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Luke snorted just as he took a sip of water. It went right up his nose, the burning sensation making him cough. This wasn’t new information, but he hadn’t thought his brother had agreed with the sentiment.
When he looked up at Brent, he found him smiling like he was the cat who’d caught the canary. “Come on, Luke. You know as well as I do that Allie liked you—reallyliked you.”
“You know what I think? I think you’re all full of it. She might have had a small crush on me, but it wasn’t that bad. If it was, then why would she introduce me to Shellie?”
His brother exchanged a look with his wife. “What else does someone do when they’re at college?”
Luke rolled his eyes. “Allie’s nice and all, but she doesn’t have feelings for me in that way.”
“But what if she does?”
Luke stopped, his fork hovering just an inch above his plate. He stared at the mashed potato, not really seeing it. “I guess we’ll never know because that’s not how she feels.” Even as he said it, he wasn’t sure. She was always so nice to him, but then she’d always been nice to everyone. Just because he was feeling vulnerable, didn’t mean he was about to fall for one of his brother’s teasing sessions. He shot a stern look at his brother. “None of that matters because it was all in the past. I don’t have any reason to look at her any differently. Besides, she’s my daughter’s teacher. How would that look?”
“How wouldwhatlook?” Brent’s voice lifted an octave. Great. Hewasgoing to poke fun at him. “Do you mean how would the people in town look at a single dad dating his kid’s teacher?”
Luke opened his mouth in an attempt to halt this conversation in its tracks when his daughter’s voice made him stop cold.
“Daddy? I didn’t know you were back.”
Luke mouthed the words, “Drop it,” to his brother then turned in his seat and faced his daughter. “I just got back, sweetie. You were so interested in your game, you didn’t notice.”
She glanced from her aunt and uncle to him then shrugged and wandered into the kitchen. “Oh.” Molly climbed into his lap, though she was almost getting too big to do so. She draped her arm around his neck and smiled up at him. “What did Miss Patrick say?”
He pressed his lips together and briefly met Jackie’s eyes. She gave him a firm nod and then sighed. “Well, she said that you areverysmart.”
Molly beamed.
“And she said that you’re reading at a level that is a lot higher than where you need to be, but that doesn’t mean you get to slack off.”
She nodded, her expression turning serious. “I won’t.”
“That’s just the thing, kiddo. She said you’re a little too talkative in class and you’re missing out on important information when it’s time to do your math.” Just as he said it, she flinched and looked away.
“Oh,” she murmured.
Good. She was already aware that there were some improvements that had to be made.
“I’m sorry. I try to pay attention, I really do.”
“I know,” he lifted her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. “And every so often it’s not a big deal. But if your grades continue to slip then we’re really going to have to come up with a solution so you can get back on track. School is very important. If your mother were here—” He stopped himself, but it was too late.
Molly was brave. She’d always been that way. But there was no hiding the disappointment in the back of her eyes. There, it flickered like a lone candle in the wind. Lately he noticed it more often than not. “She’d want me to get good grades, too,” Molly whispered. “I know.”
“That’s right.”
“But grades aren’t everything, Molly. It’s important to have balance.” Jackie jumped into the conversation and gave Luke a pointed look. He knew that look. She was trying to remind him that when he spent too much time in the field, his home life suffered.
He swallowed at the lump in his throat and ignored the shame that came with her statement. As much as he hated it, he had to agree with his sister-in-law. “Your aunt is right. School is important but so is having a social life. You’re getting older and as such you’re going to have to learn how to balance all of it. Do you think you can do that?”
Molly didn’t blink. She didn’t look away. Her confidence returned and she nodded. “I’ll try.”
He pulled her into a hug and rested his chin on her head. “That’s all I can ask.”
CHAPTERFIVE
Why wasit so dang hard to get over a man who had zero interest in her? Allie was cute, she had a decent figure, she always did her hair and makeup, and she was rarely seen without a smile on her face.
There were men who had asked her out, some she accepted and some she turned down. But none of them held a candle to the man she found herself praying she’d see in passing whenever she wandered through town.
