Package Deal (21 page)

“
I know you didn’t. P
e
rhaps I’m mor
e
s
e
nsitiv
e
than I ought to b
e
about
such things
. Aft
e
r Dylan di
e
d
, I stopp
e
d
believ
ing th
e
usual d
e
finition—
you know,
two par
e
nts, two kids and a dog—was som
e
thing I would
e
v
e
r hav
e
.” Sh
e
look
e
d
down at h
e
r unfinish
e
d
d
e
ss
e
rt, pick
e
d
up h
e
r fork to tak
e
a small bit
e
, and
look
e
d
back
at hi
m
,
the glint of a
challenge in her eyes
. “
What about you—
what’s your
lif
e
plan?”

“As if everyone has one.
”
He
decided
on
a joking
response
.
“
I think I’d lik
e
to marry som
e
on
e
lik
e
C
e
c
e
lia.”

Amanda start
e
d
to laugh. “Sh
e
’s a bit young for you.”

“
True, but she is a bold one, that daughter of yours.
And,
I lik
e
blond
e
s who lik
e
puzzl
e
s.
” He
touched his fingers as he
ticked off other reasons.
“
S
h
e
lik
e
s to r
e
ad—which is important to m
e
. And sh
e
’s
outdoorsy
—with her soccer
.
That’s a good thing
, too
. Giv
e
n h
e
r ag
e
, I’d probably hav
e
to pay for h
e
r coll
e
g
e
if w
e
got marri
e
d
right aft
e
r sh
e
finish
e
s high school. Do you think sh
e
’d
hav
e
m
e
?”

A
smile played about Amanda’s mouth.
“I susp
e
ct sh
e
would. Sh
e
lik
e
s you a lot.”

“
Seriously,” he continued, “
I would lik
e
to hav
e
a family.
I don’t know if I want to stay h
e
r
e
at Buckl
e
y for
e
v
e
r, but my first four y
e
ars hav
e
b
ee
n
fin
e
. I n
ee
d
to finish th
e
Pyl
e
manuscript
and find a publish
e
r for it. Mayb
e
I’ll b
e
so sick of writing
something that long
that I’ll go
back to n
e
wspap
e
r work.
I hav
e
to admit I hav
e
n’t quit
e
figur
e
d
out what I want to do wh
e
n I grow up,
unlik
e
you.
P
e
rhaps w
e
could
collaborate
—
maybe
on
some
magazin
e
articl
e
s.
I’d like to
break into that market
with
something from
my
Pyle research.
”

Sh
e
nodd
e
d
. “
I’d be
happy to
help
.”

He
gazed
at the golden flecks in her brown eyes, their color reflecting
th
e
light from th
e
candl
e
s n
e
ar th
e
window.
Did she get it, that he was really talking about her when he’d said he’d like to marry someone like Cece?
Was he ready to be a parent
—
to
Cecelia
?
Did
Amanda
think
him husband material
, father material
?
His heart sped up
thinking about that
. He
hardly knew her
,
yet
he felt
as though
she was
the woman
he’d been waiting for
all his life
.
And Cecelia. That sweet child would be the icing on that particular family cake, if only
…

Amanda
glanc
ed back at him.
“
My lif
e
plan may s
ee
m s
e
t. It could chang
e
. And f
rom th
e
scuttl
e
butt I h
e
ar, you’r
e
coming up for t
e
nur
e
in a y
e
ar.
You
got
that half-y
e
ar sabbatical aft
e
r only thr
ee
y
e
ars
out
. I didn’t think that was possibl
e
.”

“My chair lik
e
s that I’v
e
mad
e
inroads with th
e
local n
e
wspap
e
r. And,
I’ve placed some pieces in
regional
rag
s
, too
. H
e
kn
e
w if h
e
didn’t giv
e
m
e
tim
e
off I might l
e
av
e
, so I was abl
e
to twist his arm.”

“
That’s not
what I h
e
ard
. Ar
e
you still planning to put tog
e
th
e
r a w
rit
e
r’s w
orkshop this summ
e
r?
Scott
was talking about that the other day.
”

“I’d lik
e
to, but I n
ee
d
an
E
nglish prof
e
ssor to h
e
lp m
e
. It won’t draw
e
nough participants if
it app
e
als
only to
journalists. Would you lik
e
to
do
it
,
b
e
my co
-teacher
of th
e
cours
e
?
You’v
e
alr
e
ady
had
non-fiction pi
e
c
e
s
publish
e
d
. I know p
e
opl
e
will
want to h
e
ar how you
broke in
,
and whil
e
still in grad school.”

“It wasn’t that hard.
Many
of my articles
w
e
r
e
offshoots of
my disse
rtation
. A writer’s w
orkshop would be fun,
though,
and a challenge.
I’ve always wanted
to lead one.
Let me
give i
t
serious thought
.”

He took
a
last sip of his coff
e
e and put
down the cup
.
“
Good. With
your tal
e
nt
,
I know
you’d b
e
an ass
e
t
. Com
e
on, l
e
t’s walk outsid
e
.”

H
e
paid th
e
bill and th
e
y turn
e
d
away from th
e
parking lot and wand
e
r
e
d
toward th
e
docks against which th
e
boats bump
e
d
in th
e
soft
,
on
shore
br
ee
z
e
.

“
Scott told me you were in the military. The Army
?”
she asked.

When
Amanda’s
hand bump
e
d
his,
he
took advantage and
grasp
e
d
it.

He nodded.
“I did my s
tint
right aft
e
r high school.
I was lucky. T
h
e
y mad
e
m
e
a cl
e
rk
wh
e
n th
e
y found out I could typ
e
and writ
e
,
and
I n
e
v
e
r had to go
overseas
.
My s
e
rvic
e
was in D
.
C. Th
e
bigg
e
st dang
e
r
I fac
e
d
w
as
list
e
n
ing
to blow-hard politicians
who
said
on
e
thing and vot
e
d
som
e
thing
e
ls
e
.
Th
e
GI
benefits
h
e
lp
e
d
m
e
wh
e
n I got out
. T
hat
,
and working for
som
e
n
e
wspap
e
rs
,
got m
e
through grad school.”