'Cathy likes to have one adult for every couple of kids, so if you went, we'd be responsible for four. One of them would be Maggie, of course.'
'You'd stay with me?' he asked. 'I wouldn't have to be alone with the children?'
She couldn't help grinning. 'Jeff, they don't bite.'
'Sometimes they do.' He closed his briefcase. 'I'd be happy to come along. Give me ten minutes to call the office and leave Brenda a message, then change my clothes.'
'Sure. Great.'
She backed out of the office before he could sense the elation that swept through her. He was joining her. They would spend the entire day together. Okay, they would have four rug rats with them and this was more about Maggie than her, but still. A shiver of pleasure rippled through her.
Ten minutes later Jeff walked down the stairs. Ashley was busy helping Maggie into her coat, which meant she was kneeling on the floor. A good thing because she probably would have fallen over if she'd been standing.
He'd changed his clothes. Nothing unusual in that. People did it all the time. But she'd never seen Jeff in anything but a suit, and in jeans and a sweater he was gorgeous. Broad shoulders pulled at the woolen fabric. His chest narrowed to his waist, where his jeans emphasized his slim hips. Soft, faded denim clung to thighs as solid and well shaped as a Greek god's.
Maggie squealed when she saw him. 'Mommy said you're comin' with us to the zoo. I wanna see all the animals. And baby kitties. And elephants, 'cause next to the kitties, I like them the best. Because of their ears.'
Jeff squatted next to her daughter, which put him way too close to herself. 'Not the trunks?'
Maggie wrinkled her nose. 'Trunks are silly. But they have neat ears.'
Jeff grinned. Ashley's heart froze for a second, before attempting a land speed record in thumps per second. Jeff occasionally joked and he smiled fairly regularly, but he didn't grin much. There were almost dimples in his cheeks and great crinkles by his eyes. If he did that grin thing too much, he could generate enough heat to melt the polar ice caps.
Sensible, she reminded herself as she finished helping Maggie with her coat and rose. She had to be sensible. She wasn't looking for a relationship with a man. She preferred her life to be simple. When she was finally ready to get involved again, she wanted someone who could love her best. She had a feeling that Jeff wasn't in a position to open his heart to anyone. So why go looking for trouble?
'Here you are.'
She turned and saw Jeff holding up her coat for her. As she slipped into it, she accidentally brushed her cheek against his hand. Fire burned from the point of contact. She sighed. It seemed like she wasn't going to have to look for trouble. It was finding her all on its own.
Four-year-olds found everything about the zoo endlessly fascinating. Jeff watched in amazement as his charges raced toward the giraffe exhibit. The kids were as excited by the drinking fountains and benches as they were by the animals.
'What are you thinking?' Ashley asked. 'Having second thoughts?'
'Never.'
'I'm glad, because you're great with the kids.'
He risked glancing at her, taking in the perfect smoothness of her skin and the laughter lurking in her hazel eyes. She was endlessly pretty, he thought, and more than appealing. He was finding it more and more difficult to spend time with her and not give in to his need. He'd come close a couple of times, compelled by a desire that grew so quickly, it was difficult to contain.
When he'd first brought Ashley home, she wanted to know who he was and what he was doing in her world. Now he wanted to ask her the same question. Who was this woman who had made a place for herself in his cold and empty life?
'Jeff, Jeff, pick me up so I can see 'em!'
The instruction came from a blond little boy named Tommy. For reasons that weren't clear to Jeff, the boy had latched on to him from the second they'd been introduced.
Jeff bent awkwardly and lifted the boy in his arms. 'There you go.'
The slight weight shifted as the kid squirmed to get a better look at the giraffes strolling through their compound.
'Are the elephants next, Mommy?' a familiar voice asked.
'Yes, Maggie. In just a few minutes. Aren't the giraffes pretty, with their long necks?'
Maggie glanced at him as if to say her mother simply wasn't getting it. Cats and elephants were the only animals that interested Maggie.
'Can I touch 'em?' Tommy asked.
Jeff shrugged. 'Do you want to keep all your fingers?'
Tommy's blue eyes widened. His hands curled into fists. 'They eat fingers?'
'No, but they bite. Animals in the zoo aren't pets. We have to treat them with respect because they're wild creatures.'
The boy regarded him solemnly. Tommy had a stain on the front of his flannel shirt and a cowlick that sent a lock of hair up toward the heavens.
'Are you Maggie's daddy?'
The question caught Jeff off guard. He lowered the boy to the ground. 'No.'
Two of the kids pushed to get closer to the fence keeping visitors away from the animals. In the process, one of the kids, a girl in pigtails, landed on her butt. Before she more than opened her mouth to scream, one of the mothers pulled her to her feet and distracted her by pointing out the baby giraffe.
Jeff looked at the group of children and parents. They moved and interacted with a grace and rhythm he couldn't understand or copy. He was very much the outsider, but he couldn't decide if he wanted to be anything else.
'Elephants next,' Cathy, the preschool teacher called. 'Let's go this way.'
The children yelped with excitement and hurried after her.
'Not exactly special ops in the jungle, huh?' Ashley said as she stepped next to him. 'So, is this more or less challenging than your last security job?'
'It's different.'
'Mommy, Uncle Jeff, elephants,' Maggie called as she raced past them.
'Don't run, young lady,' Ashley instructed. Her daughter slowed marginally.
The late-morning air was cool. There hadn't been any rain in a couple of days and most of the clouds had blown away to the east. Jeff inhaled the scent of the trees and plants around them and tried to ignore the sweet scent that was Ashley alone.
She made him ache with wanting. She made him want to kiss her and touch her, even though he knew he could never do either. Being with her would destroy them both, because she would eventually figure out who and what he was. Then where would they be? Life was easier when he remembered his limitations.
'Why are elephants gray?' one of the boys asked. 'Why do they have trunks? Why are they so big? Do they eat people?'
Ashley laughed. 'I'll bet we can read all about the elephants when we get there.'
The boy wasn't impressed. 'Don't you know?'
She turned to Jeff. 'What about it, big guy? Want to take the elephant questions?'
'I had to answer questions in the bug house, and that was a lot harder.'
'I don't believe you.'
They walked toward the re-creation of a tropical forest for the elephants. Other children from a different school were already chattering about the big mammals. Jeff paused to count heads, making sure the entire group was still together. He could-
A sharp cry cut through the morning. Jeff turned and was moving toward the sound before he even understood what he heard. Tommy had fallen and sat cradling his small hand against his chest. As Jeff approached, he saw the
