For Love of Emily Read online

  He’s sorry, Silver’s heart sang. And as the bell rang to signal the end of her break, it seemed to announce a new beginning for Silver and Thad.

  ****

  Emily chattered non-stop, as she normally did these days, as Thad escorted her out to the four-wheel drive SUV in the parking lot. He enjoyed the change in his daughter, and knew that he owed much of it to her teacher.

  “Didn’t Silver look nice today, Dad?” Emily’s voice intruded into Thad’s introspection.

  “Haven’t I told you that you’re supposed to call her Miss Burdette?” Thad reminded his daughter.

  “Oh, Dad.” Emily rolled her eyes. “I call her Miss Burdette in class, but she doesn’t mind if I call her by her nickname in private.”

  “In private?” Thad raised an eyebrow as he unlocked the car. “Since when do you spend time in private with Silver? I mean, Miss Burdette.”

  “Sometimes I talk to her between classes or at lunch,” Emily responded as she climbed into the car. “I do need to have somebody to talk girl talk with, you know.”

  “Don’t you have friends for that?”

  “Not that kind of girl stuff. Woman stuff.” Emily blushed. “There are some things a girl doesn’t discuss with her dad.”

  “Oh, I see,” Thad answered, trying to hide a smile. But the child did have a point. This was the age when a girl was becoming a woman, and she needed to have a woman to share that with. How could he manage with all of Emily’s growing pains? He really would need a woman’s help as Emily matured.

  Thad had wanted to stay to talk to Silver, to apologize, but he didn’t have time. They had to hurry to get Emily to her appointment. In spite of his haste, he had noticed the light in Silver’s eyes as he turned to leave, and that sparkle told him that there was still hope.

  Marianne Harbeson had taken to his suggestion to include Silver on her holiday party guest list almost too easily. That had been the simple part of his plan. The one variable that he hadn’t been able to count on was whether Silver would accept the invitation and be there. So far, Marianne had reported that Silver had not made a firm commitment.

  The expression in Silver’s eyes today told him she would be there. Thad sighed contentedly as he started the engine.

  Now all he had to do was get through the days until the party.

  ****

  A sense of peace settled over Silver after the accidental meeting with Thad in the hall. She actually began to look forward to attending the Harbesons’s party. In her fantasies there were two possibilities. In one, their eyes met and the rest was history. In the other, nothing happened, and Silver would know that she was finally over Major Thaddeus E. Thibodeaux. After all, she had no business getting mixed up with a soldier, and she really had a teaching career to focus on. What she tried not to think about was the third option: that she still cared, but he only wanted to be friends.

  His apology made that one seem unlikely.

  The day of the party dawned cold and clear, and Silver was up with it. After three days of December drizzle, the change in the weather seemed like a promising sign. She was certain that it heralded good fortune at the Harbesons’ Christmas party. Her choice to attend had been the right one.

  After shopping all morning, Silver came home with the perfect dress and darling white boots to go with it. With several hours remaining until time to go, she would spend the afternoon primping and preparing herself until she looked too good for Thad Thibodeaux or anyone else to resist.

  Carole stumbled out of the bedroom, yawning, as Silver came in with her packages. It was obvious that Carole had just rolled out of bed.

  “Out of hibernation already?” Silver asked dryly as her friend poured that morning’s cold coffee into a mug and put it into the microwave.

  Carole just looked at her friend groggily and mumbled something about beauty sleep, and yawned again.

  “I can’t imagine how a person with as much energy as you have during the week, could possibly sleep so late on the weekends. I wish your students could see you like this just once.” Silver laughed as the microwave buzzed, and Carole groped for that first sip of coffee.

  One sip was apparently all that Carole needed. “That is precisely why I need to catch up on weekends. I run myself ragged all week. Besides, most of those kids don’t get up till noon themselves. So why would they think anything strange about my sleeping habits?” Carole argued good-naturedly. “Where have you been? It’s the crack of dawn!”

  “Carole, it’s noon,” Silver replied patiently. “It’s hardly daybreak. I have, for your information, been out turning my hard-earned money into something wonderful to wear to the ball,” she announced airily.

  “Isn’t it supposed to be pumpkins into limos or something?” Carole drained her cup dry. “This is hardly a ball. You didn’t buy a gown did you?” Carole put down her cup and headed for the pile of shopping bags.

  “No fair looking,” Silver teased, heading her friend off. “You’ll ruin the effect. It’s not a gown,” she added. “I was speaking metaphorically. You’ll just have to wait.” She picked up her packages, leaving Carole holding her empty cup.

  ****

  At precisely six thirty, Silver emerged from her room, dressed and ready to go. She hadn’t made the mistake of allowing Carole to help her with her preparations this time. Her delicate complexion was highlighted properly, though without the flash that Carole had tried to give her that fateful night.

  Silver pirouetted in front of the hall mirror and then went on into the living room to show her friend the finished product. “Well? What do you think?” she asked.

  Carole was peering out the large front window, nose pressed against the glass, waiting for David. She turned slowly then smiled with admiration. “You look fantastic. That green is perfect for your complexion.”

