chapter sixteen

1 April

She awoke early; too early. But she couldn’t sleep. What was she doing? Giving up on Evan completely? Letting herself fall for this guy who was not likely to stay around long? A guy her dad was already protesting, whom everyone said wasn’t right for her. But why wasn’t he? He was so sweet. He showed her the attention she wanted. When he looked at her, it was at her, not at her build, not that she had ever noticed. He was smart, very smart, and talented, and together, self-confident … well, maybe not completely, but then who was? Too completely self-confident she didn’t want. She didn’t want an egotist. She wanted … what? Evan. But with the attention she was getting from his buddy. Or maybe she just wanted his buddy.

Susie turned to her other side, trying again to close her eyes, to block it out and let herself rest. She kept seeing him, watching over her like a guard dog, so angry about Roy’s rude comment that it tensed his whole body … and the other half of him that was so affected by whatever she said. The half that let his eyes give himself away. He wasn’t as tough as he acted. Strong, yes. Able to defend himself well, she was quite sure. But … it mattered whether or not she turned him down. What she thought of him mattered.

Giving up, Susie pushed the blankets away and stepped out into the chill of the room. April. It should be turning warmer. She pulled her robe over her shoulders. April Fool’s Day; and that was how she felt. Like an April fool caught up in a romance that … maybe. Maybe it could go somewhere. He was a bit of a nomad, she knew. So he wouldn’t be likely to stay in one place very long. She liked to travel. It could work. But travel how much? Away from Evan? Short-term, maybe. Long-term? She shook her head, answering no one. She couldn’t leave him, even if he stayed only a friend. Her best friend, always.

It was dark throughout her apartment, but she left it that way. She walked into the kitchen thinking about making coffee and changed her mind again. It was too early. She didn’t want to be that awake yet. The translucent glow coming from her windows told her the sun was working its way up into the horizon. It would be nice to just sit and watch from her couch. Pulling her legs up beside her, Susie grabbed the afghan that always sat along the top and back of her couch section and draped it over her legs, tugging it part way up her arms. She considered turning on the television for company, but at this hour, would only find news or a televangelist. She didn’t want to be preached at from either side.

Sitting still, head leaned against the soft cushion, she allowed her eyes to rest. Evan’s face was there, asking her to stay so they could go home together, grinning about being her date … asking Janet to go out. A deep sigh pushed the thoughts away and she forced them to focus on work, going over her youngest group’s routine in her head. They had come so far during the year she’d had them. A few she had met the year before, when she had still been an assistant teacher. They had changed their time slots to join her class as soon as they found out she had been promoted. She wondered how many would continue to stay with her. She hoped they would; her pets, especially. Maybe it was wrong to favor some students over others, but it wasn’t intentional, and she didn’t let it show. She wanted them all to succeed, to do as well as they could and want to keep at it. The importance of the dance lessons was dismissed throughout most of society. It wasn’t as big a priority or as revered as the boys who played sports. But Susie knew better. She knew what it meant for the young girls to feel their accomplishments, to be proud of their hard work and abilities, and to see the appreciation of their efforts. She knew because of how much difference it had made to her. How much difference it still made. One of their girls. Mitch’s phrase still irked her. Maybe she didn’t play an instrument, but she knew the business side of it as well as they did; better than most of them did. If Mitch found out he was there because she had sent him the tape…. She would love to see his face. But she supposed she would stay quiet. He could very well actually do something for them and there was no point in taking the chance of messing it up. Evan had called and left a message about the contract. It was in negotiation. She wondered just how willing Mitch would be to work with them after realizing that Evan wouldn’t be an easy push-over. He wouldn’t let the shady producer take advantage of his band.

Opening her eyes again, she noticed the sky becoming brighter and walked over to the window. Her pear tree was beginning to bloom. It would be gorgeous within the next week or so. And her daffodils had opened into the perfection only nature held. She was glad spring was about to take hold. The winter had been much too long. She decided to return to her bed and again attempt sleep.

****

Janet called her to the office in between her classes, greeting her with a hug. “Congratulations!”

Susie drew back, confused. “For what?”

“It went through. I wasn’t sure it would, since you haven’t been here long, but it did.”

“Should I know what you’re talking about?”

“No. I didn’t want to say anything in case it didn’t. But I put your name in to be considered as our new head teacher. And it worked. You’ve just been promoted.”

Head teacher? Was she joking? The other teachers would be enraged. She was younger than all of them and had only been at the studio just over two years. Several had been there more than five years…

“You don’t look happy.”

