Spying on the Boss

by Janet Lee Nye

  Her thoughts drifted back to the letter and her promise. Could she take that first step in trusting her brother? She tilted her head back, eyes closed, and felt the warm sunshine on her face. Sifting through her conflicting feelings, she felt she could open a line of communication with Grant. But her mother? That was another story. She wanted nothing to do with that woman.

  She shook her head, trying to shake away the wave of bitter anger that washed over her at the thought. Instead, she thought back to the first time Lito had asked her to sit with him. It wasn’t here, but at the trailer park the family used to live in in North Charleston. The yard had been much smaller and there wasn’t a forest. Just a strip of trees separating the trailers from the speeding cars along Rivers Avenue, but the cats had been the same. Wary. Hungry. She hadn’t wanted to sit with him then. She was still too raw, too angry and too fearful of letting anyone close.

  How many times had she sat with him and said nothing? Just listened to him? Listened as he told her everything he knew about the feral cats and how to win their trust. When had his voice begun to calm and soothe her? When did she first feel relaxed and comfortable sitting next to him? She didn’t know. It’d happened so slowly that she hadn’t noticed. She did know that by the time Lena had this house built and Lito had found another colony to tame, she loved him. Loved him and counted on him. It was no longer a one-sided conversation. She could ask him the questions she was too embarrassed to ask others. What is love? How does it feel? How do you handle the fear? The anger?

  She pressed her face against her knees and wiped away the tears that were streaming down her face. Oh, Lito. Thank you. I wouldn’t have anything if not for you. You taught me how to care about others.

  “Sadie?”

  She jumped at the softly spoken word and finished wiping away the tears as Ana gracefully sank to the ground next to her. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

  “It’s okay. I was just remembering.”

  Ana reached out and took Sadie’s hand. “Me, too.” She pulled a photograph from the pocket of her apron. “I found this. I want you to have it.”

  Sadie felt her lips curve into a weak smile as she looked at the picture. Another one she hadn’t seen. Taken from the back porch, it showed her and Lito sitting on the blanket, shoulders touching as Sadie leaned toward him. Beyond them, a ginger tom stood at the edge of the forest. El Roja. He was the last of the feral cats to trust them. “Thank you.”

  Ana squeezed her hand. “I have to say something. I need to apologize to you.”

  Sadie felt her mouth drop open. “For what?”

  “All those years ago, I told Lena she couldn’t be friends with you. It was Papa who told me to allow it. He saw the good in you. I saw only what the world had done to you. I was afraid for my Lena.”

  “You were probably right, Ana. I was a mess. I had no right to have a friend as good as Lena.”

  Ana closed her other hand around Sadie’s and looked into her eyes. Her eyes, so like Lito’s, were usually kind and warm. Today they were full of pain and regret. “No, I wasn’t right. I was fearful and selfish.” She reached up and wiped tears from her eyes.

  “I wanted to adopt. But we were poor. And Lena’s father wasn’t a citizen yet. I was afraid. Afraid to have the government poking around in my home and my life. What if they thought I wasn’t taking care of Lena properly? We were poor and didn’t have much.”

  “That’s understandable. You did a wonderful job with Lena. And all your nieces and nephews adore you.”

  “But I hadn’t been brave enough to try to save a child from that life. Why did I think it was okay to shun you because of it?”

  “Oh, Ana. Don’t. Please don’t ever think that. You and your family did save me. All these years, you’ve included me, made me welcome.”

  “I want you to know that in my heart, I have two daughters. I know you were closest to Papa, but I want to tell you that we all love you. You are family. And I don’t want that to change now that he’s gone. Promise me you won’t pull away from us.”

  Sadie felt the tears rising from some deep spot in her soul. Tears not of sorrow, but relief. She reached out and pulled Ana into an embrace. “I promise,” she whispered.

  Ana pushed Sadie back and her hands came up to brush the curls from Sadie’s face. Her hands were warm and tender. “I love you.”

  Sadie choked on a sob. “I love you, too.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  “JACK!”

  Sadie looked up at the jubilant sound. Jack yipped joyfully as he raced to Julietta, who was ditching her bike. If her heart hadn’t been plummeting to her shoes, she might have found some humor in the way the two ran to reach other like long lost lovers.

  “It’s Jack, Uncle Wyatt!”

  Sadie lifted her eyes from Jack and Julietta, and her heart tried to burrow into the dirt beneath her shoes. Her cheeks burned in shame. She had come today, Sunday, hoping to avoid this. Wyatt leaned down to pet Jack before turning his gaze in her direction. Her lips spasmed in what tried to be a smile, but failed miserably. He wore running shorts and a loose tank, showing off muscled legs, arms and that yummy chest. Julietta spotted her and ran to her, Jack hot on her heels.

  “Hi, Ms. Sadie! Can I play catch with Jack?”

  “Of course you can. He likes to play with you.”

  Wyatt approached them and Sadie kept her attention on handing the tube of tennis balls to Julietta for as long as possible. She didn’t want to see his eyes. Shame burned through the exhaustion of grief. She couldn’t believe the utter loss of control she’d displayed. He squatted in front of her and she was forced to look in his general direction. He had a nice forehead. Tan and smooth. Not too high. Nice eyebrows. She could stare at the spot between them and...

