Chapter Four Temptation
Christian
B lue Ridge is just as quaint and quiet as Garrett said it would be. It’s a blue-collar town, with mostly locally owned businesses rather than franchises. Most of the houses in town are small but well cared for. As I drive through town toward Oliver’s daycare, it’s clear to me that the people who live here really care about this community based on how neat everything is. Lawns are mowed, sidewalks are clear, and there isn’t a single piece of litter in sight.
It makes me smile and relax against my seat as I take it all in. Glancing into the rearview mirror, I check on Oliver, who’s sitting in his booster seat, kicking his feet and watching the world go by outside his window.
“Are you excited for your new daycare, buddy?”
He turns his big blue eyes to me, blinks, and nods. “Do they have outside?”
I chuckle softly. “Yes, I’m sure they have things you can do outside. Are you excited to make new friends?”
He nods again. “Yes.”
“That’s good.”
“They can come to the big house?”
“Yeah, bud. You can have any new friends you make come out to the big house.”
His smile widens, and he continues to kick his feet happily as he chatters away, telling me about the games he wants to play with the new friends he hasn’t made yet. It’s been three days since we made the move to Blue Ridge, and so far, he seems to be adjusting well to the major change. He likes the big farmhouse I bought us and the fact that he has a large lawn he can play on.
The ten-acreage home has some small buildings apart from the main house, including a chicken coop and a large barn. There aren’t any animals yet, but then again we just moved in. Eventually, the thought of getting some chickens and a dog for Oliver does sound good. I want to make sure we’re all settled first and part of that process is getting him into the daycare as soon as possible so he can start socializing with other kids.
A few moments later, we pull into the daycare center’s parking lot. “We’re here, buddy.”
I look back at him and he’s gazing out at the building in curiosity. It’s a single-story brick building with glass doors at the entrance and several fenced-off play areas next to it with different levels of playground equipment, presumably for the different ages of kids in the center.
I get out of the SUV and move around the vehicle to open Oliver’s door and help him out of his seat. The moment his feet touch the ground, he jumps excitedly before absentmindedly taking my hand as his eyes stay fixated on the playground.
“Let’s go,” I gently urge, taking a step forward, lightly tugging on his hand to get him to follow.
We make our way through the building’s entrance and find a check-in desk right inside with a young woman with pink hair sitting behind it. She looks up and smiles at us. Her brown eyes taking me in with curiosity.
“Welcome to Sunshine Daycare,” she says in a cheerful tone. “How can I help you?”
“Hi, I’m Chris Tallow,” I answer, keeping my voice low so no one else hears me. “This is my son, Oliver. He’s supposed to be starting in the pipsqueak room today.”
“Oh, yes! They told me we were getting a new little guy today,” the woman replies, leaning over her desk so she can look down at Oliver. “Nice to meet you, Oliver. I’m Maggie. You’re going to be with Miss Haven.”
Oliver moves closer to my side, suddenly acting shy.
“Say hi, buddy,” I encourage him.
“Hi,” he murmurs and then buries his face against my leg.
Maggie chuckles softly as she sits back in her chair. “The three-year-old room is down the hall and the fourth door on the right. Haven is expecting you, so you can go right in.”
“Thank you.” I give Oliver’s hand a reassuring squeeze as I turn to lead him down the hallway. When we reach the door, I open it and poke my head inside. A group of about ten kids sit in a circle on the far side of the room. An older woman is reading to them from her perch in a rocking chair. I frown, confused. Garrett’s younger sister is supposed to be the teacher…
“Hello?”
I jump at the soft voice speaking to my right. Turning my head, my eyes fall on a gorgeous woman with long auburn hair curling around her shoulders and bright brown eyes. Her green wrap dress hugs her generous curves and makes her hair stand out even more. She’s gazing at me with a frown and an arch brow, her pink lips pursed.
“Can I help you?” she asks in a firmer tone.
Shaking myself out of my daze, I clear my throat and say, “Yes, sorry, I’m Chris. And this is my son, Oliver.”
I move aside so he can come through the door and stand next to me.
The woman’s eyes go wide with recognition. “Oh! Yes, I was told we were getting a new friend today. I’m Haven Young.”
She sticks out her hand toward me, and I slowly take it. I can’t help noticing how incredibly soft and slender her hands are. This is Garrett’s baby sister? When Garrett had mentioned that his baby sister would be Oliver’s teacher, I’d been skeptical of her abilities. She was only twenty-six, after all, a whole decade younger than me. I’m very careful about the people I let take care of Oliver and usually prefer people with more experience or who’ve been associated with my family for years.
However, Garrett told me about her background in early childhood education and assured me that she’s great with all the kids she works with. He might be biased because she’s his sister, but I do trust him and if he vouches for her, I’m willing to give her a chance.
Letting go of her hand, I glance down at Oliver. “Say hello to Miss Haven.”
“Hello,” he murmurs shyly.
“Hello,” she says, and he smiles, quickly looking away.
My heart clenches. He’s always been a little sheltered and shy, and so new people usually stress him out. Maybe this is too much too soon. I should’ve let him acclimate to the house and town more before I brought him here…
Haven suddenly bends down, putting her hands on her knees, meeting Oliver’s gaze with a soft smile.