She peered at Janet, wondering if she should accept the position. Her friend had to have pulled strings. It wasn’t fair….

“You know there were several names in the running. It’s an honor…”

“Janet? Does us being friends have anything to do with it? I don’t want to get it that way. It’s not right. Like you said, I haven’t been here long.”

“No, but you’re our best teacher. We’ve had more comments about you and requests for you than anyone else. I had nothing to do with it, other than submitting your name … anonymously. I’m just a manager. It’s the parents who did it. Their requests for you are what pulled the weight.”

Susie stared for a moment. Head teacher, at twenty. Her mom would be thrilled if she could tell her. She would have to call her dad, try to reach him…

“Are you in shock? Are you still here?”

She chuckled. “I guess I am. In shock, that is. Really?” Her friend nodded. Susie gave her a hug. She wanted to go tell Evan. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. It does mean more hours, and you don’t have to accept, of course.”
More hours. That was a good thing, with her babysitting job about to end. She needed more hours.

“It’s also a raise, of course; a decent one … if you’re going to take it.”

If? Was she kidding? “Yes, of course. I can’t turn that down.” Lunch was an hour away still. It would be hard to have to wait to tell Evan … and Duncan … her news.

Her concentration wavered during her next class. April Fool’s Day. Janet wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t use something like that as a joke. Still … she couldn’t go announce it and look like a real fool if it wasn’t true. Maybe she would wait and see what happened. Resolved to keep it to herself, she slipped back into her jeans and street shoes and started off to meet Duncan at the gym. She wondered if it would be just the two of them. Part of her hoped it would be.

Nearly to the front door, Maggie’s voice stopped her, congratulating her on the promotion. She’d just heard. It was real. Two older teachers within her view validated it; they were not happy. Janet’s approach blocked them out.

“Heading to lunch?”

“Yeah.” And maybe with Evan, also. “Wanna come? Can you leave now for a bit?” Why had she just invited her? Because she didn’t want Evan left out. Because it would make her feel better for meeting his buddy. Because she was insane for pushing something she didn’t want?

Janet was flattered, though. “I can, but are you sure?”

No, she wasn’t. But it would make things less awkward. Maybe. “Of course. We can celebrate by splurging on dessert.” She agreed to wait while her manager went to say she was leaving, and to comb her hair that didn’t need to be combed.

The walk over to the gym was filled with work discussion. Susie had to force enough concentration to answer occasionally, her thoughts preoccupied with wondering if it would be okay with Duncan that she’d invited Janet. She supposed she shouldn’t have since he had asked Susie to meet him. But walking into the gym, Evan’s gym, for an actual lunch date with his buddy would have been strange, maybe inconsiderate. They couldn’t not invite him. He would have had to try to decide whether to accept or to leave them alone. She wondered which he’d have done. This way, he didn’t have a choice. He couldn’t refuse since Janet was there.

Luckily, Shelly was on the phone so they didn’t get stalled. Leading the way to the main room, she stopped. He was there, in the gym’s black sweat pants and skinny tank top with the red logo over his left breast. It curved with his shape, tighter against his skin than most of the guys wore them. She wondered if it had been a struggle to get Evan to allow it. He was so particular about regulations. And that … was extremely sexy, but not exactly regulation. He hadn’t seen her yet, busy assisting a female patron with the barbells. The woman was so obviously flirting that Susie gained an instant dislike for her. If she had chosen smaller weights, she wouldn’t have needed his help. It was intentional. If she had been used to weights that size, she would have a heck of a lot more muscle than she did. And she didn’t have to be dressed quite that skimpy in order to work out.

“Think she’s here just to find a guy?”

Susie looked at Janet and chuckled. “Obvious to you, too?”

“In an outfit like that? Does she think she can actually pick that thing up?”

“That’s not what she’s trying to pick up.” She watched him being sociable but not exactly friendly to the woman sporting plenty of cleavage as she lay on the bench under the barbell. He stood at her head, holding the weights easily in front of him as the woman attempted to take over control. She groaned at the exertion and laughed at herself when he replaced it on the bench arms, then she touched his leg. It wasn’t an accident. The stretching of her arms was an excuse. She hadn’t done enough to need to stretch. And Susie didn’t want her touching him that way.

Leaving Janet to follow or not, Susie walked over to them, catching his attention. “Hi. Ready for lunch?”

