Caroline talks very little. She is unresponsive to people, and consequently she has performed poorly in preschool. She keeps to herself and doesn’t associate with other kids. It didn’t help when my father died recently, because he doted on her since she was the only grandchild. Even so, they weren’t really close. It was just one more thing that hurt her. She became a little more receptive with me after he was gone because I think she feels we both share a loss.”
“I’m sure you’ve had all kinds of help for her.”
“I’ve tried everything. That’s why I’m here.” He studied her in silence a moment. “You don’t approve of me, do you?”
She blinked and then her eyes widened and she blushed, a rosy pink filling her cheeks. “I didn’t know it showed.”
A slight annoyance pricked him. He was unaccustomed to negative reactions from females.
“I’ll admit, I may have jumped to inaccurate conclusions because of your press,” she continued. “I’m glad you’re concerned about Caroline. But have you tried giving a little more of yourself?” she asked quietly.
Startled, he stared at her. When annoyance flashed briefly, he tried to curb it. “I don’t know anything about little girls. I’ve done everything I can think of to do.”
“Do you spend a lot of time with her?”
With an uncomfortable guilt at not being able to reach his niece, he frowned. “I try. She doesn’t respond to me as much as she used to when her dad was living. I have to admit that I don’t give her the hours of attention her father did. For the first time in my life, I’m up against something I can’t cope with.”
“If you’re trying, that’s important.”
“Caroline’s doctor said if she responds to someone, we should maintain the relationship as much as possible. Unfortunately, so far, I haven’t found a single person she reacts to with enthusiasm. She used to have a sunny disposition. Now, instead of a joyous little girl, she’s quiet, polite and withdrawn. Her nanny and my staff all try to pamper her, but it doesn’t seem to matter to her.”
He picked up his menu. “We better decide on something to eat before we get too deep in this conversation. Our waiter will return soon. Do you see anything that appeals to you?”
She laughed lightly. “It all appeals to me. This is one of my favorite places to eat.”
“It’s one of mine, too” he said, staring in surprise. “When I’m in Austin, I eat here. I can’t recall seeing you. I’d remember.”
As she shook her head, she smiled. “No, you wouldn’t. We were strangers until today. Even though this is a favorite restaurant, I come at odd hours and not often.” She closed her menu. “I do eat here often enough that I know what I want.”
“It’s always good when you know what you want,” he said, watching Ava as the waiter returned and she ordered a Cobb salad and raspberry iced tea.
He ordered a hamburger, and as soon as they were alone, Will added, “On the flight here, I looked over the resumes of the teachers you recommended.”
“I’ve given you highly qualified, experienced teachers who have very successful track records in raising children’s reading levels.”
“I know, and I appreciate that. But it’s more difficult to choose a tutor than I realized. I’m worried about kindergarten because Caroline is going to have to participate and show her teacher what she can do. She’ll be in a private school and they’ll work with her, but there’s just so much they can do. When she doesn’t respond at all, people give up trying to help her as much.”
“Hopefully the right tutor might make a difference.”
“Right now, Caroline is the most important person in my life. Before we go further, I’d like to fly you to Dallas and have you meet Caroline. I think it would be better if you know her. Once you meet her and spend a little time with her, you might be able to better assess the situation. Since time is valuable, I’ll make the trip worth your while. Two thousand a day plus expenses, and I’ll fly you to Dallas and back to Austin.”
“That’s an enormous amount to pay,” she said, not hiding her surprise.
“I can afford it, and this is top priority,” he stated, determined to get what he wanted.
“You know there are excellent private schools where you can board her and they work with the children all day and have activities at night.”
He could tell the question was a test, but one he knew he’d pass. “I’m not sending her away.”
Her green eyes flashed. “That’s commendable.”
“Will you come to Dallas?”
While he waited for her answer, his pulse sped. He wanted her to accept his offer, and it wasn’t altogether because of Caroline. This morning he had expected to fly to Austin, have lunch, go over the candidates and fly home, mission accomplished. Instead, from the first moment he looked at Ava, he had scrapped his original plan and purpose and was going by instinct, determined to get help for Caroline but also to get to know Ava.
“When are we talking about?” she asked.
“Whenever you want. You can fly back with me now. Fly tomorrow or next week. Whenever you can work the trip into your schedule, but the sooner, the better.”
As she gazed beyond him while she thought it over, he took the opportunity to study her again. Her silky hair was meant for a man’s hands to tangle. Thick, long sandy lashes framed her seductive eyes. The sight of her mouth made his temperature climb. All he wanted to do was flirt, ask her out, take her to dinner and then kiss her until they were both on fire. She didn’t want to be entangled with anyone and he didn’t, either, so passion would not lead to complications.
The waiter brought their orders. As soon as they were alone she leaned forward. “What time are you returning to Dallas?”
“I have one appointment at three this afternoon to stop by the office of one of my customers. It won’t take long and then I planned to fly home. I can change my schedule easily.”
“In a couple of hours I can be ready to return with you tonight if you’d like. The weekend is coming up, plus I have a few days with nothing scheduled.”
“Excellent. We’ll fly home and you can meet Caroline. Stay a week if you can.”
She smiled. “It won’t take that long to get to know Caroline a little. I’ll stay tonight and tomorrow night and fly back Saturday. I just got my doctorate and I plan to spend the summer and this next year working on opening my own private school.”
“That’s admirable,” he replied, his pulse humming because she would be at his house for the next three days and he could get to know her.
“I assume you read to Caroline,” she said. “If you can give me a list of some of her favorite books, I might be able to add to them with a new book or two.”
“Sure. Better yet, when we finish lunch, I’ll take you to a bookstore and we can look things over and get what you want.”
“As
