Father in Training

wonderful to her and her kids. But she couldn't risk getting involved. Even a one-sided crush, much like Lindsay's, would upset things too much.

He smiled slowly, exposing white teeth and making the skin by the outside corners of his eyes crinkle. Her heart fluttered foolishly. 'I'm here because I want to be,' he said. 'Haven't you figured that out yet?'

'Oh.'

Oh? Was that the best she could come up with? she asked herself. Why did he want to be here? Was he toying with her, lulling her into thinking he might, well, sort of find her slightly attractive, only to dump her at the first opportunity?

She almost asked the question, then realized that perhaps she needed to work on her self-esteem first. Kyle had been nothing but sweet and friendly since they'd arrived. She was the one acting skittish. But why wouldn't she? She was a single mom with three kids. She had a tendency to be bossy and mouthy. She was working on her flaws but she was still far from being perfect. Or glamorous. So why was he being so nice to her?

'Thanks,' she said at last, then brushed her suddenly damp palms against her shorts. 'The TV goes in the entertainment center. The VCR sits on the shelf above that.'

His smile widened to a grin. 'I think I can figure it out.'

'Great.'

But he didn't move. Instead, he stood there, looking sinfully handsome, staring at her. Self-consciously, she reached up and fingered her hair. It was loose this morning, held off her face by a headband. She wasn't wearing any makeup. She probably looked old and messy. Nothing that a man like him would-

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She frowned. 'I'm not expecting anyone,' she said as she crossed the floor to the front door.

A pretty, dark-haired woman holding a sleeping toddler in one arm and a diaper bag in the other smiled. 'Hi, I'm Elizabeth. This is my daughter Jessica, and Mandy is around here, somewhere. Honey, where are you?'

'We're coming, Mommy.'

Sandy stared past the woman and saw a young girl racing up the porch stairs. She was holding a casserole dish in her hands. 'We brung food,' she said, then stopped slightly behind her mother, as if suddenly shy.

'Brought,' Elizabeth said. 'I swear, hanging out with your father's relatives is doing nothing for your education.' She smiled fondly at her daughter, then glanced back at Sandy. 'She knows more about the Forty- niners' starting lineup than she does about any of her subjects at school. Oh, you still look confused. I'm sorry. I'm Travis's wife. We've come to help you unpack.'

'Elizabeth, come on in,' Kyle said, coming to the door. 'Mandy, how's my favorite munchkin?'

The little blond girl giggled. 'I'm not a munchkin, Uncle Kyle.'

'I keep forgetting. Maybe it's because all munchkins have blond hair just like you.' He bent down and touched the two braids brushing against her shoulders.

'Do they?' she asked, her blue eyes wide and questioning.

'Kyle,' Elizabeth said, the tone in her voice warning him to tread carefully. 'Stop torturing my daughter.'

Kyle chuckled, then took the casserole dish from Mandy. 'No, honey, they don't.'

Travis strolled up the stairs. He placed his hand on his wife's waist and guided her into the house. 'Sandy, this is my wife, Elizabeth, and my daughters Mandy and little Jessica.' He glanced fondly at the sleeping toddler. 'We're here to help you unpack. Where would you like us to start?'

Sandy was speechless. She didn't know whether to be pleased or insulted. Kyle had arranged for people to help her without asking her first. She should hate that. Yet the gesture was so thoughtful. She liked Travis; there was every reason to believe she would like his wife, and she didn't have any friends in Glenwood yet.

Before she could think of what to say, Kyle took charge. He sent Mandy upstairs with instructions on how to find Nichole's room, thrust the casserole dish into Sandy's hands, then ushered Travis into the family room, where he promised they would take care of the 'man' work.

Elizabeth stared after them, then laughed. 'I guess that leaves all the women's work for us.' She shifted the toddler in her arms. 'It's Jessica's nap time,' she explained. 'She had a busy morning playing in the backyard. And driving in the car always puts her to sleep.'

'You can put her on my bed,' she said. 'It would only take a minute to get the sheets unpacked.'

'No, that's too much like work and we're going to have enough of that already.' Elizabeth glanced into the living room. The floral-print sofa facing the wide windows had fluffy pillows. 'Would you mind if she slept there?' she asked, nodding in the direction of the sofa.

'Of course not.'

In a couple of minutes, Jessica was curled on the couch with her favorite stuffed toy, a lion missing an ear and the end of its tail. Elizabeth pulled a light blanket over the sleeping child. 'She's our miracle baby,' she said, straightening and following Sandy into the kitchen.

'Did you have trouble getting pregnant?'

Elizabeth laughed. 'Not at all. But until Jessica, there hadn't been a girl born into the Haynes family in four generations.'

Sandy set the casserole on the counter. 'I didn't know that.'

'That's a chicken-broccoli thing,' Elizabeth said, motioning to the covered dish. 'Just heat it in the oven at 350° for about a half hour and it will be fine.'

'Thanks for bringing the food. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness. So will my kids when I'm too tired to cook. After a week of living in a motel, even they're getting tired of take-out for dinner every night.'

Elizabeth stared at the piles of boxes. They filled the large space, with several pushed up against the wall and a few on the kitchen table. 'Where should I start?'

'You don't have to help.'

'That's why we're here, Sandy. Kyle put the word out. He's been there for us, so we're happy to help one of his friends.'

Elizabeth didn't hesitate before saying the word friend but even so, Sandy wondered what Kyle had said about her. Or what he hadn't.

She looked at the boxes, then at the empty cupboards. How on earth was she going to get this house in some kind of order? 'Feel free to open whatever box strikes your fancy,' she said. 'I've pretty much decided where everything should go.'

'Sounds good to me.' Elizabeth reached for the one closest to her and drew open the flaps. 'Canned goods,' she said, peering inside.

'The pantry cupboard is right there.' Sandy pointed to the closed door on the other side of the double oven.

Elizabeth carried the box over to the counter closest to the pantry and started unpacking. 'Kyle said you just moved to town. What made you decide on Glenwood, if you don't mind my asking?'

'My husband died a couple of years ago. After everything settled down, I decided I didn't want to raise my kids in Los Angeles. I'd lived in Glenwood for a few years when I was a teenager, so when a job teaching at the junior college opened up, I moved us here.' She wrinkled her nose. 'So far, it's not a popular decision with the family.'

Elizabeth smiled. 'It will get better. I moved here from L.A., too, although I wasn't a widow. So your husband passed away two years ago?'

'Yes.'

'And you've recovered?'

Sandy paused. Recovered wasn't the word she would have chosen. That implied an emotional bereavement. She missed Thomas, but she hadn't mourned him as the lost love of her life. 'I'm making a fresh start, if that's what you mean.'

'It's good enough.'

'How long have you lived here?' Sandy asked.

'Three years.' Elizabeth placed the last can in the pantry and turned the empty box over. While she worked the bottom free so the box could lay flat, she stared off into the distance. Her brown eyes took on a dreamy expression. 'I met Travis the second day I was here. He pulled me over for speeding.'

Sandy stared at her. 'That sounds really romantic.'

'Oh, it was.' She laughed. 'I know it doesn't sound like much, but I had appendicitis, and he rushed me to the