The blue eyes sparkled. He didn’t mind the interruption. “In about two minutes. Let me clean up a bit.” Duncan noticed her friend. That didn’t seem to bother him, either. “I’ll grab Ev to come, too.” He touched Susie’s eyes again then excused himself from the woman who glowered at her. It didn’t matter. She was getting used to it.

“Was this supposed to be a private lunch? Am I interfering?”

“No. Well … he asked me to meet him, but….”

“Susie, so what’s going on?”

She moved them both away from the center of the room where people were moving about. “Well … we went out Saturday night.”

“You and Duncan? Really? How was it?”

How much did she want to say? There were still too many people around. “I’m looking forward to going out with him again.”

Her manager understood. She grinned. “I had a feeling it was heading there.”

“Did you? You’re not going to question me about it like everyone else?”

“Why? You seem … he seems right for you. Why would anyone question that?”

She was speechless. He seemed right? Why was Janet the only one who thought so? Not the only one. Evan appeared to be pushing it, too. “I don’t know, but thank you. I was starting to doubt … you know, my judgement is kind of …”

“Everyone’s judgement about that is off now and then. If you mean about Nathan, let it go already. At least you had better judgement than to marry the jerk, like I married my bad judgement call.”

“Does that scare you? To want to try again?”

“Of course it does. That’s why I’ve been so careful, especially since I have to consider my son. I’m not rushing anything again.”

Susie was glad to hear that. And glad she didn’t have to respond. Her guys were ready to go. She smiled at Evan, explained that she’d brought company, and apologized to Duncan for interfering with his work.

“It was no interference.” He’d changed into his own T-shirt.

“No? She was coming on pretty strong.”

Janet nudged her arm. “Which is why you interfered.”

Susie glanced at her manager, not believing she’d said that in front of him.

“Is it?” Duncan moved in, nearly touching her. “I am glad you did.”

****

The promotion was immediate; they’d stalled on their decision until the last minute, creating a rush for Susie to jump in and take over with only basic knowledge of what the position entailed. Glad she had the routines for her classes already set in her mind, and in notes, she began watching other classes, checking their routines for the show, trying to comment constructively but without offense. She found it impossible not to offend. Of course, she knew several of the teachers were looking for offense at every chance. She was quite sure that by the end of the week, Janet had already received negative feedback. Her friend didn’t mention it, however. She had to have expected it.

Still, the growing negativity she felt from her co-workers dwelled within her even when not at the studio. She met Duncan every day for lunch; with Evan joining them on Monday and Tuesday, then he began refusing. He was likely interpreting her silence as not wanting him there. It wasn’t true. Not completely. She did enjoy getting Duncan alone for the short time, since with her longer hours, it was the only time they had. Sarah was away for the week and Kevin had gone to second shift, so the kids arrived just after Susie got home from work, most days after seven, and stayed until late morning. She was supposed to have been off for the weekend, but Kevin was called in. He had left a message at the studio during her first class of the day.

Susie picked at her salad thinking she shouldn’t have called him back. She had wanted to be home tonight, alone. Well, maybe not quite alone, but not babysitting.

“Y’ are quiet today.”

Raising her eyes, she was ashamed. He had made such an effort to find time with her when her schedule would allow, even putting up with the kids at her apartment when he came over, and she was barely speaking to him. “I’m sorry. I’m not very good company, am I?”

“How is the new job going? You have not said much about it.”

He knew. He knew it was bothering her. “Well … I’m still trying to figure it out. They just kind of dumped it on me. There’s not much to say.” She sipped her ginger ale.

“No? Then why are your thoughts so wrapped up in it?”

Susie met his eyes.

“Or is it something else?”

She shook her head. Everything else was fine. Well, it wasn’t fine. Kate … but there was nothing she could do about that. And she was still bothered by Mitch, and by the fact that they’d agreed to sign his contract. And Duncan…. What was she going to do about him? The contract change Evan had insisted on making was that they sign as a band, not individually. It left one of the members free to leave without legal action if he decided he wanted out. She knew why. None of the other guys would have cared about that clause. But it left Duncan more free to leave. Susie wasn’t sure she wanted him to be that free.

He stood.

She watched him. They weren’t done eating. She wasn’t, anyway. He had said he didn’t care that she ate slowly and she should take her time. Had he changed his mind? Or was she being too rude?

Leaving his cola where it was, on the opposite side of the picnic table, he walked around the end and slid in beside her, propping both arms on the table in front, as he had in the hotel lounge.

She waited for him to speak.

