When Mom Meets Dad Read online

  This time when the wheel turned, they ended up at the top. Then, without warning, the ride lurched hard and stopped, their seat swinging hard.

  Alex instinctively curved his arm around Amanda's shoulders. "Are you all right?"

  Her hands gripped the bar. "I think so."

  Alex tried to see what was happening on the ground. The man at the control was bent over the gears, examining them. "I don't want to alarm you, Amanda, but we could be stuck up here for a while."

  "You are kidding." Her face went pale.

  "I wish I were. But from the crowd gathering down there–"

  "The girls. They're going to worry if they think we're in danger."

  Even at a moment like this, she was thinking of their kids. "They'll be able to see us. We'll wave. They'll be okay. Trust me."

  The look in Amanda's eyes was a combination of defiance and sadness, giving Alex the impression she might never trust a man again. Had her ex-husband done that to her?

  His arm felt right around her and he gave her a gentle squeeze as he had the irrational desire to convince her to trust him. "It will be all right. Talk to me. Tell me about this project you want me to handle."

  She tried to look down but when she did, their car tilted and she went very still. "You said it would take up too much of your time."

  "I'm reconsidering."

  That got her attention. At least for the time being. She looked up at him. "Why?"

  "Because I thought about what you said. And I do want to be involved in broadening Kristy's view of the world. So tell me what I'd have to do."

  Amanda tried to peer over the side of the seat again, but the swing of their car made her sit still and straight. Composing herself, she gave him a weak smile. "I never thought I'd be pitching you the idea in mid-air."

  "Hey. You've got a captive audience. What more could you want?"

  "To be safely on the ground?" she asked rhetorically.

  "Pitch, Amanda Carson, and distract us both, or I might come up with something that will do the job in a different way." Kissing her might make them both forget they were hanging thirty feet off the ground.

  Her mouth rounded slightly, making kissing her even more tempting. He leaned a little closer.

  Amanda sat back against the seat, cleared her throat and quickly launched into a plan of action for Career Day, including the e-mails and phone calls that would be necessary, emphasizing the expediency of starting the planning now to get everything accomplished on time.

  She was explaining the necessity of meetings to keep everyone on the committee up to date when a siren blared and a rescue van drove into the parking lot.

  "Oh, that makes me feel a lot better," Amanda muttered under her breath.

  With his arm still around her, filled with a protectiveness he'd never experienced for anyone other than Kristy, he gently rubbed her arm. "We'll be all right."

  "Are you trying to convince me or yourself?" she returned, her blue eyes worried.

  "Both of us."

  The world seemed to stop. The moment stretched beyond real time. This was closer than he'd been to a woman in years, and the heating of his blood had nothing to do with the danger of being stranded on an amusement ride and everything to do with the woman encircled by his arm. When her lips parted, he wanted to taste them.

  But someone shouted up from below and all at once, they were involved in a rescue operation instead of simply being stranded. Within the next half hour, firefighters, ladders, and the fire truck with a mechanical arm and bucket seemed to be everywhere at once.

  "They're not going to fix it," Amanda murmured, watching everybody do their job.

  "No. They're going to get us off any way they can."

  "My gosh, Alex. How are we going to climb out of here with the seat swinging?"

  Her trembling became a noticeable sign of her fear as she gazed down at the rescue equipment.

  "Amanda, look at me," he ordered.

  The firm tone of his voice brought her gaze to his.

  "They know what they're doing. Don't get ahead of yourself. They'll tell us exactly what to do."

  His words seemed to register. Finally, she took a deep breath and said, "Calm. We're going to stay calm."

  "Yes, we are. Just focus on the fact that you'll be home in your bed sleeping in a few hours."

  She closed her eyes and he knew she was imagining exactly that. And he was imagining...

  Hot thoughts do not help in a crisis, he told himself. But his baser half responded, No, but they're a great distraction.

  Dusk fell and the parking lot became lit with brightly colored lights from the concession stands as well as emergency beams set up on the ground. Rescue workers tied ropes to Amanda and Alex's seat to hold it steady. The firefighter in the bucket of the mechanical arm held two harnesses in his hands as the device stopped directly in front of their seat.

