Finding Our Forever (Silver Springs #1)(25)
“There must be some reason they’re not an official couple. What’s missing?”
“I couldn’t tell you.” She made a signal to let Cora know the waitress, who’d introduced herself as Missy, was coming to take their order.
“Sorry to put such an abrupt end to the conversation,” she said after she’d ordered pancakes and eggs and Cora had ordered a Spanish omelet. “I was afraid Missy might overhear us. Everyone knows everyone else around here—and even if they don’t, most everyone knows Aiyana.”
“No problem. I understand.”
Difficult though it was, Cora let the conversation drift away from her birth mother to the school and what the coming year would entail. They also discussed some of the more troubled boys.
“How do you deal with those who won’t behave?” Cora asked.
“Easy,” Darci replied. “I threaten to send them to Elijah.”
Cora put down her fork and took a drink of her orange juice. “Why not Aiyana?”
“Elijah tries to spare her anything difficult, anything that might upset or disappoint her. He prefers we get him involved if we need help.”
“Elijah’s the enforcer.”
“Sort of.”
“What methods does he use for discipline?”
“The threat of being sent to his office is usually enough. If they do something wrong, they don’t want him to find out about it. They care about his good opinion, about getting the chance to be with him for various activities.”
“Surely there have been a few who haven’t cared enough to behave.”
“Of course. He barred one boy, Ricky Peterson, from playing sports and attending the dances and assemblies until he brought up his grades. But then he studied with Ricky for an hour a day. After a few weeks, Ricky was doing better than ever before.”
Considering they were talking about a man who called himself a “locked box,” Cora thought that was interesting. Apparently, he had plenty of love for the boys—but she’d already noted that when he was on the horseback ride.
She opened her mouth to ask if Darci had ever heard anything about the various women Elijah had been with but caught herself. She couldn’t show that much interest, didn’t want to give Darci any indication that there was something going on between them. Since they weren’t serious, she preferred to keep it on the down low. So she asked about Darci’s marriage and divorce, and then she tried to offer some support. But in the back of her mind she couldn’t quit thinking about Elijah and the role he played on the ranch. Aiyana remained on her mind, as well. Her biological mother was such an enigma. Why wouldn’t she marry Cal?
*
Cora had just stepped out of the shower when she heard a knock at the door. Assuming it was Doug, since he’d caught her when she got back from breakfast to say he had some fresh vegetables he planned to gather from his garden and bring over, she groaned and started to grab some clothes so that she could get dressed. Then she realized she’d have a much better excuse not to invite him in if she answered in her robe.
Prepared to thank him and quickly send him on his way, she pasted a smile on her face and cracked open the door. But it wasn’t her neighbor, it was Elijah. He stood on her stoop in a pair of faded jeans, his tan, muscular arms stretching the sleeves of his red New Horizons T-shirt as he tossed his keys from hand to hand.
“Hello,” she said, blinking in surprise.
His gaze lowered to her robe. “Just getting up?”
“No. I met Darci in town for breakfast and didn’t have time to get ready beforehand, so I just showered.” She’d also done a conditioning treatment on her hair, given herself a mani-pedi and rubbed her whole body with some vanilla-scented lotion. She told herself she wanted to look and feel her best to start her new job, that she was doing this as a matter of routine. But she knew Elijah had more to do with it than she cared to admit.
His lips curved into a devilish smile. “Then I’d say my timing is perfect.”
Not only was he smiling freely, he was smiling at her. “For...”
“I owe you a little something, remember?”
Slightly concerned by how easily he could make her knees weak, since she was supposed to be keeping some emotional distance in this relationship, Cora drew a steadying breath. “You don’t owe me anything.”
He reached out and tugged on her belt to loosen it, so she stepped back to let him inside. The last thing she needed was for someone to drive by and see them. “You don’t think it’s too risky to come to my house during the day? If you’re not careful the whole school will be talking about us.”
“What do you mean? It’s much safer to come during the day. Then it doesn’t look like we’re trying to hide anything.”
That made sense, but the fact that her robe was coming open also made it difficult to think. He continued to pull on her belt—slowly so she’d have time to stop him if she wanted. But she didn’t stop him, and soon the belt fell to the ground.
Suddenly nervous, she wet her lips as she stared up at him. “So now it’s my turn, huh?”
“Unless you have other plans for the next hour or so...”
Cora felt she should come up with something. Put this off, at least until she could regain her perspective. She shouldn’t be this excited.