Dare to Love Again (The Heart of San Francisco Book #2): A Novel by Julie Lessman

Author:Julie Lessman
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: FIC042030, Christian, FIC027050, General, Romance, Single women—California—San Francisco—Fiction, FIC042040, Historical, San Francisco (Calif.)—History—20th century—Fiction, Fiction
ISBN: 9781441236746
Publisher: Revell
Published: 2013-12-24T06:00:00+00:00

15

Red rover, red rover, send Miss Alli right over.”

Nick shot a glance over his shoulder as he straddled the ladder at the back of the Hand of Hope School, where the younger girls were playing red rover while the older girls chatted beneath a massive oak. Paintbrush in hand, he watched Allison rub her hands together with a dangerous gleam in her eye before she hiked her skirt to her ankles. With a deafening war cry that coaxed a smile to his lips, she charged the opposing team like a band of wild Indians, convincing him once and for all that under that beautiful exterior, a tomboy lurked in disguise. His lips quirked when she broke through the other team’s barrier, which, sadly enough, consisted only of Cassie and Lottie, whose groans were easily drowned out by the whoops and cheers from the other side.

Cheeks flushed, Alli promptly stole Lottie’s hand, taunting her cousin with a gloat. “Looks like I won and you lost, cousin dear, which means you’ll be providing candy for my girls and grading my papers for a solid week per the terms of our bet.”

“Uh, not necessarily,” Nick said, shocking both himself and the others when he laid the paintbrush aside and dismounted the ladder. Wiping his paint-stained hands on his old work trousers, he ambled over to where Cassie stood open-mouthed, a smile beginning to curve on her face. He gave her a wink. “What d’ya say we get your team back, Miss McClare, and teach the cocky drama teacher how to play the role of a humble teammate?”

“Hey, no fair,” Kara yelled with a cross of arms. “You can’t just join after we won.”

“Why not?” Cassie said with a bold thrust of her chin. “As I recall, Miss Alli joined your team halfway through recess, so if you got to add a team member, why shouldn’t I?”

“Sounds fair to me,” Nick said with a slack of his hip. He glanced at his pocket watch. “Only six minutes of recess left, ladies, so I suggest we get a move on.”

Alli stared, mouth ajar while the barest hint of a smile tugged at her lips. “This is nothing but a bald-faced conspiracy, you two!” Shooting a smirk over her shoulder, she sashayed back to her team, taking her place. “But we’ll prove who the real winners are, won’t we, girls?”

“Yeah, we’ll show ’em,” Denise said while the other girls cheered her on.

Alli rubbed her hands on her skirt and grabbed Lottie and Denise’s hands. “Tighten up, girls, and don’t let ’em through, okay? Red rover, red rover, send Miss Cassie right over.”

Groans rose as Cassie broke through the weakest spot, promptly towing Lottie back over.

“Good job,” Nick said, clasping Lottie on one side and Cassie on the other.

Cassie leaned close to his ear. “We’re calling the cocky one over, right?”

His gaze narrowed on Alli. “Miss Smarty-Pie? Oh, you bet.” He firmed his hold on both sides, taunting Alli with a cheeky grin. “Red rover, red rover, send Miss Smarty-Pie right over.

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