Melting Into You (Due South Book 2) (16 page)

What could he say to that? In his world, adults died—not kids—because until a few months ago, kids hadn’t made much of a blip on his radar.

But then Zoe had arrived on the island with her infectious personality. He’d forget she was a survivor—a feisty little fighter—until a casual comment would remind him. Like the time Shaye stopped in at his place with Zoe in tow, and he’d mumbled a compliment about the girl’s pretty necklace. Zoe had smiled, told him they were her “Beads of courage,” each colorful plastic or glass bead representing a medical procedure she’d gone through in her leukemia battle.

He’d nothing but admiration for Kezia after that. Life dealt her a crap hand—dead husband, sick kid—but nothing s
eemed to make her spine buckle.

“Do they really kill the old dogs, Dad?”

“Only as a last resort.”

“Then I don’t want a puppy. I want...” She walked down the row and indicated a small black and tan dog huddled in a cage corner. “This one. She’s the saddest.”

The dog certainly had the look of a death-row prisoner, shivering under her shaggy coat as if the enclosure was icy cold and tyrants had deprived her of a last meal.

He read the card attached to the door. “Two-year-old female spaniel/Chihuahua cross.”

“Here girl, here girl.”

Jade snapped her fingers and Zoe made kissy noises.

Kezia said quietly, “Spaniel and Chihuahua. Not an impossible combination such as a Great Dane and a Chihuahua.”

“Depends how determined the dogs were to fool around,” he replied in the same soft tone.

The girls paid no attention, focused on the dog that had uncurled from the corner and licked their fingers through the wire.

“Some things aren’t meant to be.” Kezia stepped away from the door, shifting her handbag across her body. “I’ll get the assistant and tell him you’ve made a decision.”

She walked back along the corridor, her pert ass twitching under her slim-fitting black pants. He’d made a decision, all right, and his decision was Kezia. No other woman raised even a glimmer of interest in him since she’d come to the island. The solution was obvious. He needed to have her. Get her out of his system, once and for all.

Jade tugged on his shirt. “Aw, she likes me!”

The furball’s shaggy tail swept from side to side on the concrete floor.

“I’m calling her Sparky, ‘cause look at the spark in her eyes.”

The mutt did indeed have a spark of light in her eyes—she knew parole was imminent and a wallet-load of cash about to be spent on her.

“Cute. You’re still on pee duty, kid.”

Jade laughed. “I know, I know. But you won’t pee in the house, will you, girl?”

Sparky’s tongue lolled sideways out of her mouth, and she cocked her head.

Laughing at them.

Forty minutes later, they left, three hundred dollars lighter and sixty pounds heavier with bags of dog food, dog paraphernalia and the dog itself, who sat in Jade’s arms like royalty.

The return trip to Stewart Island was uneventful, with no canine overboard. Ben re-evaluated his initial suspicion of the animal’s deviousness, since Kezia reported Sparky appeared happy for Jade and Zoe to cuddle her while they sat on the galley floor surrounded by squeaky toys and chew bones.

Docking in Oban, he unloaded everyone onto the wharf, then headed out into the shelter of the harbor to moor his boat. By the time he rowed the dinghy ashore, they waited for him in the small children’s playground opposite Due South.

Kezia stood by the playground’s border, where grass dropped down a shallow bank to the beach sand. Her hair blew wildly around the collar of her wool jacket, and she had to keep picking strands of it out of her mouth. It made him smile. The furball—Sparky, he reminded himself; Jade had already scolded him for calling her new pet “furball”—sat at Kezia’s heels, tongue lolling, looking as smart as a stunned snapper.

“Where’s all the mutt’s gear?” He finished dragging the dinghy into place out of reach of the incoming tide. “You didn’t lug those bags of dog food up the hill, did you?”

She shook her head. “Ford saw us at the wharf and offered to drop Sparky’s supplies at your place.”

“Laughed his ass off too, I imagine.” He shoved the oars beneath the dinghy and climbed up the bank.

