Authors: Susan Mallery
Tags: #Contemporary, #Fiction, #Romance, #General, #Historical
Part-Time Wife (9 page)
"Don't do that," C.J. said from the back of the car. "She'll see you."
"That's the point," Jill said, still smiling and waving. The girl waved back uncertainly.
C.J. groaned and slunk down in his seat. "Please stop."
"Are you two done?" she asked. "If so, then you can apologize, promise not to do it again and we'll leave."
"I'm sorry," C.J. said quickly. "Real sorry. I'll never wrestle with Ben in the car again. I swear!"
She glanced over her shoulder at Ben and raised her eyebrows. "How long do you think it will be until someone you know comes along?"
"I'm sorry, too," he said. "I won't do it again."
"Perfect."
Jill rolled up the window, put the car in drive and headed for home. The last quarter mile was blissfully silent.
After she'd parked in the garage, the boys climbed out. C.J. paused in front of her. "You're not like our other nannies," he said.
"I'm not surprised. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
He grinned. "I'll get back to you."
* * *
"I want one more slice," Danny whined, inching closer to the counter.
"Me, too," Ben said, stacking his books on top of each other. The boys had been doing their homework at the kitchen table.
"After we practice and have dinner," Jill said. "You've had your snack already."
Danny eyed the sliced loaf on the counter. "But it was good."
"I'm glad you liked the prune bread. I—"
She stopped talking when she realized all three boys were staring at her. Their eyes widened and their mouths opened.
C.J. recovered first. "
Prune
bread?"
"Yes."
He fell to his knees and started choking. "I'm dying, I'm dying."
Ben followed his lead and dropped to the floor. He writhed in agony. "Prunes. Yuck. She's poisoning us."
Danny stared at his brothers, then her. He wasn't certain who he wanted to side with. Jill ignored his older brothers.
"Don't worry about it," she said. "It was delicious before you knew what it was. It's still delicious. Let's go outside and practice."
She held out her hand. Danny grabbed her fingers. They started for the door. "I know how many slices there were," she called over her shoulder. "So don't even think about sneaking any."
It was warmer today, but still sweatshirt weather. The sky was a brilliant
By the time she'd dug out a couple of mitts and a bat, the other two boys had joined them. She didn't comment on Ben's appearance, not wanting to make a big deal of it, but in her heart, she was pleased he wanted to participate.
She tossed them mitts, then found a couple of big plastic balls that wouldn't go far, and wouldn't do any damage if they hit something. Ben came over and took them from her. "I'll pitch," he said.
He'd pulled on a baseball cap. It hid most of his dark hair from view. He wore a loose sweatshirt and jeans. Her heart ached for him. She'd been out of place at home, but at least she'd been able to fit in at school. Ben carried his pain with him everywhere.
She gave him a quick smile and gently touched his cheek. He stiffened at the contact but didn't pull away. His dark gaze met hers. Some emotion flickered there. She couldn't read it, but she knew it was hurting him. She wanted to pull him close and hug him until he felt better, but she didn't have the right. Even if she did, Ben wouldn't let her. He was as prickly as a porcupine.
"Batter up," he called, moving to the center of the yard.
There was more room in the front than in the back, so that was where they played. Jill stayed in the background, filling in where she was needed. C.J. was fast and talented, with the grace of a natural athlete. Ben had the same raw ability, but his weight slowed him down. He could pitch with perfect precision, but he got winded if he tried to run the bases. Even six-year-old Danny could catch him.
Jill stared at the youngest of Craig Haynes's boys. Danny stood hunched over his bat, his face scrunched up in concentration. Ben released the ball. Danny swung and missed.
"Keep your eyes open," C.J. called from the outfield.
"I am."
"Then hit the dumb ball."
"I'm tryin'." Frustration filled Danny's voice, but he didn't give up. He tossed the ball back to Ben and hunched over again.
"Is he standing right?" she asked, coming up to stand behind him. "Maybe it's his shoulders."
Danny looked at her and grimaced. "It's not my shoulders. Ben and C.J. are better than me."
"They're also older and have had more practice. You're going to make it. You're determined, and sometimes that's more important than raw talent."
He beamed, then hunched over. Jill moved back and studied him. He didn't have his brothers' dark hair or eyes. He must take after his mother. Despite having checked on the cleaning crew while they worked and going into all the bedrooms to put clean laundry on the beds, she hadn't seen a picture of the boys' mother. While she was curious about Krystal Haynes, she wasn't comfortable with snooping.
Ben pitched again.
"Keep your eyes open," Jill called.
Danny swung hard. The bat cracked against the plastic ball and sent it sailing toward the heavens.
"You did it!" she said and clapped her hands. Danny tossed off his hat in celebration.
Ben jumped to snag the ball, but he missed.
"Jeez, fatty, can't you do anything?" C.J. said as he raced toward it. He caught the ball in his glove, went down on one knee, rolled onto his back and came up, still holding the ball in his glove. "Craig Haynes, Jr., wins the national championship." He bowed to an imaginary crowd.
Ben threw off his glove and started for the house.
"Ben," she called.
The boy kept walking. He stalked through the garage. She ran after him. "Ben, wait. I know C.J. is being a pain, but you're doing great. Please don't leave."
In the background, she heard a car pull up at the curb.
Ben turned to look at her. Tears swam in his eyes, but he blinked them back. "Go back where you came from. We don't need you here. We don't like you." With that, he opened the door to the family room and stepped into the house. The door slammed shut behind him.
