Page 21 of Second Start: Family
“What?” She looked up from papers on her desk to find him right beside her. “Why would…? Oh.”
“Yep. That’s right. Aaron’s, uh, pungent vocabulary comes straight from his daddy.”
She groaned. “Great.”
Hall Quick chuckled. “It won’t be so bad. Buck Felton doesn’t hold a grudge above a decade or two. Besides, you’ll have Lori’s undying gratitude. She’s been trying to get Buck to mind his tongue forever. You look tired.”
His abrupt change of topic — and to something personal — required an extra beat before she answered, “There’s a lot to do the first few weeks of a new school year. Especially with all the September birthdays to celebrate.”
“Wait until you’ve spent a January here — you’ll see why kids are born nine months later.”
Her lips lifted in response to the dry humor in his delivery and the crinkling at the corners of his eyes.
Then a thought came too quickly for her to stop it. She’d seen on their records that his daughters’ birthdays were coming up soon. He knew from first-hand experience…
None of her business.
She became aware of him watching her like a physical touch. Not letting herself shy away from it, she looked up.
Hall remained where he was, not moving, face impassive. When he finally spoke, she had no clue what direction his words would take.
“Up until Christmas, I would’ve been happy if Bobby had sounded just like Buck Felton. He hadn’t talked much since … his mother died. He had before, plenty, but then … I’d planned to talk to the doctor after Christmas, after…”
He didn’t go in for euphemisms about his wife’s death —passedorleft usorwent to a better place— but there was something about his references to Christmas that he did shy away from.
“But then Bobby started back talking.” His mouth flickered with a grin. “Hasn’t stopped since. But that’s not why I came in. I want to apologize for Sunday. Disaster, start to finish.”
Odd how she wanted to argue with him over the use of that worddisaster, when it was the very word she’d used herself.
But Lizzie’s and Molly’s reactions Monday and the three days that followed it showed they reveled in the triumph of their teacher coming to their house and them feeding her supper. Everything else slid past them.
She settled on saying, “It could have been worse,” with a tiny smile as she thought of the girls.
He seemed to respond to the smile. “Suppose so. It could have been my sister-in-law showing up like that instead of my kids’ teacher.”
She raised a questioning eyebrow.
He hitched a shoulder. “Annie used to say Naomi cared too much about appearances. They didn’t have much contact. Since Annie’s death, Naomi’s made a lot of noises about coming to visit, but so far she’s only sent packages now and then to the kids.”
“I’m glad my arrival wasn’t as unwelcomed as Naomi’s, but I meant the outcome could have been worse.”
He returned her look. “Yeah? Then you’ve got a better imagination than I do.”
She chuckled. His face lightened, but not for long.
He did look tired.
“Isn’t there anybody to help you out?” She immediately regretted the impulsive words as she saw him stiffen.
But he answered coolly. “Couldn’t afford to hire anybody even if there was somebody around here. My mom came up for a few weeks after Annie died. But doctors told her years ago to get out of here for her arthritis. Besides my sister and nephew need her in Arizona.”
“Maybe you could send the kids to stay there for a while. At least until—”
“I am not farming out my kids.”
She didn’t back down from his harshness. This was too important … for his kids. “No, I didn’t mean— I know how hard it must be for you, losing your wife that way.”
He looked at her a long moment, then nodded once. “Yeah. But that’s the way it is and it’s no excuse for me barking at you. Sorry. Again.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Rate I’m using them up, I’m going to have to stock up on those sorrys.”
