Angel Falls (Angel Falls Series, #1) by Babette Jongh (inspiring books for teens txt) 📗

of Ian’s. I might give the sweats back next time I saw him—they were hilariously big on me—but the shirt was comfy, soft from many washings, and it smelled like him. It was mine now.

I woke hours later, still carrying the sense of completion I’d brought home with me. With Ian’s clothes keeping me warm, I started the coffee maker and checked my phone messages.

“Casey.” It was Ben. There was a pause, then a sound of exasperation in the background. “Call me when you get this message.”

I dialed his cell first, then the house.

“Hello.” He sounded harried.

“It’s Casey.”

“Where have you been? Don’t you ever take your cell phone with you? Never mind. Look. I need you to keep the kids. I’m going out of town for a few days. I’ll be back Friday or Saturday.”

“Ben, I’ll be teaching. I can’t—”

“Lois and Herb can help. They just can’t do everything. Lois is having trouble with her blood pressure, and you know how Herb is.”

No, I didn’t know how Herb was. I had no idea how Herb was. “I guess if you bring them over—”

“Casey, can’t you keep them at our house? They could stay in their own rooms...”

I could see the sense in that. “Okay, fine. When are you leaving?”

“I’m late already. My flight leaves out of Pensacola in three hours. Lois can get the kids from school if you’ll pick them up and take them home when you’re through teaching every evening. Can you do that?”

“Yes.” Because I still don’t get the difference between something I can do, and something I should do. “I can.”

“You know where Melody always hid the house key.” A statement, not a question. “Go ahead and make yourself a copy when you go shopping. I stuck some grocery money under a magnet on the fridge. But in case that’s not enough, take Mel’s debit card. It’s in my desk drawer, all the way at the back under some papers. The PIN number is 0981.”

“Okay, Ben.” I was being a doormat, an easily manipulated doormat. I knew it, but I couldn’t stop myself from caving in. My good mood had suddenly gone flat. Its deflated husk sprawled inside me, mocking my good intentions, my inability to say no, my stupid need to be seen as a nice person.

Was there a twelve-step program for people like me? Hi, I’m Casey Alexander, and I’m an approval whore. I’ll watch your kids, wash your car, water your plants when you’re out of town. The only thing I won’t do is say no. Because apparently, I don’t know how.

*

After a full day of teaching, I slumped down the studio stairs with Lizzie leading the way. She looked back at me, grinning, trying to get me in the mood for the walk home. I knew she wanted to bark hello to the lonely Pit Bull behind the chain-link fence of the red-brick ranch-style house, then pee on the crimson Mums by Mrs. Mercer’s sidewalk, and maybe catch a cricket, or at least try to, if one happened to hop by instead of just teasing with their siren song.

I just wanted to go home, run a hot bath, and read a good book.

We stepped onto the sidewalk, and a tapping sound caught my attention. Ian stood at his office window—the one next to the front lobby—tapping his keys against the glass. When he noticed me noticing him, he motioned for me to wait.

A second later, he opened the office door.

“Lizzie.” I put my hand out. “Stay.”

“She can come in.” Ian kissed me and invited Lizzie in with a snap of his fingers. “It’s my newspaper. I can let a horse in here if I want to.”

We followed him into his office. He sat in a tall-backed leather chair on rollers, and held his arms out. “Come sit. Just for a minute. Then I have to get back to work.” His computer screen showed a document marked with red lines and comment boxes.

I sat in his lap and wrapped my arms around his neck. “I had a good time last night.”

His arms tightened briefly around me. “Me, too. I could get used to having you around.”

Shit. That reminded me. “I won’t be home for a few days.”

“Oh?” He leaned back so we could see each other. Eyebrows lifted, he waited.

“I’ll be keeping Melody’s—I mean, Ben’s—kids while he’s away on business. I’ll be staying at their house.”

“Ahh.” His face was thoughtful, but the expression wasn’t very revealing. I thought he might say more, but he kept quiet. He brought his hand from its resting place on my knees, and touched my chin lightly with his index finger. He trailed that finger down my neck, over my collarbone. He lowered his lashes and dipped his head for a kiss. Soft at first, his lips on mine, then insistent, his tongue sleeking over my teeth and inside my mouth.

If this was an attempt to make me regret my decision to keep Ben’s kids, it was successful. I touched his cheek, feeling the rasp of his beard coming in now that the day was almost over. “I’ll miss you.”

“You’ll have your days free, with the kids at school? We could have lunch...” His hand roamed, caressing in a long sweep from knee to thigh before cradling my butt.

“Amy gets out of preschool at noon.”

Lizzie gave a short, sharp bark. I reached up to thread my fingers through the short soft waves of Ian’s dark hair. “Lizzie has been in the studio all day. She’s probably desperate to find a patch of grass.”

Ian gave my bottom an affectionate squeeze. “Go. Text me when you’re home safe.”

*

A quick check of Ben’s fridge and pantry confirmed my fears—I’d have to do grocery shopping tonight, rather than waiting till tomorrow. I called Lois first, to make sure they weren’t in a hurry for me to get the kids, then went shopping.

An hour later, with Lizzie waiting in the front seat and ice cream melting in the back, I ran into Lois’s