Family by Design

by Callie Endicott

  “Yup.” Livvie didn’t seem afraid, more excited. “Is there going to be a tidal wave?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Then can we sail my boat now?”

  Gemma laughed, visibly regaining her composure. She seemed nice, if unsure of herself. “I guess that puts things in perspective. Let’s go.”

  When they reached the lake, Livvie focused on putting her small remote-controlled motorboat into the water.

  “What is your college major?” Rachel asked as they kept a careful watch on the little girl.

  “Childhood development. That’s why getting a job as a nanny seemed a good way to work my way through school.”

  “There’s nothing like practical experience,” Rachel agreed.

  “Right, but I didn’t want to leave my job when Simon...Mr. Kessler decided to go back East. When we got there he decided on homeschooling for Livvie and hired a teacher. Even so, it... Um, it didn’t seem practical to attend college in New York, but I’m starting classes again here in January,” she added awkwardly.

  Rachel wondered how Gemma felt about her boss. The way she’d said his name had an odd tone and Rachel couldn’t decide whether it was affection or wariness. Well, good luck to her, and to anyone who had dreams of a romantic happily-ever-after.

  * * *

  SIMON KESSLER WAS frustrated by the unusually heavy Saturday traffic. He’d expected to stay at the office later, but even though Gemma had called and assured him that Livvie wasn’t upset by the small earthquake, he’d decided to come home and spend the afternoon with her.

  At length he drove his Volvo into the building’s underground garage and got into the elevator. It was used by all the Carthage residents, but the top floor could only be accessed by a special key.

  The elevator opened into an entrance foyer. He unlocked the front door and the first thing he heard was his daughter chattering happily away. Livvie was the most important part of his life, the best thing he and Olivia had ever done together. But now his complex, brilliant, wonderful wife was gone, and he was a widower and single father. He still missed Olivia so much that at times he thought he’d choke on the pain.

  “Where’s my Livi-kin-kinnie?” he said, walking into the living room.

  He stopped. A stranger was there, a woman who looked vaguely familiar but was still a stranger. She sat on the floor by the coffee table, while Livvie fussed over the tiny bone china tea set that had been one of her birthday presents when she turned seven. Quickly he glanced around and was relieved to see Gemma seated in the corner with a book. He would have been upset if he’d found Livvie alone with someone they didn’t know.

  “Daddy,” Livvie exclaimed, jumping to her feet. “Have tea with us. Pleeeeze? Gemma has to study and it’s a much better party with more people.”

  He couldn’t resist her big brown eyes pleading with him.

  “You talked me into it.” Simon chose the opposite side of the coffee table, preferring not to sit close to the woman. The spot was awkward since the huge redwood burl table was low and he had to arrange his legs around the bulky base.

  “Who is your other guest?” he asked.

  “This is Rachel C-Clarion. Rachel, this is my daddy.”

  The woman smiled and nodded as Livvie continued talking.

  “Rachel lives downstairs. We went to the lake with her this morning and I asked if she could come for tea.” Livvie trotted toward the kitchen and Gemma set her book aside to follow, no doubt to help with preparations.

  Being a resident in the Carthage might be why Rachel seemed familiar, but that didn’t necessarily mean he wanted her around his daughter.

  He’d talk about it with Gemma. She had good instincts, but might have been too shy to turn away their neighbor. Her lack of confidence at times had been his biggest concern about hiring her to care for his newborn daughter. But Olivia had liked her and the way she’d handled Livvie, so he’d agreed. Now, with his wife’s death two years ago, he couldn’t contemplate removing Gemma from Livvie’s life; his daughter had already lost too much. It would still happen at some point... Gemma was nearly twenty-six now and couldn’t stay forever.

  Forcing his thoughts to the present moment, Simon nodded at Rachel and she nodded back. He regarded her dispassionately. Her eyes were almost turquoise, he thought idly, making him wonder if she wore colored contacts. She was stunningly beautiful with a cloud of long, dark hair. But he wasn’t a kid, ready to fall for a pretty face.

