You Made Me Love You

by Neesa Hart

  “Lindsay,” Liza said.

  The girl looked up from her gym bag. “Yeah?”

  Liza indicated Grace with a slight wave of her hand. “Let’s go meet Grace.”

  Lindsay nodded. Liza had explained the child’s circumstances to the older girl, and believed Lindsay could help Grace make the adjustment to the daily routine at Breeland. “Sure, Liza.”

  Liza smiled at the informality. She liked everything about the summer session better than the regular academic year. They walked together to where Grace was carefully folding a towel. “Hi, Grace,” Liza said.

  Grace gave her a wary look. “Hello, Liza.”

  “You did really great today. Did you enjoy your first class?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” The child slipped the perfectly folded towel into her gym bag.

  Anna had crossed the room to join them. “How was the first day of class?” she asked.

  “We were just talking about that,” Liza responded. “Grace was going to tell me how she liked it.”

  Grace glanced from one adult to the next, before finally settling her gaze on Liza. “You’re a very good teacher. I learned a lot of new stuff.”

  “Did you have fun?” Lindsay prompted.

  Grace nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” She continued to fill her gym bag.

  Liza’s worried gaze slid to Anna. The older woman gave her an encouraging smile, then extended her hand to Grace. “I’m Anna. I’m glad to finally meet you, Grace. Your father has told me so much about you.”

  Grace paused in the act of unlacing her shoes to shake Anna’s hand. “He told me about you, too.”

  Anna’s eyes twinkled. “Did he, now?”

  “Yes, ma’am. He said you’re in charge of the school.”

  “That’s an interesting theory,” Liza joked. Lindsay laughed.

  Anna remained focused on Grace. “Is that all he told you?”

  Grace hesitated, then shook her head. “No, ma’am. He said he liked you. And that you were as old as my grandmother, but you don’t act like it.”

  The three women laughed, and though Grace watched them, visibly unsure about the wisdom of the revelation, she finally managed a slight smile.

  Anna looked at Lindsay. “Lindsay, dear, why don’t you show Grace where the dining hall is so the two of you can get some lunch? I understand we’re having chicken croquettes today.”

  “Croquettes?” Lindsay said. “Jeez, why didn’t someone tell me? By the time we get there, they’ll be all gone.”

  Liza nodded. “Word has been spreading across campus since the dining hall breakfast shift got off work.”

  “Crud,” Lindsay said. She hoisted her gym bag higher on her shoulder. “Come on, Grace. We’re going to have to shove to the front of the line if we want anything to eat. Every time Jody makes croquettes it starts a riot in the dining hall.”

  Grace looked to Liza for guidance. At her reassuring nod, she picked up her bag and looked at Lindsay. “What are croquettes?”

  “I’ll tell you on the way.” Lindsay led the child from the room.

  Liza released a slow breath. “Tough nut,” she said quietly.

  Anna nodded. “I see that. How did she do today?”

  “How much of class did you observe?”

  “Just the last few minutes. She seemed fine.”

  “She is.” Liza pulled the towel from around her neck to wipe her still-flushed face. “She’s quite good, actually, but Eli’s right about her reserve. She doesn’t want to lose control.”

  Laughing, Anna handed Liza a water bottle from the low table. “She came to the wrong place, then. We wouldn’t know how to act if we weren’t teetering on the edge of disaster.”

  Liza stuffed the bottle and the towel into her own bag. “No kidding. I take it you heard about the minor revolt in the dorm this morning.”

  “Yes. You had some problems with those kids from Westover?”

  “You could say that. They wouldn’t take showers.”

  “Any particular reason?”

  Liza shrugged. “Showing their independence, I guess.”

  “How did you handle it?”

  Her lips twitched. “You don’t know?”

  “No. The dorm administrator told me I should ask you.”

  “I set the fire hose on the lowest pressure and sprayed ‘em down. They were mad at first, but they got over it. It was kind of fun, actually.”

  “I don’t doubt it.”

