by Gina Wilkins
She knew every inch of this house like the back of her hand. It might belong to Seth and Meagan and young Alice, but she was the one who kept it running like a well-oiled machine, just as she had the house Seth and Alice had lived in previously. She was the one who’d done most of the packing, unpacking and arranging when the busy family had combined their households. They had decided which furnishings to keep and which to store, sell or give away, but Jacqui had supervised that process while the Llewellyns were tied up with their demanding schedules.
She had been greatly relieved that there’d never been any question of whether she would continue working for them after the wedding. With Meagan’s hectic schedule as a general surgeon and attending physician in the teaching hospital, Jacqui’s help was needed with the housework and with Alice.
They had established a routine that worked well for all of them. When the family was in town, Jacqui reported to work at around 9:00 a.m., after the senior Llewellyns had left for their jobs. During the school year, Alice had already been dropped off at school by that time; Jacqui picked her up every afternoon. Now that Alice was on summer break, the teen spent the days here at home or being chauffeured by Jacqui to various activities. Every day, Jacqui did the daily cleaning and laundry, ran family errands such as shopping and dry cleaning, then cooked dinner before leaving unless they’d notified her they had other plans for dinner.
Some people might have found her daily schedule boring, but she enjoyed it. She liked the family very much, and they paid her well for her services. Most of her weekends were free and she had time during her workdays to read and knit while doing laundry or waiting for the oven timer to buzz.
She was lucky to have found this family when she’d been looking for a full-time housekeeping job just more than a year ago. Her last employer had moved into a nursing facility and she’d needed a new position quickly. Only twenty-eight years old then, she hadn’t been the typical housekeeper applicant. Her résumé listed many jobs in several states, only the latter two of which had been housekeeping positions. But the Llewellyns had taken a chance on her, and she was satisfied their gamble had paid off for all of them.
On the other side of the glass door, Waldo barked for attention, his feathery tail swishing rhythmically. He missed Alice today, she thought, stuffing the grocery list in her bag. He barked again, giving her his best please-notice-me grin. Caving, she set her bag aside. There was no hurry to go shopping; she might as well play with the dog for a little while to make him feel less lonely.
Waldo expressed his gratitude with full-body wiggles and eager swipes of his big, wet tongue. Laughing, Jacqui pushed him down. “You silly dog. You act like you haven’t seen anyone in a month. I just gave you a good brushing this morning before I fed you breakfast. And Alice will be home in just a few hours. You’re hardly neglected.”
Panting, he leaned against her, gazing up with happy dark eyes. She sighed. “Okay, I’ll throw your ball for you. But do not get me dirty. I don’t want to have to change before I go shopping.”
She didn’t at all trust the grin he gave her in response to that admonition.
Half an hour later, she was still outside, tossing a tennis ball for the dog, who seemed to never run out of enthusiasm for the mindless game. He would have liked even more for her to throw the ball into the pool; there was nothing Waldo loved more than to throw himself into the water after a toy, especially on a hot July day like this one. But she left the gate to the pool firmly closed despite his blatant hinting. With a wet dog climbing all over her, there was no way she’d stay clean enough to go shopping.
“Okay, Waldo, last throw,” she told him firmly, raising the ball in preparation. Like his owners, she’d gotten into the habit of speaking to the big yellow Lab mix as though he could understand every word she said. And like them, there were times when she suspected he understood quite a bit. “One more time, and then I absolutely have to go do the shopping.”
“Aw, just one more?”
Her heart gave a thump. She turned to find Mitch standing in the kitchen doorway, leaning against the doorjamb as if he’d been there a few minutes. “Don’t encourage him,” she said with a faint smile of greeting. “He’d keep me out here all day if he could.”
“Can’t blame him for that.”
Giving the ball one last heave, Jacqui turned toward the house. Waldo collected the ball and then, sensing the game was over, moved resignedly to his water bowl. Jacqui followed Mitch into the kitchen and closed the door behind them.
She washed her hands thoroughly in the kitchen sink, saying over her shoulder, “You’re back earlier than I expected.”
“I try not to work full days on weekends, unless I’m on call. Usually have to go in for an hour or two, but more than that is just begging for burnout. Of course, there are plenty of times I get tied up there all day even then.”
“I can imagine.” She glanced at the microwave clock, noting it was just before noon. “Have you had lunch?”
“No. After that nice breakfast you made for us, I haven’t been hungry yet.”
“I’m just about to leave for groceries. I could heat a can of soup for you before I go, maybe make a sandwich, if you like.”
“Have you had lunch?”
“Not yet. I’ll probably get something while I’m out.”
“Why don’t I go with you? We can take my car. We can have a quick lunch and then I’ll help you get the groceries.”
She blinked. “You’re offering to go grocery shopping with me?”
He laughed quizzically. “Why do you look so startled? How do you think I’ve gotten food for myself during the past decade that I’ve lived on my own? The grocery fairies don’t visit this area, as far as I know.”
“I just assumed a busy surgeon would pay someone to do that for him.”
