“I cut it a few days later. With all I had to do at the school it was easier to manage like this.” Instinctively she reached up and smoothed her hair back from her face. Digger watched the gesture. Then he put the photo back. He thought of his sister and the fun they used to have as children. He’d never been part of a biological family. Despite the love of his benevolent and kind foster parents he’d always wondered about his real parents. He would never find out. They’d died in a car accident and the system had taken him.

  “Would you like another cup of coffee?” Her voice was soft, tremulous as if she didn’t want him to go.

  He didn’t want to go either. He wanted to stay and drown in those large brown eyes of hers. But he shook his head.

  “I better get home. I have a few things to get done and several crews to contact for tomorrow’s jobs.”

  “I understand,” she said hurriedly. She stepped back out of his way, distant enough for him to notice the cool air that rushed in, containing none of her body heat.

  “You must be tired, too,” he said, holding the rolled up plans. “Your date last night,” he reminded her when she looked confused. “Staying out late and having to be at work early doesn’t leave time for sleep.”

  “I wasn’t out that late,” she explained. “Dinner and a play.”

  “What did you see?” Digger should leave this alone. He didn’t know why he pursued it. It was none of his business. His business was concluded. He had her plans, understood what she wanted and why. He even had a budget to work with. Any other time he’d have shaken hands with his client and been on his way.

  “A revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Carver Auditorium. It was very good.”

  “Carver is in Austin.”

  “It’s only a short drive,” she defended. “I’m not tired at all.”

  Digger stared at her then dropped his eyes and shifted his papers under his arm. He’d heard a double meaning in her words. Was it really there? Was she asking him to stay and visit?

  “Have you been to the theater recently?”

  He looked up. Could this be an invitation? He shook his head. He was reading too much into innocent words.

  “You said you don’t like ballet. Does that mean you don’t like plays either?”

  “I wouldn’t say that. I haven’t been to the theater in years.” He hadn’t been since he and Marita split. He hadn’t even thought of the theater—or any of the pleasures he used to enjoy. He had a regular crowd that got together for sporting events, going to see the Cowboys play or watching basketball on television. Plays were things you went to with a woman, and Digger had steered clear of women.

  “Why is that?”

  He shrugged. “Time.”

  “You do a lot of hard work. Your evenings must be for relaxation.”

  Anger flashed through him. “The man you went to the theater with, I suppose he doesn’t do hard work.”

  “Oh, yes, he works hard, but he likes the theater and other creative ventures like art galleries and ballet.”

  That was it, he thought. He wanted to know who she’d been out with and, more than that, he wanted a few minutes alone with him. Digger knew he was in trouble. He was having too violent a reaction to her phantom date. Deciding to cut his losses, and possibly save face, he ended the conversation.

  “I hear there’s an entire season of seats still available. You might want to tell him.”

  Digger had seen commercials on late-night television for the remaining summer season. He couldn’t remember for which theater, but he was sure Erin’s lover of creative ventures could find out.

  “I’ll see you in a week then?” she asked.

  “Or less.”

  She smiled.

  He started for the door with her following him. “Thank you for the dinner,” he said. “It was wonderful.”

  Erin opened the door and he went through it. He stepped down one stair and turned back. She was right in front of him, at eye level.

  “There is one thing.” He noticed her eyebrow go up. “When my crews start, there are to be no children around the site. Please instruct the teachers to keep them clear of the construction area. We’re going to need to bring in digging equipment to clear the area and dig the foundation.”

  “I promise,” she told him. “We’ll be invisible.”

  “You couldn’t be invisible if you tried,” he answered without thinking. And then he did something stupid.

  He ran his hand around her neck and into her hair. He let its thickness wrap around his hand. For a moment neither of them moved, neither of them breathed. Then he leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

  Chapter Five

  “How was your date?” Gillian asked the moment she opened the door of her four-bedroom ranch. Erin didn’t even make it to the foyer before being interrogated.

  “I didn’t have a date,” she said and pushed past her friend. Gillian’s older brother Logan lounged in front of the television in the family room.

  “Hello, Erin,” he yelled, raising his hand with a can of cola in it as she passed on her way to the kitchen. Gillian’s kitchen was the center of her home.

  “Hi, Logan, what are you doing here on a Saturday night?”

  “The big city got to be too much for me. I needed a break.”

  Logan lived in Austin and visited his sister often. He was tall and lanky and worked as a stockbroker. Gillian had tried to set Erin up with Logan, but the two of them never got any further than affection.

  Still, once in a while, they went out. Like last week when he’d taken her to see the play. She and Logan were compatible; they both liked plays and music, but they weren’t lovers.

  “A break,” she said. “I just think you’re here to check up on Gillian.”

  “Not Gillian, darling. I’m here for you.”

  They both laughed, and Erin continued toward the kitchen.

  “So, how was your date?” Gillian wouldn’t give up. She placed a glass of orange juice in front of Erin. In the center of the table was a veggie tray with a bowl of dip. Erin popped a carrot in her mouth and chewed.

  “It wasn’t a date,” she repeated.

