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  He waited until Tamara had left before he turned back to Michelle. “I feel like I’m being unfairly judged here.” It irritated him. He was a private person. He didn’t “kiss and tell,” and he didn’t feel—even in this instance—that he should have to explain why he and any woman he had previously dated hadn’t been right for each other. It was enough that he and the women knew.

  With the exception of Violet Hunter—who still seemed to have a crush on him—all the women he’d dated seemed to agree that they were just not suited for each other.

  Michelle shrugged, not at all surprised. “People talk about this stuff—especially in rural communities, where not a lot else goes on.”

  “But she’s a professional.”

  “Who is doing her job. You don’t have a good track record with women here. If, for instance, you had ever been in a serious relationship…”

  Figuring if he had to discuss his romantic past with anyone, it might as well be to one of the two lawyers representing him, he looked Michelle in the eye. “I dated a woman for five years, and Sela and I lived together for two after that.”

  Michelle blinked, stunned. After a moment she pulled herself together and continued in the same tone she probably would have used had she been a prosecuting attorney. “But didn’t marry,” she said quietly.

  A fact, Thad knew, that wouldn’t sit well with a stickler like Judge Barnes, either.

  Thad went to put the sleeping William in the only available bed nearby—his infant carrier. He knelt to strap him in and tucked a blanket in around him, then walked with Michelle back to the dining room. “Only because Sela wasn’t ready.”

  She stood, hands hooked over the back of the chair where she’d been sitting. “What happened?”

  Suspecting Michelle was asking as much for her own curiosity as for the benefit of his case, Thad gestured for her to take a seat again.

  When they were settled, he said, “Sela and I met in med school and started dating then. We stayed together until we finished our residencies, both in emergency medicine. Then we were starting to interview for jobs. I would have gone to Houston or Dallas or anywhere else she wanted to be. The big cities were more reasonable because they had a higher like-lihood of us both finding positions at hospitals near each other.” He paused, remembering the shock and the hurt. “Sela thought it wasn’t a good idea, that our relationship had gone as far as it was going to go.”

  Michelle leaned back in her chair. “And you didn’t agree?”

  Thad had always wanted to be closer, to have the kind of relationship where they could finish each other’s sentences. It hadn’t happened. But that didn’t mean he and Sela hadn’t been happy, spending time together whenever they could. “I expected us to get married and have kids,” he said finally.

  Still listening, she leaned closer. “And?”

  “Sela felt that while we had been a great support system for each other, we didn’t have the kind of emotional intimacy necessary to build a future on, have a family. She thought it was better if we called it quits while we were still friends.”

  Compassion lit Michelle’s eyes. “Are you still friends?”

  Thad shook his head. “I couldn’t go backward in the relationship and that’s what it would have been, at least to me. So we ended it and moved on. For a while afterward, I shut down and didn’t see anyone. Then I realized that wasn’t good, either, so when I took the job in Summit, I decided to put as much effort into finding someone to settle down and have children with as I have everything else.” He cleared his throat. “So I’ve tried to stay open to the possibilities. Not just dismiss women without getting to know them first. The trouble is,” he explained patiently, “if you go into the getting-to-know-each-other-phase strictly as friends, you can’t get close to each other the same way you would if you were romancing them, but if you’re romancing them and it doesn’t work out, it can be hard to go back to the possibility of being just friends.”

  Michelle heaved a commiserating sigh. “Damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”

  “Exactly.” As their eyes met and locked, Thad felt a shimmer of tension between them. Man-woman tension. “The thing is,” he continued, “I’m not going to give up dating, because I still want to get married and have kids. I want to find that special someone.”

  And in fact, Thad thought, his spirits lifting, he was beginning to think he already had.

  MICHELLE STUDIED Thad, aware once again that the situation had taken an unexpectedly intimate turn. And while, as a woman, as a neighbor, as a friend, she was glad to know that Thad wasn’t the player she had thought, as the law partner of his family attorney, it put her in an awkward spot.