  “How’re you holding up?”

  She had to look at his eyes. And once she’d done it, she couldn’t stop. Why did he have to be a nice guy? Why did he ask as if he really wanted to know? Why had his kiss been the most amazing kiss she’d ever had in spite of the circumstances?

  “Tired.”

  That was an understatement. After spending Friday night and all Saturday with Lena’s family, she was exhausted. Too many people, too many words, too many tears and even too much laughter. She’d been over already once today for brunch. There must have been fifty people gathered together to mourn the loss and celebrate the life of Luis Acosta. A large, loud crowd in which no emotion was forbidden. Laughter, tears, anger, love. It flowed in a messy, loud river of sound. She’d escaped the brunch, promising to return in time to ride with the family to the viewing later.

  He moved to sit beside her. Good because now she didn’t have to look directly at him. Bad because she could feel the warmth of his body, could smell his tantalizing scent. She focused her attention on Julietta and Jack romping around in the grass. Julietta’s happy laughter floated back to them.

  “Last time they played here, you were hoping she’d laugh.”

  “I remember. I think I said I’d kiss you if she did.”

  Sadie cut her eyes in his direction and found him grinning at her. “Well, you got that.”

  “I certainly did.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do about it except promise it will never happen again.”

  “It’s fine. But I’m not sure what you are apologizing—repeatedly—for.”

  She turned to stare openmouthed at him. “I’m your boss! We were on a job! It was completely unprofessional.”

  “You weren’t my boss at that moment. You were a human being who’d received very bad news and needed comfort.”

  She turned away from him at those words. She focused on Jack as he jumped to catch the balls Julietta was lobbing in the air. She plucked a clover from the grass and spun it between her fingers. “Didn’t give me the right to attack you.
”

  “You didn’t attack me. And it was a perfectly normal reaction.”

  “No, it wasn’t. Disrespectful to you and Abuelito both.”

  “You know what I did when I got the phone call about Maddie?”

  She leaned forward, running her fingers through the clover, searching for a four-leafed one. Maybe her luck would change and she wouldn’t have to talk about feelings and how normal people acted.

  “I told my fiancée, and when she hugged me, I kissed her and we ended up in bed. It’s a form of denial. The shock of death is so strong, the mind retreats from it initially.”

  Sadie’s cheeks went hot. There was way too much in that sentence. He was engaged? She did not need to hear about his sex life. Not when imagining new chapters in his sex life was the number one reason she hadn’t been getting a full night’s sleep recently. Great, Sadie.

  “You’re engaged?”

  “I was.”

  He stretched his legs out and leaned back on his hands. Julietta ran back to them. Jack was hot on her heels. Sadie poured water from her bottle into the little bowl she brought for him.

  “Ms. Sadie? Can I put Jack’s leash on and take him for a walk?”

  “That’s up to your uncle. He may not want you wandering off.”

  Wyatt pointed. “If you don’t go any farther than the sign right there.”

  Julietta made a face. “That’s not very far.”

  “That’s as far as you’re going to get.”

  “Okay. Can I, Ms. Sadie?”

  She snapped the leash on Jack’s halter. “He can be strong when he wants to go somewhere. If you can’t keep hold of him, call out for us.”

  “Oh, he’ll be good for me, won’t you, Jack?”

  Jack wagged his tail. Sadie watched closely as Julietta led Jack to the paved trail and began to march him back and forth along the short distance. Jack was heeling perfectly. Something he refused to do for her.

  “She left me,” Wyatt said.

  “Your fiancée?”

  “Yes. Maddie had appointed me as Jules’s guardian but her best friend was also mentioned. I considered it. For about a minute. Kate is married and has two kids already. She was willing to take her, but I couldn’t let her go. She’s my only blood family left.”

  Sadie turned to him. He was watching Julietta. Her throat ached at the love in his eyes. She took a swig of water.

  “Victoria told me I was being selfish. Told me Jules would be better off with an established family. With brothers and sisters close to her age. My parents were only children of only children. We never had aunts or uncles or cousins. Kate has a large family. So Jules would be getting the real deal.”

  He shifted to sit cross-legged and now his hands sifted through the clover. She wanted to take his hand in hers. He’d done what her own mother refused to do for her. “You couldn’t let her go,” she whispered, unable to get any more volume.

  “No. She’s mine.”

  Tears stung her eyes. The ferocity in his words made her heart ache worse. He’d disrupted his entire life to take on the task of raising a grieving little girl. Abuelito had taken on the task of showing her, a stranger, what a family’s love was. She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, needing something to hold on to.

  “So she gave me an ultimatum. She wasn’t going to start marriage with a ready-made child. She wanted her own children.”

  “And you chose Jules.”

  “It wasn’t even a choice for me.”

  Sadie rested her forehead against her knees. She was trying her damnedest not to sniffle when Wyatt’s hand, warm and gentle settled between her shoulder blades. She managed not to arch into the caress like a purring house cat who was no longer a wild kitten.

  “What about you? How’s your family doing? Was it your grandfather who passed?”

