“We won’t break up, so don’t worry about it. But if we do, you’ll be first in line to catch him on the rebound. Maybe he’d settle for the younger sister. You’re beautiful, and he already knows your family,” laughed Christine. “Dad won’t have to give him “the talk” again.”“Sis, that’s not funny. If Mitchell dumps your cheating ass, I’ll be all over him and treat him right. That is if he’d have me.” Hailey retorted hotly.Melissa Leonard was torn. She liked Mitchell. She even harbored her secret fantasies after seeing Mitchell in swim trunks at the pool party. He had transformed Christine from an almost reclusive scholar into a confident, lovely young woman. Melissa knew that Mitchell wasn’t responsible for Christine’s beauty or ability but rather for the confidence to show the world some of the many things she was capable of.On the other hand, Cole Baker was educated and financially secure in an excellent position in his family business. Most parents would be quite pleased to have th
“Cole, I just remembered that I’m allergic to garlic. I can’t eat here. Can we go someplace else? Just the smell can trigger it. I’ll wait outside.” promised Christine as she turned and quickly exited the restaurant.Ten minutes later, Cole and Christine were seated at a steak house. “I’m sorry about the garlic thing, Christine. I had no idea you had that condition. I hope this place is okay,” worried Cole.“This is fine, Cole. I should have mentioned it to you. When we entered that restaurant, I thought I could fight off any adverse effects, but I quickly realized it was getting to me. But enough about that. Can you give me any ideas about how you could help the seniors raise substantial sums of money?” quizzed Christine.“I thought of a couple of ideas. It’s too cold this time of year, but I thought you and some of your better built girlfriends could do several weekend car washes in our lot when the weather improves,” suggested Mitchell. “Or we could get a group of the better-lookin
“Mitchell, I am not inviting you in. Please go away. Leave me alone,” insisted Christine loudly as Melissa hurried into the living room to find Mitchell and Christine in a heated exchange.“I want some answers, Christine. Somebody did this to you, and I want to know who,” demanded Mitchell.“Mitchell. Christine. What’s going on? What happened to you, Christine? Are you okay?” asked a perplexed Melissa as Hailey came rushing into the room, followed by her father.Dan took the scene in and started for Mitchell. “Young man, I warned you what would happen if you mistreated my daughter.”With that, Dan pulled a fist back and punched Mitchell in the jaw. For his part, Mitchell never even flinched. He slowly brought his hand up to his jaw and rubbed it. Christine was horrified. This was precisely what she had been hoping to avoid. What a horrible ending to an awful night. Her father had just struck Mitchell. Now there was no doubt that she and Mitchell would never be together again, not that
“If she knew that you were going out with Cole Baker, she may have been thinking you needed the aid of a strong young man who would do anything to keep you safe,” said Melissa. “Is that a possibility? Two young women could still be accosted in the darkness by a deranged suitor. A woman with Mitchell Kays next to her would have no such worries.”“That’s the other problem. Cole took me to Buddy’s for dinner. While waiting to order dinner, a gorgeous red-headed woman around twenty-five walked in. She was shown to a table back in the corner, and guess who her date was?” sniffled Christine. “None other than Hailey’s big brother.”“Oh, no,” gasped Melissa. “Are you sure that Mitchell had a date with her? Did he see you with Cole? What happened then?”“I gave Cole some lame story about being allergic to garlic, and we left and had dinner at the Roadhouse. She hugged him and kissed his cheek, Mom. Unless he has a bunch of girls wanting to be his sister, I’d have to say it was a real date. He’
"Mr. Smith set us up with the Rotary?" repeated Christine. "That would be a great place to network. When is the next meeting, Ms. Metzger?""Wednesday afternoon. I'd have to get permission for you both to leave school so you can attend the luncheon at the Holiday Inn, but that'll be no problem. So, are you two willing to put your best foot forward, pun intended, to move this project further?" quizzed Ms. Metzger.Christine suddenly knew doubt. She had fought with Mitchell the previous evening. He might decide she wasn't worth the trouble or want to get even for her treatment of him after he made an effort to rescue her. Not one to shirk her duties, Christine slowly turned to face Mitchell.For his part, Mitchell was not going to make it easy for Christine. He sat without expression as he waited for Christine to speak."Uh, Mitchell, do you think you want to go to the Rotary luncheon and perform that dance with me if you aren't too busy?" asked Christine. "It could be a great boost to
"My dear, that doesn't have to be a bad thing," laughed Melissa. "Why do men do things for women? Why is society the way it is? Because men want what we have. That gives us power. You just have to learn to wield that power wisely. I've kept your father in line and interested in well over twenty years, and it wasn't just my good cooking that did it.""How do you know whether you have a good guy like Dad, or a letch like Cole?" asked Christine."It doesn't usually take too long, if you watch the clues," assured Melissa. "Mauling you in a parked car against your wishes is an obvious deal breaker. You shouldn't have to experience that to find out what sort of man you're dealing with. Watch how he treats his family, his friends, strangers, and people less fortunate than he is. You'll learn a lot about a person that way.""I seem to have a problem telling the good guys from the bad ones. Cole was a huge mistake every way imaginable. It looks like Mitchell was, too. I guess I'm batting 1000%
“My dear, that doesn’t have to be bad,” laughed Melissa. “Why do men do things for women? Why is society the way it is? Because men want what we have. That gives us power. You just have to learn to wield that power wisely. I’ve kept your father in line and interested in over twenty years, and it wasn’t just my good cooking that did it.”“How do you know whether you have a good guy like Dad or a letch like Cole?” asked Christine.“It doesn’t usually take long if you watch the clues,” assured Melissa. “Mauling you in a parked car against your wishes is an obvious deal breaker. You shouldn’t have to experience that to find out what sort of man you’re dealing with. Watch how he treats his family, his friends, strangers, and people less fortunate than he is. You’ll learn a lot about a person that way.”“I seem to have a problem telling the good guys from the bad ones. Cole was a huge mistake in every way imaginable. It looks like Mitchell was, too. I guess I’m batting 1000% in bad choices.
When it came time for them to dance, Christine initially seemed a bit tentative. “Christine, relax,” whispered Mitchell. “You look fantastic, and everyone loves you. Let go and feel the music. We can do this right.”Christine looked up at Mitchell as he spoke. She was again struck by his rugged good looks and engaging smile, and she felt his eyes could look into her very soul. Without conscious thought, Christine moved closer and allowed herself to follow Mitchell’s lead, trusting that her partner wouldn’t make any mistakes. By the end of the dance, Christine was relaxed and smiling. The applause was surprising in its duration and volume.“That was beautiful.” gushed Ken Smith’s wife. “You two look so perfect together and move so well. I’ve been after Tyler to take some lessons with Christine’s Aunt Donna, but he always claimed it was for sissies. Now I’ve got some new ammunition. Mitchell sure doesn’t look like any sissy-boy and look at the beautiful woman he holds in his arms when h