Stopping Traffic (A Back to School Romance) (Love at The Crossroads) (6 page)

“Tommy got hurt,” that statement came from a student in the back.

Candace took a deep breath. Although she didn’t want to take the blame, she didn’t want to put it on Tommy, either. “Thank God Tommy is okay. That’s why you never play in the streets or near them. Always wait for your crossing guard to give you the signal when it’s safe to cross.”

She did her best to give helpful hints, considering she didn’t prepare anything. Candace finished and more hands flew up.

“How do you get the sign to flash?” a boy in the front row asked seriously.

Another child followed up. “Can you dance?”

“Yes, but not in the streets.”
Dancing.
She hadn’t been dancing since she and Daniel celebrated confirmation of her pregnancy.

“Chris Tucker did in a movie…” The boy grinned, describing in detail the movie
Rush Hour II.
It was amazing how much their young minds absorbed the wrong things.

“But the drivers crashed their cars, right?”  She reiterated, “People can get hurt playing in the street. My job is to make sure you stay safe. You can help me if you follow the rules.” Candace momentarily felt like the teacher.

Mrs. Davis stepped in and rescued Candace. “Let’s thank our wonderful speaker.”

To her amazement, she received thunderous applause. Humbled, Candace turned to leave when Lindsay jumped up and rewarded her with a hug. When she squatted to receive it, she felt the run stretch down her leg.
Oh no. At least I’m done.

“Thank you, Mommy,” she whispered loudly.

Tapping the tip of her nose, Candace smiled. Her daughter’s happiness meant everything to her. Standing slowly, Candace inched her way to the door, stepping backwards. She experienced a chill again that she was being watched by someone other than the students.

Glancing at the remaining speakers, sure enough, it was the firefighter who Mrs. Davis motioned to next.

Ignoring the teacher, his attention left her face and traveled down to her legs. She inwardly groaned.
That’s it.
Feeling self-conscious, Candace whirled around and hurried out the classroom. Next stop—a beauty supply store to stock up on enough nylons for a month.

***

Miss Clark
. She looked just as beautiful as the day he held her in his arms. Worried about her fate, Royce had made intercessory prayers on her behalf. Thank God, she seemed fine and glowed when she smiled.

Her full lips got to him. Although he wanted to kiss them, Royce would have to settle for kissing Hershel—on the forehead or something—for orchestrating another chance meeting with the crossing guard. From the moment she walked in the classroom, Royce was captivated.

He performed another ring check as she identified herself as “Miss”. Whether she was divorced or never married, Royce would have to adjust his self-imposed restriction of no children in a relationship, because Lindsay was a cutie pie.

Still, he took the absence of a ring as a go ahead to ogle her. Even in that over-sized red vest, there was no question of her figure. Her brown hair brushed her shoulders.

The greenish-blue dress complemented her caramel skin tone. Suddenly, it became his favorite color. And the hem teased her knees, allowing him to appreciate how God had formed each limb of her body. He smirked at that run in her stockings. It did nothing to distract from the allure of her legs and how fast she used them to escape his scrutiny.

“He’s my uncle and the best firefighter besides my dad, who you have to call captain.” Brandon added that tidbit as he proudly introduced him, causing Royce to rein in his thoughts.

Although Royce winked at his nephew, his mind reverted back to Miss Clark on its own accord. He tapped into his autopilot mode and recited info he could mumble in his sleep. “Firefighters are your friends, but a fire is not. Don’t be afraid and hide when you see us in our mask. We are there to rescue you. Never try to put a fire out. Yell to warn others to get out. If you see smoke, call 9-1-1. Don’t try to take things with you like your favorite toy. Get out quickly. Your house could be burning before you can count to one hundred…”

He wrapped up his spiel minutes later and passed out packets that included decals for each child’s bedroom window. “Remember, when the smoke goes up…” he cupped his ear.

“We drop down so we can breathe,” the class shouted back at him.

Satisfied, Royce nodded. As the students clapped, he waved and strolled out of the classroom. Immediately, his mind returned to the crossing guard. It took pure restraint for Royce not to follow her out the class and engage her in a private conversation. But it was all good; Royce had a name, a face, a ringless finger and a great pair of legs to occupy his thoughts.

CHAPTER NINE

Thirty minutes later, Candace was dumping the contents of her plastic shopping bag on her desk when Solae strolled into her cubicle.

“So what did you talk about? How to strut across the street in stilettoes…” Solae joked, then frowned. “Ah, what’s with the stockpile of pantyhose?”

“I had a run.” Candace didn’t offer details as she removed her lightweight jacket and twirled it onto the back of her chair. When she thought about the run, the firefighter’s face and the intense way he looked at her flashed before her eyes.

If he hadn’t been so handsome, the uneasiness he caused her would have been creepy. But it was as if he was spellbound. “I changed in the restroom before I came to my desk.” Candace answered the question before Solae could ask as she scrutinized Candace’s stockings.

“Okay…” Solae stole Candace’s seat and began counting the Ultra-sheen stocking packages that she purchased at a neighborhood Korean beauty supply store. “And you needed ten pair to replace one run? How big was it, the size of your whole leg?”

“I’ll never leave home without an extra pair in my purse again. Call it ammunition.” Sitting on the edge of her desk, Candace shook her head. “I have never felt so self-conscious before in my life. Well, except for the emergency room trip because I freaked out. All I could think about was Daniel.”

“Since you’re still struggling with that, let’s start back with our morning prayers. Get up fifteen minutes early. It is so past time to shut the devil down on this once and for all,” Solae scolded her, then folded her arms. “Now, changing the subject. You should be a pro as a crossing guard by now, so how could a bunch of kindergarteners intimidate you?”

