“I have it on good authority that you’re more than qualified, Ms. Baldwin,” Steve said.
“Nicki, your oversight and management of the properties is part of the deal Mr. Chasen has on the table.” Her boss sent her a pleading look.
She turned her head and met Steve’s gaze head on. He was still wheeling and dealing. Only this time in nicer clothes. Apparently, he thought money could buy everything. He’d bought the Victorian for Madeline and Millicent. Bought her father’s loyalty. Now he was trying to buy himself back into her good graces.
Except Nicki Baldwin didn’t take charity from anyone. She’d worked her way up all by herself. Not a single deal had edged her ahead except the day-to-day savvy of doing her job.
No, S. Thomas Chasen would have to buy someone else. Or do the work himself. This was all too reminiscent of Big Nick, swooping in and getting everyone excited and making promises he couldn’t keep. Running everyone’s life.
Except Steve could and would keep his promises, but she wouldn’t be part of his plans to manage everyone’s future. She didn’t need to be rescued or saved from her failures.
She could manage fine on her own.
Big Nick would say she was cutting off her hand to spite her foot.
Fine. At least she could sleep at night knowing she hadn’t sold out.
When Nicki stood, Steve stood as well. The man towered over her. Funny, but she’d never noticed he was so tall before. It was as though he’d grown taller once he changed his clothes.
She offered him her hand and immediately regretted the gesture. Her fingers were swallowed up in his warmth. He smiled, obviously pleased that everything was tied up so nicely with all but a ribbon on the top.
“I’m flattered, but I’ll have to decline.”
“Nicki,” Finney gasped her name.
“Mr. Finney, I’ll have my resignation on your desk within the hour.”
“That’s not necessary, Nicki.”
“It is. I don’t want my lack of interest in this proposal to keep Mr. Chasen from allowing the company to handle the deal.”
She nodded curtly at Steve. His dark eyes were remote and expressionless as she bowed out of the room.
The moment Nicki hit the hallway Sarah rushed to her side, struggling to keep up with her as she strode down the hallway.
“Are you nuts? You can’t turn down an opportunity like that?”
“You were listening?”
Sarah nodded.
Nicki only chuckled at Sarah’s moxie. “Then you know it’s too late. I just did.”
“Nicki, you can’t leave,” she sniffed.
“Come on Sarah, this is your chance. Finney will be looking for a new executive assistant. You’re perfect for the job.”
“No. I could never be you.”
Nicki took her by the shoulders. “You shouldn’t ever want to be me. Be yourself. Look at you.” She assessed the younger woman from head to toe. “You’re smart and you’ve got it all together. Plus, you have great fashion sense.”
Sarah laughed. “Can I call you if I need help?”
“Sure, and I might even answer if I remember to charge my phone.”
Nicki put the spoon in her mouth and with her free hand, circled the position on the newspaper with her yellow marker and continued down the want ads. She’d already applied everywhere online, but you never knew what might be in the newspaper. That was how she’d gotten her job with Hancock Finney.
Her cell rang, and she edged the carton of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream aside to reach the phone. The number was unknown to her. Maybe it was an interview call back.
After two weeks of unemployment, she was almost ready to practice saying, “Would you like fries with that?”
Almost.
“Nicki?” the gentle voice queried.
“Madeline, is that you?” She smiled, thinking of the good twin.
“Yes, dear. This is Steven’s cell phone, but he was sure you wouldn’t answer if he called.”
“Well, I...um, Madeline, what can I do for you?”
“It’s your father, dear. He’s had a small stroke. They’ve admitted him to Denver General for testing. We thought you should know.”
The spoon in her hand clattered to the floor.
“Cabbage.”
“Excuse me?” Madeline replied.
“I’ll be right there.”
When she arrived, Steve was in the hall outside her father’s room. Though he was dressed down in jeans and a flannel shirt, everything seemed incongruent now that he was clean shaven with short, styled hair. She couldn’t quite decide which role he was playing today.
“They’re drawing his blood,” Steve said.
She nodded. “How bad is it?”
“Minor. The doctor called it a transient ischemic attack.”
“So you’re saying that they’ll put him on medication and cut him off from his smokes and booze and make him eat right? If he’s real lucky, this might not happen again, and he’ll live to see another scam?”
“Nicki, give the guy a chance. He’s changed, only you haven’t been around to see it. He doesn’t smoke or drink anymore.” He met her gaze. “He’s going to church and found a peace that we all could learn from.”
She made a scoffing noise.
“No one gets a second chance with you? Is that it? Mess up once and you’re out on your behind?”
“I’m the queen of second chances. It’s those fourth and fifth ones that really sear your heart and puncture your dreams,” she muttered.
The door opened and a nurse came out rolling a small cart. “You can go in now. He’s complaining, but I only took a little blood.”
“You go ahead,” Steve said. “I’ll wait out here.”
This was just one more Big Nick drama, she told herself as she entered the room.
Except it wasn’t.
Big Nick had become a shadow of the giant she’d seen only a few weeks ago.
“Nick,” she murmured as she approached the bed.
