by Doreen Alsen
Well, that had to stop. Didn’t those kids give a damn that Ainslie was someone’s mother? Dave knocked over his chair as he got up and marched over to teach those kids some respect.
****
“Come on, kids. Please cut it out.” Ainslie wanted to conk those college kids’ heads together. These Yankees had no manners. She would roll up and die of shame if she was their momma.
A big, blond guy tipped back in his chair and laughed as he pitched another handful of popcorn at her. Okay, that was it. She wasn’t going to give them their food until they could behave themselves. She opened her mouth to tell them so when the kid in the tipped chair fell backward with a huge oomph followed by a loud thunk.
Dave Mason appeared out of nowhere to catch the frat boy, standing over him. Only Ainslie could see Dave unhooking his foot from the bottom rung of the chair. His face formed stern lines, his mouth hard, his knuckles white on the boy’s shoulder. “Oops! Didn’t you ever hear your mom tell you to keep all four on the floor? Lucky for you I caught you before you got hurt.” Dave let go, and the kid fell and took one the chair legs in the area of his kidneys.
“Yo, dude!” The popcorn throwing idiot struggled to get off the floor. “Who the hell…”
“Shut it.” Dave’s voice held total authority. No one disobeyed him. “Here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to apologize to Mrs. Logan here, then leave and never come back.”
“You got no right to kick us out.” One of the other guys stood up.
“No, but I do.” Bobby was on the scene, wielding a spatula. “This is my place, and no one treats my waitresses that way.” He motioned with his head to the door. “Get out.”
Chelsea was breathless as she bustled over. “Hey, Bobby. These guys are friends of mine from school. They won’t act up anymore.”
Bobby snorted. “Some friends.” He pointed his spatula at the door. “There’s the door. Use it.” He turned to go back to the kitchen but looked at Chelsea. “And I mean it. They don’t come back. Ever. And since they’re your friends, you can clean up their mess.” He looked at Ainslie. “You go to the break room and take fifteen minutes. That’s an order. Chelsea will cover your tables until you come back.” He stomped back to the kitchen.
Chelsea turned bright red and raced off in the direction of the bar. Dave stayed where he was, like an avenging angel. Ainslie couldn’t take her eyes off him. He’d actually defended her. No one had ever come to her rescue like that before.
Of course, she’d never been treated so appallingly badly before. Damn Yankees.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Dave asked the jerks as they shuffled past her. When all he got in response was a dirty look, he grabbed the kid by the shoulder. “Yo, dude.” He imitated their frat boy tone of voice. “You need to apologize to Mrs. Logan.”
The kid jerked his shoulder out of Dave’s hand. “Who’s Mrs. Logan?”
“The lady you insulted.” It looked like Dave wasn’t letting the kid get away with anything. Her heart thumped extra hard. Lord have mercy, he was off the chart sexy when he went all alpha male.
Rawr!
The kid looked at Ainslie, murder in his eyes. “Sorry.” He pushed the kid ahead of him. “Let’s get out of here.”
The only sounds in the restaurant came from the TVs above the bar. Ainslie didn’t know what to do next. She looked at Dave, who was staring at her. The anger left his face, replaced by an intensity that made her breath hitch in her throat. She opened her mouth to say thank you, but nothing came out.
He reached out, took her tray out of her hands, and put it on the table. “Are you okay?”
She nodded.
“Good.” Something in his eyes softened. “Bobby was right. You should go on back to the break room and take fifteen minutes.”
She realized she was holding her breath and let it whoosh out of her. “I have to clean up this mess.”
He shook his head. “You heard Bobby. Chelsea’s going to clean it up. They’re her friends.”
Chelsea chose that moment to show up carrying a bus bucket. “I got it.” She grimaced. “Sorry ’bout that. The guys get rowdy, but they don’t mean any harm.” She busied herself busing the table.
Dave still looked at Ainslie. “Go on. Chelsea’s got it.”
She thought he might touch her, but he put his hands in his pockets instead. She should have felt relieved, but instead she felt regret. He was her children’s principal. She had no business wanting him to touch her.
