“None,” she said flatly.
Ethan glanced over and caught the tear that had leaked out, aware then that he’d hit on something. “I thought you were going to try out for the school play.”
She whirled on him. “Do not mention that stupid play to me, okay? I didn’t get the lead. I didn’t even get a walk-on. I heard Mrs. Gentry tell another teacher it was a real shame to waste my talent, but she thought my prosthesis would be a distraction. She sounded all sad and sympathetic, but it was fake. I think she was glad to be able to give that twit Sue Ellen the lead. Like Sue Ellen will be able to remember her lines,” she scoffed. “She’s so busy batting her eyes at every guy in school, she can barely remember her own name.”
Ethan felt a swell of fury on Cass’s behalf. It was one thing for kids to be inadvertently cruel to each other, but teachers should have more sensitivity. “Sounds to me as if Mrs. Gentry needs to be replaced.”
“Like that’s ever going to happen,” Cass said. “She’s, like, some kind of institution at the school. Her recommendations carry a lot of weight in the drama departments at some colleges, too. I guess I can’t count on that anymore.”
Ethan frowned at the defeat in her voice. “You don’t want to act? Come on, Cass. I thought that was your passion. And I saw you a couple of years ago. You were great!”
“What’s the point?” she asked with a careless shrug she couldn’t quite pull off. “Nobody’s going to hire me.”
He regarded her with surprise. “Boy, that doesn’t sound like you. I thought you were a fighter.”
“I am,” she said angrily, “but I know when to quit. Could we drop this, please? I’m going on your stupid hike. One victory for the day ought to be enough, even for a guy who hates losing the way you do.”
With that, she climbed out of his car and went to join the other kids who were waiting to be taken to a nearby park with trails that were manageable for everyone, at least with a little assistance. She leaned down and whispered something to Trevor that had the ten-year-old grinning. For all Ethan knew, they were planning a quick getaway.
Ethan sighed as he watched her. One of the things he was still struggling to accept was that physical triumphs were sometimes a whole lot easier in the long run than emotional ones, especially with people like Mrs. Gentry feeding into doubts and insecurities. The woman might be an institution, but he thought it was time for a bit of a shake-up at the school.
* * *
Even though Emily and Boone kept their voices low, it was evident to Samantha that they were having an argument. Since they kept glancing her way, she assumed she was at the center of it. That drew her across the yard to where Boone was grilling steaks for dinner for the family.
“Hush,” Emily whispered urgently as Samantha approached.
Unfortunately for her the warning came too late. Samantha heard Boone trying, apparently without success, to convince Emily that Ethan truly hadn’t been available to join them.
Samantha gave her sister a resigned look. “It didn’t take long for you to forget all about our conversation this morning, did it?” she asked mildly.
Boone gave her a sympathetic look. “My bride-to-be is on a mission.”
“A pointless one,” Samantha said. “I thought I’d made that clear.”
“I’m not so sure it’s pointless,” Boone said, surprising them both.
Emily’s eyes lit up. “Really? You think Ethan’s interested?”
“I think he genuinely doesn’t realize that he is,” Boone said. “It’s been a long time since he allowed himself to take a chance on a woman. It’s not a habit that’s easily broken, especially for a man as strong-willed as he is. He’s focused all of his energy on getting himself as fit as possible, getting the clinic up and running and on those kids of his.”
Samantha blinked at that. “Ethan has kids? Was he married at some point?” She frowned at her sister. “Don’t you think you should have mentioned that?”
“They aren’t his kids,” Emily said quickly. “They’re kids with special needs. Some can’t walk. Some have lost a limb. He’s made it his mission to prove to them they can live a normal life. What’s he call it, Boone? Project Pride?”
Boone nodded.
“I think what he’s doing is wonderful,” Emily added in case Samantha needed to have that pointed out.
Which she didn’t, Samantha thought ruefully. In fact, it made Ethan that much more appealing. The plus column in the man’s favor was literally crowded with checkmarks. The only minus, however, was huge. He wasn’t interested. Or even if he was, as Boone thought, he was going to fight it. Wasn’t that the same thing in the long run?
Emily’s expression turned thoughtful. “You know, Samantha, I’ll bet some of the girls in his group could use a woman’s influence,” she suggested slyly. “Remember when we used to play beauty shop? You were the one who taught Gabi and me how to put on makeup and how to fix our hair. That could go a long way to helping with their self-image, don’t you think so, Boone?”
Boone held up his hands. “Out of my ballpark,” he said. “You need to run that one by Ethan.”
“I think I will,” Emily said, nabbing Boone’s cell phone from his pocket and scrolling down until she found Ethan’s number.
“Not now,” Samantha instructed firmly, managing to wrestle the phone away from her, just as she heard Ethan answer. She sighed, then spoke to him.
“Sorry, Ethan. Emily misdialed.”
“Samantha?” he asked. “What are you doing with Boone’s phone, or do I even need to ask?”
She stepped away from her sister. “You
