by Gina Wilkins
There must have been a note of steel in her voice that Alice had never heard before. Alice blinked a few times, seemed to realize it would do her no good to argue further, then poked out her lower lip in a near-pout. “Fine. I’ll just tell my new friends I can’t go with them.”
“It’s your choice,” Jacqui replied evenly. “You can make me the bad guy if you want, or you can tell them we have other plans if you want to save face.”
Her expression supremely martyred, Alice turned on one heel and walked away, her posture expressing her dissatisfaction. Jacqui let out a low breath. In the just more than a year that she’d been charged with the responsibility of looking after Alice when her dad wasn’t around, this was the first time the girl had even come close to a rebellion against Jacqui’s authority. Alice had always been cheery, well-behaved, cooperative, eager—in other words, almost the perfect young teen in Jacqui’s opinion. Sure, there had been some minor disagreements in the past year but not quite to this extent. And not with such high stakes, as far as Jacqui was concerned.
She had no intention of allowing Alice to get involved with a boy—much less an eighteen-year-old boy—while her parents were out of town. If it were up to Jacqui, it would be a couple of years yet before Alice was allowed to ride in cars with teenagers behind the wheel. Knowing Seth, she suspected he would agree with her on that point. If he’d had the same grim experiences as Jacqui, he would probably never let his daughter in the car with another teen, she thought darkly.
The soccer game must have ended during the confrontation. When she glanced at the field, the players were milling among each other, shaking hands and chatting amicably. Jacqui had no idea who’d won. She recapped her water bottle and slid it into the insulated tote, then folded her knitting and tucked it into its bag.
A towel draped around his neck, his hair and new clothes damp with sweat, Mitch walked toward her a few minutes later. He nodded toward Keira, who was gathering her things in preparation to join her fiancé, then smiled at Jacqui.
“Did you see me make that last goal? The winning one?”
Because he sounded so much like a kid hoping for a pat of approval, Jacqui hated to have to shake her head. “I’m sorry, I missed it. I guess I was talking to Alice. But congratulations.”
Was there just a touch of disappointment in his voice when he responded? “Thanks. Where is Alice anyway?”
Jacqui waved a hand in the girl’s direction. Following the gesture, Mitch looked that way, then frowned. “Is that Milo Lemon she’s talking to?”
“So I was told.”
“Yeah, not going to happen.” He placed two fingers in his mouth and blew out a shrill whistle that carried over the noise of the slowly dispersing crowd. When Alice looked his way, he motioned for her to join them.
Even from where she stood, Jacqui saw Alice’s reaction, but then the girl said something to Milo and the other girls and headed in their direction.
“Huh. I think I just got a teenage roll of the eyes,” Mitch commented dryly.
“I know you did,” Jacqui said, her own tone wryly empathetic.
“Think Uncle Mitch’s whistle embarrassed her?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. She’s just in a teen mood today apparently. I’ve been the recipient of some of the attitude myself.”
“And here I was hoping that sweet little Alice would just skip that moody, hormonal teen stage and go straight into responsible adulthood.”
Jacqui laughed shortly. “Hold on to that dream, pal.”
Both of them pasted on quick smiles when Alice joined them.
“We won, kid. By one goal. Scored by your uncle, I might add,” Mitch boasted.
“Really? That’s cool. Sorry I didn’t see it. I was talking to some other kids.”
“Good thing I have a healthy ego,” Mitch murmured, looking only slightly deflated that neither of them had seen him make the goal.
“I was going to go play miniature golf with some new friends, but Jacqui said no.”
Jacqui cocked an eyebrow. “I said I’d be happy to accompany you and drive you home afterward. The only thing I said no to was riding home with a teenage boy.”
“You know Milo, Uncle Mitch,” Alice said in an ingratiating tone. “His brother is one of your best friends.”
