Page 67 of Summer Weddings
“It’s almost bedtime,” he told his daughter.
“I know.” Following their nightly ritual, she crawled into his lap and nestled her head against his chest. Sometimes she pretended to read the paper with him, but not this evening. Her thoughts seemed to be unusually grave. “Daddy, do you like Ms. Ross?”
Mitch prayed for patience. He’d been afraid of this. Chrissie had been using every opportunity to bring Bethany into their conversations, and he knew she was hoping something romantic would develop between him and the teacher. “Ms. Ross is very nice,” he answered cautiously.
“But do youlikeher?”
“I suppose.”
“Do you think you’ll marry her?”
It was all Mitch could do to keep from bolting out of the chair. “I have no intention of marrying anyone,” he said emphatically. As far as he was concerned, the subject wasn’t open for discussion. With anyone, even his daughter.
Chrissie batted her baby blues at him. “But I thought you liked her.”
“Sweetheart, listen, I like Pearl, too, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to marry her.”
“But Pearl’s old. Ms. Ross is only twenty-five. I know ’cause I asked her. Twenty-five isn’t too old, is it?”
Mitch gritted his teeth. After they’d driven Bethany home that first night, Chrissie had been filled with questions about the new teacher. No doubt she’d subjected Bethany to a similar inquisition that morning.
Mitch supposed all this talk about marriage was inevitable. The summer had been full of romantic adventures. Certainly Sawyer had wasted no time in marrying Abbey; it didn’t help that Abbey’s daughter was Chrissie’s best friend. Then Charles had become engaged to Lanni, followed by Pete and Dotty’s recent announcement. To Chrissie, it must’ve seemed as if the whole town had caught marriage fever. Bethany, however, had been hired by the school board last spring and had nothing to do with the recent influx of women.
“I like Ms. Rosssomuch,” Chrissie said with a delicate sigh.
“You hardly know her. You might change your mind once you see her in the classroom.” Mitch felt he was grasping at straws, but he was growing more and more concerned. He could hardly forbid his daughter to mention Bethany’s name!
He wasn’t sure what the woman had done to sprout wings and a halo in his daughter’s estimation. Nor did he understand why Chrissie had chosen to champion Bethany instead of,say, Mariah Douglas.
Perhaps she’d intuitively sensed his attraction to the young teacher. That idea sent chills racing down his spine. If Chrissie had figured it out, others wouldn’t be far behind.
“I won’t change my mind about Ms. Ross,” Chrissie told him. “I think you should marry her.”
“Chrissie. We’ve already been over this. I’m not going to marry Ms. Ross.”
“Why not?”
There was something very wrong when a grown man couldn’t out-argue a seven-year-old. “First, we don’t know each other. Remember, sweetheart, she’s only been in town two days.”
“But Sawyer fell in love with Abbey right away.”
“Yes…” he muttered warily.
“Then why can’t you put dibs on Ms. Ross before any of the other men decide they like her, too?”
“Chrissie—”
“Someone else might marry her if you don’t hurry up!”
Mitch calmed himself. It was clear that his daughter had a rejoinder for every answer. “This is different,” he said reasonably. “I’m not Sawyer and Ms. Ross isn’t Abbey. She came here to teach, remember? She isn’t looking for a husband.”
“Neither was Abbey. Ireallywant you to marry Ms. Ross.”
Mitch clenched his jaw. “I’m not marrying Ms. Ross, and I refuse to discuss it any further.” He rarely used this tone with his daughter, but he wanted it understood that the conversation was over. He wasn’t getting married. End of story. No amount of begging and pleading was going to make any difference.
Chrissie was quiet for several minutes. Then she said, “Tell me about my mommy.”
Mitch felt like a drowning man. Everywhere he turned there was more water,more trouble, and not a life preserver in sight. “What do you want to know?”
