Lori Foster - Impetuous

“Let me guess. You chewed him up and spit him out, right?”

Carlie’s smile froze. “I’m not an ogre. He was upset, so I tried to explain. I pulled out all the papers I had been keeping on his son, Brady, and showed them to him. I went over the procedure we used with new materials, and I told him his son was distracted and not paying attention in class.”

“Carlie, I didn’t mean—”

She shook her head. “It’s all right. I know what you meant.” Idly stirring her coffee, she whispered, “It was such a sad situation. Mr. Briant had just lost his wife. He was very withdrawn and angry. He hadn’t been able to concentrate on his son yet, who was having his own problems adjusting.” She sighed, remembering how difficult it had been to see the father and son together, each struggling with his loss. “We spent a lot of time together after class. Sometimes we worked on lessons, but a lot of the time we just talked. I…I lost my parents when I was young, so I knew how Brady must have felt. At a time like that, school work kind of takes a back seat to trying to survive the emotional pain.”

Tyler was studying his coffee cup. “It must have been rough for you.”

His quiet words, filled with understanding and sympathy surprised her.

She nodded. “Everything worked out, though. After Brady started catching up, Mr. Briant joined us in our after-school lessons. I think he was lonely, too, and looking for some direction. He wanted to learn how to help his son study, so for a few weeks I helped him do that. Now they’re on their own, and Brady Briant is earning A’s.”

Tyler stared at her, and Carlie could feel him looking beneath her calm control, trying to read her thoughts. “You’re very dedicated,” he said quietly.

“You have to be dedicated, to any job, if you want to do it well.” Then she smiled, curious over Tyler’s distracted expression. “That’s no reason to be so solemn, though.”

“I was just wondering how dedicated I am to my job, to handling the small load of petty cases that land on my desk each month.”

“And?”

“Oh, I’d say…not very.”

“That can’t be true. Jason says you do a wonderful job.”

“I’m a good lawyer.” It was a statement of fact, with no fringe of lace to pretty it up. Abruptly, he reached across the table and took her hand.

Carlie tried to pull away, but he held her firm. “I’m sorry if I inadvertently insulted you. I only meant that you’re very sure of yourself and you appear to be able to handle any situation. Including irascible fathers.”

It was more difficult than she’d expected, because Tyler wasn’t what she’d expected. At least, not completely. There were too many facets to his personality, and now he seemed genuinely thoughtful, interested in the children and concerned that he might have hurt her feelings. And he’d been very patient while she’d talked to Mr. Briant.

His hand was warm and strong, feeling exactly as she remembered. But her reaction wasn’t dulled by familiarity.

“I’m not invincible, Mr. Ramsey. I simply don’t believe in allowing myself to be trod upon.”

“You’ve done that before, you know. Called me mister when you’re agitated. I think we know each other well enough to dispense with mister and Ms., don’t you?”

She managed to slip her hand free, but only because Tyler allowed it. She needed to regather her defenses; Tyler was a devastating man when he was being the seducer. But as a caring, considerate man, he was downright potent. “I don’t really know you at all, but I think I know your type, and I’m not all that impressed by it. That’s one of the reasons I hesitated to involve you in this program. But I’ll be honest with you…Tyler. There was no one else to take Jason’s place, and—”

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