He noticed that habits barely recognized before bothered him now. For instance, when a woman wore too much perfume. He decided that would upset a baby. Or when someone was too thin. The mother of his children had to be health-conscious, not consumed by dress size. In fact, one of his recent patterns was to take his prospective candidates to functions where children would be present to see how they reacted. He wasn’t vain, but neither was he coy—he knew that in the dating game all parties tended to put on their best fronts and he didn’t want to waste precious time with someone who claimed she loved kids, when in fact, she didn’t.
Looking at Joey and Amber, he knew one thing for certain: he wanted a couple of towheaded imps running around his house, causing general chaos and filling his life the way these two did his sister’s. He had stepped in and helped Bridgette these past few years, but the fact remained that although Amber and Joey loved him, he was only their uncle, not their dad.
Now that Bridgette had reclaimed her confidence and joy, he was sure she wouldn’t stay in Austin forever. He expected an engagement announcement from her and Glen any day, especially with Glen making noises about moving with his job. Trenton liked the guy, and it didn’t hurt that Glen adored Bridgette and doted on Joey and Amber.
He glanced at Melodie and wondered how she felt about kids. He had every reason to guess she adored them or she would hardly have picked teaching them as a profession. But, then, he knew appearances could be deceiving. She might just as easily be locked into a job she hated because she didn’t have any other options. Millions of people went to work every day fitting that description. Watching her, though, he didn’t think she was one of them. She looked at Amber with too much tenderness, and her fingers were so gentle when she brushed his niece’s overlong bangs out of her face. Even with Joey, who had so indelicately insulted dancing as a whole, Melodie seemed amused.
It spoke well of her, but only added to his confusion. His picture so far was incongruous. He assumed that would change when they got a chance to talk. She had such a delicate face, her eyes a haunting mixture of caution and joy, as if she wanted to greet life with open arms but had been taught to keep her hands carefully at her sides. She was a soft touch with the kids, but she looked at him now and again with a hard reserve, as if preparing to do battle. If he’d seen a picture of her from the neck up, he would have expected to find her in a soft, flowing dress that dipped in front in a delicate heart shape. Instead, she appeared in leggings that had pigs embroidered on them.
Pigs!
But those pigs marched down an incredible set of legs. They clung to thighs and calves that were long and sleek, with muscles that were toned and taut.
Made a man think he just might not mind being a pig.
And the T-shirt would have been painful to look at for long stretches, except that the material was soft and lay against her feminine curves in a gentle caress. It might be loose fitting, but he was confident it hid firm, high breasts that begged to be kissed. Her nipples would be rosy and would harden instantly when his tongue—
Trenton shook his head. Good heavens, what had gotten into him? It took an effort to pull his thoughts back on track and remind himself that although his first impressions were favorable, she was not an appropriate candidate for consideration as a future wife so he could stop the preliminary interview that instant.
Besides, he had the distinct impression that Melodie Allford defied categorization. “Can we go now?”
Amber was dancing from foot to foot. She had dutifully removed her shoes and glanced longingly into the play area. Joey stood just as eagerly at her side. He smiled indulgently. “Sure. You guys go ahead.”
Amber stopped in her tracks. “Aren’t you going in with us?”
“Not right now. I need to talk to Miss Melodie, remember?”
“You got plenny a time. Come on, Uncle Trenton. You promersed.”
Trenton looked at Melodie, giving her the chance to put in her two cents’ worth. She smiled wryly and shook her head, obviously seeing the uselessness of arguing.
“Maybe after pizza we can send them off alone,” Trenton suggested.
“One could always hope.”
He wasn’t quite sure what she meant by that, but Amber and Joey weren’t giving him time to dwell on it. Joey stuffed his shoes into a cubby before bringing a basket to the table for keys, loose change, cuff links and cellular phone. Amber was determinedly making a knot out of Trenton’s shoelace as she tried to “help,” but he didn’t have the heart to stop her just yet.
A look in Melodie’s direction as he rolled back his sleeves had him noting that she was still standing by the viewing window, but she was looking at him as though he were an experiment under glass. She kept glancing at his bare forearms, then his socks, then back at his face as if she couldn’t put a picture together.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” he asked to break her concentration, glancing pointedly at her athletic shoes and then at her hip pouch.
She started. “Me? Oh, no, I’m not—”
“Come on, Miss Melodie,” Amber said, abandoning her uncle to run over and grab Melodie’s hand. “You gotta come with us or it won’t be no fun.”
“Any fun.”
“Right,” Amber agreed, the soul of reasonableness.
Trenton had finished the job Amber had begun and had moved over to her side. “You might as well give in. You know you can’t win.”
With an exaggerated sigh, Melodie put her hipsack in the locker and took the rear of the short line headed toward the nautical area. The “gangplank” led to a series of jungle gyms designed as ships. The ball bin had been done in blues and greens, and the climbing vines were thick, knotted ropes.
“Argh, maties, and welcome aboard,” an eye-patched attendant greeted them out of the side of his mouth as they stepped onto the deck. “I’ll be remindin’ ye to have fun, but be careful. The high seas are no place for high jinks, ya’ know.”
Melodie felt a tug at the hem of her shorts. “What are high gins?” Amber asked in a loud whisper.
The attendant went down on one knee and motioned Amber closer. Cautiously, Amber inched forward.
“High jinks, me wee lass, are things such as pushin’ and shovin’ while yer playin’, and running pell-mell without watchin’ where yer goin’.”
“Oh, we won’t do that,” Amber promised solemnly, shaking her head.
“All righty then, that’s a good lass. Now hurry aboard so’s I can get the lines cast off and we can set sail.”
* * *
Melodie didn’t know when she’d had so much fun.
Or been so confused.
She laughed herself silly when Amber and Joey engaged in a “water” fight with their uncle, showering him with brightly colored balls until he was buried to the neck. She clapped dutifully when Amber cried, “Watch me, watch me,” as she “walked the plank” and “splashed” into the “ocean.” Joey climbed the “rigging” like a monkey, taunting his Uncle Trenton to catch him if he could. Of course, Uncle Trenton gave a valiant effort, but was no match for the agile seaman Joey.
She felt the oddest tug in her stomach when Amber decreed that they were a family taken captive by awful pirates and were going to make a desperate escape through the “hold” of the ship. Amber bravely led the way through the plastic tunnels, twisting and turning through the maze. Melodie had a hard time keeping her mind on the game with Trent right behind her. She sighed when they finally reached the “escape hatch” and the foursome slid down the long slide one by one to end up in the “ocean” again.
The successful escapees finally returned to the “dock.” The adults slid into their chairs,