by Liz Lincoln
“Surprisingly perceptive of you, though,” she teased, her attempt to keep the mood light.
Jason rolled his eyes. “I have my moments.”
“I got a text from Evan. He sold the house and I have to be out by the twenty-seventh.” The words tumbled out of her mouth, then she shoved a chunk of chicken in to prevent herself from wailing or letting loose a string of profanities.
“Shit. That sucks.”
She made a noise of agreement.
Weighty silence hung in the air as Carrie ate and Jason looked at the ceiling, a sign he was thinking hard. Finally he huffed out his breath. “I mean, if you need to, you can stay here, but…”
He spread his hands to indicate the couch. His condo was spacious for a single guy, but there was no extra bedroom. She’d be stuck on his couch. At best, she could fit a twin-sized air mattress in the corner. It would be better than homelessness, or moving up north to live with their parents. But it was far from preferable.
Six months ago, she’d been saving every extra penny from her paycheck to buy her own house. Now she was unemployed, had burned through her down payment money and most of her savings, and was about to be evicted.
She let out a yell-growl of frustration. “How did everything get so fucked up?” She wanted to throw her fork across the room, but Jason’s silverware didn’t deserve the abuse. Besides, she had better uses for a fork, like stabbing Evan in his cowardly, traitorous face.
“I suppose with school starting, you’re out of luck finding a new teaching job, huh?” Jason leaned forward, elbows on knees. He still had a thoughtful expression, but it did no good to press him until he decided to say whatever was stewing in his head.
Appetite gone, Carrie took her half-eaten dinner to the kitchen, which was part of the same open room as the living and dining rooms. She loved her brother’s loft, especially the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Lake Michigan. At least if she had to live with him temporarily, the view would be included.
“I still have one job I haven’t heard back from. Ninth-grade earth science at a private school way out in Waukesha.” The suburban school was much more upper-crust than the Milwaukee public schoolkids she was used to. The pay wasn’t as good and she hadn’t liked the headmaster or the science division chair during her interview the previous week. But it was a job. “I should hear soon. I can’t imagine they want to get too far into the year without a teacher.”
Jason nodded absently. “I can ask at the stadium. We’re probably hiring event staff.”
“Great, I’ll be a hot dog vendor!” Fake enthusiasm made her words come out overly bright. She knew teachers who worked second jobs as food vendors at the various sports arenas around town. But she’d rather work retail. Which was looking more and more like a possibility.
“What can you do besides teach?”
He’d tried to initiate this conversation back in April, when she’d been notified she was being laid off. But she’d been certain she could find another job. After all, science teachers were in demand. Except in southeastern Wisconsin, apparently.
“Sew superhero costumes.” It made her a total nerd, but hey, as a science teacher, she was already pretty nerdy. And in her spare time, she did cosplay. Usually as the Batman villainess Poison Ivy, herself a redheaded scientist. While there was probably a market for seamstresses who could make complicated custom outfits, Carrie’s skills weren’t that good. She only sewed the parts she couldn’t buy.
“You make a mean apple crisp,” Jason added.
“Perfect. I’ll be a crisp baker.”
“What about…” He pinched up his face like he didn’t want to finish the sentence.
“What about what?” Anything was worth considering. Well, almost anything. If he suggested she try out for the Dragons, it was a wasted conversation.
“You remember my friend Lainie?”
“Your college roommate? Sure.” They’d been teammates and best friends, but because Jason had gone to school so far from home, she’d never met the guy. He and Jason were still friends, but Lainie was still playing in the NFL—in Texas, maybe?—last she’d heard. What did that have to do with her?
“He just got traded to the Dragons.”
“That’s great.” Still had nothing to do with her getting a job.
“He’s looking for a nanny. I don’t know what it pays, but I can find out.”
A nanny? For a rich football family? Could she do that?
It beat selling overpriced junk at the mall. Or overpriced popcorn at the stadium.
“I guess?” Way to sound super confident.
Jason typed something on his computer, tapped one last key with a flourish, and looked up. “I sent him a message asking for details. I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks?” What did Lainie and his wife need a nanny to do? Presumably watch their kids while they were at work, but was there anything else? Carrie didn’t know much about nannying, other than what she’d seen on TV and in movies, which were hardly a reliable source.
Jason set his laptop on top of the notebook. “I know it’s not teaching, but at least it’s working with kids, right? Maybe she’s into comic books too.”
Except Carrie was a teacher because she didn’t know what else to do with a science degree, since she didn’t want to be a doctor, either the MD or the PhD kind. She liked kids, sure, but it was science first. If Lainie needed a nanny, his daughter couldn’t be old enough for the science Carrie taught. At most, Carrie could probably teach her how to make a vinegar and baking soda volcano.
A noise of frustration bubbled up her throat, but before it could escape, Jason’s computer made a trumpet sound. He tapped the keyboard, then read something on the screen. As he did, his mouth turned up in a smile. “Perfect.”
“What?”
“Lainie says he’s looking for a live-in nanny. He’s negotiable on salary. Just wants to make sure his daughter’s in good hands. He’s emailing me the job description. But he’d love to set up an interview.”
Carrie pulled in a deep breath and held it. A live-in position. It did seem ideal, solving both her job problem and her housing problem. But did she want to be a nanny?
Did she have a choice?
“Let me call that other school first. I don’t want to tell your friend I can do it, then get the teaching job. And no offense to him, but I’d still rather teach.” Probably. She really hadn’t liked that school. But she could handle it for a year while she kept looking for a job back in the public school system.
“Sure.” Jason typed out his reply on the computer.
“I mean, if I get that, I shouldn’t have a problem finding a new place.” Though with the pay cut, she’d have to downgrade significantly. Probably a studio, maybe a one-bedroom. Definitely not a spacious two-bedroom like she was in now.
“Can’t you move in with Amy or something?”
Carrie and Amy had been friends since they were twelve, so Jason had known her almost as long as Carrie had. “She moved in with her boyfriend in June. So no.”
Jason’s computer trumpeted again. “He said sooner is better, and if there’s anything he can do to persuade you, he’ll do it. He trusts my sister more than a random stranger from a nanny service or Craigslist.”
Carrie picked up her beer and tilted it toward her brother, tapping it against an imaginary bottle for a toast. “So I’ve got that going for me.”
Love stories you’ll never forget
By authors you’ll always remember
eOriginal Romance from Random House
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