  “By the end, most of the girls had joined in. There were soap bubbles and wet bodies everywhere. The place was a mess, but we cleaned it up.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe Amelia didn’t tell you.” Amelia Pankhurst, the dorm administrator, had failed to see the humor in the situation.

  “She didn’t have the same outlook on the incident as you.”

  “I’ll bet she didn’t.”

  “You might want to apologize.”

  “Amelia,” Liza said pointedly, “needs to get a grip. It’s summer camp, not boot camp.”

  “And you and I need the Amelias to enforce the rules so we can decide when to break them.”

  Liza hesitated, then slung her bag over her shoulder. “Point well taken.” She tipped her head to one side. “Am I ever going to stop learning things from you?”

  “I hope not.” Anna’s smile was warm and open, as it had always been. Liza smiled back. “I thought,” Anna said, “that you and I might go over and see how our star instructor is fairing with his first day of classes.”

  “I’m sure he’s fine.” She wasn’t certain she was ready to see him again.

  “My guess is that nobody told him he’s expected to let his class out on time when we have croquettes in the dining hall.”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s in the orientation packet.”

  Anna gave her a dry look. “Very funny.”

  “Why don’t you go check on him? I should probably find Amelia.”

  “Why are you avoiding him?”

  “I’m not,” she lied. Anna’s eyebrows arched. Liza released a slow breath. “Okay, I am.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know. Do I have to know?”

  “I think he’d like to know how his daughter did in your class today.”

  “That’s hitting below the belt.”

  “I’m thinking of retiring,” Anna said, “and becoming a travel agent for guilt trips.”

  “You’d be prize-winning at it, I assure you.”

  “So are you coming or not?”

  Liza mentally chided herself for acting like a fool. To a man like Eli, a few kisses and an expression of physical desire came naturally. She was the only one, she was convinced, staying up at night wondering what to do about it. “Sure,” she said. “You can catch me up on all the administrative nightmares of the morning on the way to the lab.”

  They found Eli, holding the rapt attention of his class of twelve- and thirteen-year-olds, while he carefully placed a flowerpot on top of a lidded coffee can. “Billions of tiny, highly combustible particles of grain,” he was explaining, “are generated by grain kernels rubbing together as they move along conveyer belts and shift between bins. Inside the enclosed chambers, those particles rise in a cloud.”

  He stuffed a small tube into a hole in the bottom of the can and began slowly pumping a plunger. “When that dust gets in with the right mixture of oxygen and then comes in contact with a spark, or even an overheated bearing on a conveyer belt, it is extremely explosive.”

  Liza gave Anna a wary look. Eli’s class was fixedly staring at the coffee can and flower pot. He was concentrating on the demonstration, and didn’t seem to notice the two women in the back of the room. He used his free hand to light the small Bunsen burner on the lab table, sending a steady current of heat to the base of the coffee can.

  “Think of how quickly kernels of popcorn explode under the heat of a skillet or hot air. The dust particles are smaller pieces of the same combustible product. The finer the particle, the drier it is and the mo
re quickly it ignites when mixed with air.”

  One of the girls called out, “What causes the spark?”

  Eli nodded as he continued to pump the small rubber bulb. “Industrial equipment is prone to heating and sparks. Sometimes, all the grain particles need is enough heat to explode. Just like the popcorn. When you pop it in the microwave, heat alone causes it to burst. In the right conditions, grain particles will spontaneously combust with tremendous, intense heat and pressure,” he said. “When that happens inside a container where you have lots of particles in a cloud, it will cause an explosion.”

  As if on cue, a loud bang came from inside the coffee can. The girls screamed. Eli grinned. The flower pot shot straight through the window. The crash of broken glass and the clang of the coffee can on the slate lab table added to the chaos.

  Liza gave Anna a shrewd look. “Remind me of this the next time I suggest getting a male instructor.”

  Anna smiled at her. “The girls seem to be enjoying themselves.” Most of them had rushed to the broken window to view the remains of the flower pot, smashed to bits on the sidewalk below.

