meet his angry gaze. Uh-oh. She pulled herself up to her full height, imagined herself taller. Much, much taller. None of it eased the tension crackling between them. She shoved the cookies toward his midsection. He grabbed for the plate, fumbled with it when she yanked her hand away too quickly, but saved it before it hit the floor.
“I brought a peace offering,” she said, while he was still juggling the plate. “I want to apologize for yesterday. I’m just…” She paused, groping for exactly the right words to express herself in a way he would not only understand, but accept. “I look at Kitty and she’s such a sweet little girl and I see so much potential in her, I’m extremely frustrated to see her floundering.”
“And you think I’m not?”
Abby held her palms in front of her shoulders, hoping that small gesture could soothe his irritation. “Of course you are. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. I think there’s another avenue to explore in order to help Kitty, but I know you’re a caring father who’s doing his best in what must be a very difficult situation. I let my frustration and temper get the better of me, and I really am sorry for the way I spoke to you.”
The stiffness in his posture eased fractionally, and his voice lost its hard edge. “I appreciate your apology.”
She reached into the satchel, pulled out the sheaf of papers she’d brought along and handed them to him. This time she didn’t have to force a smile. He didn’t return it, but he studied her mouth as if he realized there was something new or different he should notice. Her lips tingled.
“This is a copy of our school district’s learning targets for first grade,” she said, pretending not to see the way he startled at the sound of her voice. “It lists everything Kitty should be able to do in order to move on to second grade.”
He set the cookies on something inside, then leafed through the first five sheets, his eyes opening wider with each page before he looked at her again. “All of this?”
Abby nodded. “And that’s just the district’s requirements. We also have EARLS, or Essential Academic Learning Requirements, and Benchmarks from the State Board of Education.”
“May I study this?” he asked.
“Keep it. I can always print another one off the district’s Web site. I thought it would give you a more realistic idea of how much Kitty still needs to learn before I can promote her.”
“I see.”
“Ms. Walsh?”
Abby glanced down and discovered a wide-eyed Kitty standing beside her father. The little girl wore the same pink shorts outfit she’d had on at school, and she was gazing up at Abby with a tentative grin that made Abby’s arms ache to hug her.
“Did you come to visit me?” Kitty asked.
Abby automatically crouched down until she was at eye level with the little girl. “I brought your daddy some papers and some cookies, too.”
“Really?” Kitty said.
“Yes, ma’am,” Abby replied. “They’ll taste great with some milk.”
“Are you gonna eat them with me?”
Seeing more animation in the little girl’s face than she had in weeks, Abby hesitated. She would love to accept the invitation to gather information for Erin, as well as for Kitty’s sake, but Mr. Granger’s warning scowl squelched that idea. She didn’t want to push her luck too far, after all. “I’m sorry, sweetie, but I shouldn’t.”
Kitty craned her neck to look up at her father. “Ask her to stay, Daddy.”
“Ms. Walsh already said she can’t,” he said, his tone calm and quiet.
Kitty raised her chin to an uncommonly stubborn angle; Abby had rarely seen her care about anything enough to make a fuss. “But she’ll stay if you ask her. I know she will.”
Clearly surprised and not a little dismayed by his daughter’s argument, it was Mr. Granger’s turn to hesitate. While he obviously didn’t want to invite her into his house, he just as obviously didn’t want to disappoint Kitty, either. He looked so torn, Abby almost laughed.
“Well, Ms. Walsh?” he finally said, his voice little more than a grumble. “Would you like to come in for cookies?”
Abby couldn’t help chuckling at his grudging invitation. “Hey, when you put it that way, I’m never too busy to have a cookie with one of my favorite students.”
Kitty raised her head and gaped at Abby. The smile of sheer delight that immediately spread across the little girl’s face made the whole trip out here worth it, as far as Abby was concerned. Kitty dashed forward, took Abby’s hand and tugged her toward the threshold.
Abby took a couple of steps, halting when she realized Mr. Granger hadn’t moved. He looked huge, disgruntled and about as movable as a boulder. With his broad shoulders and his feet spread wide apart, he filled up most of the doorway. She wondered if he was having second thoughts about inviting her in. Or maybe he was using his size in an attempt to intimidate her, reminding her of who was in charge here.
She was ashamed to admit, even to herself, that it was working. It annoyed her to no end because she usually paid little attention to anyone else’s size in relation to her own. To her mind, she wasn’t overly short; other people were overly tall. But whenever she had to talk to Mr. Granger, she always felt like a Chihuahua yapping at a Great Dane.
Too bad for him, she’d die before he would ever see it.
Plastering a smile on her lips, she turned sideways and followed Kitty inside. Though she tightened her muscles when she passed him, her breasts still brushed against his abdomen. He felt as hard and solid as that boulder she’d imagined. It had been so long since she’d had even this much contact with a man’s body, the instant shock of sexual awareness froze her in place.
His harshly drawn breath drew her gaze to his. To her amazement, she saw that same shocked awareness she was experiencing reflected in his eyes. He immediately stepped back, leaving enough space for a shopping cart to pass through without touching either of them. His gaze remained locked with hers, however, and she found it impossible to break eye contact.
Finally, Kitty gave her hand an impatient jerk, pulling Abby through the doorway and breaking the spell. Feeling an unfortunate urge to laugh hysterically, Abby grabbed the plate of cookies from an entryway table and allowed the little girl to lead her away.
They walked through a formal living room. It was furnished with classic, conservative pieces of furniture covered in earth-toned, practical fabrics that suited the Grump’s personality, but horrified Abby. Good heavens, it all blended as beautifully as a magazine layout, but the whole room desperately needed more light and color, and it was painfully neat. Far too neat for a sane adult, much less anyone raising a young child.
Didn’t this kid own any toys?
The kitchen was more of the same cool perfection, though it clearly had been designed with a woman’s convenience in mind. It was impossible to imagine making enough of a mess in this room to cook anything that didn’t come in a microwavable package. Abby blinked, then shivered.
“Come on, Ms. Walsh.” Releasing Abby’s hand, Kitty ran across the kitchen, dragged
