by Gina Wilkins
He chuckled. “There’s that housekeeper voice again. No, Jacqui, there’s nothing else I need tonight. And if there were, I’d get it for myself.”
She nodded a little stiffly and took another step down. Because Mitch moved at the same time, and apparently misjudged her path, their shoulders collided. So much for having plenty of room on the stairway, she thought, pressing her hand to the wall for balance. Mitch caught her other arm as though to steady her.
“Sorry. You okay?”
“Of course. It was just a bump.”
“My fault. I got distracted—wasn’t looking where I was going.”
As she recalled, he’d been looking at her face when he’d moved. Was he saying that she was a distraction to him? Or was she being as silly and flustered as Alice by an intriguing guy’s attention?
Annoyed with herself, she started to move again, only to be detained by the light grasp Mitch still had on her forearm. She looked up at him with questioningly raised eyebrows. He stood now on the step below her, which brought their faces close to the same level. And he was looking directly at her mouth.
Self-consciously and without thinking, she moistened her lips. His eyes narrowed as though in response to what might have looked like an invitation, she realized hastily. Awkwardly, she took another step down, thinking she would hurry on her way, but all that did was bring her almost into his arms when he shifted on the step to accommodate her.
Mitch chuckled and caught her other shoulder with his free hand. “Hang on, we’re going to knock each other down the stairs if we keep this up.”
Pressing back against the wall, she tried to speak in the same light tone he’d used. “We do seem to be colliding a lot this weekend. It’ll be a wonder if I don’t cause you bodily damage before you find another place to stay.”
His grin widened. “Is that a hint? Trying to run me off?”
Studying his devastatingly attractive smile through her lashes, she muttered, “I probably should be.”
His smile faltered, but she slipped out of his grasp and moved quickly down the stairs before he could reply with whatever he might have said.
Some role model for Alice she was turning out to be, she thought in annoyance. When it came to a cute, completely unsuitable guy with a sexy smile, it seemed that neither of them had a lick of sense.
Brooks and Dunn wailed that “cowgirls don’t cry” as Mitch skillfully wielded a number 69 Beaver blade on the adolescent hand he viewed through a magnifying glass. Mitch liked an eclectic selection of music while he worked; his amplified music player held an extensive collection of country, rock and alternative songs. The selection was varied enough that he didn’t get bored with it and his assistants rarely complained, as they did about Dr. Burkett’s vast library of polka tunes.
Seated at one side of the hand table, gloved and gowned, Mitch worked swiftly to repair the extensive damage that had been done to the boy’s hand when a friend slammed a car door on it. He didn’t want to take longer than necessary to make the repairs. More than two hours’ use of the inflated tourniquet cutting off the blood supply to the hand increased the risk of long-term muscle damage.
His first assistant, a third-year surgical resident, stood at the other side of the hand table, watching the delicate procedure intently and eagerly and performing as much of the operation as Mitch allowed. A fourth-year medical student stood nearby, craning her head for a better view while doing her best to stay out of the way. At the end of the hand table, next to the vigilantly guarded sterile instrument tray, stood a surgical technician with whom Mitch had worked many long hours in various operations. They’d operated together so often that Brenda often knew what he needed before he even asked, handing over instruments in a smooth, practiced rhythm that made the process easier for both of them.
There wasn’t a lot of time for chitchat during this procedure, as there was in some longer operations, but Brenda still asked at one point, “How’s the house search coming along?”
“Haven’t looked much yet,” Mitch answered, taking a moment to stretch his neck muscles, which were tightening up from being held so long in the same position. “It’s only been a few days.”
“Still staying with your sister?”
“Well, in my sister’s house. She’s on a European vacation with her husband. Her stepdaughter and housekeeper are sharing the house with me for now.”
“How old is the stepdaughter?”
“Fourteen.”
“Challenging age.”
Mitch thought of the chilly treatment Alice had given Jacqui during dinner last night. “You can say that again.”