  Friends sometimes claimed that he needed a wife and a mother for his daughter. But while he’d dated casually over the past year, he was always clear that he didn’t want anything permanent; he and Livvie were doing fine on their own. Unfortunately, the woman he’d seen most often in New York had begun hinting for more. Sandra, a well-known socialite, had been furious when she discovered he was moving away without offering a marriage proposal.

  He carefully returned Rachel’s smile to show neither openness nor caution. “Hello, I’m Simon Kessler.”

  “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve seen you at the Java Train Shop next door.”

  “They serve decent coffee,” he said.

  “Yeah. I used to have one of those fancy machines that practically dances a cup over to the table. But I got rid of the contraption when I moved home. Since I was returning to one of the coffee capitals of the world, why bother making my own brew?”

  “I see. What brought you back to the Northwest?” he asked, knowing he was doomed to a period of polite conversation. It was frustrating. He’d come home for quality time with Livvie and had to share it with a stranger.

  “Business. My partners and I bought a talent agency.”

  “I’ve never known anyone in the talent industry.”

  Her lips curved again. They were full and sweetly shaped, with just a hint of gloss over a natural rosy color. “I’ve worked in the modeling field since I was fourteen, so except for childhood friends, I hardly know anyone outside it. What line are you in?”

  “My business covers multiple areas, but these days I mostly focus on textiles for home furnishings.”

  It was a dismissive description of his varied enterprises, but he didn’t see the need to go into detail. Through the years Simon had acquired and sold several companies, but he no longer did corporate takeovers; it required time and a callousness that didn’t match the man he wanted to be as Livvie’s father.

  Livvie returned with a small tray, her upper lip caught between her teeth in concentration. Rachel reached up to help lower the tray to the table, and he wasn’t thrilled to see her seeming willingness to connect with his child; it reminded him of the way Sandra had started dropping by, hoping to become cozy with his daughter. Her motives had been transparent and if he hadn’t decided to leave New York, he would have bluntly told her that Livvie was off-limits. Even at his worst he’d never used a child to advance his personal or business goals and didn’t appreciate anyone who did.

  “Livvie didn’t think you’d be home so early,” Rachel said, breaking into his thoughts.

  Was she trying to suggest she’d come to the tea party without expecting to see him? For pity’s sake, he’d turned into both a cynic and an egotist. A woman could respond to a child’s invitation without having ulterior motives. And if Rachel had anything else in mind, he’d figure it out soon enough.

  “I had a couple of meetings with people who weren’t available during the week. I expected to stay at the office longer to finish some work,” he told her, “but changed my mind after the earthquake.”

  “Daddy works almost every day,” Livvie said sadly.

  Guilt struck Simon. His hours hadn’t mattered as much when Olivia was there and they both could spend time with her outside their demanding careers. “I know about mommies and daddies who have to work a lot,” Rachel said as she accepted the miniature cup Livvie handed to her. “My parents run a ca
tering business.”

  Livvie looked puzzled. “What’s that?”

  “They prepare food for parties and special dinners and other events.”

  “Do they have to work awful hard like Daddy?”

  “I don’t know if it’s the same as your daddy, but caterers work different hours than some parents, especially late afternoons and evenings. Us kids usually stayed with our grandmother when they were busy.”

  “I don’t have a grandma.”

  “But you have Gemma, which is great, right?”

  Livvie grinned and nodded, handing one of the tiny cups to Simon.

  It wasn’t entirely true that she didn’t have a grandmother. Legally, she did. Olivia’s family was gone and Simon’s mother had died when he was nine, but when he was eleven, Richard Kessler had forced his wife to adopt his former lover’s child. Karen had tried, in her awkward way, to treat Simon decently, but he’d been the living reminder her husband had never been faithful and that she hadn’t given him the son he craved. Neither Karen nor Simon’s father was a part of their lives now.

