“How did you find the camp?” Pia asked, reaching for her fork. “I’ve lived here all my life and I barely remember knowing about it.”
“I went for a drive,” he told her. “I followed some old signs and found it. I’d had this idea about doing something with kids, but I wasn’t sure what. When I saw the camp, I knew it was what I’d been looking for.”
He held his burger but didn’t take a bite. “The summer program is where we’re starting, but I’m hoping we can do more. Be year-round. Bring kids in for intensive two-and three-week sessions where we focus on one or two subjects. Mostly science and math. Not enough kids are excited about those subjects.”
“You’d have to coordinate with school districts,” she said. “To complement their current curriculum.”
“That’s what Dakota’s working on. We’re thinking middle-school-aged kids. Get them excited before high school.”
He had plenty of passion about the subject, she thought, taking a bite of her salad. What was he like when he was with a woman? Was the same passion there?
An interesting topic, she thought, but not one she would pursue. Even without the potential pregnancy in her future, she knew better than to get involved with a high-powered guy like him. Or any guy. For some reason, men made it a habit of leaving her. If they hadn’t wanted to stick around before, what luck would she have getting them to stay when she had three kids?
Three kids? Her head started to swim. She forced herself to think about something less frightening.
“Having the school use the facility is an interesting way to work out any problems,” she said. “And here everyone thought you were just being nice.”
He chuckled. “It’s a win-win for everyone.”
“Even if it wasn’t, the camp is a great idea. I know a lot of the kids in town appreciated being able to head up there every day this past summer. Or should I say their moms appreciated it. Summer can be a very long three months.”
PIA’S HAZEL EYES DANCED with amusement. Raoul found himself watching her rather than eating. He liked her, which was a good start. He wanted to get to know her better, yet even if he ignored the foolishness of getting involved so close to home, there was the issue of the embryos.
“Why did you want to work with kids?” she asked. “Because of the coach who helped you?”
“How’d you know?”
“The way you talk about him.”
“Yeah, it was him. He saw something in me I couldn’t see in myself. His wife, too, although they weren’t married at the time.” He smiled at the memory. “My senior year of high school I was one of the football captains.”
“Of course you were,” she muttered.
“What?”
“Nothing. Go on.”
“Each captain was supposed to bring doughnuts to practice. Once we started two-a-days, I had to quit my summer job. I was living in an abandoned building and didn’t have any money.”
“Time-out. You were homeless?”
“It wasn’t so bad.” It had been a whole lot better than dealing with his foster father. The man had never met a kid he hadn’t wanted to hit. One day Raoul had hit him back. Hard. Then he’d left.
“It can’t have been good,” she said, sounding worried.
“I’m fine.”
“But you weren’t.”
“I got by. My point is, I tried to steal them.”
“The doughnuts? You stole doughnuts?”
“I didn’t get away with it. The lady who owned the bakery caught me and she was pissed.” She’d also toppled him with a crutch, a fact he still found humiliating.
“I ended up working for her, then eventually I went to live with her. Nicole Keyes. She liked to think she was tough, but she wasn’t.”
“You loved her,” Pia said softly.
“A lot. If I’d been ten years older, I would have given Hawk a run for his money.” He chuckled. “Maybe not. I had a girlfriend at the time and she would have objected.” He glanced at Pia. “My girlfriend was Hawk’s daughter.”
“You’re making that up.”
“It’s true.” They’d had a lot of plans, he remembered. Marriage. A dozen kids. “We lasted through my first year of college. Then she dumped me. I got over it.”
“Are you still friends with Hawk and Nicole?”
“Sure. They got married and are really happy together. I even keep in touch with Brittany.”
“Does he know about your crush?”
“Probably.”
“Interesting. I can’t begin to bond with a story of my own.”
“Your best friend left you three embryos. You’d win.” He picked up his burger again. “Hawk and Nicole taught me to do the right thing. What’s that phrase? They’re the voice in my head, telling me what to do next. I don’t want to let them down.”
“They’re your family,” Pia said wistfully. “That’s nice.”