  “I usually don’t talk about my ex,” he said.

  Forcing herself to get back to business, she reached for the yellow notepad and wrote a memo for Glenn. “It’s something the social worker should know.” Something she had needed to know, too.

  Thad grimaced. “Unfortunately Tamara Kelly seems to have formed an opinion of me, and it’s the same one you had.”

  Michelle ignored the intensity of his gaze and kept on writing. “It’s hard not to think that with the number of women constantly traipsing to your front door,” she remarked casually.

  “If you’ve noticed that, you’ve also noticed I usually manage to avoid inviting them in.”

  Playing devil’s advocate, Michelle pointed out, “But you often sit on the front porch with them for a while.”

  “To be polite,” Thad qualified, his frustration apparent. “I don’t know how to discourage them without hurting their feelings.”

  Michelle joked, “Rudeness often works. But it’d be a heck of a time to start being rude, when you’re trying to adopt a baby.”

  “Exactly. I need to appear more of a gentleman than ever.” Thad met her gaze again. “But if you were interested in me—”

  Michelle stopped him before he could go further. “I’m not,” she fibbed as her heart kicked against her ribs.

  Thad looked at her as if thinking the kiss the other night indicated otherwise. “Let’s just pretend, for the sake of argument, you are,” he drawled. “What would discourage you from making a play for me?”

  That’s easy. “If you were involved with someone.”

  Thad’s lips compressed. “I’ve been dating someone before. That hasn’t stopped the female attention aimed my way.”

  That was because he was such a genuinely nice guy. “It probably would if you were seriously involved with someone.”

  He ran his palm across his jaw. “You’ve got a point. I never had this problem when I was with Sela.”

  “See?” She studied the buttons on his shirt. “Easy.”

  Thad inclined his head. “Let me get this straight. The judge wants to see me in a lasting relationship. So would the social worker. And you think if I were to see someone seriously, I’d no longer have the problem with all the single women making plays for me. So, in theory, having a steady girlfriend would solve all my problems.”

  “In theory being the key words, Thad. You can’t just…I mean you shouldn’t…get involved with someone simply as a means to an end.” People could get hurt. She could get hurt.

  He continued to study her as if he was trying to figure something out. “You’re right,” he concluded. “If and when I do get involved with someone again, it has to be for the right reasons. Because I know even before we have our first date that it’s going to work.”

  “Again that sounds fine in theory, but…”

  “Easier said than done,” he guessed.

  “I think so.” Another silence fell. “In the meantime, you have a lot to do.” Michelle got up to leave.

  “Yeah, I do,” Thad agreed.

  She packed up her briefcase, then paused to take one last look at the still-sleeping William. “If you need any help…” she murmured, her heart swelling with love for the abandoned baby boy.

  Thad lifted his brow. “Are you available tonight?”
r />   Chapter Six

  “How did the depositions go?” Michelle asked Glenn. She was about to walk out the door. Her partner was just walking in.

  Glenn set his briefcase on his desk. “I think it’s going to take several more days before we finish.” He removed his suit jacket and looped it over the back of a chair. “How did the hearing go with Judge Barnes?”

  Briefly Michelle filled him in, finishing with the social worker’s home visit.

  “A bad initial report can be hard to overcome,” Glenn warned.

  But not altogether impossible.

  Recalling she had promised Thad she would help out with the baby again that evening, Michelle said, “Between you and me, I don’t think Thad considers failure an option in this situation. Which is why I wanted to talk to you. I don’t think I should be representing Thad, even in a pinch. Any other one of your clients is fine—I’m happy to help—but I think it’s a bad idea for me to get professionally involved with Dr. Garner.”

  Glenn eyed her with the wisdom of someone who had known her for years. “I thought your days of getting emotionally invested in cases were over,” he stated.

