A Flower for Angela (6 page)

"Does there have to be a reason?"

"I would think so."

Ricardo moved closer. Her tongue traced her lips and her breath caught in a short gasp. He could taste her already.

"Miss Stuart," a high-pitched voice shattered the mood, "can I go in the water now?"

Ricardo straightened and smiled, embarrassment making his grin a bit lopsided.

"In a minute, Lisa. When I'm done talking to Mr. de la Cruz. Okay?"

Lisa trotted agreeably back to the children she had been playing with.

"I'm not used to having my moves on a lady interrupted by innocent bystanders," he informed her ruefully.

"Is that why you're here? To put the moves on me?"

"It wasn't my original intent, but it seemed like a good idea at the moment."

Angela shoved his arm aside, forcing him to sit up straight. She slid her long legs off the lounge, which brought her to a sitting position beside him.

"Why are you here?" She reiterated as she stood to put herself at a safe distance from him.

Ricardo rose and followed her as she moved away. She sat in a deck chair and with a gesture of her hand offered the empty one across from a small patio table.
Smart move
, he acknowledged.

He sat down. "Bad news, I'm afraid."

"Do I want to hear it?"

"I've been called out of town on an assignment." He saw her shoulders sag with relief and realized she had thought the bad news concerned her job. He wanted to reassure her, but instead, he turned away to stare at his clenched fist. "There's been an outbreak of violence at Copperville. The miners are on strike again. Since Copperville’s a couple hundred miles south of here, I doubt I'll be back in time to come in as planned on Monday."

"You won't be in danger, will you?"

Her concern touched him.

"I won't do anything foolish." He gave her the only promise he could. They sent him on this kind of assignment often. He was told it was because he was fearless, and perhaps they thought he was reckless, too. But he always returned with a dynamite story.

"When will you be back?" she asked.

"Depends. I'll get in touch when I’m home again." He turned to face her and willed her to see his sincerity. "We're going to videotape your class, I promise."

With that, he stood and paused, wanting to succumb to the temptation that had tortured him since his arrival. He could almost feel the brush of his lips across her parted mouth. The imagined sweet taste of her sent shivers through him. He wanted more—much more. Reluctantly, he left the courtyard. He had to leave now or not at all.

"WHAT'RE YOU SO UPSET
about?" Maria startled Angela with her question.

Angela glanced over at her friend who sat behind the wheel of her Mustang convertible as they drove east on McDowell Avenue. Maria had offered to take Angela home, and today Angela had let her. Tired and preoccupied with thoughts of Ricardo, she'd been silent most of the way across town.

When Angela didn't answer, Maria pressed, "It won't do any good to pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. Out with it."

Maria wouldn't leave her alone until she was satisfied she’d gotten the truth, so Angela told her about Ricardo's visit, trying not to reveal her feelings for the reporter. Nevertheless, Maria zeroed right in on the source of the problem.

"You're attracted to him. So? What's wrong with that?"

"Everything," Angela groaned. "I refuse to be interested in any man connected with my job."

"Why be so stubborn on that point?" Maria stopped at a red light and glared at her friend. "Mike Garrett has been after you to go out with him for months, and you won't give him the time of day."

"That's not true." Angela stiffened. It had required skill and tact to fend off Mike's advances without hurting his feelings. "Since Steve, I refuse to date men I work with."

"Steve?" Maria's ebony brows rose.

A sinking feeling settled over Angela. She knew she had to explain who Steve was and what had happened in Yuma. When she spoke, there was bitterness in her voice. "As you know my first teaching job ended in disaster when I fell in love with my principal."

"And he fired you for that?"

Steve had bowled Angela over. She probably would have married him in her innocence if one of her colleagues hadn't been so jealous.

"A teacher accused me of sleeping with him to get special privileges." Angela shuddered, remembering the pain of that awful time.

"That's ridiculous! Anyone who knows you wouldn't believe that."

"But it was true."

"What?"

To this day, the confrontation with Steve remained vividly clear in her memory. Disgust and shame had swamped her then
—
and now.

"I wasn't aware of it, but Steve did give me preferential treatment because of our relationship." She had been so naive not to notice she had the newest equipment, the best classroom.

"So what did you do?" Maria slowed down as they approached Angela's apartment.

"I left as soon as the year was over."

"It should have been him that left!" Maria growled in defense of her friend.

"It was hard to come home with such a botched career and love life," Angela admitted. Thank goodness her family had provided the support she had needed to get her back on her feet. "So, you see why I can't allow myself to get involved with Ricardo."

"Well, I understand, but you should know," Maria advised her, "that I heard Cathy and Lupe talking in the lounge."

"What are those two up to now?" Angela never paid much attention to the worst gossips on the staff. The two teachers constantly found fault with their students, other teachers and the school in general.

"Plenty, I would guess." Maria didn't hide the annoyance she felt. "They were telling all the other teachers that they had talked to Ricardo de la Cruz."

"Oh?"

"They said he told them he would have you fired."

CHAPTER 4

"WHAT?!" ANGELA BRACED HER
hand on the dashboard. "They're making it up."

The two women didn’t like Angela and made no effort to disguise it. Angela wouldn't put it past them to come up with some lie just to upset her.

"I thought so, too." Maria shrugged. "So I asked them when and where he said that. They said they were passing by the station where he works and saw him leaving. They talked to him right before he left for Copperville."

