, but it's not a date. It's more like that Big Brothers program. This is for Tanner, although I haven't told him about it yet."

  "You're going to spend a sunny Saturday at sea with one of Houston's most eligible bachelors and you honestly believe it's just for Tanner?"

  When you put it that way. "Um…more wine?"

  * * *

  AT WORK, GIFF AND ADDIE had strategized the best way for Tanner to hear about the boating trip. Addie believed that if they told him too soon, it would give the boy too much time to build up the fear in his mind. He would have had nightmares all week. She and Giff had come up with a solid plan, one that had her eyeing the phone while she and Tanner ate hot dogs for dinner Friday evening.

  As ever, Giff did not disappoint. The phone rang at five-twenty and it occurred to her that, when it came to depending on someone, the man she'd known less than two full weeks was proving to be more trustworthy than the one she'd been with for three years. "Hello?"

  "Addie." He made her name an endearment. "It's me."

  She smiled broadly, not bothering to censor her expression the way she did at work, so it wouldn't seem too familiar, too happy. "I know."

  "I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. Have I mentioned that imagining you in a bathing suit tomorrow has been one of the highlights of my week?"

  She laughed. "I doubt the reality will match the fantasy. It's a pretty pedestrian one piece."

  "Not in my head it isn't. You'd look great in a string bikini."

  The hell she would—but it was sweet that he thought so. Rather than admit she was flattered by his view of her, or, worse, succumb to the temptation to stay on the phone flirting, she took the sensible path. "I should get Tanner for you."

  "All right," he said affably. "I'm looking forward to seeing him and Nicole again, too."

  He really sounded as though he meant it, and she was touched. She'd felt over her head at first, especially when Christian left, thinking that she was all the kids had. That initial panic was finally starting to fade. She may be their guardian, the main person in their lives now, but their environment was expanding to include other stable role models, too, adults who cared about them. Giff and Jonna, teachers and caregivers, Heidi Lee the elementary school counselor, Gabi Lopez who had suggested Addie bring the kids over for a play date sometime. Addie inhaled deeply, feeling truly peaceful for the first time in a long time. They're going to be okay.