Prince Charming...

We all have our ideals. Who would be your perfect match? George Clooney for the ladies? Collin Ferrell is tops on my list. That person that would make life worth living, no matter what...

The paradigm for Baby Steps is Snow White and Grumpy...but it's more than that, because our Lily has her Prince Charming already but she's losing him. She's running from him, actually. And he's exactly what she needs, especially since she's hurting and he's the one she's always turned to when she needed rescuing. Sounds kind of stupid and she thinks so, until Grumpy comes along and his grumpiness is coming from a place where he doesn't want to belong to anyone, so no one can hurt him. Snow White understands--sometimes it feels like she's the only one. And that's when she realizes...she and Grumpy are running from the same thing.

Don't run from your dreams and the people who want to help you get there. I don't care how you've failed in the past or who's hurt you before, if you have someone in your life now who wants you to succeed and help you get what you need, then you're living your own fairytale. Don't run from that, find a way to take your first step toward believing.

Anyway, that's what the novella's about. And the Snow White and Grumpy thing. And foster care. And knitting back together a marriage in jeopardy. I just spent a few days weaving the Disney magic better into my story. We'll see what the editor thinks. Oh--and I'm giving you one more taste below. Put Mother's Day '08 on your calendar now, if you're dying to read the whole thing.

Got great news over the weekend--The Runaway Daughter's a Book-Seller's Best Finalist!!! A very cool contest I've been dying to rock for a couple of years now, judged completely by booksellers, so I'm doing a happy dance. Would be nice if I won the thing, but that would be greedy, so I'll keep the wishing on a star stuff to myself and just say it's an honor to be nominated ;o)



And...I have my October cover--for the first in the Atlanta Heroes series. Because of A Boy turned out to be a great "suspensish" romance. And the Atlanta skyline on the cover totally rocks!!! Look for it in October, and for great excerpts out here once I get my act together after this latest deadline.

Now...about the next scene in Baby Steps...you need to meet Lily's Prince Charming...

**************

"Because she's a teacher," Tyler Brooks explained to his gym class truant. Lily was also the most beautiful woman Tyler had ever met, not that now was the time to make that point. "And even if she wasn't, she's an adult. Don't talk to adults that way, period, and you might tunnel out of detention before the end of the school year."

"Oh, okay. But Nathan Grover can call me a bastard all he wants!" the kid spat back.

"Of course it's not okay."

"He called you what?" Lily stepped closer. A petite dynamo, she was barely taller than the kids she taught.

"Some of the boys were playing four square, and Dakota's our new all-star." Tyler dragged his attention away from his wife's peaches and cream complexion and dark auburn hair, and nudged Dakota's shoulder. "Seems Nathan doesn't take kindly to losing, so—"

"So! He cheats. And he calls me names when you're not looking. And—"

"You kicked him, Dakota, right before you bolted out of the gym without a pass." Tyler watched his wife circle a gentle arm around the fourth grader's shoulder. Caught up in the day's latest injustice, the child forgot to resist the nurturing that came as second nature to Lily as breathing. "No matter what another kid does, there's no excuse for—"

"Defending myself?" Dakota's gaze slid to where Lily's hand rested on his shoulder. He sidestepped until they were no longer touching.

"There's no excuse for hitting." Lily wrapped her arms around her chest. She caught Tyler's smirk and shot him an eat me look, because she knew that he knew how much she wanted to still be hugging the kid. "And there are smarter ways to defend yourself. You let Nathan goad you into losing your cool, and you're the one who gets caught. Meanwhile, he looks clean as a whistle?"

"Screw you!" Dakota made a bee-line for the door.

Luckily, Tyler had the reach of an albatross. A handy thing on a basketball court, where he'd made many of his best high school memories. An essential for a career in corralling hyperactive school children into organized physical activity. He snagged Dakota and turned him around.

"First." He tightened his grip when the kid tensed for another sprint. "Apologize to Mrs. Brooks and Ms. Hastings. Second, help clean up their..." Tyler gazed at the piles of fuzzy white stuff, brown fabric and what looked like overweight chickens strewn about the floor, "...whatever. Then you and I are meeting Nathan at the AP's office for a little chat."

"Nathan?" Dakota peered up at him.

"He started the fight, didn't he? He's going to stand up for his part in what happened."

Mr. Confrontation looked suddenly younger. Confused. Stunned, even. Tyler smiled over his student's head, catching his wife's nod of approval. He squeezed Dakota's shoulder and shoved him forward.

"S...Sorry," Dakota said to the two ladies he'd sent crashing to the mint green floor.

Sincerity and belligerent ten-year-olds... An unnatural combination if Tyler ever saw one. The kid began clearing his mess, mumbling under his breath. Something about how stupid adults were.

That kind of spunk was a good thing not a pain in the ass, Tyler reminded himself. A child like Dakota learned to be tough from the cradle. Had to stay that way just to get through the day. Tyler understood that better than most. More than he cared to.

Lily motioned him closer to the door.

"New student?" Her chocolate brown eyes drank him in. When they were in their nineties, she'd still be able to bring him to his knees with just one look.

"Dakota started with Alma Rushing's class on Monday. He's having a little trouble settling in with the other kids."

"So it would seem." Lily held his gaze until he was the one to look away, hiding the need to pull her closer. "Sounds like he and Nathan's problems are more than just boys being boys in PE. You're going to make sure that Ms. Emory gives him a break?"

"Yeah, I'll handle it."

"You always do."

He frowned at the accusation, then started when she took his hand, reaching for him for the first time since she'd moved out. Their fingers tangled together out of habit. A perfect fit.

"You're amazing when you're fighting for one of your kids." Her smile was so hesitant, as if she wasn't sure of its welcome, it broke his heart. "You're going to make a great father."

Tyler's throat stung against the urge to start a conversation they couldn't have. Not there. Enough of their personal issues had already followed them to school if even his newest student knew about their separation.

Temporary separation. It had only been two weeks. It just felt like forever.

He squeezed her fingers and kissed them. Kept the rest to himself. The sparkle in her eyes dimmed at his non-response—eyes he'd once read so easily.

"Ready for our appointment at four?" she asked.

It wasn't really a question.

"How about I meet you there, as soon as I get things settled in the gym?"

It wasn't really an answer.

With a worried nod, Lily turned to help clean up whatever she and Amanda had been working on. Tyler dove in, too, his mind racing with the two battles looming before him that afternoon. And he'd be damned if he felt ready to tackle either.

He had to find a way to motivate a lost little boy to fight for the second chance only Dakota could make for himself. Then he had to convince his wife to accept the truth that had come as a crushing blow to them both, before what was left of their marriage slipped away.