Need You Now. Debbi Rawlins

      Brandon was still in his seat texting. Mark sat behind him, one with his smartphone.

      “Come on, guys. Get off now.” She draped the shirt over the steering wheel, then followed the boys out.

      “She really is a cool teacher. Our favorite.”

      Melanie heard Chelsea’s voice coming from behind the bus. She paused and smiled. Though she wasn’t bucking for teacher of the year, it was nice to know what the students thought of her.

      “Even if she is old-fashioned,” Chelsea said just as Melanie was about to join them.

      The awful term stopped her cold. She almost turned around and headed for the office. The girl didn’t know she was there. But Lucas did. From his crouched position, his gaze swept up to briefly meet hers. Melanie managed to find a smile for him but it was too late. He’d already shifted his attention back to loosening the lug nuts.

      Old-fashioned? That was how the students regarded her? Maybe she shouldn’t be shocked... No, not shocked so much as hurt. Though why should she care? She was their teacher. But she was only twenty-seven, barely ten years older than most of them.

      “I’m going to call the school and let them know why we’re late,” she said. “Lucas, we have some water and soda in the office. May I get you something?”

      “No, thanks. I’m good.” He gave her a smile that should’ve made her breath catch.

      Instead, she sighed as it sank in that Chelsea was right. Melanie wasn’t anything like the exciting and daring women she saw on television. And she certainly wasn’t a woman a man like Lucas would look at twice.

      2

      LUCAS STOOD BACK and let Cody tighten the lug nuts on the spare tire. Fortunately, they’d been working in the shadow of the bus, but it was still warm. Earlier he’d asked one of the kids to find him a clean rag and he used it to blot his face before rubbing the grime from his hands.

      Melanie had checked with him once and then disappeared into the office again. He thought about sending the ever-helpful Chelsea to get her, but he wanted to have a word with her in private.

      “I want to talk to your teacher,” he said to Cody. “You don’t need me. You’ve got this.”

      “Yeah, no problem.” He put a little more muscle into the job. Strictly for show. The kid had it bad for Chelsea and all she’d done was ignore him and flirt with Lucas.

      Man, the girl scared the crap out of him. Since when were seventeen-year-old girls so damn bold? Lucky for him, he hadn’t been around teenagers much. But he’d been one himself not that long ago, and getting dissed by a girl like Chelsea? It hurt.

      He took his time, scoping out all the new construction. The barn hadn’t been painted yet. Another structure was missing a wall but there were no workers in sight. Could be the sanctuary had run out of money. That sort of thing happened too often. He ducked his head to see inside the older barn. Bales of hay were stacked in the corner. Several goats roamed freely, pilfering scratch from clucking chickens.

      What interested him most were the corrals and fenced pasture. He knew Safe Haven could handle over a hundred horses space-wise. As for feed and vet services, his organization would cover those costs. If he could convince Melanie Knowles and Shea Monroe to participate in the program.

      The log-cabin-style office was obviously new. He scraped the bottom of his boots on the mat, then knocked on the door that matched the green roof.

      “It’s open,” Melanie called out.

      He stepped inside and waited for her to look up.

      She lifted her head, her brown eyes widening. “Oh. Sorry, I thought you were one of the kids.” She swept back flyaway strands of dark hair and quickly remade her ponytail. “Are you done?”

      “Cody is finishing up.”

      “That was fast.” She tapped the stack of papers she’d been working on into a neat pile and stood. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your help.” She blinked at his chest. “You’re probably looking for your shirt. I put it in the bus.”

      The faint rosy blush that spread across her cheekbones reminded him of Chelsea’s comment. He supposed most kids considered their teachers old and stodgy. But Melanie? In that close-fitting red T-shirt and jeans, she looked barely older than her students.

      Not until she cleared her throat did he realize he’d been staring. She came around the desk and went to a dorm-size refrigerator in the corner. She bent over and rifled around inside. Luckily, he’d stopped noticing how the soft denim molded her ass a second before she turned around and passed him a bottle of water.

      “There’s a sink in the barn where you can clean up if you like,” she said and went to step past him.

      He moved to accommodate her but got in the way instead. “Sorry,” he said and noticed she’d blushed again. Her arm had barely grazed his chest.

      Clearly Melanie was shy. Maybe that was what Chelsea had meant by old-fashioned.

      “Well, this is awkward,” Melanie said, picking her phone up off the desk. “Here you’ve done all this work, and now I have to desert you.”

      “You have to get the kids back to school, right?” He unscrewed the cap and gulped down half the water.

      “I do,” she said in a distracted voice. “I’ll be gone for about an hour.”

      “No problem.” He wiped his mouth with the back of his arm and saw that she’d been watching him guzzle. It made him self-conscious. He wasn’t used to being around too many people, certainly not women. And here he was shirtless. “If you don’t mind, I’ll just hang around and wait.”

      “Oh, sure. A volunteer is in the quarantine stable. Her name’s Kathy. Her husband, Levi, will be along soon to help. They’re practically permanent fixtures here.” She smiled and opened the door for him.

      Lucas hesitated. “Look, what happened with that tire could’ve been avoided. Whoever’s in charge of the bus was negligent.”

      Her lips parted with a soft gasp. “I hope you don’t think I’m making light of the accident. I feel awful about it. In fact, I’ll take your information with me and call the insurance company so they can get to work on fixing your vehicle.”

      “I don’t give a damn about the truck.” He hadn’t meant to sound gruff or make her flinch. “I’m thinking about you and the kids.”

      She looked away. “It’s as much my fault as anyone else’s since I drive the bus, too. I should’ve checked.”

      “Would you know what to look for?”

      She frowned at him, her chin lifting defensively. “No, but I will from now on.”

      He smiled. “I’ll show you if you like.”

      Melanie nodded, but he could see in her face she was still offended. Or feeling guilty.

      Hell, he should’ve kept his mouth shut. He’d meant to help and it had gone sideways. When was he gonna get it? How big a price did he have to pay before he finally learned to mind his own business?

      * * *

      MELANIE PARKED HER compact Ford close to the gravel path leading to the office and resisted the urge to check her hair in the rearview mirror. Already she regretted using a little blush and tinted lip balm. Kathy would probably notice and start getting stupid ideas. She was always pushing Melanie to date or at least get out and do things that weren’t church related. She knew Kathy meant well, but having a social life wasn’t that simple.

      It was 5:35. Melanie wasn’t sorry that she’d taken an extra ten minutes to shower, especially when she noticed Levi’s truck parked close to the old barn, loaded with supplies. Lucas’s truck hadn’t been moved.