  Indeed, Silver did look fantastic and she had no doubts that she would be turning heads, though there was only one head that she cared to turn. The dress she wore was a simple knitted sheath, a sweater dress of crayon-green with long sleeves and a mock turtle neckline. Icicles of silver sequins dripped from the shoulders down the front and back. Silver’s long hair was pulled back in a French braid, secured at the nape with a sequin-studded bow. A star of rhinestones adorned each tiny ear. She embodied Christmas without the scarlet flash that so many women wore at that time of year.

  “If that doesn’t get his attention, nothing will,” Carole remarked as she turned back to the window.

  “Didn’t your mother ever tell you that the watched pot never boils? Whose attention?” she added.

  “You know very well whose attention we’re talking about: Major Thad Thibodeaux’s, of course. Remember, we discussed the possibility that he would be there,” Carole rejoined without looking away from the window.

  “Oh. I had forgotten,” Silver lied badly.

  “Liar!” Carole retorted. “I can almost guarantee that he’s all you’ve thought about in the last few days.”

  “Okay. So I hope he’ll be there. It’s no crime.” Silver shrugged and plopped onto the couch. She idly flipped through a magazine and then looked up. “Are you sure David won’t mind me tagging along with you? I could drive myself.” She’d rather drive herself. Then she could drive herself home and wouldn’t be stuck waiting for Carole if things went wrong, she thought, remembering the last party she and Thad had both attended.

  “Don’t be silly. There’s no sense in going separately.” Headlights flashed outside. “Look. He’s here.”

  “I guess it’s too late to back out now,” Silver grumbled. She collected her coat and purse from the closet.

  “Now look who’s being too anxious to go to this shindig.”

  Silver started to come up with a sarcastic remark but stopped when she heard David’s footsteps. Before the bell rang, Carole jerked the door open.

  David sauntered in, barely out of breath from his exertions. He unbuttoned his coat and kissed Carole soundly.

  “Brr.” Carole lau
ghed. “It’s like kissing an ice cube.”

  “Weather report predicts a hard freeze for tonight. May even be a chance for flurries after midnight,” David said as he sank to the couch.

  “Oh fine,” grumbled Carole. “Now I’ll have to put the liner in my raincoat.” She headed toward her room. “Give me about five minutes.”

  “You look better than a hundred dollar bill,” David announced, staring openly at Silver’s new look. “Some guy is bound to get knocked off his feet tonight.”

  Silver had to chuckle at David’s odd comparison.

  “Maybe somebody will,” Silver replied coyly. She didn’t want just anybody to, just Thad. “Thanks, Dave,” she said, remembering the strange compliment.

  ****

  The party was not yet in full swing when Silver and her friends arrived. In fact, they were among the first to get there. Both young women were grateful for that, but not for the same reason. With so few people there, they were able to get acquainted with some of the other guests before the crowd got overwhelming. Even gregarious Carole felt uncomfortable among the mostly older set of people that were sure to arrive later, and Silver could relax before Thad appeared.

  The company in the early minutes of the party was so pleasant that Silver was surprised to discover that she was actually enjoying herself. She was engrossed in a conversation with a young couple she’d met that she very nearly missed Thad’s arrival.

  Just in the edge of her peripheral vision, Silver caught a flash of red. Something about the bright color and the movement made her turn. There in the doorway stood Thad looking as handsome as ever. Silver’s heart flip-flopped. He was walking better, but she noted that he still carried the cane. The red flash she had caught was his scarlet sweater.

  Then Silver noticed something else that made her heart stop. Clinging possessively to Thad’s arm was a striking redhead. And if that sight wasn’t devastating enough, Silver heard the woman laugh and watched her deposit a kiss on Thad’s willing mouth.

  Dumbstruck, Silver could do nothing but gape. The young woman with whom she had been chatting, seeing Silver’s look commented, “Isn’t he the most drop-dead handsome man you ever saw? Until I met him, I thought that only movie stars could look that good.” Turning to Silver, she added, “Would you like me to introduce you?”

  “Thanks, but we’ve already met. I’m his daughter’s teacher,” she added unnecessarily. Tears threatened, but Silver managed to blink them back, and she frantically searched for an avenue of escape. Seeing Marianne come in from the kitchen, Silver mumbled something about having to help and scooted away.

  “Is anything wrong, Silver?” Marianne asked, noticing her wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand.

  “No. I think I have an eyelash in one of my eyes, and it’s making it water. I hope I don’t ruin my makeup.” It’s getting way too easy to make up lies, Silver told herself. Was she becoming the woman she had claimed not to be?

  Marianne pointed Silver in the direction of a bathroom, and Silver gratefully took a few minutes to hide in its solitude.

  Taking several deep breaths and giving herself a good pep talk worked, and soon Silver was able to face the party again. She took another moment to repair the minor damage to her face and reappeared looking confident. On the outside, at least.

  The oven timer dinged as she entered the kitchen and Marianne pulled two batches of hot hors d’oeuvres from the oven.

  “Can I help you with those?” Silver offered, hoping for an excuse to stay in the kitchen.

  Marianne directed Silver to take a tray out into the living room. It wasn’t exactly what Silver had wished for, but having offered, she had to accept the assignment.

