What exactly was going on?

“You’re always going to take my side, Professor?” I pretty much whispered the question.

He took a step toward me, his gaze still centered directly on my face. And he nodded.

“What did you guys talk about?” I asked him, still so low only he could hear.

Dallas took another step forward, the tips of his tennis shoes touching the tips of my boots. His chin was down to his collar as he took me in. And in a voice that was a lot louder than mine had been, he said, “I suspended her for two weeks after what happened, you know.”

I didn’t know. I was actually pretty damn shocked no one had told me.

The surprise must have been apparent on my face—or maybe he knew me too well, because he dipped his chin down even further in a partial nod. “I did. And I apologized to her if I’d given her the wrong impression that I was interested in her, informing her that I wasn’t and we needed to keep things professional.”

“I thought she liked you.”

He shrugged, the corners of his mouth indenting just slightly. “It isn’t the first time it’s happened.”

“What? Getting hit on by moms on the team?”

“Yeah.”

I snickered. “Are you sure you weren’t imagining it?”

Dallas made a face before this giant, beaming grin took over his mouth, so potent I could have taken his jacket off and been warm the rest of the day. “I’m sure, baby.”

Baby again? All I could say was “Uh-huh,” so that I wouldn’t sound like an idiot.

“I wanna ask if you really said you’d pepper spray her, but I already know the answer.”

Pressing my lips together, I shrugged.

He reached up toward me and brushed the backs of his fingers over my cheek, still smiling wide, and pinched my chin. “You’re fucking nuts.”

All I did was shrug again. “You know that, but you’re still here, aren’t you?”

His smile melted into a smaller one, and the deep breath he let out made it seem like it had weighed a thousand pounds. Then his fingers brushed over my cheek again, and Dallas moved to tuck a strand of her behind my ear. His voice was soft. “I’m still here, Peach.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

I never thought the day would come where I would be excited to go to work, but after almost three weeks of taking time off, my body was so ready. I had tried picking up shears twice in the last week, and it was a little iffy and painful, but I couldn’t take being home any longer. My bank account couldn’t either. So, hand hurting or not, that Wednesday morning, I was pumped beyond belief.

So pumped Josh was steadily scowling at me through the reflection in the rearview mirror.

“Why are you so happy?” grumpy britches muttered his question.

“Because I’m going back to work,” I sang back to him, earning a bigger scowl. I really enjoyed my job on a normal basis, but after so long, I was ready to love it again in a way that only time and space was capable of.

“I’ll be happy next week when we get off from school for Thanksgiving,” the grump muttered.

Shit. I’d forgotten about Thanksgiving. “Did you guys decide what you want to do?” The Larsens were going to Louisiana and my family was staying in San Antonio, so I’d given the boys the option to choose whom they wanted to spend it with. Last year, we’d all stayed together at my parents, but I couldn’t be greedy and keep them if they wanted to see the other side of the family. Either way, I had to work the day before, half the day of, and the following day, too.

“No,” was the same reply they’d given me when I first brought up them going to Louisiana.

I sighed. “Well, you better decide soon or,” I sang, “you’re stuck with me.”

“Stop, please,” Josh pleaded.

“I like the way you sing,” Louie piped up, earning a dirty look from his brother. “You sound like a cute kitty.”

I didn’t think that was as much of a compliment as he meant for it to be, but I’d take it.

“If we stay, will Mr. Dallas eat turkey with us?” the five-year-old asked.

I glanced at him through the rearview mirror, letting myself think about how nice he’d been this past weekend at Josh’s game and how he’d given me a hug while he walked us to our car that night at the end of the tournament. He’d even apologized for having to skip dinner, but he’d left Miss Pearl alone at home all day and thought he should spend some time with her since she was staying with him and all.

I’d accepted it. I was madly, crazy, stupid in love with this guy.

The problem was that I didn’t know what to do with it. With him being more affectionate and saying the things that he said… but not doing much else. I mean, he could kiss me and that would make a statement. Or tell me he liked me… if he did. It seemed like he was dropping hints, or I don’t know what, but I wasn’t sure whether to interpret his messages or let them go.

So I was going to let them go for now and settle for what he’d been willingly giving me.

“I don’t know, Goo. He has family too. He might have plans to spend it with them. I haven’t asked him,” I explained.

“I’ll ask him,” he offered.

“Can I get a new game this weekend?” Josh asked out of the blue, making that the second time this week he’d tried.

I told him the same answer he’d already heard. I could applaud his effort, but that’s all he was getting from me. “Not anytime soon, J. Maybe for Christmas.”