  “It was a business meeting.” The sarcasm of Gillian’s voice was easily detectable. “Did he kiss you good-night?”

  “Gillian!”

  “I guess that’s a no.”

  “It is not.”

  “Then he did kiss you?”

  “No…it’s none of your business.” She was confused. Digger had pressed his mouth to her cheek. Should she call that a kiss?

  “Erin, you had a date?” Logan joined them. The program he was watching had gone to a commercial. He pulled a chair out and straddled it.

  “Doesn’t anybody here think I’ve ever had a date before?” she asked rhetorically. “And last night wasn’t a date.”

  “I don’t see why you don’t date every night,” Logan said, obviously complimentary.

  She smiled at him. “Thank you, Logan.”

  “So tell me about this business meeting,” Logan prompted.

  “Tell me if he kissed you,” Gillian said.

  “That’s none of your business.”

  “Of course it is. We’re friends, best friends.”

  “But some affairs are private.”

  “So this is an affair?”

  “You’re twisting my words.”

  “And you’re being evasive.”

  They glared at each other. Neither of them meant anything by it. They were friends, best friends as Gillian had mentioned, but Erin found it difficult to express how she felt. She didn’t want to have these feelings, but like breathing she couldn’t control them.

  “What’s wrong, Erin? Every time a man gets interested in you, barriers go up.”

  “Gillian, you know what’s wrong.” Erin’s gaze swung between Gillian and Logan. “You know what happens every time I let anyone get close to me.”

  “We’re not all the same, Erin,” Logan said. He knew her story and he was one of the few men if not the only man who’d told her it didn’t matter and meant it. “It’s unfair to generalize.”

  “Too bad it didn’t work with us,” she told Logan, trying to lighten the mood. “You’re the perfect man.”

  He took her hand. “Just say the word, and I’ll marry you tomorrow.”

  “And divorce me the day after? No thanks.”

  They smiled, but Gillian didn’t join the play.

  “So you think Digger is different?” Erin asked, addressing Gillian. “That he will understand if I tell him I can’t have children?”

  “He might.”

  “And he might not.”

  “How are you going to know if you shut him out?”

  “He doesn’t like kids. He’s only reluctantly doing the addition. I’m committed here. These children are my life. Getting involved with him can only end in heartache.”

  “He told you that? That he doesn’t like kids?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “What exactly?”

  “He’s told other people.”

  “How did he act at the school?”

  She remembered Sam hurling herself into his arms. How his eyes closed and he hugged her to him, smelling her hair. And the look in his eyes, was that of…what? She didn’t know. Hurt? Loneliness?

  “Like a man who loves children.” She smiled. “At least he likes Sam.”

  Gillian smiled too. “How could he not? She’s a precious little girl.”

  “How did he act with you?” Logan asked.

  She reached across the table for a broccoli bulb to hide the heat that rushed into her face. “He said I moved like a ballet dancer.”

  “Meaning he was looking at you from the waist down.” Logan leaned over and looked her up and down. “Yep,” he said again, using his favorite word. “You got good legs, but how could he miss those gorgeous breasts?”

  “Logan!” Gillian admonished.

  “Must not be a breast man,” he continued as if Gillian hadn’t spoken. Logan did this all the time. He liked the shock value. Erin didn’t let it bother her. Logan was harmless. She liked him, loved him as a brother. With three sisters, Logan filled a void she hadn’t known was there until she met him. He was the brother she’d never had and brothers often said things no one else was allowed to even think.

  “And the hair,” Logan continued. “If he never got as far as your hair, I say drop him and never date him again.”

  Erin burst into laughter. “I promise, Logan. I won’t date him ever. I’ll only date you.”

  Logan stood up. “Now that is a smart woman.” He pointed both of his index fingers at her, then went to the refrigerator and got another cola. Holding it in the air like the Olympic torch he headed back to the family room and the television program he’d been watching. “Give him a chance, Erin,” Logan threw over his shoulder. “He could be the one.”

  “How do you feel about him?” Gillian asked when they were alone.

  “I’ve only just met him. I don’t have any feelings.”

  Gillian stared at her, but remained quiet. The silence lengthened.

  “Not even anger?”

  “Why would I be angry?”

  “You were the first time he came to see you.”

  Erin smiled. She thought of that day in her office when Digger refused her job out of hand. She was tired of explaining her requirements and seeing the expressions on builders’ faces when she showed them her amateur plans. Then he walked in, James “Digger” Clayton. She hadn’t expected the impact he’d had on her senses. He frightened her, and she was unprepared for his refusal.

  “Erin…”

  She looked up at Gillian. They had no secrets. Gillian was the only person she could completely trust. “He did kiss me,” she said.

  “What?”

  “On the cheek. It didn’t mean anything.” She could still feel his hand sliding through her hair and the pressure of it pulling her forward before his lips touched her.

  “Of course, it did,” Gillian insisted.

  “No, it didn’t. And it’s not going any further. We have a business relationship.”

  “He had dinner at your house. You baked a chocolate cake, for heaven’s sake. We only share chocolate with people we want to impress.”