"Daddy, Daddy!"
She turned and saw C.J. and Danny running toward their father. She hadn't seen Craig since Saturday night. He was gone when she woke up Sunday morning and didn't come home until after she went to bed.
He wore his uniform, but he'd left his hat inside his car. The sunlight caught the dark wavy hair. He was tall and broad, and for some reason, her heart began fluttering foolishly in her chest. She told herself it was just the uniform, or the strangeness of the situation. Maybe it was a bit of indigestion. Maybe she'd eaten her slice of prune bread too quickly.
The two boys embraced their father. He squatted down and hugged them. She liked the way he touched them so easily. Some fathers had trouble showing affection. A hug went a long way toward making many problems right. After all, Craig had made her feel better, just by holding her in his arms.
She didn't want to remember that. Nor did she want to remember how good she'd felt sitting on his lap. It hadn't seemed to matter that they were practically strangers. It wasn't like her to expose her emotions like that. She wasn't sure what had happened. Better that it be the late hour of the night and not the man. She knew the danger of getting involved.
"How's everything going?" Craig asked as she approached.
"It was going fine until a couple of minutes ago. We're helping Danny so he'll make a good Pee-Wee team."
"I don't want to be with the babies," his youngest said loudly.
"You won't be," Craig said. He glanced around. "Where's Ben?"
"He went inside," Danny said. "He got mad when he couldn't catch a ball."
"That's not exactly what happened," Jill reminded him.
C.J. stepped away from his father and shuffled his feet. "He
is
fat."
Jill dropped to her knees and took C.J.'s hands in hers. He had his father's eyes and hair, too. Both the older boys definitely took after their dad.
She stared at the boy. "Ben knows he's overweight. I think it bothers him. What do you think?"
C.J. shrugged uncomfortably. "Why does he have to be like that? It's gross."
"Don't you think he wants to change? But it's hard. When you make fun of him, he feels bad. When he feels bad, he eats. I'm not saying this is your fault, because it isn't. But you're not helping."
C.J. drew in a deep breath. "I'm sorry."
"Maybe you should apologize to your brother instead of me."
"Jeez, do I have to?"
She smiled. "Yeah, you do."
"Bummer." He gave her a quick grin and started for the house.
Jill sank onto the grass and buried her face in her hands. "Maybe we should have kept that one-week trial," she said. "After all this, you're going to be the one wanting me to leave."
"Don't go, Jill," Danny said and flung himself at her.
She caught the young boy and pulled him onto her lap. His sturdy arms wrapped around her back and he hugged her close.
"Don't go," he repeated. "I like having you here."
She brushed his light brown hair from his eyes and smiled. "I'm glad someone likes me."
She held him tight. It had been a long time since she'd hugged a child. After the divorce, she'd been cut off from the girls. A cruel and unusual punishment, but there hadn't been anyone to take her side. Her heart filled with an achy kind of joy and she wondered if this was going to cost her later.
She released Danny. "Up with you, young man. We've got work to do."
Danny slid onto the grass, then sprang to his feet. Craig held out his hand to her. She took it reluctantly. As she'd expected, the second their fingers touched, hot, fluttery sensations raced down her arm to settle in her breasts and between her thighs. She allowed him to pull her to her feet, hoping madly that it really was indigestion and not something more deadly, like attraction.
When she was on her feet, Craig didn't release her hand. He glanced at her fingers, then returned his gaze to her face. "Thanks for what you said about Ben. I don't know what to do about him."
"Have you talked to anyone?"
"A counselor, you mean?"
She nodded.
"No, but maybe I should. I don't want him to be so unhappy, and I worry about his health. He's just a kid. This should be a fun time for him. But it isn't."
The father shared the son's pain, but this hurt couldn't be hugged away. "I wish I had the answers," she said. "I've got a few ideas. Maybe we can talk about them later."
"I'd like that."
He released her hand and bent over to pick up Danny. The boy looped his arms around his father's neck. Craig placed his hand at the small of her back and urged her toward the house. She fought against the heat spiraling through her middle. She didn't like that this house of males was getting to her.
"Are you in for the evening?" she asked, hoping he would be leaving soon so she could get her heart rate back to normal.
"I've got a late meeting, but I'll be here until nine. I thought I could help with dinner."
"I will, too," Danny said, giving her his best smile.
"Great." So much for regaining her equilibrium.
"Jill made prune bread," the boy told his father.
"Good."
"You like it?"
"Of course. Anything homemade is a treat."
"Oh. Okay. I like it, too."
Jill glanced at them. The ache in her chest intensified. Craig Haynes had everything she'd ever wanted. With every word he spoke, with every action, he and his sons invited her into their lives. Staying disconnected –
not
getting involved – was going to be harder than she'd thought.
Chapter 6
C
raig shut Danny's door. C.J.'s light was already out. That left only Ben. He hesitated outside his oldest's room. Ben had been unusually quiet during dinner. Not belligerent, just thoughtful. Was he thinking about how unhappy he was? Was he wishing his father hadn't let him down?
Craig remembered all the times
his
father had let him down. In the end, he'd hated his old man. Would Ben grow up to feel the same way? Craig didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to know that he'd failed his son so badly. He wanted to believe it wasn't too late, but he didn't know what to do to bridge the chasm already between them.
He crossed the hallway and tapped on Ben's door. At the muffled "Come in," he entered.