McMillian's Matchmaker Read online

  “This sounds serious. What do you think we should do?”

  “If there really isn’t anything wrong with your car, I think I should go straight home and see what they’re all really doing.”

  “Maybe I should come with you.”

  Josh glanced to the street, to the parked van. He wouldn’t make any points for stealth driving the lumbering vehicle. His only advantage would be that the kids wouldn’t be expecting him home for at least another hour, so he had the element of time on his side.

  While he was still contemplating the possibilities, Melissa’s voice interrupted his mental meanderings, trying to figure out what they were really doing.

  “How about if we took my car? Then they wouldn’t see you coming.”

  Josh grinned. “Good thinking.”

  “I’m a teacher. One day I’ll tell you about some of the ways I find out what the kids don’t want me to know.”

  He pretended to shudder. “Maybe I had better be careful what I say around you too.”

  Melissa winked. “You’d be surprised what I already know about you.”

  “If it’s stuff Bradley’s been saying, I don’t think I want to know.”

  She laughed but didn’t comment as she disappeared inside to fetch her purse, then locked up.

  Josh felt strange being a passenger while a woman drove. He’d never been a passenger when he and Theresa went out, but then they had always been in his car, and it had been natural for him to drive.

  “Have you caught them doing anything sneaky lately? Hiding things? Is your birthday coming up?”

  He leaned back in the seat and raised his arms, linking his fingers behind his head. “Is that your subtle way of getting more information out of me?”

  “I’m trying to think of why the kids would want you out of the house. If it is your birthday coming up, then I’m going to turn around right now and not ruin their surprise.”

  “My birthday isn’t for over six months. It’s not that. It’s also too early to do Christmas shopping, and even if it wasn’t too early, I doubt they’d be that discreet. It’s got to be something else.”

  “What about the computer? Could they be doing something they don’t want you to see?”

  “No. I installed a filtering program. It freezes the computer and shuts down the application if they’re getting into something I don’t want them into. I also have a monitoring program where I can see what they’ve been looking at on-line, and I check it every few days. It’s not that.”

  “Could they be covering up for one of the older boys? Maybe Tyler and his girlfriend?”

  “Trust me. As close as the boys are, there would have to be some pretty high bribery involved for them to participate in hiding something for Tyler. They get their greatest joys from tattling on each other. I can’t say I mind.” He turned to her and grinned widely, but Melissa kept her attention intently focused on the rush-hour traffic.

  The second Melissa stopped in front of the house, they ran out of the car and straight for the front door, which Josh found wasn’t locked.

  He sniffed deeply, but didn’t smell burning cigarettes or anything worse that he didn’t want to think about, even though he had to be realistic. No music blared, and all was quiet, not even the voices of quiet conversation.

  Josh strode into the living room to find Andrew half sitting and half lying on the couch with a book in his lap. He raised his eyes only briefly, then continued to read. “Hey, Uncle Josh. That was quick,” he mumbled.

  Josh ran into the den, where Tyler was on the computer, alone, an encyclopedia program open to a South American country Josh knew Tyler was studying for his geography class. “Hi, Uncle Josh. What are you doing here? There was one hot dog left, but I gave it to Cleo.”

  His stomach sank. The dog hadn’t greeted them at the door. “Where’s Cleo?”

  “Bradley and Ryan took her next door. Mr. Wright’s son wants to get a Lab, so he asked if someone could take Cleo over for a few minutes to meet him. I hope you don’t mind.”

  Melissa appeared in the doorway. “Kyle is almost finished with his math homework. I don’t know where Bradley and Ryan are.”

  Josh turned around and guided her out of the den and into the kitchen, which was a mess but, overall, wasn’t extreme considering the boys made their own supper. “They’re next door with Cleo. On a legitimate errand. I can’t believe this. Something’s not right—I just can’t figure out what it is.”

  “Maybe everything is exactly as it appears to be. They made their own supper, they’re doing their homework without being nagged, and everything is fine.”

  “Wow. . .” Josh let his voice trail off. “I feel really bad for dragging you over here like this for nothing. Not that I’m not glad it is nothing. I don’t know what to think.”

  “I think we should go back to my house so you can get your van. How’s that for a start?”

  “Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

  He returned to the den to tell Tyler that he was going out again, where Tyler grunted a response and continued on with his homework assignment. Andrew waved from the couch, barely lifting his eyes from the book.

  Halfway to Melissa’s house, Josh’s stomach grumbled.

  He rested both his open palms on his tummy. “Excuse me. I haven’t had supper yet. Have you?”

  “No, actually, I haven’t. I’m glad your stomach started making noises before mine did.”

  “Bradley suggested we order pizza while I worked on your car that doesn’t need fixing, so why don’t we go somewhere for pizza? Apparently they made me a hot dog, but then Tyler gave it to the dog.”

  “I thought wieners were bad for dogs, that they were a choking hazard.”

  Josh nodded. “They are. I showed the kids how to slice it down the center first, before cutting it up for Cleo.”