  “I did want to impress him…so he’d do a good job.”

  “Erin, why are you lying to me? And why are you lying to yourself?”

  Erin closed her hands around the juice glass. The moment passed. Then she told her. “I’m scared, Gillian.”

  Her friend’s expression sobered. “Of what?”

  “Going through it all again. I hate it, Gillian. It wasn’t my fault. I didn’t have the accident on purpose. I didn’t ask for the hysterectomy. But I’ve accepted it. There is nothing I can do about it, except steer clear of men.”

  “Erin, that’s not the solution. It’s unhealthy to go through life pretending there is not a man on the planet for you.”

  Erin blinked. She didn’t like being alone. Her parents had been married for thirty-eight years. Her three sisters were all married with children and ecstatically happy. She was the only one unmarried and with no prospects. But Digger? Should she trust her feelings to him? Should she accept his glances, give in to her own, let him know that she wanted to take that kiss on the cheek and turn it into something else?

  She wasn’t sure. She’d hidden behind her condition for so long that it felt natural to repulse anyone’s advances in order to protect herself. But she knew Digger had somehow already passed the safety zone.

  When Erin arrived at the school two Mondays later the construction crew was there and working. The parking lot was completely blocked off and a heavy fence had been anchored into the ground. It surrounded the parking lot and a section at the rear of the building where the addition would replace part of the schoolyard. Backhoes and bulldozers stood in the space where she usually parked. Red dust and clay were attached to them like customized parts.

  A crewman came up to her as soon as she got out of her van.

  “You Ms. Taylor?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “Jackson Wright, the foreman.” He introduced himself and offered her his hand. Erin took it. It was callused and large, reminding her of Digger’s hand. It had been rough, but it sent tremors running through her.

  “Where’s Digger?” she asked, checking for him over the massive shoulders of Foreman Wright, hoping to see him coming toward her.

  “He’s with another crew.”

  She was disappointed, but tried to keep it off her face.

  “He wanted me to remind you about the children.”

  “I’ve spoken to the staff. We’ll keep them away from the area.”

  He nodded. “Thank you. We set up a path for you.” He moved back to indicate the new pathway the children should take. “I’m sorry about your parking lot.”

  Her mouth curved in understanding. Touching his hard hat he left her. Erin had known Digger’s crew would start work today. She’d looked forward to seeing him. He’d come by the school briefly last week to show her the plans and get her approval. He’d taken her plans and added to them, giving her more than she’d asked for. He’d improved her straight lines with a few curves that provided more space for the children. Additionally, he’d drawn plans for the interior space with classrooms and built-in bookcases.

  She’d been glad to sign off on them, but in doing so she’d eliminated any reason for them to see each other. She’d hoped he’d be here this morning. She’d planned to offer him coffee, maybe share it with him before he got started. But her plans were waylaid. He wasn’t here.

  She shouldn’t have let Gillian talk her into giving Digger a chance. She couldn’t risk her heart only to discover that a man who said he didn’t like kids, really didn’t like other people’s kids, but wanted his own. She’d seen that happen. Parents who disapproved of everyone else thought their own offspring were darlings. Digger could be the same.

  When he’d come to have her sign the papers for the addition he wouldn’t even accept a drink. Thinking back over it, she remembered he was in a hurry to leave. Had their previous encounter put him off? Did he feel sorry that he’d kissed her? She was sure he did. There was no reason for it. They were having a business meeting, not a date.

  It was good she decided, unlocking the front door, that he wasn’t here. She needed to keep to her convictions. There was no place in her life for him. She had the school, and it took up all of her time. There was no need to bring anyone else into her life.

  She went to her office, turning on the school lights as she went. She put down her purse and turned on soft music that filtered through the school. She liked to play it during the morning arrival period. The kids came in, some of them happy, some with tears in their eyes. Some had traumatic separations, every day.

  Today the music was more for herself than the children. Thoughts of Digger were on her mind and her own decisions didn’t help reinforce her confidence. They should have. They had in the past. But not today.

  “Ms. Taylor.”

  She heard her name called in a high-pitched voice and knew Sam had arrived. Leaving the office, she caught the running bundle of joy and swung her around.

  “Good morning,” Erin said. “How are you today?”

  “Fine,” she said.

  Erin looked at Sam’s mother, an older version of the little girl. But Sam got her hair from her dad. Her mother’s hair was long and straight, but her dad’s was thick and vibrant like the little girl’s.

  “Good morning, Claudia.”

  “Hi,” she said. “These are Sam’s things.” She held up a small pink suitcase. Erin put Sam down and took the suitcase.

  “Why don’t you go put your lunch away,” Erin told the child, who immediately rushed away.

  “We’ll pick her up tomorrow after school,” Claudia said.

  “No problem,” Erin told her. “We’re going to make cookies tonight.” Sam’s parents had to go out of town for the day and would be back very late. Sam would stay with Erin overnight, and Erin looked forward to it. The child kept her busy. She was a nonstop chatterbox who asked questions all the time and loved to help Erin with everything. Sam especially loved to help bake. She made a mess, but Erin didn’t mind.