Debbie gasped and stared at him wide-eyed, but he pushed on. “If my kids are going to spend time in your home, I need to know they aren’t going to encounter…something inappropriate.”
Debbie’s eyes flashed with anger. “How dare you come into my home and accuse me of being a—a floozy?”
Austin softened his voice. “I’m not accusing you of anything.” Except he kind of had. He shook his head. “I simply want to make sure I’m not sending my kids into an environment they shouldn’t be in.”
“I think it’s time for you to leave.” Debbie turned toward the front door.
“No wait. I’m sorry.” He grabbed her hand.
Electric shocks raced up his arm. He let go of her and shoved his hands into his pockets.
“Look, I didn’t mean to come in here all accusatory. I’m just worried about protecting my kids. They’ve been through a lot.”
“I understand.” She sighed. “Child Protective Services has deemed me fit to be a foster parent, so that should tell you there’s nothing to worry about.” Debbie’s shoulders slumped as she lowered her gaze to her hands. She picked at her nails. “As for me throwing myself at some of the men in this town…” Color flooded her face and neck clear to the open collar of her blouse. “I may have flirted with a few men in recent years, expressing my interest. And unfortunately, I don’t have much of a personal bubble, so I probably appeared kind of forward, but I never threw myself at them in the way you’re insinuating.” She covered her face with her hands. “Okay, that’s not entirely true. I did kind of throw myself at Ja—one guy. But in my defense, I wasn’t really myself that night.”
“What do you mean?”
Debbie sat back down at the table, so Austin joined her. She stared at the wall behind him as she spoke. “I’d finally gotten a date with one of the guys I’d been interested in, but I came down with a horrible cold the day before the date. I didn’t want to cancel because I was afraid I wouldn’t get another chance to go out with him. So I took some heavy duty cold medicine. A double dose. I should have known better, because most medicines make me a little loopy as it is, but then I realized I’d accidentally taken the night-time stuff. Well, I didn’t want to sleep through our date, so I drank a five-hour energy drink.”
She propped her elbows on the table and hid her face in her hands again. “The whole night is a little fuzzy, but I’m pretty sure I said and did some things I’m not proud of. Fortunately, Ja— my date was a gentleman and nothing happened.”
Austin bit back a grin as he pictured a tipsy and hyper Debbie throwing herself at her date. The man must have been a saint. His smile faded as he recalled the way Cheyenne had thrown herself at him again and again. Austin hadn’t remained a saint for very long. He meant it when he said he was far from perfect.
Debbie dropped her hands and with an air of defeat and looked him in the eye. “In an effort to clear the air, and squelch any other rumors you may have heard about me, I will admit that I used to wear much more…revealing clothing. A carry over from Sofia’s influence and the desire for attention.” She tapped her nails against the table. “I don’t dress like that anymore. In fact, I’ve recently revamped my wardrobe and undergone something of a makeover.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she squared her shoulders again, but Austin could still read the uncertainty in her eyes. “I promise you won’t regret letting your children be in my home and around me.”
If Child Protective Services found her acceptable to be a foster parent, then Austin was probably putting too much stock in Darrell’s ramblings.
He grinned as he looked around the spacious kitchen. “No, but you might. The boys can be pretty rambunctious.”
CHAPTER7
Debbie danced and hummed as she mopped the hardwood floors of the kitchen and dining room. A thrill of energy zinged through her as she skirted around the drop cloth spread around the section of wall where Savannah would start painting today.
Technically, she’d already started. Last Saturday, Debbie accompanied Jessie and Savannah to the Tri-Cities area to buy the supplies for the mural. Later that afternoon, they’d whitewashed the wall, then they’d both come over yesterday evening to mark a grid that would help Savannah proportion the painting properly.
Debbie wiped her brow. She’d worked up a sweat cleaning her already clean house, but so much nervous energy flowed through her today, she couldn’t sit still if she tried.
No, not nervous energy. Excitement. She couldn’t wait for Savvy to start the painting, but she especially looked forward to having Dallas and Cody here all afternoon.
She smiled as she remembered the shy smile and wave Cody had given her at church yesterday. She would be equally excited to see their father this evening if he hadn’t accused her of hiring Savvy because she had designs on him. Sure the man was handsome, but he obviously had an ego the size of Mt. St. Helens.
Her blood still grew hot at the insinuation. She used to think she needed a man to have a family, but she’d decided a while ago not to base her happiness on anyone else. She didn’t need a man to foster and hopefully, to adopt. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t love to have a man at her side, but it wouldn’t be arrogant Austin Reed, no matter how attractive he was.
An hour later, she headed to the kitchen intending to set out the lasagna she’d made with her sisters last week to thaw for dinner. Then maybe she’d whip up a batch of cookies for an after school snack for the Reed children before taking a shower and getting ready to pick them up.
Her phone rang before she reached the freezer. Debbie’s heart leaped to her throat at the sight of Gina Pratt’s name on her screen. She sent up a little prayer, “Please let this be a good call,” as she answered the phone.
“Hello?” Debbie’s heart remained lodged in her throat as she and Gina exchanged pleasantries, then Gina got to the point.
“I have a little three year old boy who needs a place to stay for a while, maybe even as long as a couple of weeks. Can you take him?”
Tears filled Debbie’s eyes as she sank onto a barstool. Her heart raced so fast she struggled to breathe. “Yes, absolutely. I can take him.”
She placed a hand on her chest and sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
“Fantastic. I’ll be there in about thirty minutes with Noah.”
“Okay.” It was all Debbie could do to make her voice sound normal.
