Page 34 of Love in Overdrive

“I planned on calling that Sunday evening, but something happened to my phone. I lost all my contacts, and I didn’t know your last name.”

She looked at him with skepticism.

“Really. My nephew was playing a game on my phone, and… well, he dropped it in the toilet.”

Laney’s brows pulled down. As far as excuses go for not calling, that was a new one.

“I swear.” He raised his right hand.

She searched his face for any signs of deception. “Are you serious?”

His shoulders sagged and the most beautiful smile tugged at his lips. “God’s truth. Jimmy is a great kid, but he’s a little tornado of activity.”

She knew the type. Her class was full of them. “How old is he?”

“Four. I fear the day he learns to drive.” He chuckled.

Dang it. She was smiling now. She couldn’t help it. Her entire face lit seeing Cade laugh.

“I know the age well. I work at Tot Time. Well, it’s one of my jobs.” The smell of tomatoes distracted her. She nodded toward the fireplace. “I think dinner is done.”

“Oh, shit.” He crossed the room in three long strides.

Laney admired his long, limber gait as he brought the pans to the table. She set glasses of water down, and they sat as if it was any other meal.

“Tell me about your jobs.” Cade scooped up a spoonful of soup.

She shrugged. “There’s not much to tell. I have a teaching degree but with cutbacks, I got let go. Last year was a bad one.”

Between losing her job and the divorce, Laney wanted to run screaming through the streets of Gray Duck Grove. But that would have added another piece of gossip for the citizens of town.

“My friend, Marti, got me a job at the daycare, but I needed more income to cover the house expenses, so I work part-time at the market.” She stared at her beans as if they were magic and would grow her a beanstalk that would take her away from her life.

Warm fingers covered her hand. “We all have tough times. There’s no shame in working an honest job or two.”

“I know. At least I’m still working with the kids. I love them.”

He retrieved his hand and smiled. “They sure can be a handful. I’ve spent some time with my nephew this past week. We made snowmen and had an epic snowball fight.” He used air quotes on the word epic. “Anyway, after two hours, I was wiped. That four-year-old kicked my butt.”

Laney blinked. She stared at his whiskey-colored eyes with those long dark eyelashes any woman would envy. They reminded her of someone else. Where had she seen them before?

Another face popped into her mind. No, it couldn’t be. Could it?

“What?” he asked.

Laney’s face paled, and her brows scrunched. She eyed him as if he was a puzzle. Maybe he was. God, he hoped she’d figure it out, because his life was like someone mixed up the pieces and lost a couple.

“Jimmy Gallager?”

“Yeah. How’d you know?”

Laney shook her head. “He’s one of my kids. Well, one of the kids I teach, anyway.” A bright smile crossed her face, almost like it was a private joke. “It’s a small world.”

Cade thought about it a minute before the light bulb came on. “You’re Miss Hunt? My sister mentioned you.”

Laney blushed. The rose color on her cheeks deepened as he watched. “She might have mentioned you as well.”

“Dang, I should have let my sister fix me up. But the way she described you, I would have put you in the old-school-marm category. And you are definitely not like any of the teachers I had.”