  So had she, but Thad had a way of drawing her in, making her feel a part of his—and William’s—life. “The thing is, we’re neighbors. I don’t want there to be any bad blood if things don’t go the way Thad wants. It’d be too awkward, living across the street from each other.”

  “I understand.” Glenn paused to peruse the extensive notes she had made for him. “You really think the court might turn down Thad’s petition to adopt?”

  “I don’t know.” She only knew she didn’t want to lie awake at night worrying about it.

  Figuring Thad had probably lined up an army of people to help him get his house quickly up to the standards of children’s services, Michelle drove home. She was pleased to see a housecleaning-service van in front of the house. That meant Thad was taking the evaluation process seriously. It would help a lot to have everything sparkling.

  She went inside and changed into jeans, sneakers and an old shirt, then walked across the street to see if there was anything else Thad and William needed. Looking incredibly handsome and relaxed, Thad answered the doorbell with William in his arms.

  “Are we ever glad to see you!” Taking her by the wrist, he drew her inside the house, past the activity in the living room, dining room and foyer to the kitchen. Overflowing grocery sacks were scattered across the countertops and table. “William and I went shopping,” he announced proudly.

  His cheerful attitude was infectious. Michelle grinned. “I can see that.” Just as she could see what a wonderful dad Thad was going to be.

  “We got a lot of different stuff. I was going to put it all away, but the vacuum cleaner startled William and he started fussing, so…would you mind holding him while I heat a bottle of formula for him?”

  Their hands and arms brushed as he transferred William to her. To distract herself from the tingling sensation, Michelle cuddled William close and looked around some more. Front and center on the countertop was a very handy gadget. “You got a bottle warmer.”

  “Yeah, it was in that stuff I got at the shower the other night. I found it when I was trying to sort through it all and put it away. Pretty neat.” Thad demonstrated how it worked for her. “You just put a little water in the bottom, set the bottle of formula in the warmer, press this button and then wait for it to heat up.”

  Michelle smiled. If Thad kept improving his parenting skills at this pace, his next evaluation was bound to be a lot better. There was only one problem. She inclined her head at the groceries. “Are you really going to use all this?”

  He looked puzzled. “Why?”

  Michelle decided to be blunt. “Because if you don’t, and you forget about the fresh produce and the meat and milk, and it ends up going bad in the fridge, that wouldn’t look so good, either.”

  Thad’s eyes glittered with undecipherable emotion. “You don’t think I can cook?”

  Was that a serious question? “Uh…no.”

  He came close enough for her to inhale the scent of soap and aftershave clinging to his skin. “Why not?” he taunted, looking very much like he wanted to kiss her again.

  The damning part was, she wanted to throw caution to the wind and kiss him, too. “You don’t have the kitchen of a man who cooks,” Michelle said. He hadn’t even known what a mixing bowl was.

  He gestured toward the cabinets. “I’ve got pots and pans and dishes.”

  Michelle did not know what he was used to, but she was not afraid to go toe-to-toe with him. “And as of this afternoon, when Tamara Kelly was here doing her inspection, nothing but juice, coffee, bottled water, formula and milk in the fridge. If you cooked—” she edged closer, further pressing her point “—you would have had eggs and flour and salt and spices, meat and veggies, bread.”

  He looked at her like he wanted to do a lot more than kiss her. “I had cereal.”

  She wanted to do a lot more than kiss him, too. “True.”

  He braced his hands on his waist. “I’m going to learn how to cook.”

  His nearness had her pulse racing. “Really?”

  He nodded. “And I’m hoping you’ll volunteer to teach me, starting tonight.”

  THAD WASN’T SURE what was more disconcerting, the stunned look on Michelle’s face as she processed his request or the sight of her standing in his kitchen, cradling William in her arms. Was this what it would be like to be married and have a kid? He’d never felt as close to anyone as he did to the two of them at this moment. And they barely knew each other.

  Thad continued casually, “I figure simple is better.”