  “You’re kidding. No wonder that dog is so fat.”

  “But she’s happy. And you haven’t answered my question. Want to go out and grab a pizza?”

  “I suppose so. I haven’t eaten yet, either, and I don’t have plans.”

  She pulled into the parking lot of the nearest strip mall containing a pizzeria. He’d ordered from them once but had never been inside.

  Like most typical Italian restaurants, the lights were dim, and a candle in a yellow glass holder glowed from the center of each table, each covered with a red-and-white checkered cloth.

  Josh thought it was perfect. In a place like this, they could talk and have a private conversation, yet it wasn’t cozy or intimate enough to be the kind of place he would take a woman on a date.

  He folded his hands on the tabletop. “I’m lost for ideas. What do you think they’re up to?”

  “I don’t know. Tyler, Andrew, and Kyle didn’t seem to care whether we were there or not.”

  “Bradley and Ryan were out with the dog, visiting the neighbor, who’s known them since they were born. Alice is probably feeding them some kind of cake right now, and they’ll be especially happy that they got something made with sugar, and their brothers didn’t.”

  “You could think about this until the cows come home and still not come up with an answer, you know.”

  “I know. Kinda scary, isn’t it?”

  “That’s parenthood, Josh. I think you’re learning the hard way, but you’ve been blessed that they really are good kids.”

  “I know. I thank God for them every day.”

  “Have you heard from your brother recently? I’ll bet they miss the boys, and I’m sure the boys miss their parents.”

  “I got a very short letter last week. It hasn’t really been a long time since they’ve been gone, and they’ve got a lot of new things to settle into, so he said they won’t be writing often. They’ll have some computer time coming after awhile—the clinic is apparently strict with it, but eventually we’ll be able to send E-mail back and forth. That will be good. The kids will like that. They do miss their parents, but for now, it has almost been a vacation for them havi
ng me around. It’s starting to get into more of a routine. I can feel the difference in our relationship since I first moved in. I’m no longer a novelty, and I’m not always fun anymore.”

  “If you ever need to get away on short notice, I’m usually home. If you need someone to talk to with experience with kids, you can call me anytime, even in the middle of the night.”

  “That’s very nice of you to offer. I might have to take you up on that someday. Or night.”

  He grinned, and Melissa grinned back.

  Even though he would probably never know why Bradley had become so overly concerned with Melissa’s car, he had to appreciate the opportunity to spend some unencumbered time with her. Knowing all was under control at home and he had nothing to worry about allowed him to enjoy himself fully. Unlike Saturday night, when their evening together was supposed to be a date, tonight came with no strings attached and no pressure.

  The time flew by quickly, and before he knew it, he should have been home already, and they still hadn’t made it back to Melissa’s house to retrieve the van.

  Melissa giggled as she stopped her car in the middle of the quiet residential street, allowing him to hop out of her car and directly into the van without having to see her to her own door. Strangely, he would have liked to have seen her to the door, even though there was nothing he was in a position to do once he got there.

  By the time he arrived at home, all homework had been completed, the boys were back to playing computer and video games, and Tyler had the phone permanently affixed to his ear. Tyler’s occasional grunts of agreement told Josh who Tyler was talking to.

  Since the kitchen was clean, Josh flopped down on the couch, and Cleo hopped up beside him for a good scratch.

  Josh smiled. For the first time since he moved in to pursue his role as the boys’ guardian, he felt at peace.

  ❧

  “McMillian! Telephone for you!”

  Josh wiped his hands on his rag at the same time as he jogged to the office to take the call. If Bradley was calling two days in a row to interrupt him at work for another wild-goose chase, for the first time he was going to have to dream up a punishment suitable for a six year old, an unpleasant chore Josh did not look forward to.

  “Josh?”

  “Melissa?” Josh’s heart nearly stopped. In only saying his name, he detected a slight tremor in her voice. “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know. Don’t worry, it’s not Bradley. I think there might be something wrong with my car.”

  “Might be?”

  “Bradley told me that you talked to him this morning about the false alarms, and I told him how much I appreciated his concern, but something he said made me stop and think. He was genuinely worried about my car, and he seemed like he really thought there was something wrong with it. I’m probably worrying for nothing, but they found a knife hidden on the school grounds today, so the topic of vandalism and violence was the major point of discussion in the staff room at lunchtime. All the teachers are a little nervous right now, and a bulletin was sent out to the parents. You’ll get it tonight. Anyway, this whole thing has made me stop and think. I wonder if Bradley saw something he can’t quite put his finger on to describe. He is only six years old.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I don’t think any of the grade one kids are capable of hating me so badly to do something to my car, but this school has kids up to grade seven. Some of them would happily do something bad to a teacher’s car, not for retribution but just for kicks. I’m not talking letting the air out of the tires, because that’s happened once. I’m talking real damage. I’m wondering if it’s possible one of the older kids has been touching my car. Maybe someone loosened something or tampered with it. What if Bradley saw one of the bigger kids hanging around my car and that’s why he’s so worried? He’s sent you over here twice for what we thought was nothing. Maybe it’s not nothing.”

