Zero Forks

by Cat Johnson

  “Nope.”

  “Then we can’t stay here. We’ll get in trouble.”

  “No, we won’t. It’s empty.”

  “So we’re trespassing on abandoned property?” Her eyes widened.

  Apparently, this one needed all the answers or she wouldn’t be happy. Good thing she was cute, because she was certainly proving to be a handful.

  I had to wonder what the rest of her story was. Was there a daddy in the picture for the little guy on my shoulders? Or was she a single mom and I had a shot with her?

  Maybe I’d get that information over lunch. But I had to calm her down first. “It’s owned by a friend of mine. I’m doing some work for him on it today so it’s fine that we’re here.”

  She still looked doubtful. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. Very sure. Now come on. This kid is hungry and your food’s getting cold.”

  She pressed her lips together so tightly nothing was getting between them—though I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to imagining a thing or two I’d like to get between her lips.

  Finally, she glanced up at the kid, still happily kicking away, and said, “Okay. Fine. Where’s this table by the river?”

  “Right this way.” Grinning I led the way around the side of the house and to the bluestone patio Brandon had restored.

  Once I got the kid in a chair and his mom got the food on the table I could finally sit back and think—and realize I was completely off my game. I didn’t even know her name.

  It was way past time for introductions. Time to remedy that. I leaned forward.

  “So, I’m Boone Morgan. And you are?” I asked and waited.

  I’d thrown my last name in there too since my family was kind of famous around these parts.

  Not only was the Morgan name painted on all of our trucks, as well as on a bunch of signs around town and by the highway because of the farm stand, but my brother Stone had been on the news with the state governor recently.

  “I’m Sarah and this is Stewie.” She didn’t look impressed by my being a Morgan, but at least she answered my question and now I had a name to go with her angelic face.

  “Very nice to meet you, Sarah. And you too, Stewie.”

  The kid was too busy fisting a handful of fries to care much about me, but at least he’d stopped cussing. That could only help my case with his mom.

  Now to find out more. In particular, if she was single or not.

  “So, what brings you to town?” I asked.

  “Stewie was hungry and I saw a sign for the diner by the exit.”

  Thank God for small miracles—and that Brandon was on top of his advertising game and had arranged for that sign on the highway.

  “That’s as good a reason as any to come to Mudville. And good choice. Best fries around.” I frowned when I realized the bag was empty and she wasn’t eating. “You didn’t get anything for yourself?”

  She shook her head, sending a fall of silky reddish-brown hair bouncing around her shoulders in the sunlight. “I didn’t even think of it. I just wanted to grab something for him and get back to the car before he woke up.”

  “Want some shake?” I extended my cup.

  She smiled. “No. Thanks. If it was coffee, I might have taken you up on it.”

  “When we go back to the car, we can go across the street to Bethany’s to get you coffee, if you want. But you have to have one of her honey buns with your coffee. It’s a requirement. Hey, wait. Shalene’s should be just about finished with her shift at the diner. I’ll have her run over with a burger for you. You eat meat, right?” I pulled out my cell to text my cousin.

  “No, please. I mean yes, I eat meat but don’t bother her. That’s too much to ask.”

  “Don’t be silly. She’ll do it. No problem.” I punched in a text and then put the cell down. A second later, it lit with her reply. I glanced down and read. “She just got off work and says she’ll be here in five minutes.”

  Sarah cocked her head as she watched me. “Is everyone in this town this insanely nice or is it just you and your girlfriend?”

  “My girlfriend?” I frowned. “Oh, you mean Shalene?”

  She nodded.

  Interesting that she’d jumped to the conclusion that Shalene was my girlfriend.

  Meanwhile, I took great pleasure in correcting her. “Shalene’s not my girlfriend. She’s my cousin. Our dads are brothers. And yes, just about everyone in this town is nice. With a few exceptions, of course.”

  I was thinking in particular of old lady Trout as I said that.