  As she entered the living room, Silver could feel someone watching her. It was the same feeling she’d experienced that night by the pool. Tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention, but she tried to ignore the sensation. Finally, unable to resist the urge to look, she did. Thad Thibodeaux was staring intently at her.

  A slight flush heated her face, and Silver was forced to turn away lest the heat give her away. Using the rapidly emptying tray of hors d’oeuvres as an excuse, Silver transferred the remaining few delicacies to another platter and carried the empty one back into her kitchen refuge.

  There she found Marianne fussing with yet another batch of canapés. “Let me do that so you can spend some time with your guests,” Silver volunteered, eager for a chance to stay away from the party-goers in the main room. And him.

  “Thanks, Silver,” Marianne replied gratefully. “The woman I hired to help came down with the flu at the last minute, so I’ve had to spend most of the evening in here.

  “Are you sure you don’t mind missing some of the party?” the woman added, remembering her duties as hostess.

  At that point Silver wouldn’t have minded if she had missed all of the party. “Don’t worry. The crowd’s getting a little big for me. I’m not a good small talker, and I’d welcome a chance for a few minutes’ solitude. Go on. Enjoy your guests,” Silver urged.

  After giving Silver the instructions for finishing the food, Marianne removed her apron and left Silver alone in the kitchen.

  Silver kept her mind occupied in the quiet of the kitchen and with the task of preparing more food. No, she did not mind at all being left alone in the kitchen.

  She donned the apron that Marianne had discarded and worked contentedly enough, forgetting the party, the time — but not Thaddeus E. Thibodeaux.

  “We didn’t invite you to this party to make you work like a scullery maid,” a surprisingly authoritative voice boomed from the doorway.

  Silver jerked guiltily around and looked up to see the smiling face of John Harbeson looking at her.

  “Colonel Harbeson, you startled me.”

  “Sorry about that. But it’s my turn for kitchen patrol now. You go out and enjoy the festivities.”

  Silver knew better than to argue with a full bird colonel and reluctantly agreed to return to the party. Holding a plate of cheese puffs in front of her as a protective barrier, she left the safe haven in the kitchen.

  The room had filled to capacity and spilled over into the den area next door during the time that Silver had been working. She searched for Carole and David or any other friendly faces, but didn’t see any. As she scanned the noisy mass of people for anybody she knew, her eyes faced the stony stare of Thad Thibodeaux.

  Silver tried to drag her eyes away from his magnetic gaze, but she was too weak. For a moment, they seemed to be the only two people in the room. She didn’t know how long she stood locked in the steel grip of his eyes, but it seemed an eternity.

  Eventually something crept into Silver’s consciousness and ended the long moment. Two women sitting to Silver’s right had also noticed the handsome major, and one of them mentioned his name. Silver strained to hear.

  “I think he’s the best looking thing this side of heaven,” one of the women observed.

  “Don’t I know it? But I hear he’s about to be going out of circulation,” the other woman interjected.

  There was nothing Silver could do but listen. She hated eavesdropping, but she had to know.

  “Really! What have you heard?”

  “Nothing much. Just that Boz says that he’s been making noises about needing a wife.”

  “Yeah. I heard he just got custody of his daughter.”

  Nodding in the direction of the redhead, the second woman commented knowingly. “It looks like he’s got her all picked out.”

  The sound of the tray clattering to the floor brought Silver to her senses. With eyes stinging with tears she could no longer control, she swiftly stooped to retrieve the tray and scoop up what was left of the fallen snacks. As soon as she was certain that she had recovered them all, she fled into the kitchen.

  ****

  Thad scanned the crowded room looking for Silver’s bright, blond head. Marianne had assured him that Silver had accepted her invitation, but it seemed as if
she were avoiding him. Could he have interpreted her expression in the school hallway incorrectly?

  He had spent the better part of the past month working through his conflicted feelings about Silver Burdette. It had taken him a month of hard thinking, but now he knew how he felt. Yes, his priority was to make Emily feel comfortable and safe, but Silver Burdette could surely play a big part in the equation.

  He owed his daughter’s teacher so much more than he could ever repay.

  So what if she hadn’t confessed that they’d met at that party last summer? He now understood that she’d done so out of embarrassment, not because she’d done anything wrong. He well knew he’d been the jerk that day. It was up to him to make it straight. All she’d done was try not to remind him of an embarrassing social situation.

  Marianne nudged him sharply, and dragged him out of his woolgathering. Would he ever be able to go to a party again and not think about his first encounter with Sylvia Burdette?

  He turned and caught a glimpse of Silver’s green dress. If he was ever going to settle it, he was going to have to push the issue. He excused himself and headed toward her.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The garbage disposal made quick work of the spoiled food, its growling drowning out the noise of the party. Neither host nor hostess was in the kitchen, so Silver helped herself to a glass of white wine from an open bottle on the counter. It took several minutes for the drink to work its magic, but she needed the time to calm her tormented emotions. The party was over for her now, and she had no hope of reacquiring the festive mood. Her once-high hopes were gone. She wanted very much to go home, but since she had come with Carole and David, she was stuck there until they were ready to leave.