Kezia twisted the leash in her hands, offering a brief but sharp grin. “He was very refrained in front of the girls. Told Jade she’d picked a good one.”

“I bet he did. And I bet he thought I’ll look like an asshole walking a Chihuahua when the novelty wears off for Jade.”

“Chihuahua
spaniel
. She won’t need much exercise. Plus, you could always carry her—she’s almost small enough to fit in a handbag.” Her dark eyes sparkled.

Ben adopted one of Piper’s favorite expressions. “Bite me, sweetheart.” He loaded the words with ever
ything he’d fantasied about in the last few weeks.

The pretty sparkle transformed into pure, pissed-off school teacher. Make that pissed off with a side of heat, as a tide of pink spread over her cheekbones.

Yeah, she wanted to sink her teeth into him—pretty damn sure of that.

“Dad, Dad!” Jade jumped off the monkey bars and raced across to them.

Ignoring the little dog sniffing at his boots, Ben grinned. He should’ve offered to bite Kezia. He could think of a dozen different spots on that curvy body he’d like to nibble.

Kezia handed Sparky’s leash to Jade, and with a wary glance, strode over to Zoe, who sat poised at the top of the slide.

“Can we go home now?” Jade said. “I’m going ask Piper and Gran if they want to meet Sparky!”

Ben refocused on Jade. “Sure. Maybe
West’ll bring Donny, and the two canines can make friends.”

Or would West’s ugly,
Staffy/boxer cross eat Sparky for dinner? Not a completely unpalatable idea.

Sparky stared up at him in full puppy-eyed reproach, as if the dumb mutt had an inkling Ben considered ser
ving her up to Donny as a hors d'oeuvre—and then peed on his boot.

He jerked backward with a growl of disgust. “Oh, well played,
furball.”

Jade giggled like a loon, clutching her belly.

Even in the fading afternoon light, with the sun spearing golden shafts over Oban’s hills, Ben caught the gleam in Kezia’s eyes and the smirk ghosting her mouth.

***

Kezia smoothed her skirt and checked her watch for the hundredth time since the afternoon final bell rang. Ben would be here any minute.

Straightening a stack of students’ exercise books on her desk, she sucked in deep breaths and tried to slow the
hippity-hop of her pulse rate. How would Ben react to this impromptu discussion about her concerns for Jade? Reasonable and full of congratulatory smiles on a job well done? She rolled her eyes—just a little bit. Hah. Defensiveness and stubborn denial were her top picks.

A rap sounded on her classroom door. Ben’s grim face appeared in the small glass window and she jerked to her feet like a marionette.

“Come in.”

Right, she ordered her knee joints—which turned liquid and uncooperative at the sight of him—
engage professional teacher poise.

Ben entered, tension rippling off him, as if he’d stepped onto an alien landscape. One with hostile n
atives hiding out of sight.

“Thanks for coming on such short notice.”

Ben’s eyebrows rose. A
why are you talking like we don’t know each other
rise.

Distance, that’s why. Distance and professionalism were key. Her territory, her comfort zone—her rules.

Frown lines appeared on his forehead. “No trouble. Jade’s happy hanging out with Holly while she cuts hair.” He rolled up his shirt sleeve, exposing a tanned forearm taut with sinewy muscle.

His gaze skipped from her to the art displayed on the wall. Tackling the other shirt sleeve, he walked closer to peer at the name written on one. “Jade did this?”

“Yes.”

In the second week of term, her class studied native birds. On Tuesday, she and her fifteen students went on a field trip to
Ulva Island’s bird sanctuary, where they roamed the many bush tracks, identifying birds and their distinctive calls. The next day, Bree, a talented artist in her own right, came into the classroom to work with the students on creating an artwork of their favorite bird.

Ben stepped back, cocking his head. The Red-crowned Parakeet, rendered in bright oil pastels, popped off the white paper.

Jade’s unmistakable talent. Something to soften this afternoon’s discussion.

“Your daughter’s gifted in art.”

