She clicked on the various websites that posted open jobs for teachers. The only new job listed for a teacher with her qualifications was in Alaska. Piper couldn’t imagine living somewhere colder than Montana and with less sunlight.
Closing her laptop, she scooted away from the table and knelt down to stroke Anastasia’s fur. “You are such a good little mama.” Anastasia lifted her head and looked at her brood. Piper noticed the largest male puppy she affectionately referred to as Tank break off from his place and nudge the sibling next to him out of the way. “And you are such a greedy little thing,” she said to Tank as she picked up the ousted puppy and placed him where Tank had been.
The puppies were becoming more and more active and taking up a lot of her time. It was a good thing because being cooped up inside for most of the day was driving Piper crazy. Watching Gabe’s children had been rewarding. She missed her job. She missed her family, especially her sister.
Getting to her feet, she went into the kitchen to start preparing dinner. She added two chicken breasts to a pot of boiling water and added a little onion salt and two chicken bouillon cubes for seasoning. Just as she started to crush the Ritz crackers for the topping, she heard her doorbell. It was probably UPS delivering her package from her sister. A few days earlier, she’d received a notice the package had been inadvertently put on another truck.
Washing her hands, she grabbed a paper towel and dried them as she hurried to answer the door. Doreen stood on the porch, holding out a package to her.
“Hey,” Doreen said, handing over the box. “UPS just dropped this off.”
“Thank you. That was sweet of you to bring it to me.”
She laughed. “Oh, I just found it on your porch, but with the forecast for high-winds coming, you might want to take it in so it doesn’t blow away.”
“High winds?” Piper hadn’t watched any local television since moving here. She typically read for entertainment or watched Netflix.
“Yeah, the weather report said the wind should hit Snow Valley sometime during the night. They advised everyone to secure any items outside that could blow away.”
“Thanks for the tip.” She thought about Mrs. Williams’s wind chimes on the porch and decided she better bring those in.
“Um, actually that’s not why I came over here.” Doreen twisted her gloved hands and bit down on her bottom lip. “Mr. Wesson texted me that he’s gonna be a little late and asked if I could cook a frozen pizza for dinner.”
“Do you need help cooking it?” Piper asked, remembering Gabe said his new nanny didn’t have any cooking skills.
“No, I already cooked it.” Doreen’s eyes grew misty, like she might cry. “But when I went to call the kids to come and eat, I turned around and Rascal had pulled it off the pan and ate the entire thing. I don’t know much about dogs, and I’m worried he might need to go to the vet or something.”
That dog. Gabe would probably want to cancel the extended obedience lessons once he learned about this. “No, you don’t need to call the vet. I’m sure Rascal is going to be just fine.”
Relief flooded Doreen’s face. “Oh, thank goodness. The kids were really upset.”
“Well, you can assure them he’s okay.”
She bit her bottom lip again. “They were more upset about not getting pizza for dinner. It was the last one. So that’s the other reason I came over here. I was going to make them a peanut butter sandwich, but they don’t have any bread. Do you have any I can borrow?”
The aroma of the chicken and spices scented the air. Piper was not about to let those kids eat peanut butter sandwiches when she could share her dinner with them. In fact, maybe she could bring everything over next door and give the nanny a mini-cooking lesson.
“I have a better idea. I was just about to make dinner, but I can bring everything over to the Wesson’s and make it there.”
Doreen was so grateful that she gave Piper a hug. “Thank you so much.”
After instructing Doreen to pre-heat the oven, Piper let Anastasia out and gathered up all of the ingredients. Ten minutes later, she knocked on the front door.
“Miss Piper!” Lindsey said as Piper stepped inside the warm house. “Can I help you make dinner? Please?”
“Absolutely.” She handed the little girl one of the grocery sacks she’d brought with her. “You can start by taking this into the kitchen.”
