Chapter 4

Rachel had been more than a little surprised when they made their way up the stairs to the second story restaurant. Expecting the typical cheesy pizzeria set up, she encountered a rustically elegant place – with beautiful paneled walls and wood floor – instead. Since it was only a little after five in the afternoon, they were well ahead of the dinner rush, so the place was not even close to crowded. Even if Nina hadn't called in a reservation, they probably still would have been able to get the two tables pulled together out on the balcony that they did.

She really appreciated the ambiance. It was a warm, fun place to hang out. The pizza, while not quite the deep dish she grew up with back in Chicago, was pretty good. There was also a currently vacant set up with sound equipment for musicians to play live music. Even the views of the harbor and the bay beyond it were pretty impressive. What she liked the most, though, was spending a bit more time with one particular little girl to her left and the girl's father across the table from her.

Hailey, for her part, was regaling her table companions with tales of the sea turtle she'd followed while snorkeling. Amused by the animated little girl, Rachel was taking it all in when she noticed the expression on Rance's face. He was watching Hailey, as well, but there was a mix of emotions evident in his countenance. His lips were drawn up in a pleasant if not mirthful smile, but in and around those intriguing blue eyes was such sadness that she felt her own breath catch in the back of her throat.

She reached across and gently covered his large hand with her own.

His eyes flicked over and caught hers. His smile deepened and the sadness nearly vanished. "It's been so long since she's been this happy," he remarked softly, motioning toward his daughter with his head. "It's good to see."

Rachel nodded. "I can imagine. How long's it been?"

"A little over six months."

"You've done a remarkable job with her."

"Can't take all the credit. Both sets of grandparents were the ones who came up with this trip."

"Yeah, but you were the one who came up with the surfing class." Rachel smirked at Rance's raised eyebrow. "This little one," she continued, a sideways glance at Hailey, "went on and on about her father and the joys of surfing when we first met. That one, my friend, is all on you," she added with a smile, releasing his hand so she could take another sip of her iced tea.

"I'm starting to question the wisdom of that idea," he replied with an amused eye roll. "I think I may have created a monster."

"What monster?" Hailey piped up, the softness of their voices evidently piquing her interest.

"You, pumpkin. You've turned into a surfing monster."

Rachel could not help but laugh out loud at the glare Rance's daughter gave him. "Wow, that's quite the look!" Still laughing, she patted her on the shoulder. "You have learned well, grasshopper."

Clearly not understanding what Rachel meant by that, young Hailey looked up at her and fixed her with an annoyed stare of her own. "I'm not a pumpkin and I'm not a grasshopper, either." Then with an impish grin, she glanced over at her father. "A surfing monster? Maybe."

Talk soon swirled around Hailey's new found sport, even drawing Hannah into the discussion. Turned out the Aussie spent much of her youth chasing waves, which was a bit of a surprise to Rachel. More Zoe's friend, it was good to see her open up and get a little more engaged. A welcome change from the gradual aloofness she'd been showing over the past few months.

"So, Terrance, what is it you do for a living?"

Chloe was seated to Rance's right and obviously seized upon a lull in the conversation to ask her question. Rachel glanced up in time to see a mischievous glimmer in her young friend's eyes flash her way.

The only man at the table, however, missed the brief exchange. "Currently I'm a teacher," he replied.

"Oh, really? What do you teach?" Nina queried from the end of the table.

And before Rachel knew it, Hailey's father was being bombarded with questions from all directions. She didn't quite know what the girls were up to but quickly grew concerned. She definitely didn't want their guest to feel like he was being tag teamed or ambushed. So far, though, he didn't seem to mind. She then laughed to herself. What guy is ever going to mind being the center of attention for a group of beautiful women?

Still, she learned a lot about him in the process. He was in his first year as a high school math teacher, something he liked doing even though it wasn't his first choice. He'd been an engineer in the Army, most recently over in Afghanistan, but got out when his wife became sick. Turned out teaching was the only job he could get near where they lived. While he enjoyed working with the kids, he didn't think he would stick with it for more than a couple years – intending to eventually go back to work for the Army as a civilian engineer.

"You can do that?" Hannah asked, leaning in to see around Chloe.

Rachel was quite surprised, too. It seemed odd to her that he could go back to work for the Army without being in it.

"Most of the people that work for the Army Corps of Engineers – which include a lot of engineers – are not soldiers," he explained. "The only problem is that it would mean moving and the two of us are nowhere near ready to do that just yet."

"Both Oma Steiger and Grandma Hunter said they'd kick his butt if we moved," Hailey tossed in with a huge grin.

"Hailey's other grandparents live just up the road from us in Ferris," he added as an explanation, "while my folks are eight miles away in St. John."

"Where's that at?"

"In Illinois," came Rance's response to Chloe. "We're about a two hours' drive due east of Saint Louis, Missouri."

"Wow, Rachel," Nina chimed in with a huge grin on her face. "You two are both originally from the same state. How far is ... what's the name of your town again?" She asked, looking back at him.

"Ferris."

"How far is Ferris from Chicago?"

"About four hours, give or take." He paused momentarily. "I actually went to school there, so I know that drive all too well."

"Really? Where?" Nina followed up with more than a little curiosity.

Rance nodded, turning back to look straight at Rachel. "Northwestern University."

She gasped. "Seriously?"

Rance nodded again.

"That's so wild ... I actually went to Northwestern myself." His knowing smile stopped her. "But you knew that, didn't you?"

Rance did indeed know that, as did pretty much anyone who attended Northwestern around that time.

"I was a freshman your senior year," he admitted, "but I didn't know about you until after you dropped out to do modeling." A loud chuckle escaped his lips. "Once you landed on the cover of SI's swimsuit edition, it was actually pretty hard to miss you. I don't think there was a guy's dorm room that didn't have your poster up."

"Did you?" Chloe asked with a playful jab of her elbow in his ribs.

Feeling his cheeks redden a bit, he shook his head. "Not personally, no – but my roommate did."

After a couple more teasing comments from the girls, Rance was very relieved when Rachel opted to change subjects. Shifting back to his earlier reference to the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, she shared some of her stories from that rather harrowing photo shoot down in Puerto Rico. Evidently, if something could go wrong, it did – including having to ride out a Category 3 hurricane.

Before long, however, the conversation somehow narrowed down to just him and Rachel, with the two of them reminiscing and comparing notes about their time at the university. Memories of a few shared professors and instructors brought a few laughs, but then Rachel sounded a sour note when she mentioned how her father was none too happy with her when she quit with two quarters left to go.

"My older sister was in her second year of law school," she explained, "and here I was dropping out. He really thought I was throwing my life away."

"I imagine he thinks differently now."

"Perhaps," she shrugged with a smile, "but I know I made him very happy when I finally finished my degree a few years back." Rachel then let out a bit of a laugh. "Mom, however, is still unhappy that neither of her girls has given them grandchildren yet."

"Hey, Dad?" Hailey interrupted.

"Yes?" he responded absently.

"I need to go to the bathroom."

"Oh, sure, honey." Rance was about to look around for the restrooms when Rachel reached over and lightly tapped his hand.

"We've got this," she said with a smile, nodding toward the other women at the table.