The boy on the table was only fifteen. And right-handed. Mitch turned his attention to the surgery again, determined that the kid would have full use of that hand again. Mitch loved his job—repairing young bodies damaged by accidents or ailments. The hours were long, the physical demands grueling, the emotional toll occasionally high—but he thrived on it. Sure, there were times when he wondered why he hadn’t gone into carpentry; it was a lot less stressful to repair broken cabinets than broken bones, especially because he’d chosen a pediatric specialty with so much at risk. But those fleeting thoughts never lasted long. He was doing what he’d been called to do.
Focused intently on the retractor he held, the resident commented through his mask, “Living with a teenager and a senior citizen is probably making you impatient to get back into a place of your own.”
Mitch spared a glance upward. “A senior citizen?”
The resident never looked up from his task. “The housekeeper. Just an assumption.”
“An incorrect one.”
“Oops. My bad.”
The medical student giggled, then subsided quickly into silence, as though embarrassed to have called any attention to herself. Mitch didn’t even glance her way but finished the operation without further conversation, an image of Jacqui in the back of his mind. How would she feel if she’d heard herself referred to as a senior citizen?
Leaving the capable resident to close, he stood, taking care not to contaminate the sterile field around the patient. He backed away from the table, his gloved hands held above his waist. The medical student moved up eagerly to take over first assistant position while Brenda watched zealously to make sure the sterile field remained unbroken.
Once out of range, Mitch dropped his arms and arched his back to loosen the muscles there. He had another surgery scheduled that afternoon, but he had an hour free for lunch first. He would eat that meal at his desk while he checked messages and returned calls.
The sandwich sat half eaten on his desk and the list of phone numbers were held unheeded in his hand a short while later. His thoughts had drifted to Jacqui again. Specifically, he recalled that moment in the stairway when their faces were on a level and her freshly moistened lips had been only a whisper away from his. He could almost feel his hands on her arms as he’d steadied her. Her body had been warm through her thin cotton blouse, and he could only imagine how soft her skin would be over the work-toned muscles beneath.
Definitely not a senior citizen.
He supposed he should find another place to live soon. His growing attraction to Jacqui was likely to get awkward if he stayed there much longer. As if it weren’t already awkward enough, at least for him.
Fortunately Alice’s sulks didn’t last through Monday. By the time she and Jacqui had run errands together and shared lunch at Alice’s favorite Chinese buffet, the girl was back in her usual good spirits. Neither of them mentioned the disagreement in the park. Jacqui wondered if she should bring it up again, just as another opportunity to make sure Alice understood what had been at stake, but she decided to let it go.
Mitch had let her know he wouldn’t be home from the hospital until late that evening, so she and Alice shared a quiet evening together. After a cooling swim in the backyard pool, they spent a couple of hours knitting in front of the TV. Jacqui finished some projects for her friend’s boutique while Alice worked on a pale-green bear
she would stuff with batting and add to her children’s hospital gifts.
“It’s kind of quiet around here without Mitch, isn’t it?” Alice remarked as they put away their yarns and needles.
Jacqui smiled faintly. “A little.”
“He’s fun to be around. I’m glad he’s my uncle now. And Madison’s great as my new aunt, even if she has been so busy lately in her psychiatry residency that I’ve hardly seen her.”
“You’re very fortunate to have found such a nice bonus family.” Alice didn’t care for the term “stepfamily,” so Jacqui was careful to avoid using it.
“I am lucky. I’ve got lots of family now. My dad. My mom. My grandparents in Heber Springs. My mom’s sister and her family in Colorado—I don’t see them much, but they’re nice. My dad’s father in Dallas. And now Meagan and her family. Mimi and Mitch and Madison.”
Wondering a bit where this was going, Jacqui said lightly, “You forgot to mention Waldo.”
Alice giggled. “Anyway, I’m glad I have a lot of family.”
“Then I’m glad you’re glad.”