“His brother is a friend,” Mitch agreed. “I wouldn’t say one of my best, but that’s just semantics. And by the way, I agree a hundred percent with Jacqui. I wouldn’t let you go riding around with Milo, either. Sounds like Jacqui made a nice offer to sit around here for another hour or so while you play mini-golf, by the way. She would probably rather go home.”
Something in her uncle’s tone made Alice stand a little straighter and carefully erase some of the discontent from her expression. “Thanks for offering, Jacqui, but I guess I’d rather go home, too,” she said a bit hastily. “I need to take Waldo for a walk anyway.”
Mitch nodded slightly in approval. “So I’ll see you ladies in a little while.”
“Will you be eating out, or are you joining us for dinner?” Jacqui asked him, using what she thought of as her “housekeeper voice” so he wouldn’t think she was being nosey.
Wiping his face on a corner of the towel, Mitch replied, “If you’re cooking, I’ll join you. But don’t go to any special trouble for me.”
“Alice and I have to eat. I’ll have something ready shortly after I get there.”
“Sounds good. See you at home.”
It wasn’t home, Jacqui thought, walking to her car beside an atypically subdued Alice. Not for Mitch, and not for her. Neither of them needed to get too cozy with this setup. He’d be moving out soon—maybe even moving away, if he gave in to the restlessness she had sensed in him. She would do well to keep that eventuality in mind.
Chapter Four
Though she tried to convince him it wasn’t necessary, Mitch helped Jacqui clear away the dinner dishes later that evening. Alice had gone to her room to take her almost-daily phone call from her mother in Hong Kong.
“Think she’s telling her mother how unreasonable you and I were today not to let her hang out with a bunch of kids we don’t know and ride in a car with an older boy?” Mitch asked.
Because Alice had been quiet during dinner and was still obviously irked that her spontaneous plans had been thwarted, Jacqui wasn’t able to work up a smile in response to Mitch’s half-teasing tone. “I hope not. But if she is, I hope her mother agrees with us.”
“From what I’ve heard of her, she would. She’s a long-distance parent, but Meagan said she’s made it a point to back up Seth in whatever decisions he makes on Alice’s behalf. At least in front of Alice. Seth and Colleen discuss her in private calls so they can present a united front to her.”
Jacqui was already aware of that, of course, being a household insider, but she merely nodded. “I only met Colleen once, when she was in the state for a brief visit with Alice and her parents at Christmas, but it was obvious she loves Alice very much. She was very pleasant to me when she picked up Alice to take her to Heber Springs, where Colleen’s parents live.”
Colleen was tall, strikingly attractive, expensively fashionable. Although she had grown up in Arkansas, no traces of the South remained in her speech patterns— Jacqui would bet that had been a deliberate effort on Colleen’s behalf. Rather than the slight drawl Jacqui had grown accustomed to hearing during the two years she’d lived in Little Rock, Colleen spoke rapidly, enunciating each syllable clearly. Her manner was courteous but somewhat brusque, hinting that her time was too valuable to waste on trivialities.
Jacqui supposed some people would be intimidated by the attorney, although she hadn’t been. To her credit, Colleen hadn’t been dismissive of her ex-husband’s housekeeper, but instead had thanked her nicely for doing such a good job watching out for Alice when the other adults were occupied with their careers.
Seth’s second wife was also a successful career woman, but other than that Meagan and Colleen cou
ldn’t be more different. Whereas Colleen was obsessed with career, Meagan’s priority was family. The family she’d made with Seth and Alice, and the one in which she’d grown up, including her widowed mother and two younger siblings. Often she referred to Jacqui as a part of the family, a generous gesture that Jacqui appreciated even as she continually reminded herself that she was merely the housekeeper. If she were to fall and injure herself so that she was no longer able to fill the position, as had happened to the older woman who worked for Seth previously, they would hire someone to replace her, just as Jacqui had replaced Nina.
“Jacqui? Where have you drifted off to?”
