LITMIR.BIZ

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skin that begged to be stroked. But then again, he’d always had a weakness for petite, slender women who looked fragile and frail, but were really built and backed with steel.

      When she’d brought Sofie in for her physical, his attempts to be friendly had fallen on tin ears. And not just that day in his office, he remembered, but later, at her aunt Louella’s wedding as well. He’d tried to make pleasant, polite conversation while Cassie had merely stared at him coolly, making it clear she didn’t think he was either pleasant or polite…and that she wanted absolutely no part of him. It had tickled him to no end. His interest in her had been snagged simply because it had been so long since a woman had been so blatantly rude or downright cold toward him. Usually they were falling all over themselves trying to impress him. And he wasn’t easily impressed.

      But judging from Cassie’s cold response to him, if he didn’t know better, he’d think he was losing his touch.

      “I do appreciate everything you’ve done,” Cassie finally said, as she glanced toward the back of the shop for Sofie. “I don’t know what brought this on. Sofie’s been doing well in school. She’s been making friends and getting along with all the other kids so I don’t know when or how this started. More importantly, I’m not sure I know how to handle it,” she admitted honestly, feeling grossly incompetent all of a sudden. “Sofie’s always gotten along so well with everyone. And she’s certainly never been teased before.”

      “This isn’t Sofie’s fault, and I don’t think this teasing has gone on much beyond today,” he said, trying to reassure her. “The school is far too aware of teasing and bullying to let something like this go on for very long. I’ve spent the past five years or so working with school officials to develop a strict no-tolerance policy for bullying in order to make the school a place where every child feels safe and comfortable, and is praised for their individual talents, not ridiculed.” He sighed. “But once in a while, kids will be kids and something like this happens. The kids forget or someone is feeling hurt or inferior or disconnected from their parents, and teasing and bullying can be the result.”

      “Do you think that’s what happened?” It sounded a lot less dramatic than she’d originally envisioned. “I mean, the idea of my daughter being bullied or teased at school is not a pleasant thought.”

      “I know, Cassie,” he said quietly, sincerity shining in his eyes. “And I’m really sorry. But we know a lot more about this now than we ever did before and I’m certain with a little help from all of us Sofie will be able to handle this situation and be just fine.” He hesitated, meeting her gaze. “That is, if you’ll let me help?”

      “Let you?” Shaking her head, she laughed, but the sound held no humor. “I’d be grateful for anything you can do or suggest.” When it came to her daughter or her daughter’s welfare, Cassie had no pride. She’d do anything and everything she could to keep her daughter happy, safe and secure, and if that meant dancing with a devil, well, all someone had to do was play the right music and show her the proper steps.

      Giving another quick glance toward the back, wanting to make certain Sofie wasn’t within earshot, Cassie shoved back her dark hair with a shaky hand. “I don’t want my daughter thinking that the solution to any problem is running away.”

      “No, of course not,” Beau said. “One of the most effective tools we can use right now to help Sofie through this is something we call the three C’s.” He smiled at her look of confusion. “It stands for caring, cooperation and conflict resolution. The caring obviously comes from you and all the adults in Sofie’s life. She needs to know that you understand this is a difficult time for her, and that she should feel free to tell you when anything has upset her, especially at school.”

      “That’s fine from my end, but where does the cooperation come in?” Cassie asked, crossing her arms, simply to hide her nervousness. “How do we go about getting the cooperation of the kids who are teasing her?” Thrashing them probably wasn’t a viable option even if it did sound appealing at the moment.

      “Why don’t you let me work with Sofie on that?” he asked, and she hesitated, but finally nodded. Beau was thoughtful for a moment. “Generally, Cassie, when a child is teasing or bullying someone else, it stems from their own lack of self-esteem or their own feelings of inferiority. Or perhaps it has to do with an emotional crisis they’re going through. A divorce, a death, any number of things can trigger these feelings in kids, especially when there’s a decided disconnect between the child and his or her parents. If a child feels powerless in a situation, then he tends to gravitate toward behavior that will make him or her feel powerful.”

      “Teasing and bullying?” Cassie asked, suddenly understanding, and he nodded.

      “Exactly. Sofie’s new at school and the science fair is really a big deal here. Maybe someone felt a bit intimidated by Sofie’s knowledge, maybe they were afraid she might have a better project or show them up. As a result, they began teasing her.”

      “And teasing her shakes her confidence and her self-esteem,” Cassie said with a nod as things grew clearer. “And makes them feel better about themselves?”

      “Exactly. Maybe that wasn’t the original intention, but it is the result.”

      “I just don’t want her to be hurt,” she said softly, blinking away a surprising flash of tears.

      “Cassie.” Beau laid his hand on her shoulder and her gaze flew to his. She hadn’t known he’d crossed the room and was standing so close to her. Her heart began doing a wicked two-step. He was so close she could smell his scent. Warm, woodsy, masculine and very appealing. She tried not to scowl.

      “I promise you we can fix this, and fix it in such a way as to have as little damage emotionally, physically or psychologically to Sofie as possible,” he said, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze of encouragement. “But, you’re going to have to trust me,” he added quietly.

      “Trust you?” She hadn’t trusted a man in a long time and the idea of trusting a man when it came to her daughter, well, that idea was outright foreign to her. She didn’t trust any man that much.

      Besides, how was she supposed to trust the man when she wasn’t comfortable standing in the same room with him?

      Cassie took a deep breath and forced herself to meet Beau’s gaze. She didn’t have much choice in the matter, she realized. If she wanted to help her daughter, if she wanted her daughter to learn how to deal with life’s problems and not think running from them was the answer, she was going to need his help.

      And that apparently meant trusting him. At least in this limited capacity. If only for Sofie’s sake.

      But that didn’t mean she had to like it!

      “Okay. Fine,” she said abruptly, taking a step away from him to turn and busily fold Sofie’s coat and winter garments. “Do you have a lot of experience with this teasing stuff?” she asked, glancing up at him nervously.

      “Actually, I do,” he said. “As I mentioned I’ve been working with the schools to develop an anti-teasing and anti-bullying campaign. And,” he added with a sigh, “I had my fair share of teasing when I was in school as well,” he admitted. “Which is what started my interest in this subject and kids to begin with.” He paused for a moment and she watched something dark and unfathomable move into his eyes. “Growing up, there were times I was teased unmercifully. Running away would have been a great option if only I’d thought of it,” he admitted with a self-deprecating chuckle that actually made her smile. “So I know how Sofie feels. It’s hard to be the smartest kid in school, and it’s hard when you’re the object of teasing. Which is why it was so important for me to start this program at the schools in the first place.” He shrugged. “Like I said, it’s been working pretty well, but once in a while…” His voice trailed off as his gaze met hers. Cassie merely stared at him, trying to absorb everything he was telling her.

      “You were teased?” she repeated in surprise, then she chuckled. “I can’t imagine anyone teasing you. For what? Being too perfect?” The moment the words

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