signals. At least, the ones she was picking up were wrong. Very wrong. Especially for her.
Zac cleared his throat. “So, what time can I bring Justin in the morning?”
“We open at eight. I’m usually here by a little after seven, if you want to drop him off early. You’ll need to knock. I keep the door locked when I’m here alone.” The cautious look returning to his eyes reminded her of the conversation they’d concluded a few moments before, so she clarified her statement. “I will not be waiting with baited breath for you to come in with him.”
Chuckling, he nodded and relaxed. “Okay, okay. I’m convinced. You’re not shopping for a husband.”
“You’ve got that right.”
“Mind telling me why not?”
Tina’s stomach tied in a hard knot. She did mind. A lot. But it wouldn’t do to say so and start an unnecessary discourse. She hadn’t even told her brother Craig, back home in California, what had convinced her to stay away from romance no matter what else happened. There was no way she was going to explain that kind of personal trauma to a stranger. Especially since her past history had been the obvious reason for at least one failed relationship.
“It’s not relevant,” Tina said, choking back any sign of emotion. “Let’s just say I’m perfectly happy with my life as it is. I live in a great town, and having these wonderful kids around me all the time blesses my socks off.”
“Ah, so you’re happy with the status quo. Me, too. Too bad the rest of the world doesn’t understand that, isn’t it?”
“Do eligible women really chase you around all the time?” she asked, baiting him on purpose to take his focus off her life and put it back on his.
“Yes.” Zac laughed softly. “Actually, that was one of the reasons I decided I needed to move to this tiny corner of Arkansas. My friends meant well, but they were fixing me up with dates so often they were driving me crazy.”
“My boss, Mavis Martin, is like that.” Tina pointed to an adjoining room. “She takes care of the littlest babies over there in our nursery. She means well, too, but sometimes…”
“Don’t be too hard on her. She probably wants to make sure you’re not lonely.” Zac paused, thoughtful. “In my case, Justin and I are doing fine as we are. We’re a team.” He glanced down at the boy and tousled his hair again. “Aren’t we, buddy? Well, tell Miss Tina goodbye for now. You’ll see her again in the morning.”
Crouching to be on the boy’s level, she touched his free hand and smiled with fondness. “Bye, Justin. I’ll see you soon.”
For an instant the boy leaned her way, and she thought he was going to break down and hug her. Instead, he whispered, “Bye,” and hurried to keep up with his daddy as Zac started for the door.
Tina’s heart went out to the child. Zac Frazier might be a whiz at understanding the older kids he worked with, but he had a long way to go before he met all the emotional needs of his four-year-old son. Somebody was going to have to show him the error of his ways soon, or the boy was likely to carry the scars of the lack of physical closeness all his life.
It was painfully clear to Tina that she’d been placed in a perfect position to enlighten him. The trouble was, she didn’t feel even remotely qualified for such a daunting task.
“Oh, Father, why me?” she prayed softly. “I couldn’t even straighten out my own brother. How am I ever going to show that man how to love his son the way he should?”
No easy answer came. She didn’t expect it to.
It was over a week before Tina had any news for Zac about available housing. The trouble was, the only house she’d found was the one close to hers. Too close. She wrestled with her conscience all day, knowing she should give him an update about it and hating to because she didn’t want to have to deal with him as a neighbor. Nevertheless, she gave in and presented the address when he came to call for Justin.
“This is the rental I told you about,” Tina said. “If you haven’t found a place yet, this one is going to be vacant soon. The landlord wants to have a chance to clean it up and paint it before he rents it again, so I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a while.” Shrugging, she said, “Sorry. It was the best I could do.”
“How about if I volunteer to do the painting to save time? I really don’t want to keep Justin in that motel any longer than I have to. It’s not enough like a home.”
“I agree. He told me a lot of his toys are in storage and he wants to be able to get the boxes out and play with everything. He rattled off a list of treasures that had the other kids drooling.”
“My son told you all that?”
“In great detail. He has a very good vocabulary for a child his age. I suppose that comes from spending so much time with adults.”
“The only adult he has much to do with is me,” Zac said. “And you, of course. He talks about Miss Tina all the time. I think he has a crush on you.”
She laughed lightly. “That’s pretty normal, too. I can’t help but get attached to these kids and they respond to me the same way. I love ’em all. Even Tommy.”
“The kid I was going to paint purple?” Zac chuckled. “I remember. Is he still acting up?”
“From time to time. He’s a healthy boy. He can’t help some of the things he does, like not sitting still or not remembering to keep his hands to himself. But he’s improving. They all are.”
“Even my son?”
The man looked so concerned, she decided to go into more detail. “Justin has never caused me any trouble. Actually, that much virtue had me worried to begin with, but I’ve been watching him, and he’s beginning to act more normal. I’ve actually seen him getting into a little mischief lately.”
Zac stiffened. “I’ll have a talk with him.”
“No!” Tina was so adamant she forgot herself and grabbed Zac’s forearm, holding tight. “Don’t you dare. That would spoil everything. He’s just starting to loosen up and have fun here.”
Casting a wary glance at her hand where it gripped his bare arm, Zac said, “Looks like he’s not the only one who’s loosening up. Your fingernails are leaving dents. If I promise to behave myself, will you let go of me?”
“Oops. Sorry.” Embarrassed, Tina jumped back. It would be a hot day at the North Pole before she touched that man again! She didn’t have to look in a mirror to know her cheeks were bright pink. So was her neck.
“You’re forgiven. It’s nice to know you care so much. About Justin’s welfare, I mean.” He cleared his throat. “By the way, that’s a great color on you.”
Brushing her hands over her skirt, she said, “This? Thanks. I chose it because the paint spots blend right in.”
Zac was clearly amused. “Actually, I meant the color on your face. Have you always blushed so easily?”
“Only when I forget myself and grab hold of strange men,” Tina responded with a nervous laugh. “Believe me, it doesn’t happen all that often.”
“Let’s hope not.” Looking across the room, he beckoned to his son. “Come on, Justin. We’re going to go look at a house before dinner.”
The little boy raced to his dad. “A real house?”
“Yes. A real house. See?” Zac showed him the paper with the address on it, then looked over at Tina. “I forgot to ask. How do we get there?”
“It’s not hard. You take the main highway west, past the market and up the hill, then veer right at the first road after the vacant lot where Ed Beasley used to keep all those rusty antique cars.” She was waving her hands for emphasis.
“Who?”