“Girl, it wasn’t the children. They were so cute with their questions, and only one boy broke up the…you know what,” Candace snuck that in there before leaning forward and lowering her voice, “It was one of the parents. I felt he—”

“He?” Solae lifted her brows. “Hmm, tell me more.”

Solae’s hopeful expression amused her. Candace thought about letting her friend stew, then decided against teasing her. “It was something about his smothering eyes that made me feel like a little rag doll with my raggedy stockings.”

“Humph.” Solae
tsk
ed.  I guarantee you that man was admiring your legs, run and all, so how did he look?” Anchoring her elbow on Candace’s desk, Solae rested her chin in the cup of her hand, seemingly waiting for a long story.

“Very good-looking man.” Standing, Candace slid her purchases in her drawer, then moved her mouse so her computer screen would come to life, giving Candace the hint she had work to do and was already late getting to it. Plus, if she admitted that he sparked her attraction, Solae would probably faint. That would be a first since Daniel’s death.

“That’s it?” Her friend feigned insult.

“Yep, now I have clients to call. Do you mind?”

Squinting, Solae was slow to vacate her chair. When she did, Candace gave her a few more nuggets. “If I didn’t already have a hole in my nylons, then his smoldering eyes would have burned a hole in them like Superman.”

“Ooh.” Her friend’s eyes danced with excitement. “Remember Sunday’s sermon that all things work together for the good to those who love the Lord?”

“Yes, but I can’t see how Romans 8:28 applies to me and a hole. That sure wasn’t a good thing or of any spiritual significance,” Candace argued.

“Don’t be so sure. I believe God uses insignificant to get our attention. Maybe the run in your stockings caused Mr. Firefighter’s interest to pique.”

“Boy, you’re really trying to make that scripture work for you. Hang it up.” Candace shook her head as she typed in her username and password.

Indignant to the core, Solae planted a fist on her hip. “It’s not impossible. When men look at you, you have to think interest. I told you, you’re too young to hang up your dating hat. You’re pretty, in shape and have nice legs, judging from the whispers I’ve heard around here since the day you started coming to the office. I think if you strut in here with a pair of pants on, the men in the office would be in an uproar.”

Solae needed to look in the mirror. She always had been the prettier one between them. With exotic features that favored a well-known actress and former Junior Miss runner-up, her friend was the one who would and could catch a man’s eye. But keeping his heart was tricky once he learned that her baby factory equipment had been removed.

“Maybe he’s a single parent, too. You should find out—”

“I’ll date when Lindsay gets older. I’m still adjusting to our long hours of separation.”

“Cut the cord.” She made a snipping gesture with her fingers. “Make sure it’s not when my godchild is about to become a grandmother.” She turned around to head back to her cubicle and almost bumped into a coworker, sipping on a cup of coffee. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“No, it was me who wasn’t looking where I was going.” Her tall bald dark-skinned admirer’s husky voice practically cooed his apology. Judging by that expression, he would forgive her for anything.

What about not having children?
Candace wondered.  At least she had somebody—Lindsay. Maybe the real matchmaking should be finding a mate for Solae. With the attention off of her, Candace pulled up the accounts that she was scheduled to call.

Sometime later, a peppermint bounced off her shoulder. Knowing the culprit, Candace sighed as she twirled around. Angling her body, she eyed Solae. “Girl, you’ve been doing that since the day I came in the office. Are you trying to tell me I’ve got bad breath?”

“Nope, I’ve been thinking—”

“Always a cause for concern.” Candace grinned.

“Funny. It might be time for you to pucker up the next time you see that firefighter.”

“Really? Are you back on that again?” Candace picked up her phone to resume her client calls. She was not about to get drawn into another dating conversation with her friend that day. Solae seemed to have other plans, but the client picked the right time to answer her call.

“Jake Greenlee.”

The longtime customer of Kendall Printing seemed grateful for the follow up call, but wasn’t convinced that her branding proposal was worth the added expense.

Before ending the conversation, Candace finally persuaded Mr. Greenlee to meet with an account executive. She needed as many appointments as possible for her to shadow as part of the prerequisite to her training program. 

Soon it was time for Candace to leave for her crossing guard duty. “I’ll be back with Lindsay in a few hours. It’ll be like old times when I used to work at home and she was close by. She was quiet then. Now, she’s a little chatterbox…of course, you can always volunteer to take her home. Hint, hint.”

“Girl, please. I’ll take my god-baby, feed her and make sure she does her homework, so when you come and get Lindsay, she’ll be ready for her bath and bed.”

“Thank you.”

Back at her post while she waited on her first wave of students at the crosswalk, Candace dared to think about the firefighter. Whose father was he? Was he a single parent like her? Suddenly, Candace wrinkled her nose. If the jerk was married, his wife should smack him for ogling her.

CHAPTER TEN

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
For some unknown reason
,
Romans 8:28 stayed with Royce after he finished reading the chapter. Was God was going to reveal a nugget of wisdom? Nothing came.

Closing his Bible, he walked into the kitchen to warm up leftovers when a vision of the breathtaking Miss Clark beckoned to him. The woman had been in and out of his mind all day since leaving the classroom earlier.

Of course, Royce wasn’t complaining as he entertained the vision, which always brought him to the query as to why she was
Miss
Clark instead of
Mrs
. He could only think of two reasons: divorced or single with a child.

His phone rang as he popped his plate in the microwave. He programmed three minutes as noted Hershel’s name on the caller ID.