Angela's heart sank. That sounded plausible.

"They even described the clothes he was wearing—cotton slacks and a safari shirt.”

Angela's hopes faded. He had worn a safari shirt the day he had stopped by the pool. She remembered, because she had wanted to toy with the buttons located in strategic places on his body.

Fool!
she admonished herself. Manipulated by his charm, she had trusted him. Well her guard was up now. Forewarned, she would be prepared. If he still refused to acknowledge the value of her teaching after what she planned to put him through, he could only be classified as close-minded. Ricardo de la Cruz was not ignorant. He would see for himself that he was wrong. And she would gloat over her success.

"So what're you going to do?" Maria asked.

"Bring out the big guns,” Angela declared, sounding more confident than she felt. "I've got it.” “I’ve got an idea.” She shifted in the bucket seat to face Maria. "Can you take my class the afternoon of Ricardo's last visit?"

"Sure.”

"One afternoon off from their studies with me won't hurt. It'll be for their good in the long run."

"What're you going to do? What can I do to help?"

Angela shook her head in wonder at her friend's continual support. Changing to a new program, no matter how good it was, always created stress. Oftentimes, when Angela had been frustrated or discouraged while mastering whole language teaching, Maria had popped into the room with encouraging words.

Maria's backing had been especially helpful whenever Cathy or Lupe were on the prowl and looking for any chance to knock the program. At first, Angela thought the problem with the two teachers stemmed from the fact that Lupe had been forced to teach a different grade level to make room for Angela's whole language class. She couldn't blame her for being annoyed. And she would expect Lupe’s friend to feel righteous indignation on her behalf. But it soon became obvious that there was more to the animosity than that.

Lupe and Cathy simply did not like the program and made every effort to criticize and question all aspects of it. All too often, the attacks became personal and Maria inevitably stepped in to stand up for Angela. Still, Angela felt guilty involving her friend this time, even though she knew Maria would insist on it.

"He promised me a session to analyze the tapes. I'll call the professors and get them to come, too." Angela felt better now that she had set her course. "With all of us in on the session together, he won't be able to refute what he sees."

"Why would having the professors there make any difference? You can explain the program better than they can. They get all caught up in educational jargon." Maria downshifted gears.

"True, but that's not the point. With them there, I'll have witnesses."

"Why do you need witnesses?"

"The videos." Angela waved her hand in impatience. "If he tries to edit them to discredit me, I'll have proof."

Angela saw the confusion furrowing Maria's brow. She stopped talking for a minute and sighed, then gathered her thoughts.

"He could take out all of the meaningful conversation among the kids and just show them running around. You know what my room looks like to a stranger."

Maria's eyes widened. "He wouldn't do that, would he?"

"Remember two years ago when that reporter came to our school for the article on bilingual education? They cut our conversation to make it sound like we were against bilingual classrooms."

"Ricardo de la Cruz has too much integrity to do something like that."

"What am I to think?" Disappointment mingled with anger. "Last week, I would've agreed with you, but now—after what Cathy and Lupe have said about him—who knows?"

"Cathy and Lupe can't be trusted. I wouldn't take seriously a word they say.”

"I'm not taking any chances. I can't afford to."

"I'll help all I can," Maria promised as she pulled up in front of Angela's apartment complex and parked the car. "Just tell me what I need to do."

"Thanks, I will. I'll call the university this evening." Angela opened the car door and grabbed her belongings. "See you tomorrow."

As she strode to her apartment, her mind raced a mile a minute. But it wasn't plans for her conversation with the professors that stirred up her thoughts. It was Ricardo de la Cruz. How was she ever going to keep an emotional distance from him when he was in her classroom?

Later that evening, she asked herself the same question as she tried to relax in her living room.

In spite of her attempts to ignore Ricardo, she had tuned in to Channel Four for the news report.
It’s important to keep informed
, she rationalized.

But there are five other channels to choose from
, the devil’s advocate within her argued.
So…change it!

Just when she reached over to grab the remote control, Ricardo's face appeared on the screen. Her hand froze in midair. Angela focused on the rugged features that had her in such turmoil. Exhaustion hollowed his cheeks and tension deepened the creases around his mouth. Concerned, Angela listened to the newscast.

Angry shouts could be heard in the background. National Guardsmen filled in the screen, carrying clubs and guns. Wind tousled Ricardo's dark hair as he spoke into the microphone.

Not a word he said penetrated her consciousness because of the overwhelming desire she felt to offer him protection, a haven filled with safety and peace.

A blaring commercial broke and Angela realized Ricardo's report had ended. Confused and upset, she stood and began to pace. Her problem was more serious than she had thought. She cared about Ricardo's safety, yet mistrusted him in her class. She respected his decisive action as a reporter, but such action could involve discrediting her as a teacher. Expertise in the field of education gave her professional confidence. However, she had no defense against the physical attraction that drew her toward Ricardo. How was she going to survive this month?

RICARDO PACED
the small area in front of the counter in the school office. Where was Angela? He, his cameraman, Ken, and the crew needed time to set up before the students arrived. Besides, he wanted a few moments alone with her. He didn’t have anything to say in particular. He just wanted to hear her voice. See her smile.

The door opened and a woman walked in carrying a small child and leading another. She glanced at Ricardo and then down at the bouquet of flowers he held in his hand.