  He was a young man in his mid-twenties with a soothing voice. Handing a harness to Amanda, he said, "First slip that on. Then we'll go from there."

  Alex aided Amanda with the nylon harness with its many straps as she slipped it on like a jacket. Her fingers fumbled with the buckles, and he latched them himself, trying to ignore the soft roundness of her breasts, the perfume she wore that was sweetly tempting. It was a bit more awkward and difficult for him to help her with the straps that started at her back waist and had to come through her legs to the front. Her cheeks became rosy as he caught one of the straps for her.

  She mumbled, "I can get it," and avoided his gaze.

  As he worked with the second harness, she moved over slightly to give him more room. When he thought of her hands as close to his body as his hands had been to hers, he made sure he didn't need her help.

  After they were both secure, with safety lines attached, the firefighter unlatched the safety bar and beckoned to Amanda first. He directed, "Stand up slowly. Then just step over here. They're holding the seat steady from the ground."

  She seemed frozen where she was.

  Alex took her hand and held it. It was as cold as ice. "Amanda, all you have to do is stand up and take a step. Then you'll be safe. C'mon. Heather and Kristy are waiting for us on the ground. They're watching us right over there."

  He pointed and Amanda searched for the girls. She found them. Slowly, she stood. A moment later, she was standing next to the firefighter safely in the metal bucket.

  Alex followed her. It was a tight squeeze for the three of them. The only place for his arm was around her waist, his body lodged tight against hers as the bucket lowered. Another firefighter stood on the bed of the truck, ready to help Amanda down the ladder.

  Only a few minutes later, they stood on solid ground with their daughters giving them each a huge hug.

  "Mom, are you okay?" Heather asked. "You're awful white."

  "Hey, Dad. Was it way cool up there?" Kristy asked.

  "Honey, it was way high up there," he answered, then took Amanda's arm and led her to a bench sitting alongside a hot dog stand. Flipping a few bills out of his pocket, he asked Heather, "Would you get your mom a soda?"

  Amanda protested. "I'm fine. I just feel a little shaky."

  Heather took a good look at her mom, then Alex, and said, "I'll get lemonade." Then she scampered off with Kristy at her side, the two of them whispering back and forth.

  "I'm fine," Amanda repeated and stood to prove it. Meeting Alex's eyes, she said, "I'm sorry I froze. I'm not usually such a pansy."

  He shook his head. "Amanda Carson, you are anything but a pansy."

  As she gazed at him, impulse and what they'd just experienced together nudged him to curve his arm around her, bend his head, and let his lips graze hers. He was about to do a lot more when Amanda suddenly pushed away.

  The expression on her face told him he'd made a monumental mistake.

  Chapter Two

  When Alex's secretary buzzed him, he jabbed the button on the console. "Yes, Georgia."

  "A Mrs. Carson on line two. Abo
ut Career Day."

  Instantly, he pictured Amanda's face after he'd kissed her and felt again the awkwardness of her pushing away. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how he wanted to look at it, Kristy and Heather had come running back with Amanda's lemonade along with Susan Groft and her mother. Making conversation about the experience had helped for a few minutes.

  Then...after an it-was-nice-to-see-you-again good-bye, Amanda had quickly shepherded Heather toward their car. Despite attempts to concentrate on everything but her, he couldn't get the picture of Amanda on the Ferris wheel with her wide blue eyes, blond hair and beautifully curved lips out of his head.

  Because of what had happened, he didn't know if she still wanted his help with Career Day. But apparently the lady didn't get sidetracked from her goal.

  He pressed the button for line two and picked up the receiver. "Hello, Amanda."

  "Good morning, Mr. Woodsides. I..."

  "After Saturday night, don't you think we can use first names?" Formality and his reaction to Amanda didn't seem to go together.

  The few moments of silence on her end told him he'd surprised her. Finally, she said, "I suppose it's not every day I let a man latch me into a rescue harness."