She blinked up at Mitch, who was standing by the dishwasher and looking at her quizzically. Hastily placing the dish in her hand on the rack, she shook her head. “Sorry. I was just thinking about that little tiff with Alice. I’ve been lucky until this point, I guess. She’s been absolutely no trouble at all every time I’ve watched her.”
He shrugged. “If one quarrel and a chilly dinner are the worst you encounter, then you’re lucky. I remember some of Madison’s teen dramas. My folks were ready to lock her in the cellar a few times, I think. Guess it’s a good thing we didn’t actually have a cellar.”
She smiled perfunctorily. “I guess every teen, no matter how generally well-behaved, hates hearing the word ‘no.’”
He chuckled. “Oh, yeah. Didn’t you have your share of teen rebellion when you were that age?”
Jacqui had rebelled every time her father had uprooted the family and drifted to another town where she and Olivia would be enrolled in yet another new school. Not that it had done her any good. Every time they’d moved, her parents had promised it would be the last time. They’d advised her to make the best of the life they led, to make new friends and experience new things—and to take care of her little sister while Mom and Dad were out doing odd jobs to support them.
The stabbing pain in her chest was familiar but still agonizing. It seemed as though she’d thought of Olivia more than usual during the past few days. Partially, she supposed, because the anniversary of her sister’s death was approaching—less than a month away now. And partially because the more Alice matured, the more she sometimes reminded Jacqui of Olivia—bright and inquisitive and imaginative, sweet-natured but with a stubborn streak that cropped up unexpectedly. Alice was only a few months younger than Olivia had been when she’d died.
There was no way that Alice would be riding in cars with teenage drivers on Jacqui’s watch.
Determinedly, she buried the past deep in the back of her mind, though it had a nasty habit of clawing its way to the front when she was least prepared to handle it. Needing a change of subject, she turned the questioning to Mitch. “Have you given any more thought about a new place to live?”
He gave her a lopsided smile as he closed the dishwasher, his hand brushing hers with the movement. “Trying to get rid of me already?”
Something about his tone—or maybe that smile—made his teasing sound suspiciously like flirting. Probably it was just a habit of his—certainly nothing to take seriously.
When she didn’t take him up on his verbal bait, he replied more seriously. “I talked to a few people today about some recommendations for Realtors and rental agents. And Mom gave me the name of a woman she knows who works part-time in real estate sales. I’ll probably make a few calls tomorrow.”
There was a distinct lack of enthusiasm in his voice. If he was thinking about looking for another rental, she didn’t blame him for being less than excited about the search. She never liked doing that, either. It would be different when she started looking for a little place to buy, she promised herself. That lifelong ambition was going to be a joy to fulfill.
“Still looking for a place where you don’t have to sign a lease?” she asked casually, her gaze on the counter she was wiping with a sponge.
Because she wasn’t looking at him, she didn’t see him shrug, but she heard the shift of fabric as his shoulder lifted in the negligent gesture. “Maybe. Or at least a place with a lenient lease-breaking policy.”
She wrung out the towel and draped it over the sink to dry.
“My mom thinks I should buy a house,” Mitch said with a chuckle. “She even suggested a couple of neighborhoods she thought suitable for me.”
“I’m sure she’s just trying to be helpful.”
“Of course she is. Her first choice would be for me to buy Seth’s house, which is still on the market. She pointed out how cozy it would be if I lived right across the street from my sister and brother-in-law.”
“A little too cozy, maybe?”
He smiled. “Maybe. But I told her I’d think about it.”
Outside in the backyard, Waldo barked. Jacqui glanced at the clock. “Alice usually goes out to play with him and give him a treat after dinner. He’s probably wondering where she is.”
“Does she usually talk this long with her mom?”
“No, not usually.”
“Think she’s still pouting?”
“Possibly.”
Waldo barked again, the sound ending with a hint of a whine. Jacqui frowned. Alice was usually so attentive to her adored pet. She wouldn’t punish Waldo because she was irked with the housekeeper; maybe Alice didn’t realize how late it was getting.