“Are y’ no’ sure about taking the promotion?”

Susie’s stomach tightened. She didn’t want to complain; it was an honor. But he was giving her an invitation to talk about it … safely, without judgement. What did he care if she even kept the job? He had left whenever the mood hit him. He couldn’t fault her for not being as thrilled as she should be. Her eyes lowered. She shook her head again. “I don’t know. I thought I wanted it, but you know, I didn’t apply for it. Janet did. She didn’t even ask. And I can do it. I know what I’m doing, but … the other teachers….” She stopped, trying to avoid sounding paranoid.

“They are jealous and givin’ you a hard time.” He continued when she didn’t answer. “I saw it yesterday when I walked y’ in. I ‘ave been wondering since.”

Wondering since? He had been thinking about it, about her and her job, since the day before? Or maybe he didn’t mean quite that much. She was flattered, anyway. “And maybe they were only jealous yesterday that I was with you.”

His chest rose slowly, then relaxed; the expression on his face not changing. But his eyes…. He had never kissed her in front of anyone else, and there were people all around, enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun, a warmth beckoning the promise of summer. Their last real kiss had been nearly a week before. She wanted another, even here, in the open, which she had never done.

Instead of pulling back, as she had when Nathan had tried to be too publicly affectionate, Susie moved in, telling him it was okay, if he wanted…. His body turned toward hers, the closest arm dropping from the table to move around her back, fingers touching her in harmony with his lips.

“Le’ me take you out tonight.” His breath brushed against her ear. “No’ anything fancy, just somewhere we can be alone.”

She closed her eyes, wanting with everything she was to accept. Wishing she could let herself call Kevin and cancel. But his mom wasn’t feeling well. She couldn’t. A deep breath calmed her, barely, as she pulled back. “I can’t. I have the kids all night.” She watched his eyes lower. “I would cancel, but…”

“No, it’s okay. I will come help y’ out, if it’s alright.”

“Of course, but…”

He brushed her lips again. “We’ll talk more about your job, too. You should finish eating before you have t’ go back.”

****

She tried to argue her way out of a Saturday morning meeting since she had to teach from one to six and again had the kids from seven that night until six in the morning. Janet had insisted it was necessary, though. There were arguments about how the show would be arranged, and her input, having previewed the different routines, was essential in order to ensure the right flow. Just under two months away, it should have already been set up, but with staff changes, the studio was atypically lagging behind in their plans. So she missed the band’s practice and was so exhausted between dealing with the arguing at the meeting, the intense friction from other teachers who didn’t get the time slots they wanted, and then her five hours of classes, that she had no energy to chat with Duncan when he came over that evening. He left early, but not before ensuring she was still going to the recording studio with them in the morning. Nothing would have prevented that.



She nearly changed her mind after shoving the alarm away. Taylor had caught a cold and had been up half the night fussing, until Susie had given up on the portable crib and had taken the baby to bed with her. Taylor had finally slept, but her caregiver was too concerned with listening to her breathe, sometimes with trouble, to really sleep herself. She had started the coffee and showered by the time Kevin came to get his still-sleeping children, letting him know about his daughter’s congestion, then forced her thoughts away from her fatigue and toward spending the whole day with the guys.

The adrenaline of the coming day’s events had begun to revive her by the time she was dressed, and Kate, awake unusually early, had come out to ask her a favor. Glad she would have company while her band was busy, Susie headed next door. Evan answered, wearing only a pair of jeans, his chest bare and his hair still uncombed.

Her slight hesitation was embarrassing. She hadn’t seen him enough recently. “Hey, Stranger. Since when do you answer the door like that? Are you the only one up?”

“We’re all awake; I was the most dressed and closest to the door.” He studied her, too intensely. “Why are you ready so early?”

“Had to get up with the kids.” She tried to keep her eyes on his face, but found it more of a struggle than it should have been. “I’ll get out of your way. Kate just wanted to know if there would be room for one more.”

“She wants to go to the studio?” His voice echoed suspicion.

“Evan, this is exciting. It’s not every day your friends record an album.”

He shrugged, his chest muscles trying to pull her attention. “Well, I’m sure it’s fine, and it’ll be nice for you to have company while we’re busy. If she can be ready on time.”

“I’ll tell her to hurry.”

“Mornin’.”

Susie looked over at the new voice, greeting him with a smile. Immediately, his buddy pulled away, excusing himself to finish dressing. She barely allowed herself to acknowledge his words with a glance.

