Need You Now. Debbi Rawlins

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СКАЧАТЬ some reading before I meet with him.” She looked at her watch. Not much time for her to do anything but get the kids back to school, load her briefcase and take a quick shower. She hoped this Lucas knew there was no motel in town. The closest place for him to stay was Kalispell. “Come on, everyone. We have to go.”

      “I’ll go chase out any loiterers in the stable,” Kathy said, already charging in that direction. At sixty, she was small and wiry and didn’t take guff from anyone.

      Melanie should learn from her. One thing she sure could use was tips on how to say no. The bus doors were open, but only Susie sat inside, right behind the driver’s seat, staring out the window at the roans. The image tugged at Melanie’s heart. High school had been a lonely period in her own life. Friends she’d had in elementary school had decided it wasn’t cool to hang out with the minister’s daughter. Books and animals had been her escape.

      Susie’s face brightened when she saw Melanie board. “I told everyone we had to go.” She shrugged her narrow shoulders. “I hope they were listening.”

      “Well, they’d better have been or else they’ll find themselves busy studying for an extra quiz.”

      The girl grinned and looked out the opposite window. A group coming from the stable was headed toward them.

      “Everyone here?” Melanie asked once the kids had finished jockeying for seats. Despite the chorus of yeses, she did a quick head count in the rearview mirror as she started the engine.

      Another recent improvement was the extended parking lot. Before the pad was paved, the gravel had scattered so thin the summer dust rose thick enough to choke the horses. She slowly reversed the small bus, swinging wide to the left. A loud pop startled her and she briefly lost control of the steering wheel. The bus lurched to the side, and she heard the kids’ surprised yelps.

      She tightened her grip on the wheel but the bus seemed to have a mind of its own. She scrambled for the brake and engaged it with all her strength. At the sickening clang of metal hitting metal, she jerked a look in the side mirror and saw the black truck she’d just hit. The bus had finally stopped, but her pounding heart nearly drowned out the kids’ excited murmurs.

      They all rushed to the back window, crawling over each other to see the damage.

      “Please, everyone, be quiet and take your seats.” Melanie hesitated before opening the door. She pretended to wait for the kids to obey but mostly she was trying to stop shaking. “Now,” she said in a sterner voice, and they finally sat back down, still straining to watch the man slide out of the truck.

      He was tall, wore his dark hair close-cropped, but he was far from clean-cut. At least three days’ worth of stubble covered his jaw. Very calmly he walked around to the hood of his vehicle and assessed the damage.

      Melanie sucked in a fortifying breath, then climbed out. She paused to stick her head back in the bus. “Everyone stay here. Understand?”

      She got a few nods. Unfortunately, they came from the kids who didn’t worry her. Dragging her clammy palms down the front of her jeans, she rounded the rear of the bus.

      The man glanced up. He had blue eyes. Really blue. The kind of blue that made her forget what she was going to say. Then he smiled. She knew her mouth was open and she’d better think of something fast.

      Rubbing a hand over his short hair, he turned to the bus’s bumper. “Could’ve been worse.”

      “I’m so sorry,” she murmured. “I don’t know what happened.”

      “Right there.” He gestured with his dimpled chin.

      Her gaze followed his to the rear left tire. “Oh. A flat? I should’ve felt that before I even started the engine.”

      “No, it blew out while you were reversing.” He glanced at the curious faces pressed against the back window. “Good thing you weren’t on the highway,” he said and crouched down for a better look, frowning at the other tire. “This happen often?”

      “I don’t think so, but I’m not the regular driver. I’m their teacher. I only use the bus three times a week to bring them here.”

      Squinting against the sun’s glare, he gave her another look.

      “Are you Melanie Knowles?”

      “Yes.” It didn’t register at first, and then her insides did a little tap dance. “Are you from Prison Reform Now?”

      “Lucas Sloan,” he said, pushing up and offering his hand. “I’m early.”

      Thank goodness she had the presence of mind to wipe her damp palms on her jeans again. His hand dwarfed hers, the skin rough and calloused like that of most of the men who worked the ranches in the area. But she couldn’t recall a man’s handshake ever sending a jolt of electricity up her arm. Had to be his eyes. Staring into them was dangerous. She’d lost track of the conversation.

      She recovered quickly, and they both let go at the same time. “How’s your truck?” She moved away to check his bumper. It wasn’t as horrifying as she’d expected. “The school has insurance. Of course, we’ll take care of it.”

      “I’m not worried. We’ll let the insurance companies duke it out.” He smiled, his teeth so white against his tanned face. “Let’s focus on getting you back on the road with these kids. I assume you have a jack and spare.”

      “I hope so. We should.” She paused for a moment, pretty sure she’d seen something of that nature behind the last row of seats. She turned to go have a look, then realized she was being rude. Melanie glanced over her shoulder to tell him that...

      He was staring at her backside.

      Her breath caught. Men didn’t stare at her like that.

      Again she lost track of what she was going to say. Swallowing, she tucked her unruly hair behind her ear and hurried onto the bus.

      “Who is that, Ms. Knowles?” Chelsea was kneeling on the last seat to peer out the rear window. “He’s hot.”

      Cody made a sound of disgust. “That guy’s old enough to be your father.”

      “No, he isn’t.” Chelsea tossed her long hair and smiled at Lucas. Everyone knew Cody had a crush on her, including Chelsea.

      “Excuse me, Chelsea. You’ll have to move.” Melanie could access the equipment without displacing the girl, but she doubted Lucas appreciated being ogled by a seventeen-year-old going on thirty. Or maybe not. What did she know about him? “One of you boys, help me pull this out, please.”

      Cody and another student jumped up. Cody was lean but strong and used to manual labor. Russ wasn’t a weakling, though he was more the studious type.

      Darn it. Great time for the husky football players to be at practice. She could’ve used them to change the tire. Now she’d have to call her boss to send someone. It would take forever.

      She saw Lucas watching her, his brows raised in question. She gave him a nod, then asked the rest of the kids to stand aside so the boys could drag the tire and tools down the short aisle. Getting out of the way herself, she grabbed her phone off the driver’s seat and left the bus.

      “I СКАЧАТЬ