Chuckling, he shook his head. “Until a couple of months ago I’ve been a student or a resident. My extra cash has been going toward paying off student loans. I do my own cleaning, my own cooking—when I bother—and my own shopping.”
“I’m sure you’d like to relax after working this morning. Just let me know anything you need, and I’d be happy to get it for you.”
“If you’d rather I stay here…”
Something about his expression reminded her very much of Waldo’s please-play-with-me face. She found herself just as unable to resist with Mitch. After all, she rationalized, he had lost his home. She supposed he was feeling at loose ends today, maybe in need of distraction, even if it was for fast food and grocery shopping.
“You’re welcome to come along,” she said lightly, tucking her bag beneath her arm. “That way you’ll be sure to get exactly what you like.”
He smiled. “Sounds good to me.”
Her steps faltered a little toward the doorway, but she lifted her chin and kept moving. It was too late to back out now.
They had lunch at a bakery-café not far from the supermarket where Jacqui usually shopped. Mitch had a turkey panini with chips and a pickle spear; Jacqui ordered half a veggie sandwich and a cup of vegetarian black-bean soup.
Glancing at her plate, he cocked his head in curiosity. “Are you a vegetarian? I noticed you skipped the bacon at breakfast.”
She shrugged lightly. “I’m not a true vegetarian. I like fish and chicken, occasionally, but I simply prefer veggies and fruits.”
“I like veggies and fruits myself. If you prefer cooking vegetarian, that’s perfectly fine with me.”
“I have no problems cooking meat. Your brother-in-law is most definitely a carnivore.”
Laughing, Mitch reached for his water glass. “Well, he is a lawyer.”
She smiled wryly. “Low blow.”
“Just kidding. I like the guy. I’m glad he and Alice are part of our family now.”
“The three of them make a lovely family.”
Jacqui had been a silent spectator during much of Seth’s courtship of Meagan. Meagan had initially interviewed Jacqui for the job as Set
h’s housekeeper when his previous employee had fallen and broken her leg, but Meagan had been helping out only as Seth’s friendly neighbor at the time. From the relative anonymity of her job, Jacqui had observed during the next few months while Seth and Meagan had grown closer, then moved apart. The busy attorney and harried surgeon had been afraid their demanding careers and other obligations would be insurmountable obstacles between them. Jacqui suspected they had worried as much about hurting Alice as about having their own hearts broken. But love had overcome their fears, and they had become engaged at Christmas.
Jacqui had attended their small, tasteful wedding, and she didn’t think she’d ever seen a happier couple. Since that time they’d managed to arrange their hectic schedules to allow as much time as possible for each other and for Alice. Jacqui liked to think her capable behind-the-scenes management of their household had smoothed the way for them, at least to some extent. “Hey, Mitch.”
In response to the greeting, both Mitch and Jacqui looked around. Three men in baggy shorts and T-shirts were passing the table on the way to the exit. All of them looked as though they knew Mitch, judging from the way they nodded to him.
“Hey, Nolan. Scott, Jackson. How’s it going?”
“Been shooting some hoops in J-ville,” one of the men answered for the group. “You playing football tomorrow?”
“Maybe. I’ll have to buy some shorts.”
“Heard about your house,” another man spoke up. “Sorry, bro. Anything you need?”
Looking as though he appreciated the offer, Mitch shook his head. “I’m good, Jackson. Thanks.”
“Let us know if you think of anything,” the first guy said again, looking at his companions as if for confirmation. They all nodded earnestly.
“Thanks, Scott. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Co-ed game,” Scott added with a flirtatious smile toward Jacqui. “Be sure to invite your friend.”
Mitch nodded. “I’ll do that.”
“Friends,” Mitch explained after the trio had moved on.
“Yeah, I got that.”
“Hadn’t even thought about losing all my sports gear yet.” He toyed with the remains of his sandwich, regret etched on his face.
“I’m sorry. It must be difficult to lose everything.”
“It’s daunting,” he agreed. “But I suppose it’s a chance to start fresh, too. Too much stuff just ties you down, you know?”
She wouldn’t know about that. She’d never really owned enough that she couldn’t throw everything in her car and move on a moment’s notice. But it wouldn’t always be that way, she promised herself. As soon as she could afford her own place, she couldn’t wait to buy furniture and decorations. Things that made a house a home.
“I guess clothes are my most immediate need,” Mitch mused. “I’m supposed to go on a trip to Peru in September, so I’ll need clothes and luggage for that.”
“Peru?” she asked, hearing a hint of excitement in his voice. He seemed to want her to ask him to explain, so she figured she might as well humor him for the sake of conversation.
He nodded. “Some friends are making a five-day Machu Picchu trek. Eight days total for the trip. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”
“Then you should go.”
“The fire came at a bad time—not that there’s ever a good time for a fire—but now I’ve got to make living arrangements and replace some stuff. Still, I think I’ll be able to put it all aside and take a week off for the trip. To be honest, it’ll be my first time out of the country, other than a four-day senior trip to Cancun, Mexico, the summer after high school graduation. Been too busy studying and working to go anywhere since.”