Following the little girl, Piper passed by the piano. She skimmed her free hand over the smooth wood and remembered the duet she’d played with Gabe a few days earlier. It had been a fun moment, and she’d felt close to him. She wished she could ask him what had happened to make him so distant.
Shane sat on the floor to the right of it, carefully adding parts to an impressive replica of the Star Killer Base from Star Wars. “That’s amazing.” She paused to look at the other things he’d already put together. “I could never do that without looking at instructions.”
Pride entered his blue eyes that were similar to his father’s. “I never use the instructions.”
“I’m impressed.”
He just grinned and went back to building.
She found Doreen sitting at the kitchen table rapidly typing a message on her phone. “Hi,” Piper said when the nanny looked up at her.
“Oh, hey.” She stood up and shoved the phone into her back pocket. “I pre-heated the oven like you asked.”
“Great.” Piper placed the bag containing the cooked chicken breast onto the countertop. Lindsey handed her the grocery sack she’d carried in and asked what she could do.
“First,” Piper said, pulling a chair over to the bar, “you need to run into the bathroom and wash your hands with soap and water.” She patted the chair. “Then you can come stand on this to help me.”
“Okay!” Lindsey raced toward the bathroom.
Piper loved the little girl’s enthusiasm. It’s one of the reasons she’d decided to teach in a grade school. The kids were more receptive and eager to learn than those who were in junior high or high school.
She turned to find Doreen once again texting someone. That was another thing Piper liked about grade school. Most of the children didn’t own a phone at that age to distract them.
“I thought you could help me make dinner,” Piper said when Doreen finished her message.
“Yeah, sure.” Her phone buzzed in her hand. “Sorry, it’s my best friend. I promised her I would help her with a project for school, and she’s freaking out that I’m going to be late.”
“What time did Mr. Wesson say he’d be home?” Piper asked, pulling out the ingredients for the casserole.
“He should be here in thirty minutes.” She glanced down at her phone, and a small smile curved her mouth as she read the message. Then she went back to texting.
Piper suspected the friend was more likely a boyfriend. If it were up to her, she would just tell Doreen to go on home, but she didn’t have that authority. Lindsey came running out of the bathroom, declaring her hands were clean and promised she’d used soap and not sanitizer.
Already familiar with Gabe’s kitchen, she opened the lower cabinet and pulled out a large mixing bowl.
“Are we making cookies?” Lindsey asked hopefully.
“Not this time.” She placed the bowl on the countertop. “We need to mix all the ingredients for our dinner in here.”
While Piper opened the can of soup, she gave Lindsey the gallon-sized baggie with the crackers in it and had her finish crushing them. The little girl thought everything was fun. She loved dumping things in the bowl and mixing it together. Piper had wanted to show Doreen how easy shredding cooked chicken was, but she was too busy texting.
“Are these next?” Lindsey asked, holding the baggie of cracker crumbs.
“No, those are going to be the topping.” Piper removed the small bowl with melted butter from the microwave and placed it on the bar. “We’re going to mix the crumbs in with the butter, but the bowl is hot so be careful not to touch it.”
“Am I doing good?” Lindsey asked as she continued to stir the crumbs.
“You’re doing very good.” Her throat felt tight as she watched the child’s eyes light up from the praise. Forget about falling in love with Gabe. She was falling in love with his kids.
Piper found a glass casserole dish in the same cupboard as the mixing bowl and sprayed it with cooking oil. Then she had Lindsey help her pour the creamy chicken mixture into the glass dish, smoothing it out and then topping it with the cracker crumbs.
“The topping is the best part,” Piper said as she slid the dish into the heated oven. “That’s why my little sister always called this the Cracker Dinner.”
“That’s funny,” Lindsey said with a small giggle. Piper loved the sound of her laugh. It made her wish she could hear it every day.
Cleaning up the mess on the countertop, Piper gave Lindsey the assignment to throw all of the containers into the trash. The child’s enthusiasm with such menial tasks was refreshing and another reason Piper liked working with kids. She spied Doreen at the table still busy with her smart phone. No wonder Gabe’s nanny didn’t do dishes or cleaning or cooking. She was far too occupied with her electronic device.