Although a little bit of male comfort would go a long way. It had been ages since she’d been touched by a man.
“You’ve had a long day. Go take a couple of minutes.” He continued to look at her in that intense way he had. It caused her to shiver from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.
She forced herself to look away. “Okay. Thanks. I mean, thanks for coming to my rescue.”
He scratched his temple. “Yeah, ask anyone. I’m a regular Sir Galahad.” He smiled at her. “Go.”
****
“We’ve got to get going,” Mike told Dave when he got back to their table. “Thanks for the show.”
“Those buttheads were way out of line.” Dave dropped into his chair. His adrenaline had stopped pumping but he was still wired.
“Absolutely.” Mike helped Andi out of the booth. “You know I would have held your coat, but it looked like you had everything under control.”
“All in a day’s work,” Dave said. His hands were trembling. He hid them under the table. “I’ve had more trouble with period six lunch.”
“You coming with us?” Mike slipped his arms around Andi’s back.
“No, I’m going to wait here.” Dave reached for his warm beer. “Those assholes may be waiting for her when she gets off.”
“That’s probably a long time to wait.” Mike’s brows slammed down over his eyes.
“Mike,” Andi kissed her husband on the cheek. “Let’s go. Dave’s a big boy.”
The big boy stared at the table in front of him. “Good night.”
Mike and Andi left, and he slid into their booth, into a place where he could brood and watch Ainslie Logan.
Someone needed to look out for her, for her children’s sake. He cared about all his students, and her kids were having a hard time of it.
Chelsea came up to the table. “I’m covering Ainslie’s tables until she gets back. Do you want to order some food?” She pasted on a smile that reeked of embarrassment.
“Uh, sure.” He rapped his knuckle against the table. “Whatever Bobby’s got on special tonight is good.”
“You want bread or soup with that?” Chelsea asked as she scribbled on her order pad.
“Whatever’s best.” Dave saw that Ainslie had come back out on the floor.
It was a crime she had to work so hard. Her kids needed her now more than ever. New school, new city, new life. Kids didn’t like change. They needed consistency and a stable home environment. How Ainslie was holding it together was beyond—
He looked up to see Chelsea staring at him. “What?”
“I want to apologize for my friends again. They were celebrating winning an intramural ping pong tournament.”
Dave flashed her his best principal glare. “Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to Ainslie.”
“I did.” She stepped away from his table. “I’ll go put this order in.”
Whatever, Dave thought. He couldn’t take his eyes off Ainslie. She didn’t quite look like the power mom she was earlier in his office. Still, she was beautiful, he realized. Incredibly beautiful. Why hadn’t he seen it before this?
Because he was an insensitive doofus. It shamed him that he had been so impatient with her.
That was going to change as of now. He watched her march to the kitchen and felt bereft. What was up with that? He shook his head at himself.
Then, like he’d conjured her up, she was there at his table bearing food.
“Here’s your order.” Ainsl
ie put a big plate of greens with some grilled chicken on them, along with a side of sourdough bread.
His order? He didn’t order this. “What is that?”
“A grilled chicken Caesar salad.”
Salad? No way. “I didn’t order salad.”
Ainslie’s face fell. “Chelsea told me you ordered the special. Please don’t tell me I got it wrong. This is tonight’s special.”
At least there was bread. “Oh. Thanks.”
“Um, do you want another beer?”
“No, thank you. How about a Coke?”
“Comin’ right up.” She left, and he was alone again to brood about her.
He ripped off a hunk of bread and gnawed at it. The crust was crunchy, the insides chewy. Ainslie was at the bar now, picking up drinks. She must have gotten it wrong because when she wasn’t looking, Spike picked up one drink and exchanged it for the right one. Ainslie smiled at Spike and trundled off with her drinks, obviously not noticing the switch.
Yeah, she and her family needed some protection, and he was just the man for the job.
Chapter Five
Ainslie could feel Dave watching her. He had eaten the chicken off his salad as well as all the bread in the basket. Chelsea was hovering, but he didn’t seem to notice.