  “Please have some cookies,” Livvie said, holding out a plate to her guest.

  Rachel took one of the cookies and ate a bite. “Delicious. Did you make them yourself?”

  Giggling, his daughter shook her head. “We got them at a bakery. I don’t know how to cook. Do you?”

  “It’s one of my hobbies.”

  “Did your mommy teach you how?”

  Simon’s throat suddenly closed with suppressed emotion. He tried not to remind Livvie of how much she’d lost when Olivia died. Though, to be honest, cooking hadn’t been one of his wife’s skills. Instead she’d told their daughter about clothing designs and the way certain fabrics moved depending on how they were cut.

  “My mother and father both taught me,” Rachel explained. “Dad is the baker. He makes breads and desserts, while Mom does most of the other stuff. I enjoy doing both.”

  “My mommy can’t teach me,” Livvie answered with the curious frankness that seemed part of both her age and personality. “She went to heaven when I was five.”

  “I’m sorry. If she was anything like you, she must have been very special.”

  Livvie beamed, then turned and looked at him. “I hardly ever see you in the kitchen, Daddy. Can you cook?”

  “’Fraid not, kiddo. I learned more about business stuff than cooking spaghetti when I was growing up.”

  His daughter giggled.

  Simon loved it when she laughed. He loved it when she seemed to be happy instead of scared and pulled into herself. At times he worried that he frightened her. In more sensible moments he was sure that was ridiculous. But he also knew he was very much the man his ruthless father had molded him to be.

  * * *

  RACHEL HADN’T BEEN sure about accepting Livvie Kessler’s invitation to a tea party, but the child seemed lonely and it had felt like the right thing to do. Still, it hurt when Rachel thought that if her marriage had succeeded, she might have a little girl or boy around Livvie’s age.

  She pushed the thought away. If she’d known that Livvie’s father was Simon Kessler and that he would be coming home, she might have refused Livvie’s invitation.

  On the weekend she preferred keeping things casual and comfortable, and the brief glimpses she’d caught of Simon had suggested he was brooding and intense, ready to explode into action at any moment. There was nothing wrong with that. She’d known plenty of people with the same coiled energy inside, but sitting at a child’s tea party with one of them unsettled her. Besides, the few times their gazes had connected in the past, he’d turned away as if he had no interest in other people...or even in common courtesies.

  But she gave the guy credit for one thing—he was obviously a hardworking businessman, yet he was willing to sit on the floor and have a tea party with his motherless child. Whatever other faults he might have, she found that admirable.

  Nonetheless, she quickly finished her tea and cookie as soon as Livvie was done with hers. She noticed that Simon did the same—perhaps hoping his daughter’s guest wouldn’t stay long.

  “Thank you, this has been lovely,” Rachel told her small hostess. “I enjoyed it, but I’d better go.” She untangled her legs and stood.

  “Do you have to?” Livvie asked plaintively.

  “Afraid so. I have things to do before going out tonight.”

  Nicole had invited everyone to her house for a barbecue and Rachel had offered to bring a couple of salads. Had Nicole and her fiancé, Jordan Masters, finally settled on their wedding plans? Of course, Adam was now engaged to Cassie Bryant so they might have a similar announcement. What’s more, the agency’s office manager, Chelsea Masters, who also happened to be Jordan’s sister, was seriously involved with a grade school teacher. The next year could be busy with all the weddings of people at Moonlight Ventures.

  Rachel had wondered if Nicole and Adam both getting engaged would change the dynamics of their friendship, but it was working out all right. After the couples were married, the four business partners probably wouldn’t hang out as often in a group, but they had never spent every minute in each other’s pockets, anyhow. Besides, Jordan and Cassie were great.

  Cassie was the legal guardian to two of the agency’s clients. She designed websites and had revamped Moonlight Ventures’ website. Jordan was a reporter, which was how he and Nicole met, or rather met again. They’d known each other growing up, but hadn’t been in contact until he was asked to do an article about her changing careers from modeling to being an agent.