Her father was sitting up against a pillow in a sea of white linens, hooked up to a couple monitors and an IV that only made him appear pale and old. Very old.
Nick Baldwin wasn’t getting any younger anyhow. She was a late-life child, born when her mother and Nick had given up hope of having a child. When she was eight, everything changed.
He stopped being her father and became Nick.
Not a day went by that she didn’t miss her father.
“I’m sorry, Nicki.”
“You’re sorry? What are you sorry for?”
“That it’s taken me twenty years to realize you needed a father, not a pal.”
Was he reading her mind? She sank into the chair next to his bed and took his hand.
“I’ve changed, Nicki. I know I’ve said that twice a year for twenty years too. But this time it is different. My face was in the dirt in prison. I’d sunk lower than even I thought possible. The Lord took me in his arms and welcomed me back with no questions asked.”
“Yes. He does that.”
“If He can, then I’m praying maybe you can too.”
Nicki took a deep breath.
Pride. The simple word whispered through her mind and her heart began to beat overtime.
Her pride was all she had left.
When Nicki looked into her father’s weary eyes and saw the hope there, she realized that maybe she should have opened her hand and allowed that pride to fly away long ago.
“It’s okay, Dad,” she murmured. “It’s going to be okay.”
Chapter 7
Nicki sat in her car waiting for the signal. Madeline opened the curtains when Steve left out the back door for the construction site each day. Then Nicki would slip into the house, walking the three flights of stairs to the top floor to visit her father.
The little arrangement had been going on nicely for a few weeks now. They’d play a few rounds of chess before she headed to work, and sometimes she’d follow him around
the Victorian and help him with some of his maintenance duties before she left for her day job.
And day job it was. Nicki was the manager at Taco Mucho where she took care of everything from hiring and firing to the monthly payroll.
It wasn’t exactly a career, but it paid the bills, barely, and would be fine until something better came along. On the positive side, she got all the taco salads she could eat, and they were better than the frozen meals she’d been living on.
The curtains moved and she grabbed her satchel and the shopping bag from the back seat. She’d bought her father a couple of puzzles. Turned out he liked to do puzzles. He told her that he and her mom used to do them in the evenings for years instead of watching television. The thought warmed Nicki through and through. She was learning more and more about her mother and her father as she spent hours chatting with him over chess games.
He always won, but that didn’t matter. Her competitive streak had diminished since she’d left Hancock Finney and the edgy restlessness was gone. She liked being able to spend time with her father.
The fact that the worst thing that could possibly happen in a day at work was running out of processed cheese or canned taco sauce was an added perk. Then she’d send one of the teenage employees down to the supermarket for backup supplies, and disaster would be averted.
Okay, so she was a little under challenged and her MBA wasn’t exactly exercised regularly. But she was paying on her student loans each month. Besides, this was only a temporary solution and she sort of liked the mindless routine.
She moved up the steps of the Victorian, pausing to admire the house. Painters were setting up for the day, moving their ladders and scaffolding into position. The west side of the house had been completed and boasted a fresh coat of gray-blue body color, white trim, and rusty red accents on the eaves. She smiled every time she saw the progress.
Perhaps this would encourage the rest of the neighborhood to begin to improve their houses. The possibility that the dreary neighborhood might actually be transformed excited her.
Nicki pulled open the brass handles and stepped in. The tantalizing aroma of whatever recipe Steve had been cooking recently lingered in the air. She inhaled deeply before moving farther into the small lobby.
The carpet had been pulled up in the last few days exposing the oak floors which were polished to a soft sheen. Dark print runners covered the center of the stairs.
From her doorway, Madeline wiped her hands on a kitchen towel and waved.
“Hello, Nicki. How are you, dear?”
“Good, Madeline. Where’s your sister?
“She’s sulking in her room because I won our bet.”
“What bet was that?”
The elderly woman offered a merry laugh. “Oh, I can’t tell you that yet. Maybe on your way out.”
Confused, Nicki chuckled. “Okay, Madeline.”
“Isn’t the house coming along nicely?”
“It is, and quickly too.”
“Yes. Steven doesn’t waste any time and you should see the shops going up around the corner.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. The bakery where I buy my éclairs is moving in. More space, and room for tables along the sidewalk. Oh, and a yoga studio. And of course the restaurant.”
“The restaurant?”
“Yes. Steven is opening a restaurant.”
Nicki shook her head, once again convinced she was hearing things. “Did you just say...”
“Yes. An Italian restaurant. Josephine’s. After his momma.”
“So he’s staying in Denver?”
“Of course,” Madeline said with a mischievous sparkle in her blue eyes.
“Of course,” Nicki murmured. She started up the stairs, tucking that information away to consider later. Much later.
As she passed Steve’s apartment, her foot on the step to the third floor, a door opened behind her. Nicki froze.
He was home?
He wasn’t supposed to be home, and Nicki was unclear exactly what her next move should be. Act casual, or race up the stairs like a five-year-old to the safety of her father’s apartment? She closed her eyes tightly wishing she wasn’t wearing her bright yellow Taco Mucho dress shirt with her name embroidered on the pocket.
