ISBN: 9780373753512

Something was badly amiss in the Texas public school system: Hanna Rosser's straight-A son did not participate in fistfights. Hanna pulled into the parents' parking lot of Marble Falls E… More...

Something was badly amiss in the Texas public school system: Hanna Rosser's straight-A son did not participate in fistfights. Hanna pulled into the parents' parking lot of Marble Falls Elementary and tried to keep her cool as a motorcycle roared into the spot she'd been eyeing. Calmly she parked her white Volvo SUV two spaces down and tried not to notice how the tight denim hugged the guy's long legs as he slid off the macho contraption and headed up the sidewalk, unbuckling his helmet. Trade the helmet for a Stetson and the Harley for a stallion and he'd epitomize the phrase long, tall Texan. Six feet and some change, dirty cowboy boots and a swagger that said he couldn't care less what anyone else thought. Slinging the helmet by the leather strap, he jabbed his fingers through his disheveled hair and then opened the heavy glass door. He stepped back, allowing her to precede him into the hall. For each of his long strides Hanna made two, her heels tapping on the shiny waxed tile in her rush toward the office. Ashton's first day in a public school and he'd been involved in a fistfight? This couldn't be happening. She reached for the metal handle of the office door, and again, Mr. Tight Jeans leaned around and held it open for her. Deep dimples bracketed his mouth. "After you, ma'am." His voice held the same interesting mix of smooth and tough as his jeans. Leading the way into the office, she wondered if this man's bully son was the one who'd taken a swing at Ashton. Fighting hadn't been an issue in Ashton's private school back in Dallas. She'd certainly brought him up to know better than to strike another child. The secretary stood and nodded. "Ms. Rosser. Vince." Vince? Hanna glanced at him from the corner of her eye as he flashed those killer dimples at the little redhead behind the desk. This guy was on a first-name basis? Oh yeah, undoubtedly his son had been picking on the new sixth-grader. "Please take a seat. We're just waiting on one more parent, and then Principal Montgomery will see you." Vince stood until Hanna sat, and then folded his long, lanky frame into a matching wooden chair, placing his black-and-silver helmet on the one between them with a clunk. She inched farther away as Vince crossed one leg over the other, his giant cowboy boot further staking his claim on the center chair. Please God, don't let Ashton's asthma have flared up. Was her baby boy okay? Richard would have a hemorrhage if any harm had come to his son. A photocopier occupied one corner of the office, copying, collating and stapling, the noise adding to her nervousness and humiliation during the excruciating wait to go before the principal. The entire experience made her feel as guilty as if she'd been the one called to the office instead of her child. "So who is the other parent?" Vince asked the secretary. "William Baer." She shuffled papers on her desk and looked up as the door creaked and a stocky male entered the office. Fiction Fiction eBook, Harlequin<