  Michelle’s pretty green eyes widened. “Don’t you think you should slow down?”

  “Heck, no.” The light on the warmer went off, signaling the bottle was ready. Thad plucked it from the warmer, wiped off the moisture clinging to the bottom, and shook it well. He tested the formula on his wrist. Lukewarm. Perfect.

  He waited for Michelle to settle in a chair, perpendicular to the kitchen table, then handed her the bottle. “I know how these things work. Surprise visits always follow the scheduled ones. I’m going to be ready next time. Hopefully with an apron on, looking very domestic.”

  Michelle snuggled William against her breast. “You’re kidding.”

  Thad watched her slip the nipple into William’s mouth. The baby began to drink almost immediately, looking up at her adoringly all the while.

  Thad couldn’t blame the little fella. He was pretty besotted with her, too.

  “I’m kidding about the apron. Not about being ready.” He started taking staples out of sacks. He’d purchased everything from canned green beans to dried barley. Salad stuff. Boneless chicken breasts. Fresh fruit. Potatoes. Soups. More cereal. Bread. Butter. Milk. Cheese. A dozen eggs.

  “I’m serious about being the best dad ever,” he said.

  Michelle regarded Thad with new respect. “I’m impressed.”

  A feeling of accomplishment shot through him. “That’s the general idea.”

  The vacuum cleaner stopped.

  The cleaning-crew boss, a middle-aged woman in a uniform shirt and jeans, appeared. “You want to sign here, we’ll be out of your way,” she said.

  “Every week from now on, right?” Thad said.

  The crew boss nodded. “Every Tuesday, from three to six.”

  “See you next week, then.”

  “Yes. Thanks, Dr. Garner.”

  The sounds of workers packing up and leaving were followed by the closing of the front door. Thad turned back to Michelle. “Alone at last,” he murmured.

  “Not quite,” Michelle said, looking down at their tiny chaperone.

  “So what do you think we should have for our dinner?” Thad asked.

  “You’re really going to do this? Learn to cook?”

  “With your help?” He nodded. “Absolutely.”

  “Then wait here.” She shifted William and his
bottle to Thad’s arms. “I’ll be right back.”

  Michelle returned a few minutes later with a book entitled Kids Learn to Cook. Thad figured the battered volume had to be at least twenty years old. She set it down on the kitchen table, where he could see. “This has everything you need to get started. Seriously—” she grinned when he glanced at it doubtfully “—even a third grader can follow the instructions. I know, because I started cooking with it when I was that old.”

  “Your parents gave this to you?”

  “I wish.” Michelle sighed. “No. My gran gave it to me, but she had to keep it at her house. My parents would have freaked if they’d seen it.”

  That sounded bizarre. “How come?” Thad asked. “Didn’t your parents want you to learn how to cook?”

  Michelle leaned against the kitchen counter. “My father thought it altogether unnecessary. He wanted me putting all my energies toward academic pursuits. My mother thought I should have one or two signature dishes to entertain with, so she brought in a chef to teach me how to make coq au vin and boeuf Bourguignon.”

  That sounded excessive, too. Thad began patting William gently on the back. “Why French food?”

  “Because she taught college French, so it made sense that if I were going to learn to cook something, it would be something she might have taught me.”

  “Only she didn’t.”

  “Neither of them were really into the whole parenting thing, except when it came to turning me into some sort of child genius.” Michelle’s lips thinned into a rueful line. “There, they excelled.”

  “Let me guess. Perfect score on your college entrance exams.”

  Sadness glimmered in her eyes. “That didn’t please them. They were both professors at Rice University and wanted me to go Ivy League all the way. I wanted to stay in Texas and go to college with my friends. And since I had a full ride at University of Texas in Austin, I didn’t need them to approve of my decision—or pay for it.”

  “A rebel.”

  She nodded self-consciously. “I guess.”

  “Surely they forgave you for that.”