way, Kyle stared at her intently. “Children?”
Finally, Sandy felt she was gaining control of the conversation. Most single men lived in fear of a woman with children. If she couldn’t calm down her hormones, at least she could drive away the object of their desire. “Yes. Three of them. My daughter Lindsay is twelve, Blake is ten and little Nichole is eight.”
“I love kids,” Kyle said, and looked around the yard. “Where are they?”
Her heart sank. Actually, her spirits sank and her heart increased its lovesick pounding in her chest. She sighed. It was not turning out to be a great day. She should have guessed when Nichole started the morning by eating too many pancakes for breakfast, then throwing up in the car.
“I’d really like to meet them,” he said. “That way, when they start to bug you, you can send them down to my place.”
Sandy resisted the urge to snort with disbelief. No doubt Kyle had a revolving door at his house, and attractive young women circled through with the regularity of the tide. He wasn’t the sort of man she wanted influencing her children.
“That’s very kind,” she said politely.
“I mean it. My brother Travis has two girls. I—”
He was interrupted by the clatter of running feet. Sandy turned toward the sound as her eldest came skittering around from the back of the house.
“Mo-om, this place is awful. Did you know there’s a field behind our house?” The twelve-year-old’s mouth twisted in disgust. “A field! Like we’re pioneers, or something. I haven’t even seen one store or movie theater. What are we supposed to do—” Lindsay stopped talking at the exact moment she stopped walking forward. She glanced from her mother to Kyle. Her mouth opened, then closed.
Sandy watched Lindsay and bit back a sigh. She recognized the look of wonder in her daughter’s brown eyes. It had probably been shining in her own the first moment she’d seen the grown-up and improved version of Kyle Haynes. But she was a mature woman, able to control her instinctive reaction. Lindsay was caught between girlhood and a world she didn’t understand. Her daughter flushed and clasped her hands in front of her. The awkward beauty of a coltish preteen became simply clumsy as she shuffled her feet and stared at the ground.
Sandy had known Lindsay was growing up fast, but she hadn’t expected to get a demonstration of the fact. Yet here it was. Lindsay’s first awareness of someone of the opposite sex.
“Lindsay, this is Mr. Haynes,” Sandy said. “He’s our neighbor.”
“I live in the gatehouse,” Kyle said as he approached her daughter. He held out his hand. Lindsay glanced at her, then the man. She stuck out her hand and giggled when he took it in his. “Nice to meet you, Lindsay. I knew your mom when she was just a couple of years older than you are right now.”
“Really?” Lindsay stared at her as if she couldn’t ever imagine her mother being young. “What was she like?”
“Pretty much the way she is now. We used to call her Sensible Sandy.”
Lindsay rolled her eyes. “Figures. She still wants to organize the world. I guess she hasn’t changed at all.”
“You’re right. She still looks—”
“There’s Blake,” Sandy interrupted, not wanting to let Kyle continue. She had no idea what he planned to say. Probably some unrealistic compliment about how great she’d looked in high school. “Blake, come and meet our new neighbor.”
Her son came around the side of the house. As always, when she saw him, she bit back a sigh. Blake was physically the most like his father. He had dark red hair, freckles and wore glasses. But while Thomas’s light brown eyes had gleamed with humor and a zest for life and adventure, Blake’s expression was serious, as if the weight of the world rested on his slim shoulders. He preferred to read rather than play outside, and he didn’t make friends easily. Sandy wondered if all parents worried about their children as much as she worried about hers. She was doing the best she could to make them feel safe and secure after losing their father, but she wasn’t sure her efforts were enough.
“This is Mr. Haynes, Blake,” she said, smiling at her son and nodding for him to shake hands with their neighbor.
“Call me Kyle.”
Blake mumbled something that could have been a greeting, then dropped his arm to his side and stared at his shoes. Before Sandy could think of something to say that would include him in the conversation, Nichole came running toward her.
“Mommy, Mommy, there are flowers and birds in the backyard.” Wide green eyes tilted up at the corners as the eight-year-old grinned. “I saw a bluebird.”
Lindsay planted her hands on her hips. “That wasn’t a bluebird.”
“Was too.” Nichole spotted the stranger. She ducked behind her mother, then stuck her head out shyly and smiled. Dimples appeared on both cheeks.
Kyle crouched down next to her. “Hi there. You must be Nichole.”
“Uh-huh.” Her youngest nodded.
“I’m Kyle. I live right there.” He pointed to the gatehouse, then rose. “This one’s going to be a heartbreaker when she gets older.”
“I know. Killer dimples,” Sandy said.
Kyle winked at the little girl. “I’ve always had a thing for green eyes.”
Sandy fought the instinctive urge to point out her eyes were green, too. What was it about this man that got to her? Maybe it was spending the last two years living alone. Since Thomas had died, she hadn’t been on a date. She wasn’t interested in getting involved. So why was she so completely aware of Kyle?
Lindsay leaned against the station wagon and tossed her long brown hair over her shoulder. She gave them what Sandy called her “I’m so sophisticated” look.
“Is there anything fun to do in this hick town?” Lindsay asked.
Kyle glanced at her. “You don’t like Glenwood?”
“I’m from L.A. It’s like this is a different planet.”
Kyle grinned. Lindsay swallowed. Sandy ruffled Nichole’s red curls and knew exactly how her daughter felt.
“You’ll like it here,” he promised. “Life’s going to seem a little slower, but there’s lots of fun stuff for kids to do. There’s softball and soccer.” He glanced at Nichole. “There’s a team for girls just your age. And my brother Travis has a daughter who’s eight.”
“That’s fine for the children,” Lindsay said, her tone pointing out how much more mature she was than the other two. “But what about me?”
“We’ll find something,” Kyle promised.
“It’s really not your problem,” Sandy said. “I appreciate the welcome and all that, but we’ve got work to do. Children, say goodbye to Mr. Haynes.”
Blake muttered something under his breath, while Nichole just smiled winningly. Lindsay gave