“Are you goin’ to come in?” Duncan approached the still-open door.

“Actually, I have to talk to Kate for a minute and get my stuff together. I’ll be back.” She started to turn, then stopped and went back to give him a kiss. “I’m glad we finally have a whole day together. Lunch is always too short.”

He touched her hair. “I was startin’ to think you just came over to see Ev half-dressed.”

Susie chuckled. “Duncan, we lived in the same house for years. Did you think I’d never seen him without a shirt before?”

“I just do no’ want t’ pale in comparison.”

He meant more than the build. It was in his eyes, waiting for her answer. Compare to Evan? Impossible. They were too different. Fighting her nerves, she ran a hand through his dark hair, still damp from the shower, and pulled him closer to meet his lips, lightly, just for a moment. Then she found his eyes. “You don’t.”

His arms slid around her, drawing her against his body, as he again found her lips and held them longer, possessively, until an intentional noise behind them interrupted.

She greeted Mike briefly and let her hands linger as long as possible on her boyfriend’s solid shoulders. “Well, I better tell Kate to throw some clothes on. Knock when you’re ready.”



With Doug’s van packed full of the band’s equipment and Stu beside him in the front to keep him company, Evan chauffered the rest of the group up to the little studio in Leominster. Susie assured him the 45 mile drive wasn’t too far to be squeezed into the Mercury between him and his buddy, leaving the back seat to Kate and Mike. She didn’t mind the closeness, borrowing floor space on her right when she needed to stretch a leg just for the movement. Listening to the guys talk about the album and about Mitch and about where they hoped it could lead and about chords and keys and codas, she stayed quiet, peering out the windshield as well as possible while squinting at the sun in her eyes. Wishing she’d remembered her sunglasses. They turned onto the interstate heading northeast and the glaring light positioned itself in between the car’s visor and rearview mirror. She couldn’t get away from it, and pulled her eyes down to the floor until an object suddenly in front of her face startled her. Duncan slipped his own sunglasses over her ears and atop her nose. Susie looked up at him. He grasped her hand and she squeezed his fingers, not bothering to argue. His extra height allowed the visor to block the rays from his face.

Evan navigated the streets of the city like an expert, while Susie read out the directions and helped to watch for road signs. Beginning to wonder if she’d read them wrong, she looked over at her friend when they left what seemed to be the main part of Leominster and headed onto a narrow wooded road. He didn’t seem worried, though Mike questioned her.

She turned her head just enough so he could hear her reply. “I just read what it said.”

Ignoring his raised eyebrows, she looked back to her friend. “Is it supposed to be in the middle of nowhere?”

“He said it was fairly isolated to prevent interruptions.” Evan slowed the car. “There.”

She peered out in the direction of his nod. Isolated. Did he mean abandoned? This was the studio? Getting closer, they found a little driveway that led around behind the one-story white … house. It looked like a little ranch house, black shutters and all. Driving over the gravel, slowly, led to a small parking area, and an obvious addition not apparent from the road. Maybe there was studio space in there. But what kind of quality? She felt her spirit sink and her anger at Mitch rise. Is this what he thought of their potential? That they didn’t deserve better than this? Kate made jokes. Susie didn’t think she was at all funny. She met Evan’s eyes when he parked the car and looked at her. He agreed, silently. He was disappointed.

“Maybe it’s a start, anyway.”

He grinned, nodded, and opened the door to help Stu play ground guide for the van. All they needed was to run it off into one of the deep ditches alongside both edges of the drive.
Susie followed Duncan out the other side of the car, offering to return his sunglasses. He refused, so she kept them over her eyes with a possessiveness she didn’t normally feel. She knew they had to look ridiculous on her, but what did it matter? They belonged to him, but were hers at the moment.

Ignoring Kate fuss about the mud she was getting on her shoes, Susie held her boyfriend’s offered arm while crossing the gravel. She could smell the pollen from the fresh weeds growing around the building and noted the property was surrounded mostly by barely budding maples. It was peaceful out in the middle of the woods without cars constantly flying by and the noise of strangers interrupting her thoughts. Like her dad’s cabin. She hadn’t been there in forever.

Mitch’s grating voice interrupted. Susie had assumed one of the cars in the lot had to be his. So much for peaceful. Roy should have been there by now, also, but she didn’t see his car. Maybe he’d gotten lost. She could only hope.

“You found it. Nice little remote place, isn’t it? And I see you brought your fan club.”

Fan club, nice. She kept Duncan’s arm, tightening her fingers.

