“I was in one of her first classes. She was my all-time, favorite teacher.”
“Clay’s already very fond of her. I think she won him over when he saw the Star Wars poster on her wall the first day of school.”
“Clay likes Star Wars?”
“He’s obsessed. Watches the videos over and over. Plays with all the action toys. He’s dressing as Darth Vader for Halloween—again.”
“Goldfish and aliens.” Emily smiled. “You’ve got a cute kid, Chief.”
“I know. Thanks. Would you like something else to drink?”
Emily glanced at the still-blaring television, and then at Billy Ray, who’d stopped sweeping to lean against his broom and stare slack jawed at the violent movie. “No, I think I’ve had enough, thank you.”
Following the direction of her glance, Wade grinned. “Wouldn’t want to overstrain poor Billy Ray, would we?”
“No. He looks exhausted, poor thing,” Emily murmured, fighting a smile.
Wade pushed his chair back. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
“Are you off work now, or do you have to go back to the station?” Emily asked as they stepped outside.
“I have a few more things I need to do tonight. The good thing about working in a small town is that there’s less crime to deal with. The bad thing is that there are fewer of us available to take care of what we’ve got—like those break-ins that happened during the festival Saturday. I took a couple of hours off earlier to spend some time with Clay, then headed back to work after the housekeeper put him to bed at eight.”
“Oh, you have a housekeeper?”
Wade nodded. “Cecilia Sanchez. She’s our live-in housekeeper, nanny, cook and friend.”
Emily paused beside her car, turning to look at Wade. “She came with you from Atlanta?”
“Yeah. She’s been with us almost five years. Since Clay’s mother died,” he added.
He noted the look of distress that flashed across Emily’s face. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’d been told that you were widowed, but I didn’t realize that Clay was so very young when he lost his mother.”
He nodded, uncomfortable with her expression of sympathy. “I talked to Mary Kay again about your place yesterday,” he said, abruptly changing the subject. “Has she called you yet to set up an appointment?”
“I haven’t been home. She probably left a message on my answering machine, so I’ll call her to arrange something.”
“You—uh—still haven’t made any plans for after you sell your house? Once everything else is settled and you’re free to leave, that is?”
“No. I’m just ready to try something new. I know it’s an old cliché, but I guess I’m ready to go ‘find myself.’” She smiled wryly.
Wade didn’t wince, but he had to make an effort not to. He’d heard words to that effect before...from his wife. With disastrous results all around.
Hearing the same thing from Emily made him realize that asking her out—as he had fully intended to do before this evening ended—was probably not such a good idea. He no longer wanted to pursue relationships that would lead nowhere. Emily would obviously have no interest in a man whose only desire now was to settle into a comfortable home with his son in sleepy little Honoria.
“It isn’t always necessary to go someplace new to find yourself,” he couldn’t resist pointing out. “Happiness isn’t a place, you know. It’s a state of mind.”
“Yes, I know,” she said, but with a breeziness that left Wade wondering if she really believed him. “But I’m still looking forward to seeing places I’ve only read about until now.”
“I hope you’ll find what you’re looking for,” he said, and he meant that sincerely. He genuinely liked Emily McBride. He wanted her to be happy—even though he wasn’t sure that she would be in the footloose life she’d fantasized.
“Thank you,” she said, and smiled.
That smile made him reconsider his decision not to ask her out Okay, so maybe she was only going to be around for a couple more months. There was no reason they couldn’t spend a few pleasant evenings together, was there? He didn’t have to do anything stupid like fall in love with her, did he?
A beat-up old car sped past with a squeal of tires. Wade looked after it with a frown, making note of the license tag. “That O’Brien boy is speeding again. I can see I’m going to have to step up traffic patrol,” he murmured. “The teenagers around here like to drive just a little too fast—especially that one.”