“Didn’t get it from me.” He turned.

The combination of killer smile and a collared shirt—and good grief, his damp hair still had comb tracks—caused her stomach to leap in fluttery piro
uettes. She inhaled slowly, sucking down a lungful of cedar-scented cologne and male pheromones. Ah—when had she moved five paces closer to him?

Distance. Distance was the key.

She scurried behind her desk. “Grab a seat.”

That sounded casual and friendly, and not at all
you’re so hot I could slurp you up like Minestrone
.

He dragged a child-scaled chair out from under a desk and perched on it, shooting a worried glance at the metal legs. “If this drops me on my ass, I’ll sue the school.”

“It’ll hold.”

She laced her fingers on top of the blotter. Poise and professionalism personified. Lucky the man couldn’t see the nervous
tap of her foot under the desk.

“I wanted to talk to you about some observations I’ve made since Jade arrived in my classroom. The first week, I put Jade’s behavior and difficulties down to a
djusting to a new school, new classmates, and a new teacher.”

He extended his legs, crossing them at the ankles. Pale blue cotton stretched tight across the bulge of his biceps when he folded his arms. “What kind of beha
vior?”

“Daydreaming, poor time management, occasionally disruptive—especially during group reading.”

Ben’s eyes narrowed, tight lines bracketed his mouth. “Wouldn’t that describe many kids under the same circumstances?”

“Yes. But I’ve spent a lot of time with Jade these last two weeks, both in the classroom and as the mother of her friend. She excels in some areas—artistically, she’s outstanding. Delivering oral reports or speaking in class, she’s entertaining and confident. Takes after Gle
nna, hmm?”

His eyebrows rose in surprise and she smiled. He didn’t return it.

Kezia snatched up her water bottle and took a sip, wetting her dry lips. “Basic arithmetic and science, she’s also well within normal range. But her spelling, written communication, reading, and reading comprehension are way below average. After observing and listening to her in private, I have to ask…” She leaned forward, a cold weight pressing down on the back of her neck at Ben’s rigid jawline. “Has Jade mentioned being tested for dyslexia?”

“No. She hasn’t.” His clenched teeth strangled th
e words into clipped syllables.

“Oh. Well, is anyone in your family dyslexic? It can be hereditary.”

“My daughter is not dyslexic.” Ben stood, the small chair skidding backward.

“One in ten New Zealanders are.”

“Dammit, she’s not dumb.”

Whoa, big guy
. Kezia stepped out from behind the desk, holding up a palm. “No one’s calling Jade dumb, least of all me. I’m insulted you’d think I’d even imply it.”

Red heat crept up above his shirt collar. “She’s smart.”

“Yes, she is. Being dyslexic has nothing to do with intelligence.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He unbuttoned the shirt’s top button, wrestling the fabric away from his neck. “Because Ei
nstein and Edison were both dyslexics, I read that too.”

“Did you?” More data added to her growing susp
icions. Ben didn’t strike her as a man to collect odd snippets of trivia.

He shrugged, staring at a spot beyond her shoulder.

“There are no books in your house,” she said.

“Dive and bike magazines are more my thing. Som
etimes a
Cosmo
to find out what women think about sex toys or fifty ways to please their man in bed.”

His grin alone would’ve pleased any woman in bed. At least, his real grin. The one on his sexy face was
armor, deflecting issues he didn’t want to talk about.

But getting to the root of Jade’s difficulties was more important than Ben’s ego.

She flicked open the top exercise book in the stack and held it out. “Can you read Jade’s story to me, please?”

He didn’t move, just glanced at the lined pages. “What? Are you testing
me
now?”

She stared him down. Shook the book so it rustled. With a grunt, he accepted the book, his shoulders sa
gging. God knew the sight of that sliced open a hidden corner of her heart. He read Jade’s three paragraph story about her visit to Ulva Island in a monotone. Each time his tongue stumbled over a word or his forehead creased in concentration, the tiny cuts inside her grew bloodier.