“Nicki?”
Though she opened her eyes and turned slowly, her heart was way ahead of her, and it hammered an excited message to her brain.
It was worse than she expected. His hair was a little shaggier and his face bore the evidence of having not shaved in weeks. Steve looked better than in her dreams. Far better than she remembered.
A woman came out of the apartment to stand beside him; tall and regal in dark slacks and a burgundy silk blouse. Dark waves of hair floated around her shoulders. She wore the same aura of smooth confidence as he did.
Two thoughts slammed into Nicki at the same time. All these weeks she’d been avoiding him, because she knew in her heart...she’d fallen in love with Steve.
And now. Now it was too late.
“Nicki?” he repeated.
She smiled. “Sorry. A lot on my mind.”
“It’s good to see you.” A sad smile curved his full lips.
“You too.”
“I’d like you to meet Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth. The voice on the phone.
“Lizzy, this is Nicki Baldwin.”
The woman shot her a full-out, thrilled-to-meet-you grin as she looked from Steve to her and back again. “This is Nicki? Nick’s daughter?”
“It’s me all right.”
“I’m so happy to finally meet you.”
Nicki offered her hand, but Elizabeth stepped forward and hugged her.
“Um, you too.” She frowned, certain she was missing a large puzzle piece here.
“Lizzy is visiting from California. She’s taken over day-to-day operations of Chasen Industries.”
So Madeline was right. He was staying in Denver. Madeline, who was supposed to let her know when Steve left the house so she could sneak in and avoid him. That Madeline.
“It must be difficult being away from each other so much,” Nicki offered.
“Oh, we always get together for the holidays, and I imagine he’ll be out to the coast to visit once it gets below zero here in Denver.”
Nicki frowned at her words.
The front door opened, and a tall man in a dark suit entered the lobby.
“My limo is here. I’ve got to run,” Elizabeth said. She turned to hug Steve and then impulsively hugged Nicki once again.
“Your suitcase, Lizzy.” Steve stepped back into the apartment and came out with a rolling suitcase. He carried it down the short flight of steps for her.
His eyes were on Nicki as he walked back up to the landing.
“I like your, uh...your...”
“Sister.”
Her eyes rounded and the puzzle bag in her hand slipped to the floor.
Steve grabbed the bag and handed it back to her. “What did you think she was?”
Nicki shrugged, her effort at nonchalance pathetic at best. “It wasn’t my place to think about it.” She turned and started up the stairs to the third floor.
“Nick isn’t home.”
“Where is he?”
“He’s doing a walk through with the electrical code inspectors at the restaurant.”
“I see.” She walked up three more stairs, placed the puzzle bag outside her father’s door, and then headed back down.
“Nicki? Please.” The words were soft and pleading and she stopped where she was and met his gaze.
“Why did you stay in Denver?” she asked.
“Because I realized that you were right. I’ve been a fixer and a deal maker for so long I’ve forgotten what it means to really commit myself heart and soul to a project from beginning to end.”
“So you’re here until the restaurant is open?”
“No, Nicki, I’m here for good. I’m not going to run out on you like Big Nick.”
; She inhaled sharply, confused and terrified by his words.
“That is...if you’ll give me a chance.”
He stepped into her personal space and she realized that the tantalizing aroma she’d smelled when she first walked into the house was the fragrance of coming home.
“We hardly know each other,” she murmured as she inched back from him. “And I’ve been nothing but a prideful annoyance since day one. Are you sure this is really what you want?”
Steve laughed.
“Oh, I’m sure. I’ve been waiting for you all my life, Nicki Baldwin. I want to spend the rest of my life getting to know you.”
Nicki melted at his words. She reached out and caressed the hair at the base of his neck. Unable to resist, she traced the stubble on his face with her fingers, then tentatively, daringly moved to touch his lips. They were soft and warm.
Steve took her hand in his and kissed the center of her palm, his dark eyes never leaving hers.
She stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. When he lowered his head, her chin lifted, ready to meet his challenge. It was a long, lingering kiss.
A buzzer went off, and Steve raised his head, glanced over his shoulder, and grimaced.
“Number ninety-five. I have to get that or the ravioli is going to burn.”
“Mustn’t let that happen.” Nicki took his hand and led him into the apartment.
From the first floor landing, a giggling echoed up the stairwell.
“Five dollars, Millicent.”
“The best five dollars I ever lost, sister.”
Epilogue
Steve wrapped the apron around Nicki’s round abdomen, tied it in back, and kissed her lips tenderly before he released her.
Once a week they ceased from the activities that centered on the restaurant and went home, where he taught his new wife one of his mother’s recipes. This week it was sauce.
Nicki sighed and turned around. “Nice try,” she said, savoring his kiss. “But we aren’t naming the baby Nick.”
“Only if it’s a boy,” he said. He took her hand and placed a kiss in the palm.
“It’s not a boy.” She reached up to touch his lips with her finger. “Madeline and Millicent both say it’s going to be a girl.”
No Time For Love Page 6