Father in Training

Elizabeth grinned. 'Less work for us.'

'That's true.' Sandy gathered up a handful of flatware and set it on the cake dish, then carried everything into the kitchen. Rebecca and Christina, a petite blonde who was dating Kyle's oldest brother, Craig, were already washing dishes.

'More work,' Elizabeth called. 'No rest for the wicked.'

Rebecca glanced at her over her shoulder. 'We're notthe wicked ones. It's those men who should be in here cleaning.'

'I heard that,' Kyle said, walking in with an armful of plastic glasses. 'I'm helping.'

Elizabeth picked up a dish towel and tossed it to Sandy, then grabbed another one for herself. 'Kyle, would you please bring in the rest of the dishes. Sandy and I will dry.'

'No problem.' He left the kitchen.

Rebecca grinned. 'You notice how well behaved he is all of a sudden. As if he's trying to impress a certain someone.'

'I thought that same thing, myself,' Elizabeth said. 'Now, who could he be strutting around for? Is he dating anyone?'

'Not that I know of.' Rebecca looked at Sandy. 'You wouldn't know anything about this, would you?'

Sandy could feel herself blushing. 'Gee, I haven't seen anyone at his house.'

'Except for yourself, of course,' Rebecca teased.

'I'm just there to collect the children.'

The two women exchanged knowing glances. Kyle returned with more dishes and conversation became more general. Sandy enjoyed her time with the women. She liked their friendly manner.

'Only two more weeks until camp,' Elizabeth said. 'I can't wait. With Mandy gone, we're hiring a sitter every night for the baby, and Travis and I are going to be alone. I feel like it's been years since our honeymoon.'

'It has been,' Rebecca reminded her. 'Austin and I are doing the same thing. Paying a sitter to mind the baby is a small price to pay for romantic time with my husband. David is so excited about going to camp. I adore him, but I sure look forward to the peace and quiet.'

'What camp?' Sandy asked.

Elizabeth dried a plate and set it in the cupboard. 'Glenwood sponsors a three-night camp for all the children in town. They have to be five or older. It's great. All the parents get some time off and the kids are supervised. The best part is, because they go as a group, they're with people they know, so they don't usually get homesick.'

She sighed. 'Three whole nights and four days. I can't wait.'

Rebecca looked at her. 'Are your three going?'

'I didn't know about it.' Although now that she thought about it, she did remember hearing Lindsay and Blake talking about a camp, but she'd thought it was the park's program they were already in.

'These are the last of them,' Kyle said as he walked in carrying several serving dishes.

'Sandy didn't know about the camp,' Elizabeth said, then raised her eyebrows. 'I'm shocked that you haven't already mentioned it.'

He surprised Sandy by clearing his throat and shuffling his feet. 'The kids know about it and want to go,' he said. 'We were, um, discussing the best way to bring it up. Lindsay didn't think you'd want them to go.'

'Why would she think that?' Sandy asked.

'She said you hadn't let her go to camp two years ago.'

'But that was right after her father had died. I thought she was trying to run away from his death and I was afraid of what would happen to her. She'd never been away from home before on her own.'

'Oh.' He looked up and smiled. 'They'd like to go.'

'I don't have a problem with that.'

'Good.' His brown eyes darkened to the color of a midnight sky. The air between them seemed charged with electricity and she was having trouble breathing.

'Is it hot in here, or is it me?' Elizabeth asked.

But her voice seemed to come from a long way off. Sandy knew what Kyle was thinking. If the children were gone for three nights, then they wouldn't have any interruptions or excuses. There would be nothing to stop them from taking the next natural step in their relationship.

She bit down hard on her lip. Relationship? She and Kyle didn't have a relationship. They were neighbors. Friends. Nothing else.

But as she stared at him and listened to the other women chuckling at their expense, she knew it was already too late. She and Kyle were involved. There was nothing she could do except wait it out and see what happened. It wasn't as if he was the love of her life. She was far too sensible to fall for a guy like him. It was just about attraction and sex.

She could always recover from a broken heart. What she couldn't recover from was regretting something she hadn't done.

'I'll make the arrangements tomorrow,' she said.

Chapter 13

She wanted to ask him to pull the car over because she was about to lose her lunch. Not that she had eaten anything. She couldn't. Sandy closed her eyes and leaned back against the passenger seat of her station wagon. While her three kids had inhaled burgers and fries, she'd picked at a small salad. Even Kyle had gotten his lunch down with no trouble at all. Damn him!

She opened one eye and glanced at him. He was driving through the streets of Glenwood, heading back to her house. He looked calm, unconcerned. He was even humming with the radio! Didn't he know what was going to happen? Did he realize what they'd just done? Her three children were on a bus heading to the Glenwood city camp where they would spend the next four days and three nights. Nights he had implied the two of them would be spending together. Alone. Making love.

So why wasn't he nervous? Were his palms sweating and his stomach heaving and his body alternately hot and cold?

No, not Kyle. He was calm and relaxed. As if he had nothing to worry about. As if they weren't going to do it.

Her eyes shot open and she sat up straight in the seat. Maybe that was it, she thought grimly. He'd changed his mind. He didn't want to do 'it' with her anymore. Or he'd never wanted to. She'd misunderstood everything. He'd kissed her before because… because…

'Stop fidgeting,' Kyle said. 'We've got plenty of time.'

She stopped breathing. 'Time?' she squeaked.

At the next stoplight, he glanced at her. Something warm and sexy glowed in his dark brown eyes. He grinned at her. 'I was going to give you until tonight to let you have your way with me, then I figured why waste a perfectly good afternoon. So don't worry, darlin', we've got four days for loving.'

She sucked in a breath and coughed. 'Great.'

So much for being Sensible Sandy. So much for being in control and acting dignified and sophisticated. She felt as prepared as a virgin facing a sacrificial altar. Maybe she could tell him she'd changed her mind. Maybe she should tell him that she wasn't his type. After all, she was just a mom with three kids. Hardly the sultry vixen he must be used to. She clutched her belly as it rolled one more time.

He turned into the driveway. She thought about jumping out of the car, but she figured she would only maim herself, and the thought of trying to make love with skinned knees was just too depressing.

Instead of continuing toward her place, Kyle turned the station wagon into his driveway and parked in front of the garage. He turned off the engine, then got out of the car and walked around to her side. It was her moment to bolt. She didn't. Sandy sat there like a rabbit caught in the hypnotic stare of a snake. She could do nothing to escape. It was inevitable. She might as well make the best of the situation.

He opened her door and held out his hand. She hesitated before placing her palm on his. Their gazes locked. Instantly, something hot and alive crackled between them. The rolling of her stomach quieted as anticipation took