No, sir. He was focused on Ainslie’s huge butt and mascara-smudged face like he was some hungry jungle cat and she was a hyena.
Okay, who had watched The Lion King one too many times?
She groaned. Her feet hurt from being on them this very long day. The night was dragging out even longer. Hand to God, she was weary, both physically and emotionally.
Hard-wired to keep plugging away, she knew how to put one foot in front of the other, but some days it was so difficult.
“Ainslie.” Bobby’s deep basso profundo vibrated from behind her.
She turned around. “What do you need?”
He smiled. “It’s getting pretty quiet. Why don’t you go on home? Get some rest.”
She would dearly love to do that, but she needed the hours. “I can finish my shift.”
“I’m gonna pay you for the hours you were scheduled to work. Consider it combat pay.”
Pride versus relief flooded her. She chose to take Bobby up on his offer. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. Chelsea can finish your tables and put your tips aside for you.”
“Okay.” This was Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Easter, and her birthday all rolled into one. She exhaled with a whoosh. “Thank you.”
“No prob. Go home and get some rest.” Bobby turned back to the kitchen.
She did all her end of shift duties at the speed of light, gave Chelsea a status report of her tables, and punched out.
As she went through the dining room, she noticed Dave was gone. Of course. He didn’t have her sideshow of a life to study any more. She pushed open the door and took one step into the balmy Indian summer night.
“Hey.” A very male voice came from right next to her.
She eeped and jumped into the air, her heart doing palpitations the whole while.
“Whoa, there.” Strong hands darted out to catch her.
She whipped her head around. Dave owned those big, male, warm hands. “Let go of me!”
He did. “Don’t be afraid. It’s only me.”
She was shaking so hard that her teeth sounded like castanets. “What are you doing out here? You scared me to death!”
He rubbed a hand across his chin. “Sorry about that. I only wanted to get your attention.”
“It worked! Now if you’re done terrifying me, I’m going home.”
“Let me walk you to your car.” He touched her arms again, this time as gentle as a whisper across her skin.
“There’s no need,” she said.
Dave looked around the parking lot. “I’m not sure if those ass . . . uh,” he looked sheepish as he corrected himself, “those jerks from before are hanging around.”
She could feel her eyes widen. “That’s ridiculous.” Her skin tingled when he shook his head from side to side. “Isn’t it?”
“Better safe than sorry.” He squeezed her arms. “Which one is your car?”
She took a minute to remember where she had parked it. “Over there. The Volvo wagon.” Fifteen years old, she’d bought new when she had owned the world. Now she had to pray every time she got into it that it would start.
“Volvos are good cars.” Dave gripped her elbow lightly as he shepherded her to her waiting vehicle. “They last a long time.”
“This one has no choice,” she muttered as she rummaged around in her purse for her keys. Damn it! The smell of the man next to her, the clean, woodsy scent of his after-shave, just swamped her, even though he hadn’t applied it with a heavy hand. Her hands shook like she was in Antarctica.
She found her keys, fumbling while she stabbed them at the lock.
“Let me.” He reached down to take them from her. She jerked up and somehow their heads collided with a thunk.
“Ow.” She straightened up, rubbing her head. “Sorry.”
He winced as he palmed her keys. “Totally my fault.” He handily opened her door. “Your carriage awaits, my lady.” He executed a little bow while making a gallant gesture toward the door.
She let him take her arm and help her into the car. “Thanks for being my body guard.”
“No problem.” He kept looking at her, intensity firing up those beautiful blue eyes of his. He looked like he wanted to eat her for dinner.
A closed off part of her awoke with a slow shiver. Her nipples actually started to tingle. She licked her lips.
His gaze tracked the movement of her tongue. Blowing out a gusty breath, he closed the door after she slid in.
“Thanks again for riding to my rescue.” She smiled as she rolled her window down. “Both times. You’re a prince.”
He grinned like a pirate. “And don’t you forget it.”
She laughed and started the car up. He was really outrageously handsome with bright blue eyes, thick lashes, and that killer body. He definitely looked like he had muscles in all the right places.