  Karma took care of her for us, though, when she got lost in our corn maze after closing time and ended up spending the night. I had to stifle a laugh now just remembering it.

  She gazed at the river flowing slowly by at the edge of the sweeping lawn I’d just cut for Brandon yesterday. “Maybe I should rent a place here.”

  Her comment piqued my interest.

  “Maybe you should. You looking for a place?” I asked, very much liking the idea of her moving here.

  She nodded. I waited, for her to volunteer more information. Finally she said, “I only need it for a couple of months though, so it might be hard to get a decent place since I can’t sign a lease for a full year.”

  Huh. More and more intriguing.

  “You could rent this place.” I hooked a thumb back at the impressive turn-of-the-century building behind us.

  She turned away from the river to look at the house. “It’s for rent?”

  “Sure.” I nodded.

  Okay, technically not quite, but it could be.

  Brandon wasn’t using it. He had a suite of rooms and an office at Mudville House that he used when he wasn’t back in the city for his work. Although most nights he just slept at Bethany’s house.

  And I did hear him mention once that this house would make a great B&B. So why wouldn’t he rent it to Sarah for a couple of months?

  She drummed her fingertips on the table as she drew in a breath, looking as if she was seriously considering it.

  I got a good look at her left hand. No wedding ring. Good sign.

  “How much?” she asked.

  “Good question. How much can you afford?”

  She lifted a shoulder. “I could swing a thousand a month, if it included utilities.”

  “Okay. I’ll find out how much he wants.” I stood and grabbed my phone. I carried it down toward the river until I thought I was far enough away she wouldn’t hear before I hit to dial Brandon.

  When he answered, I said, “You have to do me a favor.”

  “All right.” He sounded cautious. I guess I couldn’t blame him.

  “You have to rent the Van de Berg house to somebody for me.”

  “Um . . .” Brandon let out a breathy laugh. “I don’t know what to say here, Boone. Is the house finished?”

  “Yeah. It’s fine. I mean I still have to paint, but everything else is ready. The basement’s cleaned up and dry from the flood. The new hot water heater is in. The burner’s operational again. The bedrooms and the bathroom upstairs are done enough for her to use. You’re good to go.”

  “Her?” he asked.

  That figured. Out of all I’d said, Brandon had zeroed in on only one word.

  I rolled my eyes. “Yes, it’s a woman. Her and her kid, so don’t go jumping to conclusions.”

  “I’d never.” He laughed. “But you can bet everyone else in Mudville will.”

  That, I knew. “So what do you think about renting?” I asked.

  “All right. Fine.”

  “You’ll do it?”

  He laughed. “Sure. Why not? It’s just sitting empty anyway.”

  “Okay, one more thing. How much is the rent?”

  Brandon laughed again. “That’s a good question. I know New York City pricing. Not Mudville. I guess I could do a little research about rents in the area. What do you think?”

  I decided to play it coy. “Um, I don’t know. A thousand a month? You cover the utilities.”r />
  “All right. Sounds good,” he agreed.

  This was too easy. Excited, I said, “Great. I’ll tell her.”

  “Boone?”

  “Yeah?” I asked, turning back toward where Sarah now squatted on the patio trying to pick up all the fries Stewie had dropped on the ground.

  “Should I even ask why you’re asking me to do this?” Brandon asked.

  “Probably not. Talk to you later.” Grinning, I disconnected and made my way back to the woman I was currently standing much too far away from. “You’re in luck. He wants a thousand a month. Utilities included,” I told her.

  “Month to month. No lease?” she asked, looking up at me from her spot on the ground.

  “Yup. He said fine.” I nodded, happy to report the good news even if I was basically putting words in Brandon's mouth.

  Standing, the pile of gross looking fries piled in her outstretched palm, she glanced at the kid. “Hey, Stewie. How would you feel about living here at this house while your mommy is away?”

  “His mommy?” I interrupted before the kid had a chance to answer.

  Whoa, Nelly. What was this now? The kid wasn’t hers?