With the casserole in the oven, Piper found a medium-sized pot and measured out the right amount of water for the instant rice. To keep Lindsey away from the boiling water, she excused her to go play with her toys.
“Can I bring my stuff in here with you?” The hopeful look in the child’s eyes was sweet. Not for the first time, Piper worried about Lindsey growing too close to her. When she left in April, she wouldn’t be the only person affected.
“Sure, honey.”
Piper added the rice to the boiling water and turned off the burner, covering the pot with a lid to allow it to cook. Doreen suddenly stood up from the table. “Hey, Piper, since Mr. Wesson is going to be home any time now, I’m going to head out.”
Piper felt a little uncomfortable with the nanny leaving early, mainly because Gabe would come home and find her in his kitchen, making his family dinner and probably assume she’d sent the nanny home. “Okay, but did you let him know that?”
“I’ll shoot him a text right now.” She grabbed a backpack next to the table and slipped it over her shoulder. “Thanks again for helping me out again.”
“You’re welcome.”
Lindsey came back into the kitchen carrying an armful of toys. “See you later, kiddo,” Doreen said as she slipped past the little girl.
“Are you staying with us?” Lindsey asked Piper.
“Yes, until your dad gets home,” Piper said, feeling more uncomfortable by the second. She hoped Gabe didn’t think she’d hijacked the nanny. Even though she’d made the dinner, it seemed presumptuous to assume she would stay and eat with the family. It might be better if she gave him a quick explanation about the pizza and then go home. But then she’d have to turn around and come back to help with Rascal.
At the distressed look on Lindsey’s face, she offered her a smile and crouched down. “Let’s see what you’ve got here.”
“I don’t want you to leave,” Lindsey said, gripping her toys close to her chest.
“I’m not going anywhere right now, honey.” Piper reached out and took the model horse that was about to fall to the ground. “Now what did you say the name of your horse is? Polly?”
“Dolly,” Lindsey said with that adorable giggle.
“Silly me.” Piper got down on the kitchen floor and helped set up the horse and trailer. She asked a few key questions about the horse and if Lindsey’s Barbie was training Dolly to ride in the rodeo. It was enough to spark Lindsey’s imagination as she began roleplaying.
Piper stayed on the floor with Lindsey, listening to her play. She was so cute and so eager for attention. Piper knew Gabe was a good father, but that didn’t mean he could fulfill both roles as mother and father. She knew from experience what it was like to grow up with a single parent. But where her father had stayed actively engaged in Piper’s life, Gabe’s ex-wife had basically abandoned her children. They needed a mother. And right now Piper wished she could play that role. But that would mean she would have to marry Gabe, and since he was keeping her firmly in the friend zone, it wasn’t a likely development.
The timer on the microwave buzzed, and she got up from the floor to check on the casserole. When she cleared the buzzer, she noted the time and was surprised Gabe wasn’t home yet. It made her nervous to think about what his reaction might be when he discovered she’d come over and made his family dinner. Would he look at it as a friendly neighbor kind of thing to do or would he think she had overstepped her bounds?
“Is it done?” Lindsey asked from beside her.
“Yes.” She pulled the dish out with a pair of oven mitts and placed it on top of the stove. “Look how yummy the topping is, and you did that.”
“Let me see.” Lindsey started to climb up on the countertop, but Piper hurried and scooped her up so she didn’t burn herself.
“Doesn’t it look delicious?” she said, loving the feel of the child in her arms.
However, Lindsey wasn’t looking at the casserole. She was focused on Piper’s face. Then, just like she’d done with her father last week, she placed her small hand against Piper’s cheek. “My daddy wants to marry you.”
Piper’s breath caught, and she wasn’t sure how to respond. Was it fair to ask for clarification from a six-year-old? Probably not, but she could ask the man himself. She’d just locked eyes with Gabe Wesson who stood in the kitchen doorway, looking as shocked as she was.