Evan moved closer. “They wanted to watch the recording. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. They can sit with me in the control room and see how it’s done. Susie, how are you this morning?”

“Fine, thank you.” She barely bothered with a glance.

“And Kate, right?”

Her friend threw her best flirtatious smile. “I’m flattered you remember, with as many interesting people that you must meet.”

“Interesting, yes, but not many who are so nice to behold. You did say you’ve done some modeling, didn’t you?”

“Now and then.”

His eyes wandered down her T-shirt and mini skirt, travelling to her sandals and returning. Kate wore her shirts as tight as Duncan’s. And the producer’s leer showed his appreciation. “You know, you may be exactly who I’m looking for.”

Kate raised her eyebrows. “Oh?”

“Is Roy here?”

Mitch sized up Mike. “Relax, it’s just business. And, not yet. He called to say he’d be late. But we don’t need him here. I can see enough already to know who is running things in the band. Evan, the change has been made in the contract. Why don’t you come in and have a look at it before we get started, while the rest are hauling in your equipment. My assistant is setting up for us.” He turned back to Susie, but continued talking to Evan. “And bring the girls along inside. They don’t need to stand out here with the bugs.” He waved at a fly buzzing his head.

Evan refused to walk away from helping to cart equipment until Doug and Mike pushed him to go ahead so they could get started sooner. Kate took Mitch’s offer. Susie refused, preferring to stay with the band and the flies than to go with the producer. And there was plenty that she could help carry in.



Watching Mitch play with controls and stop the band to make suggestions during their test run, Susie had to give the guy credit. He was a professional when it came to work. She had learned quite a bit about music, first from her mom, and then from Evan, but the intricacies involved in all the gadgets Mitch was working with totally escaped her. And he picked up on details she had never thought about. Evan switched from electric guitar to acoustic, depending on the song, and his microphone had to be turned up to compensate for his softer voice, which better balanced the background harmonies. Stu did a few extra tracks on his own, playing bass on the original and keyboard to add in later. And Duncan alternated between his old Fender, which took more time than Mitch appreciated to adjust exactly the way the perfectionist musician wanted, and the new Gibson he’d bought with the advance the producer had allowed them for new equipment. Actually, his share, along with money he’d saved from the gym, had only covered part of the cost, and Evan had co-signed for his buddy, since Duncan had never used credit.

They had lunch and dinner delivered and didn’t waste a lot of time eating, finishing their part of the recording process not long before midnight, with a few breaks to rest their fingers, arms, and voices. Roy had come and gone, and Susie and Kate had forced themselves to speak to the girl who had come in with him. She was friendly; actually, a little too friendly, but her comments about her date’s wife and about the guys working behind the glass made the two friends draw away from her. Not before Kate had made it clear that she was to stay away from the band, however.

“So, what do we do now?” Mike gravitated toward his girlfriend, purposely wrapping an arm around her waist.

“Well, I’ll take care of the mixing and get some help with the mastering, and we’ll need to get a photo shoot done. I would have had one set up by now, but I wasn’t sure about your work schedules. We also need to discuss ideas for the cover. I generally suggest something fairly simple for the first release; close up enough to get introduced to your audience. You should have no trouble grabbing the attention of the female audience. On your next album, you may want to consider using a model to help pull male interest, which is what Kate and I were discussing for another group. Actually, I was trying to talk Susie into the same thing, but I don’t think she believed I was serious.”

“I’m not a model.”

“You could be.”

She looked away, wanting his eyes off of her.

“Think about it. It does pay well, and it would be occasional, so you wouldn’t have to give up your teaching job.”

Duncan moved closer and set an arm around her shoulders. Susie thanked him with a silent glance.

“Well, anyway, we can talk more later. Kate gave me the number, so I can give you a call tomorrow evening when you’re more rested.”

He had her number. Wonderful. She didn’t want to be called. Not by him. “Thank you, but I’m not interested.”

Evan interrupted, intentionally, she believed, and they headed out into the dark.
The temperature had dropped with the sun and she appreciated Duncan’s warmth beside her, while walking to the car, and inside, leaning closer against him, his arm again wrapped around her shoulder.

Susie hoped Evan and Doug weren’t too tired for the drive back. But Stu was bouncing, so he would help keep Doug alert, and between Kate telling Mike about the modelling proposal and the guys discussing the day’s work, Evan should have no trouble, either. It was nothing compared to their long drives to Pennsylvania, anyway. She allowed her eyes to rest.