Omnibus - Deadlier than the Male by Sharon Sala

Author:Sharon Sala [Sala, Sharon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781426875045
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2010-10-19T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 2

W ith the knock at the door, the fuzzy gray-and-white kitten somersaulted off the sofa with a squeak of surprise. Laughing at his theatrics, Mara coughed into her tissue—a noisy remnant of the upper respiratory infection that had kept her home for the past two days.

She was tempted to play dead, but another knock convinced her she’d been heard, or else the Beethoven playing on her iPod speakers had given her away. Reluctantly, she put down the papers she’d been grading and peered through her front door’s peephole.

Adam Jakes stood on the other side, looking so perfect in his crisp, rolled-sleeve shirt and khakis that embarrassment ignited her face. She couldn’t believe he’d stopped by without warning, especially on a day when her nose was red, her hair a disaster and she was wearing the same ratty pink bathrobe she’d had on all day, though it was past six on a Friday afternoon.

Well, she reminded herself, she’d been telling herself for three months that she should discourage his attentions. If this didn’t frighten him off, she wasn’t sure what would.

Opening the door, she smiled to see Rebecca standing beneath the level of the peephole with her skinny arm extended, offering a hand-painted get-well card.

“I made this for you.” The child’s thin voice trembled. “To help you get better so you can come and teach me.”

“Why, thank you, Rebecca. What a nice surprise.” Mara felt a flush of warmth unrelated to her cold. For Rebecca to dare to come here, to initiate a conversation, was an incredible achievement.

Adam stood a few steps behind her, carrying a paper grocery sack.

Pleasure lit his dark eyes, along with unmistakable male interest. An interest Pippa had warned Mara she would do well to ignore, considering the community’s double standards regarding the behavior of its teachers.

Good advice, thought Mara, especially in light of the static she’d been getting from the principal. Avoiding Adam’s stare, she looked at the card she’d just accepted. “This is beautiful.”

Using the technique Mara had taught her in one of their private, after-school art sessions, Rebecca had created a watercolor sunset imbued with sparkling glitter. She’d written the words get well soon above a jagged black ridge meant to represent the silhouetted local rocks.

Mara recognized the outline of a bluff Rebecca drew into every picture. A bluff that Adam had confirmed resembled the two-hundred-foot drop-off where the girl’s mother had died.

Mara shivered at the thought of Rebecca’s recent drawings, which had included a tiny figure tumbling off the edge. More disturbing still, Mara had watched the girl at work, her pale eyes growing glassy and unfocused as she worked. If asked about her art, she would turn tearful, ripping up the picture and crying “You hate it!”

Adam gently told his daughter, “We need to leave the card and let her rest now.”

“Thank you, both of you,” said Mara. “I’m feeling much better already. I’m over the contagious part and expect to be back at school on Monday morning.”

“We really shouldn’t have

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