Dorothy Clark - Lessons from the Heart

Erin scowled, took a quick peek in the visor mirror and pushed her hair back behind her ears. It didn’t help much, but without a comb it would have to do. Why didn’t she carry a purse like other women! She stared at the pink her nervous tension brought to her cheeks and wrinkled her nose in distaste. At least she didn’t have to worry about being pale. She looked like a clown.

Erin flipped the visor up in disgust, reached into the ashtray for the lip balm she used to keep her lips soft and moist and spread it on. Maybe she should use it on her tongue, too—her mouth was so dry she could hardly swallow. Relax! You handled the first interview well.

She gave an unladylike snort. Like that was the reason she was tense! It was the thought of David Carlson that made her nervous. She’d never reacted to a man the way she had to him. When their gazes had met that first time, and he’d taken hold of her hand—

Okay. Enough of the foolishness! She was ready. Erin glanced down at her melon-colored jacket dress, sighed and climbed from the car. Why hadn’t she worn her new, flax-colored suit today, which made her look older, more professional? Because she didn’t know David Carlson would call and ask her to meet him for coffee after work.

And there went those flitters again. Stop it! It’s only a business appointment. Erin frowned, crossed the parking lot and reached for the chrome bar on the diner’s blue-painted door as she stepped into the canopied entrance.

“Allow me.”

Erin jerked sideways and glanced up straight into David Carlson’s smiling face. He must have been waiting for her. Had he seen her primping in the car? She turned away as the telltale warmth of embarrassment crept into her cheeks. So much for presenting a professional demeanor.

“A dollar for your thoughts.” David reached around in front of her and pulled the door open.

“A dollar?” Erin stepped into the diner. “That’s generous of you.” She slanted a look at him. “Last I knew, thoughts were only worth a penny.”

“Inflation.” David followed her inside. “Besides, you looked so serious, your thoughts are probably worth more than a dollar.” He ushered her to a booth by a window. “Did you have a hard day at work?”

Erin shook her head and slid onto the red vinyl bench seat. “I never have a hard day. I love my job. The children are wonderful.” She looked over at him, feeling more at ease with the width of the aluminum-edged table between them. “How about you?”

“Well, I can’t say I never have a hard day.” His lips twisted into a wry smile. “Not everyone appreciates the job I do. In fact some of them get downright nasty when I’m investigating a story they’re involved in. But, like you, I love my work—in spite of the rough situations I occasionally encounter.”

“Are you ready to order?”

Order? We just sat down! Erin glanced up at the young server. The teenager was staring at David and practically drooling on her order pad. So that was it. Well, she could certainly understand. David Carlson was hands down the most handsome man she’d ever seen. She cleared her throat to get the girl’s attention. “I’ll have an unsweetened iced tea with lemon, please.” The girl’s gaze didn’t so much as flicker in her direction. She might as well have been mute and invisible.

“Make mine coffee—hot and black.”

The girl smiled at David and wrote it down. “Is that all? Are you sure there’s nothing else I can get for you? The menu’s there on the table.” She gestured, but didn’t take her eyes off David. “I’ll wait if you need more time.”

The girl was all but cooing at him! Erin ducked her head and stared down at her lap, freeing David to respond to the teenager’s blatant flirting, if he so chose.

“Only the coffee and iced tea with lemon, thank you.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Erin watched the server walk over to the counter, hips swinging seductively.

“You can come up for air now.”

So he’d been aware of what she was doing! She lifted her head and met David’s gaze head-on.

“I’m sorry, Erin, that was awkward.” His lips tilted in a rueful smile. “She’s young.”

He sounded kind and a tiny bit embarrassed, which—she knew perfectly well—meant absolutely nothing. Men were such liars. She gave him a cool look. “Yes, she is. Anyway, it’s over—until she comes back.”

David folded his arms across his chest, relaxed back against the seat and fastened his gaze on her. “That sounds a little skeptical. I’m surprised. Cynicism doesn’t fit you, Erin.” He shifted his position toward her and lowered his voice. “You don’t think I’m going to respond to her flirting, do you? She must be ten years my junior!”

That doesn’t stop Jerry! Erin’s skin prickled with anger. She yanked her thoughts back to David. “I have a sinister side to my nature.”

“Sinister? If you think that’s sinister, you need to read the newspaper more often.” He sat back and grinned. “I can recommend a good column.”

His grin was contagious. Erin smiled in response, then reached up to tuck the hair that had swung free back behind her ear. Professional, remember? Keep it professional. “Speaking of your column—you had some questions you wanted to ask me?”

David’s eyebrows rose. He stared across the table at her, and the intensity of his scrutiny made her want to get up and walk away. After a moment, his lips spread in a smile that trapped the breath in her lungs. “Business only, huh? You’re an enigma, Erin Kelly. But I’m not an investigative reporter for nothing. I’ll figure you out. Now, about the questions.”

Erin’s breath released a gust of relief as David shifted gears. She could hold her own with the reporter side of him—it was the man that knocked her off-kilter.

“When we first talked about the center, Erin, you said I would be surprised at the number of adults that can’t read—or words to that effect. Are there really that many?”

