P.I. Daddy's Personal Mission. Beth Cornelison

of the tactful way she’d handled his tirade earlier in the week.

      While he hated to consider himself in the same category as Maisie Colton, he had to admire Lisa’s people skills. Already Maisie’s ire seemed to have cooled. Incredible.

      Maisie glanced away and quickly swiped at her eyes before returning a less militant gaze to Lisa. “You’re right. I just get so mad when—”

      She shook her head, not bothering to finish. Dividing one last cool glare of contempt between Mary and Peter, Maisie tugged the lapels of her overcoat closed and breezed out the front door.

      To Peter, it seemed the entire population of the library sighed with relief.

      Lisa turned to Peter and twitched a lopsided smile. “I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have butted in, but—”

      “No apology necessary. You handled that…beautifully. You have a real talent for talking people down from the ledge, so to speak.”

      “If I have a talent, it’s simply for keeping a cool head. And, spending most of my day with a room full of rowdy fourth-graders, it is a skill I’ve practiced and have down to a science.”

      Peter laughed. “I bet.”

      “So before…you were saying something about next Saturday?” She tipped her head in inquiry, inviting him to finish what he’d started.

      Peter blew out a deep breath. “Right. To say I’m sorry, I’d like to take you to dinner.”

      Lisa’s eyes widened in genuine surprise. “You’re asking me out? Like…on a date?”

      Somehow the notion of a date seemed to bother her so he backpedaled. “Well, not really a date. I thought you could give me some advice about how to handle all the stuff that’s been happening in my family. You know, with Patrick. You aren’t the only one who’s seen changes in him lately. I’m worried about him, too. I want to help him but…I don’t know where to start.”

      Patrick’s teacher eyed him suspiciously. “Hmm. Good cover.”

      Peter feigned confusion. “Excuse me?”

      When she laughed, the sound tripped down his spine and filled him with a fuzzy warmth like the first sip of a good whiskey. “I’d love to go to dinner with you. But—” she held up a finger, emphasizing her point “—it’s not a date.”

      Peter jerked a nod. “Agreed. Not a date.”

      Yet even as he consented to her terms, a stab of disappointment poked him in the ribs. Not a date wasn’t what he’d had in mind and seemed wholly insufficient with a woman like Lisa Navarre.

      But for now, it would do.

      Chapter 4

      After setting a time to pick Lisa up on Saturday, Peter ignored Mary’s querying looks and got started skimming through the microfiche of old newspapers to see what he could learn about the Coltons. Lisa returned to her table to study, but just knowing she was nearby was enough to distract Peter from his tedious research. He found himself repeatedly glancing in her direction and wondering where they should go for dinner next weekend.

      Perhaps a restaurant in Bozeman would be better than the local fare if they wanted to avoid starting rumors. He knew several high-end restaurants in Bozeman that were sure to impress Lisa, but perhaps, for their first date, he should keep things low-key.

      Their first date? First implied there would be more than one, and since Lisa insisted it wouldn’t be a date