The girl smiled again.
“I know your grandparents are looking forward to seeing you this weekend.” Beginning Friday, Alice would spend a few days with her maternal grandparents in Heber Springs. She would come home next Tuesday, two days before Seth and Meagan returned from their trip.
Her grandparents had hinted broadly that Alice should spend the entire two weeks with them while her dad and stepmother were away, but Alice had politely thanked them and reminded them about her obligations to her swim team. As it was, she would be missing a couple of practices to spend a few days with them. Jacqui knew Alice was fond of her grandparents, and she spent at least one weekend with them a month, but she had confided to Jacqui that sometimes there she missed her friends and activities at home.
Only then did it occur to Jacqui that she and Mitch would be alone in the house while Alice was with her grandparents. When they’d first made all these plans, Jacqui had assumed she would be returning to her apartment during those days, but that was before the leak had ruined her floors. She’d gone by that morning and the new carpeting still had not been installed. Her apartment was a mess at the moment, with her belongings piled on larger furniture and the floors stripped down to bare particle board, some of which had warped from water damage. The manager had assured her the repairs were being done as quickly as possible, but because several apartments had been damaged—and not all the other tenants had someplace else to stay—it was taking a while to get to them all.
She supposed it wouldn’t be a problem sharing the house with Mitch for a few days. It wasn’t as though he was here all that much. She would take great care to avoid any more awkward encounters like the one on the staircase. Staying in the background as the cook and housekeeper was the safest course—and one she fully intended to follow.
Or maybe he’d find someplace else to stay by then, she thought without much optimism.
“I guess it will be nice to stay with Grammy and Grampa—even though I was just there last month.”
Hearing a distinct lack of enthusiasm in the girl’s voice, Jacqui spoke cheerily, “You know how they love spending time with you. And your Grampa’s going to take you fishing, isn’t he? You always enjoy that.”
Alice nodded. “Yeah, I like fishing. But I’d kind of like to stay here with you and Mitch, too. That was fun the other night—playing board games, I mean. And Mitch said maybe he’d take me to the hospital to deliver toys and visit with some of the kids this weekend, but I told him I couldn’t because I’m staying with my grandparents.”
“I’m sure he’ll take you another time.”
“Yeah, he said he would. But still—”
“Your grandparents would be very disappointed if you cancel your visit with them, Alice.”
“I won’t cancel,” Alice promised. “I know that would hurt their feelings. But don’t do anything too much fun with Uncle Mitch while I’m gone, okay?” she added with a teasing smile.
Jacqui forced a smile. “I wouldn’t worry about that. Your uncle will probably hang out with his friends again when he’s not working, and I have a few tentative plans. My friend Alexis and I have been trying to get together for lunch and shopping, and we’re hoping our schedules will both be clear this weekend.”
Alexis Johnson was one of Jacqui’s few good friends in Little Rock, outside the family she worked for. They’d met in a four-week vegetarian cooking class they had both taken last year and had gotten together occasionally since. Alexis traveled a lot in her job as a flight attendant and was involved in several organizations that took a great deal of her time, but she and Jacqui tried to get together whenever they could for a few hours of girl talk and relaxation. On the surface, the friends seemed to have little in common. Alexis was very much into fashion and appearance, whereas Jacqui had only passing interest in clothes and shoes, but they’d been drawn together by similar senses of humor and a mutual fondness for Indian food.
Looking vaguely surprised, Alice tilted her head in Jacqui’s direction. Was the girl having a hard time envisioning that Jacqui had a life outside the Llewellyn family? Okay, maybe she didn’t do much other than work, Jacqui admitted silently, but she did have a few friends and hobbies of her own.
“I thought maybe you and Mitch would do something while I’m gone. You know, like go out for dinner together or something.” Alice’s tone was just a little too nonchalant, which made Jacqui frown suspiciously. Surely the girl wasn’t matchmaking?