She wondered if that trip would assuage the restlessness she sensed in him—or merely whet his appetite for more traveling. From what she’d seen, when a man got it in his head that he wanted to travel, there wasn’t much that could hold him back. “I hope you get to go and that you have a great time.”
“Thanks. Have you been out of the country?”
“My dad decided to move us to Canada once. I must have been about nine. We stayed in Vancouver for about six months, then moved to Seattle for a while.”
“So you didn’t grow up in Arkansas.”
“We moved a lot,” she said somewhat evasively. “We lived in Arkansas for a year when I was in junior high, and it was always one of my favorite places, so when I had the chance, I came back here.”
“Where else have you lived?”
He seemed to be making conversation rather than prying, but it still made her a little uncomfortable to talk about her past with this man whose life had been so very different. “I’ve lived for at least a brief time in fifteen states.”
“Fifteen states? Wow. For someone as young as you are, that’s a lot of moving around. Especially since you’ve been working for my sister’s family for a year.”
“A little over a year, actually. I worked for another man in Arkansas—in Hot Springs Village—for almost a year before that, so I’ve been back in this state for a while. As for my age, most people think I’m younger than I really am. I’m twenty-nine.”
“Do your parents still move often?”
She nodded. “I can’t imagine my father ever staying in one place for long, and my mother seems content to follow him around the country.”
The last she’d heard, they’d been in Arizona. But it had been a couple months since she’d talked with her mother, so they could very well have drifted someplace else since then. For the past dozen years, especially, they’d been unable to settle anywhere for long. During those twelve years, they had traveled on their own while Jacqui followed a different path.
“Do you have any siblings?”
The question still made a hard lump form in her chest, even after all this time. “I had a sister. She died.”
Although she wasn’t looking at him, she sensed Mitch searching her face. She wondered if he’d heard the guilt that always swamped her when she thought of Olivia.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.
“Thanks.” She reached for her purse. “If you’re finished with your lunch, we really should get the groceries. I’m supposed to pick up Alice at four.”
“I’m done.” He swallowed one last gulp of his tea and then stood.
Jacqui moved toward the exit without looking back to see if he followed.
Mental note to self. Don’t ask Jacqui personal questions.
Mitch glanced sideways at the woman in his passenger seat as he drove toward the supermarket she said she preferred. He couldn’t help being curious about her, despite her reticence about her past. Or, just as likely, because of it.
Although he wouldn’t have called her chatty, their conversation had been going pretty well during lunch until he’d started asking questions about her family. He had definitely hit some raw nerves there. Her relationship with her parents was obviously strained, and her old pain from losing her sister had been almost palpable.
What had it been like for her, growing up without strong roots to either a place or her family? So strongly connected to his own mother and sisters, and to the memory of the father he had loved deeply, and never having lived anywhere but central Arkansas, Mitch couldn’t really identify with her experiences, but he would have liked to hear about them. Not that her past was any of his business, of course. Although circumstances had brought them under the same roof for the next couple of weeks, they were merely acquaintances, nothing more. Maybe by the time he moved on, they could at least claim to be casual friends.
It was her suggestion that they stop at a sporting goods store they passed on the way to the supermarket. “If you’re going to play football with your friends tomorrow, you’ll need clothes,” she said.
Stopped at a red light, he looked at the store, thinking how convenient it would be to save at least one extra shopping trip. “You’re sure you don’t mind?”
“Of course not.” She motioned for him to turn
into the shopping center in which the sporting goods store was located.
“I won’t be long,” he promised. “Just need a few things.”
“No reason to rush. We have a couple of hours to shop before Alice gets home.”
The casual assurance made him realize that her hurry to leave the lunch table had been more related to their conversation than her schedule for the remainder of the day. No surprise.
“Kind of warm for a football game, isn’t it?” she asked, glancing at the blazing sun in the cloudless sky.
He shrugged as he pulled into a parking space and killed the engine. “We dress cool, drink plenty of water. We don’t start until six, so even though it’s still hot, the sun has gone down some. By the way, Scott was serious about you being welcome to join us, if you like. The games are co-ed, and we have several women who show up regularly to play.”
“Since it’s co-ed, I take it you play flag football? Not tackle?”
He realized only then that she was under a misconception about the invitation his friend had extended. “Wrong game.”
She caught on before he had the chance to explain. “Not American football. Soccer.”
“Yeah. Scott was being pretentious, I guess.”
She shrugged and reached to open her door. “The rest of the world calls it that.”
“But in this country, it’s reasonable to assume he was talking about our football. Scott likes to catch people in that assumption and correct them with a worldly indulgence toward their naiveté.”
“Sounds kind of jerky.”
Amused by her blunt assessment, he nodded. “He can be. But he’s okay, on the whole.”
Jacqui didn’t look mollified. “I don’t like it when people try to make other people look stupid. Your sister and brother-in-law would never do that, and they’re pretty much the smartest people I know.”