One Season of Sunshine

by Julia London

  “Hey!” Jane cried. She grabbed the remote from Riley and turned off the TV. That earned shouts from both kids.

  “Okay, listen,” Jane said, sensing a mutiny within the first thirty minutes of being on the job. “We need to establish some ground rules—”

  “No, we don’t,” Riley said. “You can’t really make us do anything. You’re just a babysitter. You don’t get to tell us what to do.”

  Levi, God bless him, was too young to realize he could question authority, and stared at his sister with wide-eyed horror. So did Jane as she frantically thought what to do next. “Okay, Riley, you have made it very clear you don’t like me being here. I know this is a big change for you, and one you didn’t ask for.”

  “I can’t listen to this,” Riley said and flopped back into her chair with dramatic flair.

  “This is the way it has to be for a time,” Jane stubbornly continued. “At least until your father comes home. You can take it up with him, but until then, we need to figure out how to make this work.”

  “Knock yourself out. I don’t care what you do. All I know is that I don’t want you here, I don’t need you here, and I don’t care what you say.”

  Teaching second grade had in no way prepared Jane for the cool hostility of a preteen. “I think you need to go to your room until you are ready to be civil.” That was all she had, the thing her mother had used on her during the teen years.

  Riley blinked. And then she laughed. “That is off the chain!” She unfolded her legs and stood up; she was almost as tall as Jane. “I’m not five, Jane.”

  “I’m five!” Levi said.

  “And besides, I have a TV in my room and a computer. I can do whatever I want. For all you know, I am hooking up with sex predators online.”

  “Go,” Jane said, pointing to the door. With her arms folded across her chest, Riley glared. For a moment, Jane feared Riley would refuse her. If that happened, she didn’t know what she would do. But Riley walked out. Her exit was followed a moment later by the sound of a door slamming shut.

  “Can I watch Phineas and Ferb?” Levi asked, as if nothing had happened.

  Jane looked at him. She picked up the remote and handed it to him. “Have at it,” she said, and as Levi settled in to watch the cartoon, Jane walked outside the media room and stood in the hall, wondering what in the hell she’d gotten herself into.

  6

  The late afternoon sun was slanting through the windows of BMW headquarters in Munich when Asher stepped out of a meeting to call Riley. He’d had several urgent text messages from her, the last one coming from Levi’s phone. A couple of days, maybe three, had passed since the new nanny had begun work, and Asher figured Riley’s urgent messages had something to do with her. Levi seemed to like the nanny. He’d said they were building a garden.

  Riley hadn’t said much at all, other than she didn’t like the nanny. But then again, she hadn’t liked any of the others.

  “Mr. Price, would you like coffee?” an assistant asked as he waited for the number to connect.

  “No, thank you—”

  “Hello?”

  Asher did not recognize the woman’s voice. “Sorry, I have the wrong number—”

  “Mr. Price? Oh, hi, it’s Jane Aaron,” the woman said. “You know, the new nanny?”

  The new nanny’s voice had a sexy, husky quality to it. Asher had missed that in their initial conversation. “Yes, hello, I know who you are. Why are you answering Riley’s phone?”

  “Oh . . . unfortunately, I had to take the phone away from her.”

  “Why? What happened?”

  “She has some serious issues with me, Mr. Price. She doesn’t want a nanny and is making it very difficult for me. But I think we are working things out.”

  Asher’s stomach dropped. He knew better than anyone else how difficult Riley could be sometimes, but he suddenly thought of all those text messages he’d half ignored while working, and had a horrible vision of things going terribly wrong in his house. He imagined his children subjected to some Nazi Brunhilda without him there to defend them. “Where is Riley?” he demanded.

  “She and Levi are swimming. Well, Levi is swimming. Riley is sitting in a chaise with her iPod so she can’t hear me.”

  “I am a little distressed to hear you took her phone, Miss Aaron. I would have appreciated it if we could have discussed it first.”

  There was a moment of silence. And then Jane Aaron said, “Are you kidding?”

  “What? No, I’m not kidding.”

  “No offense, Mr. Price, but you haven’t called me, or otherwise communicated at all except through your assistant, and then you expect me to allow Riley to push me out the door, which is exactly what she’d like to do in case you haven’t talked to her, because she really doesn’t want me here—”

  “I am fully aware,” he interrupted. “I’ve received no less than one hundred text messages from her.”

  “Aha!” she cried triumphantly. “Then you know how hard this has been! Taking her phone seemed to be the only thing that would work, the only way I could get Riley to stop speaking so disrespectfully and calling her grandmother to complain just to see if she can get rid of me. I told her you could decide if and when she gets her phone back. If that’s not okay, then maybe I’m not the right person for this job.”

  He should have been furious at the way she was speaking to him, but he was more incredulous. “Are you threatening me? Are you going to bolt and run after only a few days on the job? Where’s your mettle?”

  Jane Aaron gasped. “My mettle? Mr. Price, are you going to work with me here, or are you going to call up from around the world and issue orders without so much as a hello or welcome aboard?”

  Asher blinked. And then he almost laughed. He couldn’t remember the last time someone in his employ had spoken to him like this. “Point taken, Miss Aaron. I will be home Thursday by six o’clock, if there aren’t any travel delays. After I spend some time with my children, you and I can talk about my expectations and Riley’s phone.”

  “Great!” she said pertly. “And maybe we can talk about some of my expectations, too, if that’s all right.”

  Who was this chick? “Fine. Now—how are the kids?”

