Tears burned behind her eyes. She used to have a crush on a one-dimensional image on the screen, gorgeous and strong and heroic. But she was very much afraid she had lost her heart to the man behind that image. Even through her absolute horror as she had listened to Ruby’s scheme, as the girl had talked about how much she wanted a mommy—how much she had wanted Ashley for a mommy—she had wanted it, too.
She still did. She ached with it, with the possibilities he had stirred up inside her by the tender heat of that kiss. She indulged in those possibilities—okay, those impossibilities—for only a moment then she dropped her hands and squared her shoulders.
It was over. She had shared one wonderful starlit night with him and with Ruby and that was all she would ever have. She just needed to put the whole humiliating experience behind her, forget about her teenage crush and the wonderful man she had found in real life, and figure out how to move on.
The weather turned cold and grim the next day as an icy rain blew down out of Montana to soak the mountains. It matched her mood perfectly, but did nothing to help lift her spirits.
As promised, Monday saw a dramatic turnaround in the Ruby Problem. The girl reverted to the sweet, sunny child she had been the first few days of school. No more belligerence or defiance. She handed in perfect assignments, she answered more questions than anyone else in class, she sat as still as a five-year-old could possibly manage during circle time.
The only black mark Ashley could have put in the Ruby column was that the girl apparently hadn’t given up her ridiculous matchmaking. Every day at recess, she would hover around Ashley, filling her ears with stories about her father that only made Ashley fall deeper for him. She tried her best to discourage her, but Ruby wouldn’t be deterred.
She could only wonder what kinds of stories about her Ruby was carrying back to Justin.
She had to admit, she was always glad to see the last of the girl when her great-aunt Lydia arrived to pick her up every afternoon in a sleek Range Rover.
On Friday, though, Ruby was the last child waiting at pickup and Lydia and her Range Rover were nowhere in sight. The cold, relentless rain dropped in sheets and even under the awning in front of the elementary school, it was miserable.
“Let’s go inside and wait,” she said to Ruby. “We can go back to the classroom and call your great-aunt to find out what’s going on.”
To her dismay, Ruby looked thrilled for a little more time in her company and Ashley sighed. She was growing to care far too much about the little girl, too. She set Ruby up with crayons and paper and looked through her files for Ruby’s contact information so she could dial Lydia’s cell number. She had just found the right paper and pulled it out when she heard a noise by the door and Ruby shrieked with delight.
“Daddy! Daddy!”
Nineteen
ASHLEY JERKED HER gaze up, just in time to see Justin standing in the doorway, looking strong and masculine and wonderful, before Ruby rushed to him and threw her arms around his waist.
“I missed you so much, Daddy. Did you buy a new horse on your trip?”
“A couple of them.” He hugged his daughter, but his gaze rested on Ashley and she felt hot and cold at the same time.
“Are they pretty?” Ruby asked.
“Beautiful,” he murmured, but his gaze never left her. A wild heat flared inside her and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath. Try, she ordered herself harshly. The last thing she needed right now was to hyperventilate and pass out at his feet. Then he would really think she was an obsessed fan.
“I was really good for Miss Barnes all week,” Ruby told him. “Wasn’t I, Miss Barnes?”
She cleared her throat and tried to force her oxygen-starved brain to function again. “Uh, yes. You were wonderful.”
“Oh!” Ruby said suddenly. “I forgot my leaf pictures. I left them in Mrs. Cook’s classroom in art class so they could dry, but I need to take them home and show Aunt Liddy.”
In a heartbeat, she rushed out the door, leaving the two of them alone.
Ashley couldn’t look at Justin, but she was aware of him moving into the classroom and walking closer to her desk.
“How are you?” he asked.
She finally lifted her gaze at the quiet sincerity in his voice. “Still more embarrassed than I’ve ever been in my life,” she admitted.
“You have no reason to be embarrassed. It was my daughter who tried to play matchmaker.”
“Ruby would never have gotten the crazy idea in her head if I hadn’t been talking about you with Marcy.” She sighed, knowing she had to confront this or she would never be able to look him in the eye again. “Marcy has been my best friend since second grade. She knew all about my silly crush on you. Everyone knew. I’m afraid I was a little obsessed. I was fourteen and you were, well, you. You were heroic and passionate and...and gorgeous.”
Her face flared with color and she knew she had to be beet-red, but she cleared her throat and plowed on. “Marcy thinks it’s a hilarious twist of fate that I’m teaching your daughter, all these years later, and she’s been teasing me about it since school started. That’s what Ruby overheard, just two old friends remembering something that seems another lifetime ago.”
He was quiet and she thought she saw something like pain flicker in