  Alex laughed. "Facing a life and death experience changes the rules."

  "Even though I acted like it, I don't think the situation was quite that serious. And I do remember you saying you'll consider heading up Career Day."

  She obviously didn't want to talk about Saturday night...or the kiss. "I did say that," he agreed, wanting to keep a connection to her, realizing he'd decided to work on the program for more reasons than educating his daughter. "Could the committee meet at my house one evening this week? We could get started."

  "You've thought about this."

  "Some. I'll have my secretary type up an agenda so we'll know exactly where we're going and e-mail it to you. Would Wednesday night suit you? Seven thirty?"

  "That's fine," she said, sounding pleased...or maybe just relieved. "I'll call Mrs. Webb and Mr. Davidson," she added. "Thank you for volunteering, Alex. I'll see you Wednesday."

  "Wednesday, it is. Good-bye, Amanda."

  Alex replaced the receiver, wondering if when he saw her, she'd still pretend his kiss never happened. Even if she pretended, should he?

  ***

  An interior designer had decorated Alex's house, Amanda thought, as she noted the perfect placement of the landscape paintings--probably originals--the exact precision of the stenciled border with its wine and green geometric design, and the coordinated loveseat, sofa and chair that were too fine to come from a discount showroom. Everything about Alex Woodsides was Class A quality, and he scared her to death. Or rather the way she felt when she was around him did. That kiss...

  That kiss belonged in the pigeon hole where she'd stuffed it. It had been simply a brushing of lips. It had been an overreaction to the situation. Apparently in a crisis, she froze. Alex kissed. It made perfect sense. That's why she hadn't mentioned it and neither had he.

  So why was it that as he handed each one of the committee an outline of his ideas, her gaze fell to his lips? And as Mrs. Webb argued with him about how to organize the day, Amanda could only think about how his arm had felt around her, the male scent of him, the heat his hard body generated.

  "Don't you think so, Amanda?" Mrs. Webb asked.

  The older teacher had caught her not paying attention. Not only did Mrs. Webb not appreciate Amanda's interactive teaching strategies, she was constantly critical and condescending.

  Trying to remember the last thing she'd heard, Amanda bluffed, "I think Alex's ideas are right on the mark."

  "Yes, of course they are, dear. But we're discussing how many role models for the children we should bring in," the older woman reminded her.

  "I suggested thirty." Alex's green eyes twinkled and Amanda had the strange sensation he'd known exactly what she'd been thinking about.

  "That would be great if you can get thirty," Amanda agreed quickly.

  "You young people think it's easy to keep students attention. These speakers will need to do more than talk to them."

  "We'll have equipment available to them for presentations. The smart boards in the classrooms will be an advantage, too, if they want to use them," Matt Davidson, the principal of Cedar Grove Elementary offered diplomatically.

  Amanda knew Mrs. Webb used her "smart" board as little as possible.

  The telephone rang on the other side of the room. When it didn't ring again, Amanda guessed Kristy must have answered it upstairs or else his answering service had taken the call.

  "Dad, it's for you. It's Grandma," Kristy called from the winding wooden staircase near the foyer.

  "Got it," he called back and, after excusing himself, strode to the library table beside the double window.

  Though she tried to keep her mind on the interchange between Mrs. Webb and Matt, her gaze followed Alex. His conversation lasted a few minutes and he looked disconcerted as he hung up.

  When he returned to the group, he said, "I think that's all we can cover tonight. Think about the suggestions I made, and we'll get together again in a few weeks. How about Sunday, July second at one?"

  Amanda was beginning to realize Alex was a take-charge kind of man...like her ex-husband who set up the game and expected everyone to play by his rules. Well, she couldn't buck a volunteer with good ideas, but she could make sure he understood this was a committee, not a dictatorship.

  "July second might not be good for everyone," she offered. "You know, with the holiday and all."

  Alex looked nonplussed. "Mrs. Webb? Matt? Is there a problem?"

  Both of them shook their heads.

