Once and Again
Page 4

Still, mmm, that thick head of hair looked soft. She knew what it felt like against the skin of her inner thighs, in her hands as she sat behind him in his big old bathtub and washed it. Caramel. It was the color of burnt sugar, and it matched the well-defined beard and mustache he had now. His shoulders were still powerful as the muscles showed against his shirt when he turned to grab something out of his top drawer.
He kept talking like she wasn’t imagining him naked. “He’s pretty far gone. But here are some extra-credit assignments. I want all four of them done and I want quality work. I won’t be doing him any favors if I let him slide.”
Did she ask for that? Good gracious. But, he was in charge and her brother had messed up so it was time to suck it up and deal. She nodded, taking the papers and reading them over. “All right. He’ll do them.”
“I know things have been hard since…”
No. Not there and not with him. “He always was a crappy father. Chris can’t let our father hurt him any more than he already has. It’s not going to bring him back if Chris has to take summer classes or fail tenth grade. I’m not here to make excuses for him. He knows he’s been slacking and he knows I aim to make him stop.”
He paused, licking his lips before he spoke again and little tingles spread out from all her best places. “Your momma’s okay with this?”
“I know she’s been a problem.” Which had been such a lovely thing when she’d lived far enough away, not to be drawn into her mother’s passive aggressive ways of getting attention. The drinking only made it worse. “Which is why I have the guardianship. She’s been too lenient to try to make up for our father leaving. Chris knows how to work her and get what he wants. But I’m not her.”
Thank God. If she had been, maybe Lily never would have had the nerve to box up Nathan’s stuff and leave it on his doorstep along with a check to cover his half of the security deposit on the apartment they’d rented together. It wasn’t the way he’d kissed Alison. Her cousin Alison. Lily knew her cousin had been throwing herself at Nathan in the time he and Lily had been taking some space from one another. It was, the way he’d made her feel when he never bothered to try to talk to her about it.
Gah! Enough. Back to Chris and the situation with her mother.
It wasn’t that Pamela didn’t care about her children. It was that she often found it best to get attention by letting Nancy show up and complain and criticize while Lily tried to ignore it. That way drama swirled all around and their mother got to be part of it without being a target.
As their mother never did a thing to stop it, Lily had learned over her life that the best way to deal with her sister was not to let her ruffle feathers. Lily just pretended Nancy wasn’t standing there carping about something she was far too lazy to have done herself.
The only balancing act would be to keep their mother from getting drawn into it for entertainment. The last thing Lily wanted to do was mother her own darned parent, but it appeared to be what was needed. Because it was Chris who mattered right then. Not Nathan Murphy looking all handsome and smoking hot or anyone else. Lily knew she was the only one in Chris’s life who could make a difference, and she meant to do it. Whether he liked it or not.
Nathan looked back to the papers on his desk and then to her again. “He’s also missing assignments. I want them all completed and turned in. You can go online to see exactly what he’s missing. The school has a link on the website. I have a mini-site too with all assignments and directions available. If you have any questions, just ask.”
She wrote more down. Having all the stuff available online would help her a lot because she knew she couldn’t trust Chris to keep her updated.
“All right, thank you. He’ll get it done.”
He hesitated. “Lil…Lily, some of the kids he’s hanging out with aren’t going to give you any help in getting Chris turned around.”
He told her a few names and she thanked him, standing and tucking her things in her bag. She needed to go. Be away from Nathan who made such an attractive target for her attentions right then. Like that can of Pringles, he had to be resisted because he was bad for her.
She needed to keep him squarely in the authority-figure camp. He was her brother’s teacher. She was resourceful and intelligent, she could overrule her ovaries and get the job done. Pull up her big-girl panties and all those sayings. Forever and ever, amen.
She withheld her sigh at the discovery that in his presence her ovaries had the wheel and they were not letting go.
“Would it be all right if I checked in with you every few days to make sure he’s doing what he should be?”
He stood and moved toward her so she scooted toward the door. “Yes, of course.” He handed her a card. “My email and numbers are there. I check email each morning, at noon and then at four or so. If I can count on you and we can work together, we might be able to get Chris to his junior year.”
“Thank you. I mean that.”
“Why don’t we catch up over pie and coffee later?”
“No thank you, I’m busy.” She was very proud of the way she’d managed to sound as if she didn’t care at all.
“We used to be friends, remember?” He stepped closer and made her dizzy.
“I’m friends with your sister. I have enough friends.”
Beth Murphy was one of her best girlfriends. Growing up, Beth had practically lived at her house every summer, and given the situation the Murphy kids had at home, neither of her parents had ever complained to see Beth sleeping over.