Page 59 of Takes Two to Tango

"Are you okay, buddy?" she asked.

"Sure," he muttered, tugging his backpack up to his shoulder. Rayne knew he lied, but didn't know how to make it better. She pretty much sucked at parenting. Obviously. She couldn't fix Henry with a cookie or a bowl of ice cream. She knew. She'd already tried food as a way to heal. It hadn't worked.

And coming home to Oak Stand hadn't worked the way she thought it would. It may have made it worse. So how could she take him to New York City so she could accelerate her career? Just thinking about the fast-paced city inspired anxiety in her. What would it do to Henry? How could she leave him in the care of a nanny or a day care while she worked long days in the studio? Then factor in the time she'd need to fly back to Texas to check on her restaurant.

She opened the car door and grimaced as Henry rounded the front of the car and opened the passenger door. He knew better than to try to ride shotgun. But one look at his face and she closed her mouth.

He dumped his backpack on the floor, fell into the passenger seat, and buried his head in her lap. Sobs shook his body as he cried. Rayne could do nothing more than stroke his back and murmur, "It's okay, baby," over and over again.

Even if she knew it wasn't.

"How did this happen?" she asked when his crying finally stopped.

"I don't know." He sniffed into her wrinkled skirt. "I had to go to the bathroom, and she left me."

Shebeing Freda Ford, the bus driver. Rayne wished she had the bus driver's phone number. Maybe grumpy Mrs. Ford needed a good tongue-lashing. Then maybe next time the woman would take a moment to check to ensure all the children were on the bus. Maybe a note to the ISD transportation office would work, as well.

"Will you pick me up from now on?" He lifted his tearstained face.

"Honey, you can't let this defeat you. It was an accident. The bus driver should have checked, and you should have told a duty teacher you needed to use the bathroom and to let Mrs. Ford know.”

"Please, Mommy. I don't want to be the last one here. What if they don't know I'm here and leave? What if there's a bad person who lives close? I saw this one guy on TV who took this little girl from the school and-"

"No one is going to take you. You have your list. The people on that list are your safety net," she said, smoothing his cowlick, patting his sweaty back.

Henry sat up and buckled his seat belt. "What good is having Meg on the list? She's always in Austin. I want to put Coach Brent down."

Rayne stared guiltily out the window. She'd just crawled from the man's bed and she didn't even know his cell phone number.That seemed wrong. She could get it, give it to Henry. But that seemed a bigger jump than kissing in front of Dawn and Aunt Fran. Even bigger than what they'd done less than an hour ago. Making Brent one of Henry's "safe" people felt binding. "We'll see about asking him to be on your list."

"I know he can take care of things. He's that type of guy."

Yeah, he was. She could definitely put him in that category. Odd, she'd spent so many years cementing him into a carefree, swaggering ladies man when she'd always known deep down that he was far more than that stereotype. Strange how being hurt colored a person's perception. It had been unfair of her, but she understood why it was so easy to hate him, to kick him over into the bad guy category, and keep him there. But she'd been wrong to do so. He'd been a sixteen-year-old kid with baggage that weighed him down. "Okay, unbuckle and get into the back."

"Aw, Mom. I'm big enough to ride up here," Henry grumbled, apparently forgetting he'd lain in her lap minutes ago and cried like a toddler.

"Nope.In the back."

"I don't need a stupid booster, Mom. No one uses them in the second grade. People are gonna think I'm a baby." The disgust in his voice proved he was over being left behind. For the moment anyway. Begrudgingly, he climbed over the seat, nearly knocking her phone and bottle of water from the console.

Rayne smoothed her paint spattered, wrinkled dress as if she could smooth out the wrinkles in her life. But it didn't work. On either count.

BRENT STAREDAT THE WORDS he'd scratched on the page weeks ago. Coach of the Year was a big deal to the kids on his team. They'd taunted the last team they'd played with that tidbit, something he'd had to address. Bragging was something boysdid as naturally as breathing, but they needed to learn humility and good sportsmanship. Something else a coach needed to teach, along with the lessons he'd written on the notebook in front of him-reaching far, trying hard, and giving your best.

It was a decent acceptance speech. But now it rang hollow because he knew that for many years he'd not done any of those things. He'd been content to tread water.

Weeks ago the words had been platitudes. But today he wanted them to be true of himself. He was changed. Or maybe changed wasn’t the best word. He’d never truly been the Brent Hamilton Oak Stand knew him as. Instead he’d existed in a cocoon of his own making, content to remain there. But now that spun binding felt split open. He’d metamorphosed long ago, but had been too afraid to climb out and spread his wings.

Until Rayne had reentered his life.

Rayne.

With her soft hair and rigid spine. Glowing eyes and satin skin. Yesterday afternoon had been the culmination of a long-standing desire to be with her. And it had been as good as any rousing daydream he'd had about the leggy, surprisingly fiery woman. She'd simply given him more reason to toss away the fetters of his old life and try for what he really longed to be-strong and respectable. Proud and upstanding. A husband and a father.

Fear crowded his throat.

He swallowed hard as if it were easy to get rid of the nagging thought that the last two were unattainable. He wanted to be both. But he wasn’t sure if Rayne wanted him that way. She had Henry to think about, too.

The thump of the crepe myrtle branch against his house jarred him from his heavy thoughts and signaled the arrival of his folks. The colossal RV always announced its entrance in the side drive with the same enormous thunk.

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