Family Ties by Danielle Steel Read Free Book Online Page A

it. He missed two buses and then a subway, when he tried that to get to school, and was late to class. And when the assistant professor handed back their papers on a quiz from the week before, he had gotten several answers wrong and got a miserable grade. The guy sitting next to him had BO, and by the time class was over, he was in a rotten mood, from the lousy grade on the quiz he had actually studied for, and the unpleasant seat.
    He was leaving the class with a glum expression, when the teacher signaled him. The professor who normally taught the class was on sabbatical, writing a book, and she had taken over his duties for a year. Her name was Pattie Sears. She was an attractive woman with long curly hair who wore jeans and Birkenstocks with socks and T-shirts that showed off her breasts. He had noticed it when he was bored in class. She looked to be in her early thirties and was sexy in a wholesome, natural way.
    “I’m sorry about the grade on the quiz,” she said sympathetically. “Contracts are a bitch.” Ted smiled at what she said. “I flunked them the first time I took the class myself. Some of the rules just don’t make sense.”
    “I guess not. I studied for it. I have to read those chapters again,” Ted said diligently. Throughout his entire school and college career, he had always had good grades. And other than the recent quiz, he was doing well. He was in his second year at NYU Law School.
    “Would you like some help? Sometimes if you prepare it with someone to give you some guidance, it helps. I don’t mind.” She had warned them of a quiz the following week, and he didn’t want another bad grade.
    “I don’t want to bother you,” he said, looking embarrassed. She had put on a heavy jacket and a woolen hat. There was something homespun and friendly about her. He could easily imagine her chopping wood and building a fire in Vermont, or making soup from scratch. “I’ll read the chapters, and if I feel like I’m not getting it, I’ll ask you after the next class.”
    “Why don’t you come by tonight?” she said, and her eyes were warm and kind. Ted hesitated, and now he felt even ruder turning her down. She was offering her help, and he didn’t want her to feel that he didn’t appreciate the gesture, but it seemed strange to go to her house. They had never spoken to each other outside of class. “My kids are asleep by eight. Why don’t you come by at nine? We can knock out the prep for the quiz in an hour. I’ll give you some pointers about contracts, and show you some things that are key.”
    “All right,” he said hesitantly, not wanting to intrude on her private life. She had already jotted down her address on a piece of paper and handed it to him. He saw that she lived in the East Village, not far from the university, in a run-down neighborhood. “You’re sure you don’t mind?” he asked, feeling like a kid. She seemed so motherly to him, although she probably wasn’t that much older than he was. “I won’t stay long.”
    “Don’t be silly. Once the kids are in bed, I’ll have plenty of time.” He nodded and thanked her again, and his day went better after that. He was relieved that she had offered to help him, he knew he needed it in this one class. He had another class afterward, then went to the library to do some studying, and stopped to eat dinner in a diner, before his appointment at the assistant professor’s house at nine. He arrived at her building five minutes early, and it was freezing outside so he went in. The building smelled of urine and cabbage and cats, and he rang the bell and took the stairs to the third floor two at a time. Seeing the building made him realize how little money she must make at her job, and he wondered if he should be offering her some kind of tutoring fee for helping him, but he didn’t want to insult her. He rang the doorbell, and he could hear children laughing inside. Apparently they hadn’t gone to bed on time, and Pattie