  With a probing stare, Alex turned his attention to her, and she almost forgot she had a point to make. But then she remembered. "I...uh...two would be better for me," she managed, her gaze again finding his lips as if inexorably drawn to them.

  "Two it is," Alex agreed. He gestured to the dining room. "I set up coffee and cookies if you're interested."

  "Bake them yourself, Mr. Woodsides?" Mrs. Webb wanted to know.

  "Since we'll be working together, please call me Alex," he said to the older teacher with a disarming smile. "My secretary picked up the cookies at the bakery for me. But I did brew the coffee. Help yourselves."

  Clara Webb and Matt headed for the dining room. But before Amanda could pass Alex, he caught her arm. "You seem preoccupied tonight."

  She'd learned over the past few years it was better to take the offensive rather than be on the defensive. "No more than you after your call. It was Kristy's grandmother?" The nine-year-old often talked about the good times she had with her grandparents.

  Dropping his hand from her arm and rubbing the back of his neck, Alex said, "Dad and Mom received an invitation from friends in Florida. They're leaving at the end of the week. For three weeks."

  Immediately Amanda understood. "So you have no one to keep Kristy."

  "I'm going to have to call a professional agency, I guess, in Camp Hill. I'll have to interview women tomorrow."

  Camp Hill, much larger than Cedar Grove, had everything from shopping malls to professional agencies not found in their small town. "Don't be ridiculous," Amanda found herself saying. "Kristy's welcome to spend her days with Heather. You don't want her staying with a stranger, do you?"

  "Of course, I don't. But I can't ask you to care for my daughter."

  "You're not asking. I'm offering. Maybe I just feel guilty because Heather always wanted a sister and she's found that kind of relationship with Kristy. She's really no bother, Alex. And I can begin tutoring sessions."

  "I'll pay you," he decided after thinking about it for a few moments.

  "You will not!"

  He scowled and studied her. When she didn't back down, the scowl disappeared, though his expression was still serious. "If you won't accept payment, you have to promise me something."

  Her heart beat fast and she wondered how mu
ch promises meant to Alex because they meant a whole lot to her. "What?"

  "If you ever need legal counsel, you'll come to me. No charge."

  That was an easy promise to keep. She extended her hand. "It's a deal."

  When Alex clasped her fingers, tingles danced up her arm. She felt calluses, signifying the fact he didn't spend all of his time behind a desk. Liking the feel of his skin against hers just a little too much, remembering his lips on hers, she pulled away.

  Footsteps on the staircase enabled her to turn her attention away from Alex.

  "Meeting over?" Heather asked as she came up beside her mother.

  "What did Grandma want?" Kristy asked, before Amanda could answer.

  Alex smiled at both girls. "The meeting is over, and Grandma and Grandad are going to Florida. But Mrs. Carson said you can stay with Heather during the day if you'd like until they get back."

  "Cool! When are they leaving?" Kristy asked with a grin that stretched from one side of her face to the other.

  "Friday morning. Is that all right, Amanda? About eight thirty?"

  "Eight thirty is fine. And Kristy, bring your bathing suit. We'll go swimming in the afternoon."

  Kristy looked up at Alex. "I'm gonna like this, Dad."

  As Alex's gaze settled back on Amanda, thanking her, unsettling her, she decided she'd take Kristy under her wing, but her father was an entirely different matter. She'd keep her distance no matter how close their daughters became.

  ***

  Suppertime came and went on Friday with Amanda checking the clock every fifteen minutes. Alex still hadn't arrived to pick up Kristy and it was after seven thirty! If she had his cell number, she would have called him. But she hadn't thought to ask. Never expected him to be this late.

  Because Alex's presence put her in a tailspin, no matter how much she'd like to deny it, she'd forgotten to ask him what time he usually finished his work day. As the time had slipped by and Alex hadn't arrived, she'd made hamburgers on the grill. Thoughtlessness had been one of her ex-husband's major flaws along with his need to control. With a cell phone at hand and convenient and Alex not bothering to call, it looked as if he belonged in the same category.