  Above the din of squeals and laughter, it was almost impossible to hear. Liza grimaced, put her fingers to her lips and let out a shrill whistle. Sixty heads turned her way—including Eli’s. His eyes sparkled in quiet challenge.

  Liza turned her attention to the girls. “Having fun, ladies?”

  “Did you see that?” one of them asked. “He shot that thing right through the window.”

  “That was so cool,” another girl responded. “Can we do that again?”

  Eli shook his head. “It wasn’t supposed to break the window. I’ve never had one go sideways like that.”

  “Well,” Liza drawled, “aren’t we fortunate to have experienced the miracle of scientific unpredictability?”

  He shot her a dry look. “I’ll clean it up.”

  Anna shook her head and produced a digital phone from her pocket. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll call maintenance. Step away from that glass, girls.”

  “Miss Kincaid,” the girls were demanding Liza’s attention. “Did you see it explode, or did you get here after?”

  “I saw it.”

  “Nobody ever did anything like that before.” Liza recognized the speaker as one of the girls involved in the fire hose incident. She’d had quite a day.

  “No, not here anyway. If Mr. Liontakis is through with you for the day, you guys can go to lunch.” She sent him a questioning glance. “Any parting shots?”

  “Don’t try that at home,” he warned the class.

  They grabbed their books and gear in a flurry of laughter and excited chatter, and quickly streamed from the room. Two stayed to ask Eli some specific questions about the experiment, then raced out the door. Anna put the phone back in her pocket. “Maintenance is on their way.”

  “I’m very sorry about the window,” Eli spread his hands in front of him. “I must have put too much dust in the can. Usually, it just shoots a couple of feet in the air.”

  “Quite effective,” Liza quipped.

  “It gets them talking anyway,” he concurred. “I find that people approach a science class with the idea that it’s all boring theory.” The way he was scrutinizing her made Liza wish she’d taken the time to change out of her dance clothes. She felt grubby and, somehow, exposed to his searching eyes. Eli’s gaze slid to Anna. “If I can show them some tangible things, they’re more open to the subject.”

  Why did he have to look so damned attractive anyway, Liza wondered. Liza frowned at him. “So what’s next? Molotov cocktails?”

  Eli laughed. “This is my last explosion of the summer, I assure you.” The comment was innocent enough, but the look in his eyes belied his calm facade.

  Liza swallowed. “I’m taking the window out of your pay check.”

  “Fine.” He moved a step closer. “You’re the boss.”

  She was vaguely aware that Anna was watching the interchange with barely disguised glee, but he’d captured her gaze, and she couldn’t make herself look away. “Don’t you forget it either,” she admonished quietly.

  “Not a chance.” He shifted toward her. “Am I going to get a bad evaluation for this?”

  “I haven’t decided yet. Do you have any more tricks up your sleeve you should warn me about?”

  “Lots.”

  A shiver worked its way down her spine. “Are they dangerous?”

  He tilted his head to one side. His eyes practically gleamed at her now. “I guess that would depend on your definition of the word.”

  Liza coughed, breaking the spell. She looked at Anna. The older woman was beaming at them. Liza drew several calming breaths. “You, uh, were going to suggest lunch?”

  Anna nodded. “I was. I thought Eli could tell us about his first day of class, though I suspect we’ve seen the highlights.”

  “The rest was boring, I assure you.” He slipped off his lab jacket. Liza wished he hadn’t. He seemed more potent, somehow, clad in a dark green tee-shirt and worn jeans. Tossing the lab jacket across the slate table, he quickly arranged his papers. “We went over Bunsen burner safety today.”

  She crossed her arms over her breasts. “Hence the explosion?” Liza prompted, despite herself.

  He flashed her a winning smile. “Naturally. What good is a safety lesson without a demonstration of potential consequences?”

  Anna nodded. “And a very graphic one, at that.” She folded her hands in front of her and regarded him with a benevolent look that somehow set Liza’s teeth on edge. “Why don’t you join us for lunch, Eli? You can tell us about your impressions of Breeland, and Liza can tell you how Grace did in class today.”