  She turned her head with a sigh. “Sort of. My best friend, Lena, he was her grandfather. He’d sort of adopted me.”

  His hand remained, tracing small circles that sent ripples to her core. She locked her fingers together to keep from repeating the disaster of the other day. Because she wanted to crawl into his arms and draw from his strength. This was a whole new feeling. This feeling of comfort and warmth that was a separate thing from the sexual attraction she felt. She didn’t know what to do with it. She sat up to stop his hand before she lost control again. Forget what, she didn’t know. She did know throwing herself at him again wasn’t going to end her confusion.

  “I’m gathering letting people close isn’t easy for you,” he said, his words lightly tinged with humor.

  A small snort of laughter escaped. “Yeah. You noticed?”

  “Families of choice. Those bonds must be stronger than blood,” he said.

  “Really?”

  “Don’t you think?”

  “I never had any family to bond with,” she said. Hell. She hadn’t meant to say that. Her cheeks burned. Now he’d want an explanation. And she hated explaining. The shame of it was too much. She didn’t want him to know this. Didn’t want to see the look in his eyes. She climbed to her feet and waved at Julietta. Cupping her hands around her mouth, she called out, “I need to get Jack home now, honey.”

  She waited for Julietta to walk Jack back to them. Wyatt rose to stand beside her. He touched her elbow and she reluctantly looked at him. Instead of the pity she expected, she saw regret.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you further.”

  “You didn’t.”

  His hand lingered on her arm and he shot a quick glance at Julietta, who had stopped while Jack watered a bush. “I wish...”

  Whatever he wished for was lost in a piercing scream from Julietta that had him sprinting to her. Sadie followed on his heels.

  “A spider,” Wyatt told her. “Only a spider.”

  Sadie took the leash from Julietta’s hand. “We should be going. I’ve got the viewing tonight.”

  She knew he was watching her as she walked away and concentrated on Jack. He was tugging at the leash and trying to smell all the smells before going home. What did Wyatt wish? She knew what she was wishing for.

  * * *

  MONDAY MORNINGS USUALLY started with a staff meeting led by Sadie with her giant cup of coffee and snarky wit. Not this morning, though. Josh presided at the head of the table. Wyatt lounged back as he watched the young man. He’d seen Sadie in this man’s arms. He was someone she trusted, and he was beginning to understand the list of people Sadie trusted was short. She had claimed Josh was like a brother to her, and he could have been. They shared the same dark hair and dark blue eyes. Josh, however, had the complexion of the Black Irish, so unlike Sadie’s fair skin.

  He’d spent a good deal of time wondering what she’d meant when she said she had no family to bond with. Clearly she hadn’t wanted to let that slip and had all but run away. But why? She was such a contradiction. She threw up walls and came off tough as nails, but he’d seen her immediately respond to others when they were in need. He’d been on the receiving end of her caring, and it was real. She wasn’t faking her compassion. But God help you if you tried to show her any compassion.

  “Where’s our fearless leader?” one of the guys asked Josh as they settled down around the table.

  Josh flipped open Sadie’s notebook. “She’s had a death in the family. Funeral is today so she’s taking a personal day. Means you have to deal with me.”

  “Who died?”

  “I didn’t know she had any family.”

  “Is she okay?”

  The questions flew at Josh. He waited until there was silence. “Her friend Lena’s grandfather. She was very close to him.”

  “Was he the old dude who used to take her to lunch every month?”

  “Yeah.”

 
“Is it too late to take up a collection and send flowers or something?”

  “We totally should do it. When my grandmother died, Sadie sent flowers and a note to my mother.”

  “When my aunt died, she helped me with the airfare to get back home.”

  Josh held up a hand. “Molly arranged flowers for the funeral already.”

  “We should still get some for Sadie,” Noah said. He dug his wallet out of his back pocket and threw a five in the center of the table. “Come on, guys, ante up.”

  Wyatt tossed a five into the growing pile as the guys argued over what kind of flowers they should get. Noah scooped the pile toward him and began to count it. “Pink roses,” he said, and the entire table fell silent.

  Wyatt looked at Josh, but his face was as closed off as Sadie’s could be.

  Noah glanced around the table. “Don’t you think?”

  Josh nodded. “It’ll make her cry, but in a good way, I think.” He reached down and pulled a small poster from a satchel at his feet. “We got the mockup of the thank-you ad.”

  He handed it to Wyatt who was sitting at his left. It was a mounted eleven-by-fourteen photograph. Molly was perched on a stool, and Sadie stood behind her. Her hair was down, and the smile on her face took Wyatt’s breath away. The two women were surrounded by the guys, who were facing into the camera with varying expressions from gee-shucks grins to smoldering smiles. The bold print along the top simply read “Thank You.” Below, it read “Thank you, Charleston, for voting the Cleaning Crew the Best Cleaning Service.” He slid it to Noah, sitting on his left.

  “The ad is going run in the next City Paper, and will be in all the local media soon. I’m expecting we will get a boost in our client list. For the next week, we’ll probably be doing more first contacts, so be ready.”

  “Marcus is going to have a stroke,” Noah said.