She gave an emphatic nod, relieved to be on solid professional ground. “The number is shocking. And I can’t tell you the negative impact it has on their lives! They get stuck in low-paying jobs, which often leads to less-than-desirable low-income housing options. And, even then they have to accept help from the state simply to buy groceries. Their self-esteem suffers and—”

David’s lips curved upward.

Erin stiffened. “You find that amusing?”

He shook his head. “No. I find that disturbing. But I also find myself admiring your wrath on behalf of the center’s clients and those sparks of anger flashing in your dark green eyes.” His gaze locked on hers. “You really are passionate about this problem.”

Thankfully, the server chose that moment to bring their drinks, because Erin couldn’t speak. Her numb-struck mind couldn’t think of an adequate reply. It had stalled on the fact that David Carlson said he admired her, and the altogether foolish and inappropriate response of her wildly fluttering heart.

Erin frowned at the ringing phone. This was the third call. She was never going to get these papers graded by tomorrow! She dropped her pen and lifted the handset. “Hello?”

“Hi, Boots! Where were you? I tried to get hold of you after work.”

The dilemma she’d been struggling with ever since she’d witnessed Jerry’s infidelity hit Erin full force at the sound of her sister’s voice. She sagged back into her favorite overstuffed chair, burning with the desire to tell Alayne about Jerry’s behavior, and certain it would only widen the chasm in their family if she did. “Sorry, Alayne. I had coffee with David Carlson at that little diner on Oak Street, then grabbed some pizza and went straight to the center. What did you want?” She must know. The receptionist works in the same office!

“Who cares?” Excitement sizzled out of the phone. “You had coffee with David Carlson the reporter? The one who’s on Channel Four News every once in awhile? Way to go, Erin! That guy’s scrumptious! And he’s on his way up, too.” Her older sister’s voice was flooded with admiration. “Not only is he great at his job, but from all I hear, he knows how to play the ‘climbing the social ladder to success’ game with the best of them. So, what’s he like?”

Erin pushed aside her dilemma and focused on the conversation. “He’s intelligent. And polite and charming.” Far too charming! “And funny—in a nice sort of way, nothing off-color or suggestive.”

“He sounds perfect for you. Did he ask you out again?”

Erin let out an exasperated sigh. “He didn’t ask me out this time. It wasn’t a date, Alayne. He just had some questions about the literacy program. He’s going to do a story about the center for his features column. You know, the long column that runs every Saturday.”

“My mistake. Sorry, Boots. I thought maybe you had finally— Never mind. It’s probably just as well it wasn’t a date.” Alayne’s voice took on a protective tone. “David Carlson is a lady-killer for sure. And he’s no—”

Erin winced as her sister chopped off her words. “No what?”

“No…choir boy. Not that I’ve heard anything bad about him, but you’re not used to moving in his circles, you’d be no match for him. Look, I’ve got to go, Boots. We’re at the club and Jerry’s pulling into a parking place. I’ll be in touch. Bye.”

The phone went dead.

“Alayne, you’re so blind!” Erin dropped the handset onto the cushion and surged to her feet. Nothing had changed. Alayne still thought being a Christian made you weak and vulnerable. Well, she would never become involved with a lying, cheating woman chaser like Jerry! And that included David Carlson!

Lady-killer. She could believe that from the way he had handed her that smooth line about “sparks” in her dark-green eyes! Sparks. Hah!

Erin stalked out to the mirror above the chest in the entrance hall, switched on the lamp and studied her reflection. Her eyes were an unusual dark green—almost the color of the leaves on the rhododendron bush by her front walk—but there were no “sparks” in them. That was just a sample of the glib compliments handed out by men to disarm woman. She knew that. So why was she staring in the mirror?

Erin turned away in disgust. No choir boy…you’d be no match for him. That was ridiculous! David Carlson may be the most handsome and charming man she’d ever met, but she didn’t trust him any more than any other man. She’d learned the folly of trusting a man—even seemingly nice, respectable ones—seven years ago. After all, Mr. Gorseman had been one of the best liked teachers in high school.

I’m sure you did the experiment, Erin, but, unfortunately, it’s missing. Meet me in the lab after school and I’ll let you repeat it.

A chill chased down Erin’s spine. How naive and trusting she’d been then. She’d believed Mr. Gorseman’s lie and gone in all innocence to meet him. And if Alayne—who came looking for her—hadn’t heard a noise and looked in the window of the locked and darkened science room to see Mr. Gorseman poised atop her on the lab table, he would have succeeded in his plan to rape her. And she—unconscious from the drug he’d put in the soda he’d given her—would never have known exactly what happened or who did it.

A deep shudder shook her. Erin wrapped her arms about herself and leaned against the chest, waiting for the reaction to pass. If only he’d been found guilty. But he’d lied his way out of it. At the inquiry, he denied her charge and explained her unconscious state by saying she’d been careless in handling the noxious chemicals in the experiment and had been overcome by fumes. He refuted Alayne’s charge by saying she was mistaken and overwrought, that he’d been trying to help Erin when Alayne started beating on the door. And he explained the locked door away by saying she, Erin, had a “crush” on him and must have locked it so they would be alone. It was his lies against their truth—and he was a beloved and respected teacher. All charges had been dropped.