“That’s probably because I’m your teacher and he’s your…?”
“Lover?” she offered.
A muscle in his jaw jumped. “Is he?”
“You better believe it,” she said.
A startled look crossed his face.
She couldn’t help but smile. Jake Weston might turn out to be a drug dealer, but at least the guy cared what she did.
“I still don’t understand what you’re doing here,” she said.
“I live there.” He pointed to a distant cluster of apartment buildings. “I was taking a shortcut through the park when I saw you. You looked like you might be in trouble.”
Her heart warmed despite herself. In her old neighborhood, no one would have cared, much less stopped to help.
“Thanks,” she said softly.
“You’re welcome.” He glanced around the near-deserted park. “Do you need a lift home?”
“Unless you’ve got a car hidden in your pocket, I’ll pass. I don’t think your back could handle me.”
He smiled. “We can walk over to my place and pick up my Jeep.”
Angel hesitated. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m cool with walking. I might even try to catch Crow.”
Jake didn’t hide his disapproval. “Angel, you deserve a good life. You’re a smart girl. You could make something of yourself.”
“If I got rid of Crow,” she said with a narrowed glance. “Is that what you’re saying?”
“I don’t know him, Angel.” An uncomfortable look crossed the teacher’s face. “But I’m not so sure I like what I see. He’s obviously too old for you.”
She paused and took a deep breath. Telling a Morelli that they shouldn’t do something was tantamount to raising a red flag in front of a bull. But, she rationally reminded herself, the man thought she was a teen and he was only expressing a valid concern. The mature response would be to say nothing.
Still, she was supposed to be eighteen, and being young did have some advantages. A girl could be brash and bold and blame it all on immaturity.
“Well,” she said airily. “I guess that makes us even.”
“Even?”
“You don’t think Crow’s good for me,” she said. “And I don’t think that English teacher is good for you.”
Jake stood speechless for a moment, before sputtering something about how he and Ms. Delahay were just friends.
Yeah, right. Angel wasn’t born yesterday. The beautiful Amanda looked at Jake like he was a piece of fresh meat and she hadn’t eaten in weeks.
Jake continued to stammer. Angel’s grin widened. Immensely satisfied by the success of her typical teen response, she stood, waved a cheerful goodbye and, before he could protest, headed off into the woods to look for Crow.
“Tell me you’re not serious.” Amanda straightened in her living room chair, a horrified expression on her face.
Jake picked up the glass tumbler from the end table and stared at the tea. He’d thought long and hard before broaching the subject. Now, he wished he’d kept his mouth shut. “I said she needs a mentor. A Big Brother or Big Sister type. I never said it had to be me.”
Amanda exhaled a breath that sounded suspiciously like a sigh of relief. “For a moment you had me worried.”
“Actually, a woman would be ideal,” Jake said thoughtfully, an idea taking shape in his head. “Someone who could be a positive role model.”
“I agree,” Amanda said matter-of-factly, dusting a piece of lint from her navy slacks. “But good luck finding someone.”
Jake leaned forward and grabbed her hand. “It wouldn’t be that much work. You could—”
“Not another word.” The blonde jerked her hand from his. “You know how busy I am.”
Her jaw set in that stubborn tilt he’d seen before. Jake stifled a groan. He’d moved too fast in his eagerness to sell her on the idea. “You are busy.”
“Yes, I am.” The tightness around Amanda’s mouth eased. “I haven’t even made it to the gym once this week.”
“You look great.” Although the compliment was intended to soothe her ruffled feathers, it was still the truth. With her shoulder-length blond hair, big blue eyes and killer figure, Amanda was one of the most beautiful women he’d ever dated. “You don’t need to work out.”
Amanda’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “If you think you’re going to sweet-talk me into agreeing to take on that—that girl…think again.”
“Mandy—”
“Not interested.” Amanda held up one hand. “No how. No way.”
“C’mon, give it a chance. You’d be a great Big Sister.”
“I have a sister, thank you. And Kimberly doesn’t wear too much make-up and look like a street whore.”
“Kimberly’s grown up under completely different circumstances,” Jake pointed out gently. “This girl hasn’t had the same advantages. She deserves a chance.”
“Oh, pul-eeze.” Amanda rolled her eyes. “I’m sick to death of hearing how someone deserves something. Kim and I worked our way through school. No one helped us. No one gave us anything. What this girl needs is to get rid of those trashy clothes, do something with that awful hair and spend a little more time on her studies.”
Jake stared. Did she really believe it was that simple?
“Amanda, she’s a kid living in a foster home, not the girl next door. She needs someone to show her the way. Even in the Bible it—”
“Hold it right there.” Amanda’s eyes flashed. “I thought your brother’s death cured you of that God stuff. Now you’re bringing it up again? What’s going on?”
Jake took a long sip of his iced tea. From the start, his faith had been a wall between Amanda and him. When he’d sworn off God after Jim’s death, their relationship had deepened. But lately he’d found himself thumbing through the Scriptures, searching for the answers still troubling his soul. “What’s going on is…I’ve started reading my Bible again.”
“Oh, Jake.” Disappointment rang in her voice. “How can you still believe there’s a God after what happened to Jim? He bled to death. Where was this God of yours while those little jerks ransacked his apartment and then left him to die?”
“Stop it.” He fought the horrible memory. Jim lying in a pool of red. Jim trying to joke while they waited for the ambulance. Jim…dying in his arms. Jake’s chest tightened until he could barely breathe.
“I’m simply pointing out what you seem so willing to forget.” Amanda’s voice was soft and not unkind. “If there is a God, why would He let something like that happen?”
“I have no idea.” Jake leaned his head back and closed his eyes, a jumble of confusing thoughts and feelings stirring his own doubts. There had been many nights he, too, wondered how a loving God could have allowed his kind and gentle brother to die such a horrible death.
“Think about it, Jake. Those creeps that killed Jim are living like kings in that new high-class dormitory we call a juvenile facility, watching television and playing pool.” Amanda snorted in disgust. “In two years they’ll be back on the streets.”