Not that she wanted to see him naked.
Okay, she lied. What woman wouldn’t want to see him naked?
A really, really dead one. Ainslie for sure wasn’t really, really dead.
“W-w-well.” Was she stuttering? Of course not. She never stuttered, was never at a loss for words. “I’ve got to get home. Thanks again, for, you know, being my knight in,” she cleared her throat, “shining armor.”
“Good night.” He rapped his knuckles on the roof of the car. “Sweet dreams.”
She nodded and put the car into gear. As she drove off, she checked her rearview mirror to see him get into his own car. “Sweet dreams to you,” she whispered to his disappearing presence.
****
“Hey, Ruark. I brought you some ice cream.”
Ruark looked up as his twin sister came into his room. He sighed. He had to get Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye read before he tackled his bio lab report. Man, Holden Caulfield was a whiny brat.
“Thanks. That’s really nice of you.” Ruark wasn’t fooled. Shanna wanted something from him.
He should make her work for it.
Shanna sat on the edge of his bed and fluffed her hair. “Yes, it is.”
“What do you want? Why don’t you have any homework?”
Shanna looked outraged. “You’re so mean! Can’t a girl bring her brother ice cream without wanting something.”
Ruark put The Catcher in the Rye down. “When the sister in question is you, then no. Save us some time and just tell me what you want.”
“Oh, okay.” She bounced on the bed. Taking the spoon, she dug into the ice cream. “I need a favor.”
“Duh.”
Shanna wrinkled her nose and spoke around the ice cream in her mouth. “I want you to ask Cecily Brewster to the Homecoming Dance.”
Oh, crap. No freakin’ way. “I do
n’t go to dances, you know that.”
“Yeah, but can’t you go this time? You’re a really good dancer. Cecily really thinks you’re cute, and if you ask her out, I’ll get on the varsity cheering squad for sure.” She pouted. “I’ll never ask you for a favor again.”
Ruark shook his head. “I don’t want to go to the Homecoming Dance. I hate school dances.”
“But you love to dance! You took all those classes back in Charleston.” Shanna sniffed. “You know how important it is for me to get on the varsity squad. You know I’d do the same thing for you.” She put another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth.
“I don’t want to be a varsity cheerleader.” No way he was going to that dance. He’d shove pencils under his fingernails before he’d go there.
“Ha, ha.” Shanna frowned. “What’s wrong with Cecily? You could be sooo popular right away.” She casually frowned at the nail polish chipping off her right hand. “It’s totally win/win.”
If only it were that easy. He looked at his twin and begged her to see him the way he was. She checked out her manicure, no clue as to what she was asking of him.
She wouldn’t understand, even if he came out and the truth whomped her upside the head.
He so wished she knew without him telling her. She was his twin. They’d shared a womb, why couldn’t they share the truth? He slanted her a glance.
She was sitting there, pounding down the ice cream she had brought to him, a bribe at best. He knew she loved him. He loved her. He was lucky to have his family, or at least what was left of it.
“You know I’d do the same thing for you,” Shanna wheedled.
“You’d hook up with Cecily?”
She slapped his arm. “No, stupid head. I’d say yes if one of your friends asked me out, if you, you know, needed me to.”
Shanna was selfish, but she wasn’t mean. If he asked Cecily out, it didn’t mean he had to kiss her. Just touch her when they danced.
That he could do. He might as well make his sister happy. “I’ll ask Cecily to the dance.”
Shanna looked up from the ice cream. “What?”
“You’ve got chocolate on the corners of your mouth. I said I’d ask Cecily to the Homecoming Dance.”
Shanna wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Thank you soooooo much!” She grinned. “I totally thought it was going to take more to get you to do this! You are the best brother in the entire world!” She launched herself at him, grabbed him around the neck and noisily kissed his cheek, her mouth cold and fragrant from the mint chocolate chip ice cream. “I love you!” She jumped off the bed, keeping the bowl of ice cream with her. She pointed the spoon at him. “You rock!”