“Do you like cars?” she asks in a gentle voice.
Oliver hesitantly nods. “Yes.”
“Do you have toy cars at home?”
“A lot,” he answers, glancing up at me.
I grin at him, hoping to reassure him.
Haven points to some shelves low on the wall to our left.
“There’s a whole bunch of toy cars on that shelf over there,” she tells him. “Why don’t you go pick out some that you like?”
“I can?” he gasps, his eyes going wide with immediate excitement.
She nods. “Pick out a few and bring them back to show me and your dad. Okay?”
“Okay!” he exclaims, and rushes over to the toy shelf.
“That was pretty slick,” I say, watching him practically run toward the shelf with the cars.
She smiles. “He seems like a sweet kid. Just a little shy. A good way to help them get over that is directing them toward something they like.”
“Smart,” I murmur.
She gives me her full attention with a friendly smile. “So, you guys just moved here?”
“Yes.” I nod. “Just a few days ago.”
“What brings you to town?”
I furrow my brow. Wait… does she not know who I am? That’s…unexpected.
“Uh… work,” I answer with a shrug. As if it’s the easiest explanation.
She tilts her head. “Oh, do you work for the oil fields?”
For some reason, I don’t want her to know that I actually own the oil fields. The way she’s talking to me right now… she’s not intimidated, and I don’t feel like she wants anything from me other than my time. It’s not a feeling I’m used to, but if my goal is to make a life for Oliver as steady and normal as possible, maybe it’s for the best that I don’t flaunt who I am just yet.
“Yeah.” I nod. “I work at the oil fields.”
“Most of the men around here do,” she tells me. “My brother is out in the fields right now. Won’t be back until next month.”
Before I can say anything in response, Oliver comes bounding back toward us, holding two cars in his hands.
“Look!” he exclaims, holding them up for us to see. One’s a fire-red Corvette and the other is a blue pickup. “Look, Daddy!”
“Those are really cool, little man,” I say with a grin.
“Oliver, why don’t you go show the other kids?” Haven suggests. “Mrs. Weber is just finishing up story-time. Maybe you can find someone to play cars with you.”
Oliver looks hesitant and gazes up at me uncertainly.
“Go on,” I encourage him gently. “Go make some friends. I won’t leave right away.”
Gulping, Oliver turns and makes his way across the room to the other kids. They’re all starting to get up from their circle and when they notice Oliver approaching them, several of the kids hurry forward to talk to him.
I watch as Oliver slowly warms up to the others and shows them the cars he’s still clutching in his little fists.
“He’s going to be just fine,” Haven says, pulling my attention back to her. “You don’t have anything to worry about.”
I give her a small smile, still a little unsure about everything. “Yeah… I’ll admit I’m a bit nervous because he doesn’t warm up to people too easily, but he does seem to be doing all right.”
“If he has any issues, I promise to let you know,” she tells me. “Maggie has your number on file from when you signed Oliver up online.”
As much as part of me wants to take it slow and stay while he plays for an hour, deep down, I know that isn’t going to help anything. He has to get used to things without me hovering around him. It’s the only way for him to become independent and comfortable in our new home.
“Great, I appreciate that.”
“Do you have another number for your wife?”
The question catches me off guard. I guess to the average person that would seem like a reasonable question to ask.
“No,” I answer at length. “Oliver’s mother isn’t in the picture.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she gasps, her brows shooting up and her eyes going wide. “I shouldn’t have assumed…”
“It’s all right,” I assure her. “It’s complicated.”
She shakes her head and releases a long breath. “Me and my big mouth… my brother is always telling me I need to be more careful and not say everything that pops into my head.”
I grin. She’s pretty adorable when she’s flustered.
“Filter problem, huh?” I chuckle. “I can sympathize with that. I’m sure working with kids doesn’t help.”
The corners of her mouth twitch, and she shakes her head. “No, it doesn’t. I guess I am used to all these little humans saying whatever’s on their minds. I never considered that before.”
We stand gazing at each other for several moments, neither saying another word. At length, I realize I’m staring and clear my throat, breaking my gaze from hers.
“I should head out,” I say. “I don’t want to take up any more of your time.”
“Oh… right,” she murmurs, her cheeks turning a delicious shade of pink. Damn, she really is pretty. Garrett didn’t mention that his sister was such a bombshell.
Wait, no! I can’t have these thoughts. Not about her… Garrett’s sister and Oliver’s new teacher. She’s entirely off-limits.
And yet, I can’t seem to walk away from her, even though I just declared that I was leaving. The urge to reach out and brush a finger along her cheek to see if it’s just as soft as her hand slams into me. I have to clench my hands into fists to hold myself back.
“I’ll, uh, see you at pickup then,” I say, taking a step back and forcing more distance between us.
“See you later, Chris,” she replies with a soft smile.
Before I change my mind, I turn and hurry out of the room. Oliver is preoccupied with the other kids and doesn’t seem to notice me leaving, which is good because I’m not entirely sure I can continue to resist the temptation wrapped up like a present in green.