She turned away from the sink. “I’ll go check on her.”
Saying he wanted to watch the news, Mitch headed for the den as Jacqui climbed the stairs toward Alice’s room. Alice’s door stood slightly ajar, and Jacqui could hear the teen laughing and giggling from the top of the stairs. It was not the voice she used with her mother, but rather the sillier, slangier tone that signified she was talking with one of her friends.
“He’s so hot. And I think he likes me,” she confided breathlessly to the person on the other side of the call. She giggled in response to whatever her friend said. “Yeah, he said he—”
Jacqui cleared her throat noisily.
“Uh, gotta go, Tiff. I’ll call you later, okay?”
By the time Jacqui tapped lightly on the open door and stepped into the room, Alice had already disconnected the call.
“Everything okay?” Jacqui asked casually. “Waldo is looking for his evening treat.”
Alice tossed back her curly hair and slid her phone in her pocket. “Okay, I’m on my way down. I was going to play with him for a while anyway before bed.”
“He’ll like that. Um, Alice?”
“Yes?”
Jacqui laced her fingers in front of her, mentally mapping a path to the conversational destination she hoped to achieve. “Milo is cute.”
Alice’s quick smile was both appreciative and suspicious. “Yeah, he’s okay,” she agreed a little too nonchalantly.
“But you know, of course, that he’s too old to be hanging out with a fourteen-year-old. He should be flirting with girls his age—not girls almost four years younger. Just as your own friends should be fifteen and younger.”
Alice exhaled sharply in exasperation. “Geez, Jacqui, we were just talking. But still, four years is hardly anything. Dad’s almost four years older than Meagan and nobody has even mentioned it.”
“It’s different after you’re eighteen. Trust me, those four years between fourteen and eighteen are a lot more significant than you think. Eighteen-year-olds have less supervision. They’re driving and dating and other things you aren’t quite ready for yet. You know your dad doesn’t want you hanging out alone with boys just yet, and I agree with him. Don’t be in too big a hurry to grow up and get involved with relationship drama. Have fun with your friends while you can still be just kids.”
“I wasn’t going out on a date with Milo. I just wanted to get a ride home with him. I’d have been perfectly safe. He said he’s been driving for two whole years.”
“It’s still better if you don’t ride alone with teen drivers just yet.”
Jacqui didn’t know how to explain that it was more than just the car ride—though that alo
ne would have been enough for her to turn down Alice’s request. She hadn’t liked the way Milo had looked at sweet, naive Alice—and that would have been hard to explain to the girl. For one thing, Alice was as likely to be flattered by the attention as alarmed by the boy’s intentions.
“You’re totally overreacting,” Alice muttered. “You don’t even know Milo.”
“I know a little more than you give me credit for,” Jacqui replied evenly. “I’ve been around a while longer than you have, Alice.”
Alice looked less than convinced. “I’m going down to play with Waldo.”
Smothering a sigh, Jacqui thought about how glad she would be when Seth and Meagan returned from their trip. Between Mitch’s unexpected stayover and Alice’s out-of-the-blue hormonal rebellion, this week was turning out to be much more complicated than she had ever anticipated. She wanted to go back to being nothing more than the daytime housekeeper and part-time cook, efficient but basically invisible. Life was so much simpler that way, with way fewer obstacles waiting to trip her up.
Speaking of hazardous pitfalls…
She crossed paths with Mitch on the stairs as she headed down a few moments after Alice and he was on his way up. Though the stairway was plenty wide enough for both of them, it felt suddenly smaller when she and Mitch stood face to face.
“I was just going up to log some computer time in my room before bed,” he explained with a smile. “Thought I’d do some real estate searches and answer a few emails.”
“I’ll be turning in early tonight, too.” She was suddenly very tired, and she was aware that the exhaustion was more mental than physical. “I’ll just finish up a few things in the kitchen and then I’ll go to bed when Alice does. Is there anything else you need this evening?”