  His expression turned suddenly serious. The twinkle abruptly left his eyes. “How did she do?” he asked. “I hadn’t realized you’d see her first.”

  Liza nodded. “Dance is her first class of the morning. She did fine. She’s a little shy, but so are a lot of the girls at this stage.”

  “You think she’ll be all right?”

  “Yes. We have all summer to draw her out.”

  “I know. It’s too soon to expect anything. Where is she?”

  “At lunch with the girls.”

  The explanation obviously pleased him. “Good. She doesn’t have any girls her age at home. I think that’s part of the problem.”

  Anna concurred. “It’s always helpful for children to interact with their peers. Especially girls. They need confidantes.”

  A commotion at the door indicated the arrival of the maintenance crew. “Let’s get out of their way. We can discuss this over lunch.”

  Eli quickly stuffed his papers into a worn satchel. “Good idea. On the way over there, you can explain this rumor I heard about croquettes.”

  Eli set his briefcase down inside the door of his temporary apartment. For a moment he didn’t recognize the sound coming from the living room. He glanced around the corner to find his daughter, seated on the sofa, laughing with Anna Forian. For long seconds he savored the rare sound. “I’m home,” he said at last.

  Anna flashed him a welcoming smile. His daughter, he noted, didn’t meet his gaze. “Hello, Eli,” Anna said. “I was just asking Grace how she liked her first day of classes.”

  Eli waited. Grace gave him a partial smile. “Hello, Father.”

  “Did you have a good day today?” he prompted.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I thought Lindsay was going to stay with you this afternoon until I got home.”

  “She had to go,” Grace said.

  Anna nodded. “Liza needed her help with something at the office. I decided I’d much rather visit with Grace than help Liza stuff envelopes. So I persuaded Lindsay to swap job assignments with me.”

  “Can’t blame you for that.” Eli leaned against the door frame. “Grace, honey, I thought maybe we’d go out for dinner tonight. Does that sound good to you?”

  She studied her green jeans with avid interest. “If you want t
o.”

  Eli slanted Anna a pained look. “Would you like to join us, Anna?”

  She glanced from Grace to him. “No, I don’t think so. Another time, maybe.” Anna stood. “Grace.” She waited until the child looked at her.

  “Yes, ma’am?”

  “You’ll come see me like you promised? Tomorrow after classes, maybe?”

  “All right.”

  Anna nodded, apparently satisfied. “I’ll be going then.” She gave Eli an encouraging smile. “I hear Solanto’s has good pizza. You might want to give it a try.”

  He thanked her, then waited until he and Grace were alone before approaching his daughter. Carefully, he crossed the room to sit next to her on the sofa. Encouraged that she didn’t move away from him, he forced himself to relax. He leaned back and pillowed his head on the cushions. “I had a pretty good day,” he told her.

  Grace met his gaze, but didn’t respond. He tried again. “I thought my classes went okay. Well—except for the one where I shot the flowerpot through the window.”

  Her slight smile felt like a gift from heaven. “Lindsay told me that happened. She said there was glass all over the place.”

  He nodded. “Actually,” he rolled his head to the side so he could grin at her, “it was kind of funny.”

  The smile broadened slightly. “I heard that, too.”

  “The best part was that Liza and Mrs. Forian were in the room when it happened.”

  Grace pressed a hand to her mouth to suppress a rare giggle. “Did you get in trouble for that?”

  “Well, I think Anna may have let me off the hook, but I’m not sure about Liza.”

  Grace shook her head. “She likes you,” she said seriously. “She’s not going to get mad over something like a window.”

  He studied her closely. “What makes you think she likes me?”

  “I don’t know.” Grace shrugged. “She just acts like it.”

  He looked at the sad, expressive eyes. “Can I tell you a secret?” he asked.

  “Sure.”

  “I kind of like her, too.”

  Grace nodded solemnly. “I can tell.”

  “You can?”

  “Yes.”

  Grace thought it over for a moment. “How much do you like her?”