Free Needs A Little TLC (Spinning Hills Romance 2) by Inés Saint Page B

Mrs. Flannigan. “He’s an Amador, all right.”
    Mrs. Flannigan smiled back.
     
    Sam looked at his watch and dashed down the hallway. He’d started picking Jake up at his classroom so he could squeeze a little more quality time with him into his day, but he was a few minutes late.
    When he got to the classroom, he stopped in his tracks.
    Cassie was inside the classroom, talking to his son. Why it caused his stomach to clench in anxiety, he didn’t know.
    Jake grinned at Cassie and asked, “How do you get a redhead’s mood to change?”
    “You wait five seconds. I know them all, buddy. And your uncles taught me most of them.”
    Sam had teased her just as much, and defended her even more when someone other than he and his brothers were doing the teasing, but she didn’t mention him. He remembered the one redhead joke she did like, though. “What’s black-and-blue and lies on the sidewalk?” he asked, walking toward them.
    Startled, both Jake’s and Cassie’s heads swiveled to the door. Jake’s eyes brightened when he saw him and he jumped out of his chair to hug him, but Cassie’s expression didn’t reveal a thing. She turned to watch Jake, instead.
    “I don’t know that one.” Jake looked up at him.
    “A guy who tells too many redheaded jokes.”
    Jake giggled and Cassie bit her lip.
    “Uncle Dan and Uncle Johnny didn’t tell me that one.”
    “Probably because both your uncles and I ended up black and blue and lying in the park somewhere over telling Cassie here one too many redhead jokes.”
    “You know her.” Jake looked surprised.
    Again, Sam felt that nervous twitch in his stomach. “Yes. I know her.”
    “Does Mom know her?”
    Sam swore in his head. “Uh, no. Mom doesn’t know her.” It was mostly true, after all.
    Mrs. Flannigan walked over to them wearing a rueful smile. “It’s depressing seeing you two together again. It makes me feel old,” she explained.
    When Sam and Cassie didn’t respond, Mrs. Flannigan seemed to become aware of the awkwardness in the air. She looked from one to the other.
    “What do redheads and razors have in common?” Jake piped up.
    “The answer is, you handle both with care,” Mrs. Flannigan responded. “Now, that’s enough jokes out of both of you, Sam and Jake Amador.”
    Cassie picked up a poster and began walking to the door. “It was really nice meeting you, Jake.” She smiled and waved good-bye with her poster and Sam knew she meant it. But that thought made him anxious in other ways, ways he didn’t want to examine too closely. He shouldn’t care whether Jake and Cassie got along.
     
    Sam loved giving Jake a tour of the houses he was working on because his son seemed to enjoy it as much as he’d enjoyed doing the same thing with his own dad. It was only four thirty when he took Jake to Heather’s, but Jake was half-asleep and he asked to be carried in.
    That was one memory Sam didn’t have. His dad had been interested and interesting, strict or easygoing as the situation called for, and had dedicated himself to his boys, but he hadn’t been a tender man. He’d kept himself to himself and Sam understood why. Whenever Sam held his boy to his chest, there was the pain of loving too much and too well. Unlike his father, Sam didn’t avoid the pain, but he kept himself to himself just the same. The only problem was he was surrounded by people who liked to poke and prod for a living.
    Heather opened the door with a wide smile that reflected the same love Sam was feeling for Jake and Sam smiled at her.
    She kissed Jake’s cheek, ruffled his hair, and asked, “How was school?”
    Jake went from half-asleep to fully awake in the time it took him to blink. “I met Dad’s friend Cassie. She was funny.”
    Heather’s eyes widened and Sam’s heart plummeted to see how excited his ex-wife looked. “I heard she was back.” He knew he had to leave before the poking and prodding could begin.
    Jake frowned. “Dad said you didn’t know