Conflict of Interest (The McClouds of Mississippi 2)

She moved quickly to detain him before he could close the door between them. “How did it go? Did Isabelle seem okay about staying?”

Though he looked impatient, he paused long enough to answer. “She was fine. One of her friends came running up to welcome her back and that seemed to please her.”

He took another step toward his office, and she moved in front of him to ask one more question. “Did you speak to Miss Thelma about what happened?”

“Briefly.”

“How did that go?”

“She said she would keep an out eye for any kids who seem to be giving Isabelle a hard time. Miss Thelma said she had been concerned when Nathan first admitted Isabelle that there would be problems because of the old scandals, but she thought that had been resolved when my mother publicly acknowledged Isabelle. Thelma seems genuinely fond of Isabelle, and I think she’ll watch out for her.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“It was a civil meeting. I managed not to lose my temper, even though I still think she’s a stuffy old biddy.”

Adrienne smiled. “Then, I’m very proud of you.”

He hesitated a moment longer, his gaze on her mouth. She felt her smile fading.

Moving suddenly and without warning, he reached out, snagged the back of her neck and planted a firm kiss on her lips. “Thanks for your help this morning,” he said when he released her. “Now I have to get back to work.”

Before she could respond, he disappeared into his office, leaving her staring rather stupidly after him. After a moment she made an effort to close her mouth and pull herself together.

Perhaps she had better concentrate on her work for a while, she decided. She was getting a bit too involved with this particular client; she needed to focus on her others for a few hours. She needed to be reminded that her life was in New York, not here, and that she would be returning there very soon.

Setting up her computer in his kitchen, she spread the contents of her briefcase on the table, turned on her freshly charged cell phone and settled in for a productive work session. And then she simply sat and stared at her computer screen, paying no at

tention to the words there.

Her mind was filled with an image of Gideon sitting on the couch beside Isabelle, gruffly assuring the child that the McClouds “take care of their own.” That touching image—along with the lingering feel of his lips pressed against her—was enough to keep her distracted from work for most of the morning.

Chapter Ten

Isabelle returned from school smiling. Her friends had rallied around her, making her feel welcome among them again, and she’d had a good day, which she shared in detail with Adrienne. Gideon had returned to his office, and Adrienne had set Isabelle at the kitchen table with a glass of juice and some sliced fruit for an after-school snack.

“And then,” Isabelle babbled with hardly a pause for breath, “Miss Montgomery said Danny had to sit in the time-out corner because he wouldn’t be good during story time. He kept punching Benjamin’s arm and then he laughed when Benjamin said it hurt.”

“Danny sounds like a brat,” Adrienne commented, wondering what kind of parents allowed their child to behave that way.

Isabelle nodded. “I wouldn’t want to go to his old birthday party, anyway. He’s too mean.”

“Let’s just forget about Danny. Tell me more about the good things that happened at school today. The people who were nice to you.”

Isabelle complied happily enough. “Tiffany got her hair in braids. There were a bunch of them, with little bows at the end. It was pretty. And Justin got a new watch. It has Spiderman on it, and it tells the time in numbers because Justin doesn’t know how to tell time on the other kind of clock yet. I don’t, either, but Nate said he’s going to teach me. And we’re going to get a dog when Nate and Caitlin get back from their honeymoon. Caitlin and me want a little white dog.”

Though she wasn’t sure how the conversation had suddenly switched from school to dogs, she followed along encouragingly. “I like dogs, myself. I used to have a silver poodle named Susie who was my very best friend when I was growing up.”

She had spent many lonely hours with that little dog after her mother died, finding the unconditional love that her father had been incapable of offering.

“Caitlin thinks we need to get a, um, something that starts with a b. Like beecher?”

Adrienne thought a moment, then suggested. “A bichon, maybe?”

“That’s it, I think.”

“A bichon frise. They’re cute little white dogs, very similar to poodles.”

“I want to name my dog Fluffy.”