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“Don’t you look nice,” Seth said, greeting her with a big smile.

“Thank you,” she replied, warmed by his lingering gaze on her.

“Sit, and I’ll pour you a cup of coffee,” he said.

“You really don’t have to wait on me, Seth. If you’ll just point me to the right cabinet to get a cup, I can pour my own coffee,” she replied.

“Okay.” He grinned and pointed to a cabinet to the left of the sink.

She opened the door to find the coffee cups. She grabbed one and then walked over to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup of the fresh, fragrant brew. Only then did she sit at the table.

“On the menu this morning is bacon and eggs,” he said as he began to lay strips of the breakfast meat into an awaiting skillet.

“Do you always cook such big breakfasts in the mornings?” she asked.

“I don’t really consider bacon and eggs such a big breakfast, but yes, I always cook in the mornings. I want Sammy to start his day off by being well fed, and to be honest I like to start my day off with a nice breakfast, too.”

“There are a lot of kids who come to school having had no breakfast at all,” she replied. “I always wish I could provide something they could eat before school. Little minds work so much better if they start the day with something in their tummies.”

“It’s a damn shame that some parents don’t do their jobs,” he replied. “But, it’s really a shame if they can’t afford to have breakfast.”

“It makes me so sad.” She wrapped her fingers around the warmth of her cup. “The school used to provide breakfast sandwiches for the kids who were lower income or didn’t get fed at home in the mornings, but tax cuts to the district stopped the program.”

“That’s another damned shame,” he said.

He turned back to the skillet, and for a few minutes she sipped her coffee in silence, and in the silence, she thought about the kiss they had shared the night before.

It had been incredibly hot, and there had been a moment when she’d wanted nothing more than to pull him into the bedroom and make love with him. There was no question that there was a simmering sexual tension between them, and last night it had nearly exploded into fiery flames.

After she had gone into the bedroom, she had tried to fill her head with memories of Davy. However, thoughts of Seth kept intruding.

She had developed such a strong friendship with Seth during those nights when she had tutored Sammy. Now that friendship had become far more complicated with her desire to make love with him.

Of course, she wasn’t in love with Seth. She couldn’t be because Davy held that particular piece of her. She would be in love with her dead husband until her life was over. However, physical desire had nothing to do with love. She could experience heightened desire for Seth without being in love with him.

Then there was Sammy. She was falling in love with the little boy who was so hungry for a mother in his life. His behavior had pretty much turned around over the past couple of weeks, and he was a genuine pleasure to have around.

“You’re very quiet,” Seth said and turned back to face her.

“I’m just thinking about the day to come,” she replied. She couldn’t very well tell him she was thinking about them making love.

“Did you get your lesson plans all taken care of before you went to bed last night?”

“I did,” she replied and looked out the window. If she gazed at him too long, her desire for him would rise up once again. After the kiss last night, she was feeling particularly vulnerable with him.

When she looked back at Seth, he was taking the cooked bacon strips out of the skillet and placing them on a plate. “I need to go wake up the kid,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

As he left the kitchen, she returned her gaze to the window. The sun had risen and was bright in the sky, promising a clear, cloudless day.

There was no question that she was nervous about seeing Arlan, Boone and Ray today, knowing that the day before Dallas had questioned all three of them about the attack on her. Would they be angry that she had named them as potential suspects, or would they understand the tenuous position she was in?

The wounds on her arm still hurt this morning, a reminder of the horrendous attack she’d survived. Was it possible that Boone or Ray was responsible? She honestly didn’t know. All she knew for sure was Seth was the only male she trusted in her life right now.

Sammy came into the kitchen with Lady. The boy was dressed for the day in a pair of jeans and a blue T-shirt that perfectly matched the color of his eyes. “Hi, Mrs. Michaels,” he said cheerfully.

“Good morning, Sammy,” she replied.

Seth followed behind him and got the leash and hooked it to Lady. “You take her out while I fix the eggs,” he said. “Put a coat on before you go out. It’s cold this morning.”