She didn’t see Mark the rest of the day. They both were managing to avoid one another, which was best for them right then.

Chapter Four

It took a few weeks but things got back to somewhat of a normal routine. Emily and Mark could be in the same room once again without too much tension and even began some of their earlier teasing.

Emily was feeling more and more secure. She would still find her eyes drawn to Mark and seemed to always know where he was but she cared far too much about him to risk losing him with a cheap romance.

Her body ached each night wanting him badly but she was used to denying herself for the sake of others. In this case she was putting her son’s needs ahead of her own, which made the sacrifice worth it. She at least thought it was worth it, or hoped it was.

What made the aching even worse was every day she was around Mark she was finding she fell a little bit more in love with him. How could she not love a man who was so gentle with her son and so compassionate to all those around him? He was even a saint when it came to his animals.

She had yet to find a single flaw. She didn’t understand how he wasn’t already married with ten kids. He would make the perfect father and husband. She dreamed more than once of herself in the role of wife and mother with Mark.

Emily and Trevor were playing a game of Candy Land in the den when Mark came in. “Mark look, I’m beating my Mom again,” Trevor said as he beamed at his hero.

“Great job, buddy. Edward just brought in some chocolate cake. If you hurry to the kitchen, you can get some before he puts it away,” he added.

“Yeah,” Trevor yelled and took off running down the hallway.

“You know you’re spoiling him,” Emily admonished but the smile she gave him took away any sting.

“I really love having him here. He brings so much light to the house.”

“Thank you,” Emily said, as tears stung her eyes. She was a sucker for anyone who loved her son.

“Emily we need to talk about Trevor’s school. The year starts in a few weeks,” Mark started out carefully. He was prepared for a minor battle with the stubborn mother.

“There’s a great school here. I was going to go talk to them next week,” she said, thinking the discussion would be over.

“Lucas told me all about the school Jasmine’s enrolled in and it’s not much further from this area. He would have a lot of opportunities there you can’t get from a regular school and he’d get to go with Jasmine,” he told her.

“Mark there’s no way I can afford to place Trevor in a private school.”

“You wouldn’t have to pay anything. It would be a part of your employment.”

“There’s no way I can accept that, Mark. You already sneak things to Trevor all the time, like the dirt bike you got him last week. He will be fine going to the local school here,” she added stubbornly. She already owed Mark far too much and didn’t want to be indebted to him any further.

Mark was prepared for her argument. He’d already discovered she wasn’t a greedy person. As a matter of fact, she was the complete opposite. It was downright frustrating trying to give her or her son anything.

“Just let me explain myself before you start getting all defensive and completely close the idea off,” he began.

“Fine. Go ahead and explain yourself but I’m telling you the answer will still be no. You’re wasting your time,” she said, while crossing her arms.

“You are the most infuriating woman. I also said not to get all defensive,” he almost shouted.

They both stared, neither willing to back down. Emily finally folded and shrugged her shoulders. “Go ahead,” she mumbled.

“Thank you. As I was saying, the school is top of the line and if Trevor went there he would be provided far more opportunities than a public school could give him. The public school system has had far too many budget cuts. Heck, he wouldn’t even be able to learn another language or participate in any good clubs. Those are things he really needs to secure his future.”

“But the money…” she began.

Mark held his hand up. “You can talk to many different employees of mine personally and of the company’s. We have added benefits where we pay for college tuitions and extended leaves. We believe in taking care of our own. I paid for Edward’s kids to go to college and they didn’t fight me on it, so please put Trevor above your pride and allow him to take this opportunity,” he said. He knew that last bit was a low blow but he also knew she was willing to make just about any sacrifice for her son, even if that sacrifice was accepting something from another person.

Emily sat, fighting with herself. She knew what Mark was saying was right. She knew she really could be hurting her son’s future success by not letting him go to the better school but she really didn’t want to be in any more debt to Mark.

“I can understand your points and you are right,” she finally conceded.

Mark looked a little bit smug at her words. She held her hand up to let him know she wasn’t finished speaking. The smile dropped away.

“I said I can understand your point, however if you expect me to compromise, you need to be willing to, also,” she said, staring him in the eye, to make sure she was getting her point across.

“What kind of compromise?” he asked suspiciously.

“If Trevor is going to go to a fancy school, then I insist on contributing to it. We already have no expense here and I receive a generous salary. I’m sure the tuition is a lot, so you’ll cut my salary in half.” She thought that would make an acceptable solution for them both.

“No way,” Mark told her, with no room for compromise on his part.