  Sarah glanced at me. “My sister. Her National Guard unit is deploying so Auntie Sarah is on Stewie-duty for a little while.”

  Well, well, well. Wasn’t this an interesting turn of events.

  Sarah continued, “My sister’s apartment is too far from my job for me to commute. And my place is too small for the two of us, plus whatever babysitter or nanny I’m able to find to watch him while I’m at work and overnight when I’m traveling.”

  “So, you’re looking for a nanny?” I asked as an idea I really liked struck me.

  She nodded. “Yeah. You know anyone? Maybe your cousin?”

  I needed to nip that idea in the bud and quick.

  “Nah, she has college during the week. But yeah, I do know someone.” My path to satisfaction was clear. I turned to the little boy who’d moved on to the chicken nuggets after he’d crunched the remaining french fries into mush. “Hey, Stewie. Would you like me to be your babysitter?”

  In my peripheral vision I saw her eyebrows fly up. “Boone, I don’t know—”

  “BooneBooneBooneBoone.” Stewie’s latest chant was delivered in a musical sing-song tone while he pounded his little fists against the table, further crushing the fries into oblivion.

  I grinned. “I think the master has spoken.”

  She shook her head. “I really don’t think—”

  That was definitely her problem—she did way too much thinking.

  “Sarah. Come on. What are you worried about? I mean, I did just save his life after you locked him in the car.”

  It was a low blow. I was definitely playing dirty throwing that in her face. But hell, life is short. Sometimes you had to play dirty.

  She narrowed her eyes at me as Stewie’s chant continued. Finally she laid one hand on the kid’s chubby little arm.

  “Stewie. Okay. Boone can watch you. Sometimes.” She shot me a sideways glance.

  “Or all the time.” I shrugged. “I mean the house is huge. There are tons of bedrooms. I could move in.”

  Sarah leveled an emerald glare at me. “No. You definitely don’t need to move in. You can just get here first thing in the morning before I leave for work.”

  “Which is when?” I asked.

  “Seven.” She scrunched up her face. “Or maybe earlier. I don’t know about traffic. But I’ll be just fine with him alone nights. I just need you for when I’m at work.” She’d turned her back on the kid to face me head-on as she proclaimed her confidence at being able to take care of the Stewie alone.

  Looking past her luscious curves, I could see Stewie had slid off the chair and was currently chasing a big bumble bee across the yard. His serpentine pursuit was leading him straight toward the steep bank of the river at the edge of the property.

  “You sure about that?” I lobbed that at her with as much sarcasm as I could muster as I pushed out of my chair and sprinted after the kid.

  He was surprisingly fast considering his legs were so short.

  But with me being six-foot tall, I had the height advantage. I caught up with him easily, swinging him up onto my shoulders and turning back toward Sarah once I did.

  “You were saying?” I asked, knowing I was annoying her by being right while she was so very obviously wrong. “Something about how you’ll be just fine with him alone.”

  “You distracted me.” She scowled.

  “So, you find me distracting.” That thought brought on a wide smile I didn’t even try to control.

  She let out a loud huff. Funny, it was the same kind of sigh I’d heard many of my teachers deliver in response to me while I’d still been in school.

  But I noticed she didn’t confirm or deny my accusation. That raised my confidence considerably.

  The sigh visibly deflated her as she slumped, looking defeated. “Fine. Can you move in tomorrow night and start work Monday morning?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I can definitely do that.”

  Sure. It might be a bit tricky trying to get all my chores done at the farm and watch the kid, all while living under the same roof with such a tempting goddess, but I’d figure it out.

  Never let it be said that Boone Morgan didn’t rise to a challenge, especially when a beautiful woman was involved.

  FIVE

  Sarah

  Yesterday had started with me at the office on a Saturday morning trying to get a jump on the next week’s work because I knew I was supposed to pick up my nephew for my babysitting duties Monday night.