  “I’m really, really, really glad you came.” Livvie walked her guest to the door, a proper little hostess. “Can we do things together sometimes?”

  Rachel smiled at the sweet, hopeful face, aware that Simon had followed with a closed expression. “Maybe, if it’s all right with your daddy.”

  “We’re neighbors and neighbors should be friends,” Livvie said with her oddly adult air. It probably wasn’t unusual for an only child who’d been homeschooled, though earlier Gemma had explained Livvie was now enrolled in a private school with kids her own age. Maybe it would help her be less lonely.

  “Thanks again for the tea,” Rachel repeated when Simon stayed silent.

  She took the stairs down, aware of the heavy security door snapping shut behind her. Nobody except the Kesslers could access the top floor of the Carthage. A special key was needed for the elevator and cameras monitored the third-floor staircase.

  The setup seemed slightly paranoid, but maybe Simon Kessler was a fanatic about his privacy. Rachel understood, and the penthouse was undoubtedly a nice home. She’d only seen a small part of it, but visible from the living room was an actual garden, with a deck, flower boxes, a tiny area of grass and trees in large planters. High, spotless heavy glass enclosed the space, ensuring Livvie could play with no chance of falling.

  Rachel let herself into her condo and felt as if she was reentering the real world.

  She would have loved having a house and garden like the one Nicole had purchased, but the muscles in her left leg weren’t as strong as they’d been before the accident, especially if she made unusual or twisting movements. So rather than hire someone to do the yard and other exterior work, she’d decided on a condo with a balcony large enough to host small groups. She couldn’t have found a better location under the circumstances. The neighborhood was in a historic town, tucked into the greater Seattle area. It enjoyed some preservation from further development along the lake by protected green space on either side. There was even a mom-and-pop type of grocery store up the block, complete with an old-style deli.

  While she vacuumed the living room, Rachel thought about Simon Kessler. Livvie must take after her mother, except for her eyes, which were as dark as her father’s. But the little girl’s eyes were eager and hopeful, unlike Simon’s.

  Rachel could u
nderstand. In pictures of her taken after the accident, her eyes had conveyed the same sense of bottled-up emotions she saw in Simon’s gaze. Only slowly had she lost the self-conscious pain she hadn’t wanted anyone else to see.

  Simon’s wife had died a little over two years ago. Maybe that was why he seemed so intense, struggling to keep himself under tight control... He was a man who had lost the woman he loved and was trying to navigate this new world as a single dad. Having a girlfriend in New York didn’t mean he’d figured things out; it could just have been part of the process.

  Rachel pushed the thoughts aside to prepare lettuce and other vegetables for a Thai noodle salad.

  At five she drove out to Nicole’s house. Jordan opened the door and took the box of food she carried.

  “Mmm.” Jordan sniffed. “I smell onions, peanuts, roasted sesame... Must be Thai.”

  “Is that your favorite?”

  “Whatever you cook is my favorite. I haven’t tasted anything you make that I haven’t loved.”

  “That’s for sure,” Nicole agreed, overhearing them as they walked into the kitchen. “And I’ve been eating your cooking a lot longer than Jordan.”

  “I’ve been wondering if you’d like me to fix a meal for after your wedding,” Rachel said. “Or the rehearsal dinner.”

  Jordan put the box on the counter and exchanged a look with his fiancée.

  Nicole sighed. “Actually, we’ve decided against a formal wedding. We considered giving it a try, but there are too many George and Masters family bombs threatening to go off. It would be the Hatfields and McCoys, Seattle-style.” She clutched her forehead in mock horror.

  “Oh, dear.”

  Rachel knew that Nicole’s mother didn’t get along with Jordan’s mom, a long-time feud that the engaged couple had hoped would be put aside, at least for their wedding. Obviously that wasn’t going to happen.