The Stand-in Groom by Lori Wilde & Pam Andrews Hanson

Author:Lori Wilde & Pam Andrews Hanson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: L&P

Stacy limped into the preschool Monday morning, her ankle still wrapped from a trip to the emergency room. The sprain wasn’t serious, but her reason for stumbling was. Jonathan had been teaching her to charge the net after her tennis lesson, but her mind hadn’t been on the game.

The fact that Jonathan had been so darn sweet the rest of the weekend, waiting on her and indulging her every whim, only made her feel more guilty. She couldn’t count the number of times she missed the ball, or hit it out of bounds, all because she couldn’t get Nick out of her mind.

“You should take the day off,” Tanya, her boss and good friend at the learning center, said. “I can call Granny Beth to substitute.”

“The kids run her ragged,” Stacy said.

“That’s true, but she’s good at reading to them.”

“Really, I’m fine. I want to be here.”

Before Tanya could insist, she spotted a child getting into mischief.

“Randy, the vacuum cleaner isn’t a toy. That’s why we keep it in the supply room. Why don’t you play with the fire engine?”

Tanya raced over to intercept the little boy who lived to take apart vacuums. The center’s director was dark-haired, slender, and sophisticated, but she had a gift with kids and taught Stacy something new every day.

Stacy loved being here, adored the kids, and counted herself extremely lucky to work for Tanya. Even though her boss was nearly fifteen years older with a husband and two girls in middle school, Stacy enjoyed her company immensely. She missed their weekend junkets to flea markets and country auctions now that tennis lessons occupied her Saturdays.

“You can stay in when the kids go out,” Tanya called over to her. “I need someone to count out Popsicle sticks and pom-poms for our afternoon project. Use the berry baskets in the bottom of the craft cupboard.”

A half hour later Stacy was doing shapes and colors when she was so startled she nearly fell off her little chair. She’d just gotten Kaitlin to identify a blue circle for the first time when she looked up at a pair of muscular thighs packed into faded jeans standing next to her.

“Nick!”

“Can I talk to you?”

“Not now. I’m doing shapes and colors.” She tried to go on with the activity, holding up a piece of colored cardboard. “Colin, can you tell me what shape and color this is?”

“I already told you it’s a blue circle,” Kaitlin said, her ponytail hobbling in annoyance.

“Of course, and you did a great job, Kaitlin. I meant to hold up this one, Colin.” She picked up a red triangle.

“It’s red.”

“What shape?”

“Kaitlin pushed me.”

“Kaitlin, do you need a time-out?” That question belonged in a book of dumb things teachers say. The precocious four-year-old would challenge a lion tamer.

“You can see I’m busy,” Stacy said beseechingly to Nick, exaggerating the behavioral crisis which, in fact, was business as usual.

“Are you going to kiss Miss Stacy?” Kaitlin asked, looking up wide-eyed at Nick.

“No, he is not!” Stacy hastily assured her.

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