“If your uncle wants me to make dinner for him, I’d be happy to do so,” she answered evenly. “That’s part of my job.”
“I didn’t mean for your job,” Alice insisted, raising Jacqui’s suspicions even further. “I mean—well, uncle Mitch is cute, right? And he’s pretty close to your age. Not even as much different as Milo and me…even though I still don’t think four years is all that much,” she added in a grumble.
Jacqui had no intention of getting into another debate about whether it was appropriate for Alice to hang out with an almost-eighteen-year-old boy—it could only lead to another bout of sulks because Jacqui had no intention of changing her mind. Nor did she want to get into a discussion about why she and Mitch were not a good match despite being single adults of close to the same age.
“Would you carry these empty teacups to the kitchen for me, please?” she requested, folding away her knitting as she spoke. “It’s getting late. If you want to play with Waldo a little before bedtime, you’d better go on out.”
But Alice wasn’t quite finished with their conversation. “It’s just…well, like we said, it’s nice to have family.”
“I have family, Alice,” Jacqui countered gently. She supposed it was touching that Alice worried about her being alone, even if it was somewhat awkward. “My parents are still living. I talk with them occasionally, even if we aren’t as close as you are with your parents.”
“But you really like our family, right? I mean, Uncle Mitch and Meagan and Madison and Mimi and my dad and all. And they all really like you, too.”
“That’s nice to hear. Now go play with Waldo.”
“I just thought…maybe…if you were dating someone yourself, you’d be a little more…you know, relaxed about things.”
Jacqui nearly sighed in response to the muttered remark. So it all came back to Alice’s new crush on Milo Lemon. So much for the sweet motives Jacqui had just attributed to the wily teen.
She glanced at her watch. “You have half an hour to play with your dog before bedtime. Keep procrastinating and you’ll find out just how unrelaxed I can be.”
Alice sighed gustily and snatched up the empty teacups. “Fine. Be all grouchy. Just because I wanted you to be happy and stuff.”
Torn between exasperation and wry amusement, Jacqui merely motioned her out of the room.
Chapter Five
Jacqui found herself preparing dinner Tuesday evening for Mitch’s family. It had
all begun with a call from LaDonna early that morning. LaDonna had said that her sisters-in-law wanted to come see Meagan’s house sometime that day. They were disappointed, LaDonna said, that Meagan was out of town during their visit, but that was their own fault.
“I told them when they called to arrange this visit that Meagan would be out of town on her belated honeymoon trip during this time, but they said it was the best week for them to come,” she said into the phone, her voice low so as not to carry to her guests in another room. “They really have no reason to complain about missing Meagan.”
“I’m sure she would have loved to see them, too.”
“They would like to come see her house. Don’t know why, when she’s not even there, but they’ve got it in their heads they want to come by. And to be honest, I’m running out of things to do to entertain them. Do you mind a visit sometime later today, Jacqui?”
“Of course not. It’s your daughter’s home—you’re certainly welcome here.”
“Thank you. All we’ve done the past few days is drive around and dine out or eat here and I just don’t know what else to do with them. They seem to only enjoy eating and chatting and riding in the car,” LaDonna added with a wry laugh.
Jacqui spoke impulsively, “Why don’t you plan to bring them here for dinner? I’m sure Alice would love playing hostess at a dinner party for her aunts.”
LaDonna had jumped on that offer eagerly, despite her token protests that it would be too much trouble for Jacqui to put a dinner party together that quickly. Reminding LaDonna that she would be making dinner for herself and Alice and Mitch anyway, Jacqui assured her it would be no trouble to add a few guests. They might as well invite Madison, too, and make it a family gathering.
Jacqui knew it was a little strange that there would be a dinner party in Meagan’s home when Meagan wasn’t even there, but she was confident Meagan and Seth would be more amused than annoyed. Both were well accustomed to Meagan’s aunt’s eccentricities. And both would do anything to assist LaDonna with anything she needed.