“Then it’s no deal,” Emily added, just as unbending.

They both stared again at one another, trying to break the other person. When Emily refused to back down, Mark finally held up his hands in defeat.

“Okay how about your salary gets cut by one hundred a week, not half,” he said. When she started to shake her head he cut her off.

“Listen, if he’s going to a private school there are extra things you are going to need. You’ll need your salary,” he tried to reason with her.

Emily hadn’t even thought about an added expense. Mark wasn’t going to tell her about the extra fees for field trips and such. He would just make sure the school contacted him directly, because if she knew any of that she would insist on breaking herself to pay them. He didn’t understand her; the money wouldn’t even be missed by him. He was frustrated with her and at the same time impressed with her independence.

“I guess we could try it out,” she reluctantly conceded. “But Mark, if the kids there make him feel bad about himself because he’s not rich like they are, he’s not staying. I would rather he have a public school education than for him to ever feel like he isn’t good enough,” she said emphatically.

“Emily he’ll fit right in. He already has a best friend he’ll be going to school with and he’s outgoing and social. He’ll be friends with every kid in the school,” he told her.

“Okay, when does registration start?” she asked.

“We can head up there tomorrow. We’ll take the chopper over to my dad’s and then drive in. I have been promising Trevor for a while to take him on a ride.”

“I think it would be just fine to drive,” she said nervously. She was terrified of heights and not a fan of flying in anything, let alone a tiny helicopter, which only remained in the air because of a couple of steel bars spinning around.

“Don’t be such a chicken. You’ll love the view and it’s only about a fifteen minute ride but we’ll probably take the scenic route,” he added with a wink.

Emily shuddered and resigned herself to having to do things she’d never done before.

“Come on, Mom. It’s time to go,” Trevor said as he paced around her bedroom while she finished the last touches of her make-up.

“I’m hurrying,” she lied.

“Mark said you were dragging your feet cause you were afraid to go in the helicopter,” Trevor said, like he couldn’t believe that were possibly true.

“Well Mark doesn’t know everything.”

“Yes he does, Mom,” Trevor said, as if she had lost her mind. “He’s the smartest guy in the whole wide world.”

Emily cleared her throat to keep from laughing and followed her son out of the room. She really was terrified to go on the chopper ride but there was no way she was admitting that to either her son or to Mark. They would both tease her mercilessly over it.

“All ready?” Mark questioned when they reached the bottom of the stairs. Emily glared at him, as he tried to wipe the wide grin from his face. When he started to cough, she wasn’t fooled into thinking he wasn’t laughing at her.

“I just think it’s silly to fly there when it’s not that long of a car ride,” Emily had to say. She knew it was a lost battle but had to try one more time to not get into that helicopter.

“Ah Mom, you’re just no fun.”

“Don’t worry Trevor. She'll have a great time once we're up in the air. I’m an excellent pilot,” Mark told him.

“You’re flying it?” Emily gasped in horror.

“Do you see any other pilots around here?” Mark answered with his own question.

“I just assumed you had one come in,” Emily said. She hoped he had, anyway. She knew he could ride a horse better than anyone but she wasn’t so sure he was capable of keeping them up in the air.

“Don’t worry; I have plenty of hours in. You’re in safe hands,” he said with a wink. She wasn’t reassured one bit but it was too late to back out now. Maybe she could fake an illness. One look at her son’s face and she knew she was going to have to get the ride over with.

“Let’s go, daylight is wasting,” Mark called. Trevor was on his heels as they headed out the back door and toward the helicopter pad.

Emily followed at a much more sedate pace, still dragging her feet. When they got to the helicopter and she saw it up close for the first time, her fear kicked in even greater. She might end up passing out on the ride. Of course if that happened, it would all be over much sooner.

Mark did a pre-trip on the aircraft and then said everything was ready to go. He helped Trevor inside and got him buckled. Trevor grinned hugely when Mark placed the headphones on his head and explained they could talk back and forth through the built in microphones.

“Ready?” he asked her when she was still staring in the door.

“I guess so,” she answered, slowly stepping forward.

Mark placed his hands on her hips and boosted her inside. Emily felt goose bumps rise as his hands lingered on her for a moment longer than necessary. When he placed her in the seat, their mouths were only a couple of inches apart.

She nearly fainted at the instant heat flaming in his eyes. He continued to stare at her for a few more moments, before handing her the headset and then shutting her door. She let out the breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding and was surprised by the disappointment she was feeling he hadn’t closed the gap and kissed her.