Chapter 12
Gabe watched the color in Piper’s cheeks go from a ghastly shade of gray to a lovely color of pink. He felt bad for her and needed to clarify Lindsey’s declaration. His daughter had mixed up her words again. She sometimes did that, and he usually found it amusing. Like when she prayed for him to get into a car crash on the way to work or that she would have a bad dream when she actually meant for the opposite to happen.
He needed to explain his daughter’s quirk to Piper. Hopefully, he wouldn’t mix his words up, because right now he wasn’t so sure he didn’t want to marry her. She seemed to get prettier every time he saw her. Aside from finding her attractive, he loved her kind heart and the tenderness she showed his children. Keeping his distance the past few days had been pure torture. Every time he was with her, he battled his feelings and wasn’t sure how long he could keep up the pretense that he wasn’t interested in being more than friends. And now she had cooked a homemade meal for him. He wasn’t going to lie… it was a pretty fantastic thing to come home to.
“Hey,” he smiled and loosened his tie. “Doreen texted me and said you were here.” The text had come in just as he pulled into the garage, so it hadn’t given him much prep time to put up his shields against falling for Piper.
“Daddy!” Lindsey said, wiggling out of Piper’s arms to rush across the floor to hug him. “I made you dinner!”
“You did?” He lifted her up and kissed her on the cheek. “That’s quite an accomplishment.”
“Miss Piper helped me.”
Gabe’s eyes met Piper’s. He liked the shy smile on her face. “Thank you for helping Lindsey to make dinner. It smells really good.”
She tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear and gave a little laugh. “It was fun, and Lindsey did the most important part.”
“I smashed the crackers,” Lindsey said proudly. “Come look.”
Setting his daughter on her feet, he let her lead him over to inspect the casserole. Piper moved out of the way to accommodate his body. He wished he could snake an arm around her waist, pull her close to him, and kiss her properly for making the end of a very stressful day so wonderful.
He still might do that. Just not with his daughter looking on.
“Lindsey, before we eat, can you please take your toys
back to the living room so they don’t get stepped on?”
“Okay.” She skipped over to her toys without giving him any resistance. “Miss Piper played rodeo with me,” she said as she gathered up the truck and trailer. “Can she stay after dinner and play with me again?”
“Miss Piper is going to teach us to train Rascal, remember?”
“Rascal was naughty again, Daddy. He ate our pizza.”
Gabe laughed and glanced at Piper. “That explains the cryptic text from Doreen. She said you’d explain what happened to the pizza.”
Her eyebrows drew together. “I’m not sure how to teach him not to do that again.”
“Are you saying my dog is hopeless?”
“Um… let’s just say the lessons may need to be extended indefinitely.”
“I’m perfectly fine with that,” he said in a low voice, forgetting all about keeping things cool.
Her eyes narrowed as she slightly tipped her head to the side, like she was trying to see him at a different angle. “You do realize there are probably much better trainers in Snow Valley you could hire.”
“I doubt that.”
“Gabe,” she said incredulously, “he ate a whole pizza that was supposed to be your dinner.”
“I wasn’t looking forward to cold pizza for dinner, so I should probably thank him for that.”
That made her laugh, and Gabe loved the sound of it. “Seriously, Piper, thank you for making dinner. You didn’t need to do that, but I’m grateful you did.”
“I enjoy cooking and was going to make this for dinner anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal to do it over here instead.”
“It was a big deal, especially to Lindsey.”
At the mention of Lindsey, she averted her gaze. Piper obviously remembered the last thing his daughter had said— that he wanted to marry her.
“So, about what Lindsey said. You should know that sometimes she gets things twisted around like praying she’ll get hit by a car when crossing the road.” He smiled when she looked at him sharply and hurried on to explain, “She really means to pray she won’t get hit by a car.”
Destiny Came Knocking: A Snow Valley Romance Page 10