  Yesterday ended with my having both an entire house and a three-year old boy, in addition to the ton of stuff that came with said boy, all in my possession.

  Then there was my new live-in nanny. Or rather my hot as hell “manny”.

  I tried not to think about Boone. He was right, though I’d never admit it. He was a heck of a distraction.

  The emergency phone call from Liza that her unit’s travel had been moved up and I needed to pick up Stewie immediately had started the chain of events that blew my original plans to shreds yesterday.

  That I’d forgotten to fill up and needed gas just as Stewie proclaimed he was starving, all when I happened to be passing an exit with signs for both fuel and food, had been what sealed my fate in Mudville, where, apparently, I’d be living for the foreseeable future.

  With Boone.

  Boone. He was like a force of nature. He blew his way into my life and there was nothing I could do about it. Not if the way Stewie cried when we had to say goodbye to him yesterday was any indication.

  Stewie’s immediate reaction to Boone was unexpected, but not completely out of the realm of understanding.

  The kid had so few males in his life, it was no surprise he’d latched on to Boone, who I’d bet acted like a kid himself most times.

  Stewie’s reaction to Boone was not half as shocking as my own.

  Boone woke up parts of my lady-anatomy I wished had stayed sleeping.

  He was the reason there was my old standby vibrator hidden deep in my suitcase, beneath the business suits and my ugliest pajamas, because the last thing I wanted to do was attract the attention of the much too young man living in my house by wearing something sexy to sleep.

  I so wasn’t ready for that.

  Not that it mattered. I wasn’t ready for any of this. Not the tiny human I was responsible for keeping alive and well. Not a big old house when I was used to apartment-living with a building superintendent on call twenty-four/seven. And not this alien town where people were inhumanly nice.

  None of that mattered because ready or not, today I was moving into an old riverfront Victorian in Mudville—a place I’d never heard of before yesterday. And the hottest male I’d ever laid eyes on was going to be my live-in babysitter.

  God help me, how old was Boone anyway?

  Too young was the answer my common sense delivered.
/>   Meanwhile my damn libido pondered what an acceptable age for the paramour of a woman about to turn forty might be.

  That was the last thought I needed in my head as I drove down the highway’s exit ramp and turned onto Main Street in Mudville.

  My trunk was packed nearly to exploding with my luggage, while Stewie’s things were crammed in to fill the floor and the parts of the backseat his car seat didn’t occupy. My purse and my laptop case occupied the passenger seat in front, along with some supplies I’d scavenged in my apartment’s kitchen.

  I’d have to unload the car and then go back out to shop for more food. At least the basics. Milk and some sort of kid-friendly cereal for Stewie for the morning. Maybe frozen pizza for us for dinner tonight.

  Pulling up to the house, I saw Boone’s truck was already parked there and my mixed feelings twisted once again within me. I hated that my heart sped at the sight of seeing him again, even as I dreaded it.

  With him came the added stress of having a constant distraction.

  I’d been hoping to have a few hours in the house before I had to deal with Boone—the walking, talking testosterone lollipop that tempted me to take a lick.

  On the bright side—a side I didn’t often look for, or so I’d been told by my last long-term boyfriend right before he dumped me—Boone being here meant he could watch Stewie while I went out grocery shopping alone.

  That would make the task I dreaded on a normal day, when I didn’t have a child in tow, so much easier.

  I pulled up as close to the front door as I could, figuring it would make unloading easier. I hadn’t packed all of my belongings, only what I was going to need for the near future, but looking at the overflowing car, it was a lot of stuff.

  Oh well. The house was certainly big enough to accommodate what I’d brought, plus more. I’d seen that during the tour Boone had given me yesterday. Not that I remembered all that much of yesterday. It had been such a whirlwind.

  And good lord, who knew little boys had so much stuff? The sheer amount of Stewie’s toys alone was mind boggling. And here I thought I’d get away with sitting him in front of Sesame Street all day.

  I was so unprepared for this gig it would be funny if it wasn’t tragically serious.