  Josh could only guess at how difficult it had been to ask when she worried about overreacting. Still, she had to be prepared and know for sure. The thought that someone could have tampered with Melissa’s car made his stomach churn. “You know I’ll gladly come and have a look at it anytime, Melissa. They say the greatest fear is the fear of the unknown. Do you keep your car locked in the school parking lot?”

  “Yes, but it wouldn’t be hard or impossible for someone to squeeze in underneath, especially a child. The current enrollment is now nearly four hundred students, and that’s a lot of kids to keep track of at once. Unfortunately, sometimes kids can be devious, especially the older ones, or sometimes they aren’t able to draw the line between what seems like a fun prank and something that can turn into real danger.”

  “Where are you now? Did you drive it home?”

  “Yes, I’m at home, but I was sweating the whole way. Do you think you could come by this evening sometime to have a look at it?”

  “If I’m not sure what I’m looking for, or if it could be something as simple as something being loose, I prefer to check it out in daylight. Let me call home, and I’ll probably be able to come right from work. I’ve got some money stashed in the house for emergency pizza—I’m sure the kids will be happy with that.”

  “You don’t know how much I appreciate this, Josh.”

  “Not a problem. See you soon.”

  Ten

  Melissa could only see Josh from the waist down, encased in his usual blue coveralls, as he leaned far into the engine compartment of her car. She didn’t know what he could hear with his head tucked way down there, especially over the noise as he tapped and banged on various parts of the engine, but she had to know.

  She rested her hands on the fender and peeked down with no idea what to look for. “Have you found anything?”

  His voice echoed strangely from his awkward position, but he didn’t straighten. “Not so far. Can you shine that flashlight here for me?”

  She tried her best to aim it on what she thought he was trying to see, then backed up quickly when he straightened.

  “It doesn’t look like anything’s been touched, but I want to have a look from underneath, just to be sure. Wait for a sec. I brought my dolly from the shop.”

  Melissa waited while he walked to his van and removed what she could best describe as a surfboard with wheels. He put it on the ground beside her car, sat on it, and then leaned back on one elbow as he prepared to lie down on his back on the unit. “Can I have the flashlight?” he asked as he lowered himself fully, then stuck out his hand.

  Melissa hesitated for only a second. Instead of giving it to him, she hid it behind her back. “May I have the flashlight?”

  “What? Do you think you know where someone might have done something?”

  “No, you’re missing my point. You’re talking to a teacher. I know you’re perfectly capable of using the flashlight, but you’re asking if you may have it.”

  Before she realized what he was doing, Josh was off the dolly and stood no more than an inch in front of her. Laughter radiated from his eyes, and one side of his mouth quirked up. He lowered his head slightly to just the right spot. . .as if he was going to kiss her.

  Melissa’s chest constricted to a point she had to tell her body to inhale and exhale. She should have backed up, but her feet wouldn’t move.

  “Okay, Teacher. May I have the flashlight?”

  Her heart nearly stopped when he reached behind her, keeping his body parallel with hers by lowering himself slightly and bending at the knees. He was so close, from head to toe, she could feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek in the cooling evening air when he reached behind her. Almost in slow motion, he gently removed the flashlight from her hand, still behind her back, then stepped back, very slowly.

  The reprimand for not saying “please” wouldn’t come out. All she could do was stare as he laid back down on the dolly and pushed himself underneath her car, so again all she could see was the lower half of him.

  What was she doing? By not simpl
y giving him the flashlight when he asked for it, she had goaded him into doing something she wasn’t sure she could define. She didn’t know why she did it, but she had dared him into taking action to obtain possession of the flashlight. What she hadn’t expected was for him take her up on it in that way.

  She had teased him, and her actions had backfired. Instead, he had teased her. He could have kissed her, right in the middle of her driveway, and she wouldn’t have stopped him. If she had to be honest with herself, for that split second in time, she had wanted him to kiss her.

  And that was wrong.

  This was Josh McMillian. The guardian of one of her students. A man whose life was in such a dramatic state of transition she should have been helping him to get his life in order, not further complicating his life with hints of something neither of them were in any position to do anything about. The man was in some phase of a relationship with another woman. He had never spoken of her except to say he wouldn’t marry her, but without knowing the background or being positive there was no chance of reconciliation, she still didn’t consider him truly free.

  She was doing exactly what she had promised herself she would not do when she didn’t know Cleo was a dog, and that was to step in the middle of an existing relationship.

  It was too late to think about Principal Swain’s mandate about not getting involved with the parent of a student. The best she could do now would be to temper whatever was building into a controllable level, knowing it would be unrealistic to think she could go back to the impersonal parent and teacher association she maintained with her other students’ families.

  The scrape of the metal wheels of the dolly against the cement of the driveway snapped her mind back to where it should have been in the first place.