Teaching Ms. Riggs. Stephanie Beck

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СКАЧАТЬ was fit and the source of the smell that clung to him wasn’t obvious since his jeans looked old but fresh and his shoes were bright white. After cuffing his nephew on the shoulder in greeting, he looked over at Ben. She stopped thinking a moment when he smiled.

      “Hello.” He held out his hand. “I’m Mark Dougstat. Are you Ms. Riggs?”

      Remembering she was a professional, Ben shook herself and extended her hand as well. “Yes, I am. Thanks for making it in on such short notice.”

      “No problem. So, what’s this all about?”

      Ben explained about Thomas’s test and then let Mr. Kai take over. She listened as the older teacher went over his syllabus and how his class worked. Thomas and his uncle listened intently, Mark nodding several times and asking questions along the way.

      Smart questions, she thought. He was obviously close to his nephew to worry about his workload. She found herself smiling for no reason except for the pleasure she felt in listening to his voice and ordered herself to stop. She hadn’t come home to fall head over heels for the first man who smiled at her. No matter how nice of a smile he had.

      “Can you handle it?” Mark asked as Thomas looked over the text and a few sample tests.

      “Yep.” The youth was already engrossed in a page full of equations and barely looked up. “Some of these are pretty hard.”

      Mr. Kai laughed. “Good. I’d like to think there could be some challenge for you. Ms. Riggs has already offered to set up some enrichment opportunities to really challenge you in your downtime in my class.”

      “Your uncle might have to help you with some of them,” Ben added, and Mark snorted a little. “Not so great with chemistry?”

      “Not even slightly,” he replied and sent her a little wink. Ben fought a blush, but didn’t think she succeeded as he continued, “But I do make a hell of an after-school snack. I also stock the drawer with freshly sharpened pencils.”

      “His marshmallow crispy squares are awesome.” Thomas’s loyal pledge was ruined when he laughed and elbowed his uncle. “Especially when he wraps them in the little blue foil with the elves on it.”

      “Big mouth,” Mark muttered, but he smiled too. “Do I have to sign anything to make the switch?”

      Ben was so charmed by the way the two males acted with each other she didn’t realize at first the question was for her.

      “Ms. Riggs?” Mr. Kai asked, and she started. This time she didn’t even attempt to stop her blush.

      “Ah, thing to sign…nope. We just wanted to okay it with you since the guidance counselor already said it was fine. Oh, Thomas, doesn’t football start soon?”

      “Yeah, I gotta go.” He stood, already in his pads and cleats. Ben thought he looked a little like a kid in adult clothes. One day he would grow into himself and he’d be a bruiser. “See ya at home, Uncle Mark.”

      “Bye, buddy. Play hard. I’ll get your books and finish up here. Need anything from the store?”

      “Gatorade,” Thomas called over his shoulder as he hustled out of the room. “And fruit snacks and peanut butter.”

      Ben smiled at his response. Throughout the day food had been the main topic of conversation for most of the young men. If they weren’t talking about the granola bar in their locker, then they were trying to sweet talk the girls out of the fruit snacks they had in theirs.

      Ben was still smiling when Mr. Kai took off to pick up his daughter. Alone with Mark, she turned again and tried to find some similarities between lanky Thomas and this hunk of man in front of her.

      Mark was thickly muscled across the shoulders. He’d taken off his hat, and his hair was thick and mostly blond. He had to be in or near his forties by the deep lines around his eyes, but those could have been from the climate too. Farmers lived hard. Ben had a feeling though, by the pattern of the lines, that Mark also laughed hard. She wondered if Thomas would be like him eventually. Young men changed so much in only a few short years.

      Mark flipped through the chemistry book, not really reading, Ben thought. He might have been looking at the pictures but nothing in depth. He looked up at her with questions in his gray-blue eyes.

      He closed the book and stacked it with the other papers. “So? Anything else I should know?”

      “Nope. That’s about everything I can think of, but don’t hesitate to call if Thomas is having troubles. I don’t anticipate problems, but if they pop up I’m happy to help with tutoring.”

      “That’s nice, thanks.” Mark shuffled the books and papers, a classic delay tactic. Ben bit back a smile as she watched him shift them from back to front again as he made no attempt to leave the room. “I’ll fill out this stuff tonight and send it with Thomas tomorrow.”

      “Oh, just a second.” If she didn’t get the numbers she’d be in trouble, so she reached for the books. Their hands collided for the second time. The handshake had been nice, but the casual, innocent touch was much more and she fought herself from blushing like one of her students. “I, um, need to write down the numbers.”

      He grinned and slid the book across the table, the back of his hand brushing against hers again, and she shivered.

      “No problem, Ms. Riggs. I sure wouldn’t want to cause any clerical problems.”

      She quickly opened the book and tried to be professional and efficient as she added Thomas’s name to the inside cover and into her ledger. Mark’s gaze settled on her, and once again she scolded herself for even thinking about flirting or being flattered. She had no business smiling at nice men with the trouble following her.

      “Okay, there you go.” Taking special pains not to touch him, she slid the book back. “The other is a workbook he needs to keep close track of because it has a lot of his homework for the year. Oh, and Thomas mentioned his parents are in France. Should I add them to my contact lists or put their address down for sending report cards to or anything?”

      Mark shook his head, the sparkle of his smile slightly diminishing. “I take care of all of his school stuff, so don’t worry about his parents. I’ll make sure he knows about the workbook, but I know he’ll take good care of it.”

      “I’m sure he’s very responsible,” Ben said, wondering if the flirting had been killed by the subject of Thomas’s parents, which was obviously uglier than she’d thought.

      “Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but I do have him changing his socks every day now.” His sense of humor was back and with it came the playful feelings that had been bubbling in her since his arrival.

      When Mark’s smile deepened again, she at least had the boost of knowing she wasn’t alone in the unexpected attraction. She was ready to put a stop on her bubbles and be completely professional when he winked. It had the same effect as earlier and heat crawled up her neck. She hadn’t been winked at in years, let alone twice in one sitting.

      “Um…” What did one say when they were winked at?

      “Is there anything else I need to do or have Thomas do? Any first day homework? Maybe we should have him read the first chapter or ten?”

      “No СКАЧАТЬ