  “They’re good,” she said, her voice cheerful again. “They are adjusting as well as could be expected. Levi and I have begun a garden. I checked with your groundskeeper and he said that was fine.”

  The assistant leaned out the door and pointed to her watch. The meeting was starting up again and Asher still needed to call his office in Austin. “Okay, that’s great,” he said impatiently, looking at his watch. “Please tell the kids I’ll call them at the usual time tonight. I’ll be back on Thursday.”

  “Okay, see you then,” she said, and hung up.

  Asher hardly noticed; he was already phoning the Austin office.

  * * *

  Mr. Price had been away from home for over two weeks now, and his children could hardly wait for six o’clock Thursday to come around. School had ended yesterday and they were very excited that he was coming home—Levi talked about nothing but his daddy all morning, and even Riley was upbeat.

  Carla had made a lasagna and salad for the grand occasion, with instructions for Jane on how to heat it. “It’s one of Mr. Price’s favorite meals,” she said proudly.

  Jane found it hard to believe that a demon actually ate food. She was still smarting over her conversation with the pompous ass.

  About three that afternoon the phone rang, and Riley grabbed it before Jane could reach it. “Hi, Tara,” she said. She was twirling around with the phone like a ballerina, her fingers trailing over the kitchen island. And then Riley stopped. Her face fell. “Why?” she asked, and as she listened, her shoulders visibly sagged. “Okay, fine,” she said, her voice cool. “Bye.”

  “Who was that?” Levi asked from a row of trucks he’d lined up in the den.

  Riley looked at her little brother. “Dad had to change his flight. He won�
��t be home until tomorrow.”

  “What?” Jane said. “When?”

  But Riley had already walked out of the kitchen. Jane looked incredulously at Carla.

  Carla sighed. “The lasagna will keep ’til tomorrow,” she said. She sounded as disappointed as the kids. “I think I have some chicken soup in the freezer I can dig out for tonight.” She disappeared into the utility room to check the freezer.

  Jane looked at Levi. He was staring glumly at his trucks. “Hey, you want to go check our plants?” she asked him.

  “No,” he said. “I’m gonna go watch TV.”

  As it turned out, there was no need for Carla to dig out the soup. Levi wouldn’t eat anything but peanut butter and jelly, and Riley refused to come out of her room. “I’m not hungry!” she shouted through the door when Jane tried to coax her. So Jane ate soup alone, sitting in a huge kitchen where she didn’t really belong, watching over kids who didn’t really want her.

  Later that night, she fell asleep on her laptop. Literally, on top of it—she’d sat with it on her bed, staring at an open page of her thesis, unable to find the words she needed. She didn’t remember drifting to sleep, but she was awakened in the very early morning by the sound of doors opening and shutting coming through the monitor. Levi.

  Jane found Levi in his room. Still half asleep, he’d changed into shorts and was pulling the sheets off his bed. “Levi, what are you doing?” she asked through a yawn as the boy stumbled by, dragging his sheets.

  “Nothing.”

  He was clearly doing something. Jane followed him downstairs, to the utility room, where he pushed the sheets into the washing machine as if he’d done it many times before. When he put them in, he turned around and looked at Jane, his expression forlorn.

  “What’s the matter, Levi?”

  He shifted his gaze away from her, to the washing machine.

  Jane knelt down beside him. “Did you have an accident?” He still would not look at her but kept his gaze on the washing machine, pressing a finger against the glass front. “Did you forget to go to the potty?”

  He shrugged, then looked at her from the corner of his eye. “Don’t tell Carla, okay?”

  Jane looked at the washing machine. Carla would know when she saw the sheets.

  “Please don’t tell her,” Levi begged. “She doesn’t like it when I do that and she’ll tell Dad.”

  Jane’s heart went out to him. She gathered him in her arms and hugged him tightly to her. “I promise I won’t,” she said, and kissed his cheek. She stood up, ran her hand over his head. “You want some breakfast?”

  “Can I have Lucky Charms?” he asked, brightening.

  While Levi ate Lucky Charms, Jane sipped coffee and perused the Neiman Marcus catalogue addressed to Susanna Price. When Riley appeared, Jane almost choked on her coffee. Riley had dyed her hair pink. As if that hadn’t been enough, she’d painted her fingernails black.

  Riley opened the refrigerator and fetched an orange.

  “What did you do to your hair?” Levi asked.

  Riley peeled her orange as if Levi hadn’t spoken.

  Carla walked in from the pantry, took one look at Riley, and said, “Oh, dear Lord.”

  “Riley?” Jane said.

  “What.”

  “That’s really cool. I like it.” Riley shot Jane a suspicious look, but Jane smiled nonetheless. “But you probably should have checked with me first.”

  “With you?” Riley snorted. “It’s my hair. I can do what I want. I don’t need permission.”

  “I know someone who won’t like it,” Carla said. Riley shrugged indifferently and walked out of the kitchen with her orange.

  Carla looked at Jane. “Mr. P is not going to like that at all,” she said ominously.

  At noon, Tara called and reported that Mr. Price was on his way and would be home by six. When Carla told them, Levi began to ask every half hour, “What time is it?”

  “Three thirty,” Jane said when he’d asked for the umpteenth time. “I’ll tell you what—why don’t we go get a smoothie while we wait?”

  “I don’t want a smoothie, I want my phone,” Riley said as she chipped anxiously at her black nail polish.

  “So you’ve said five million times,” Jane said cheerfully. “But take heart, Riley—the end is nigh.”

  “I want a smoothie!” Levi exclaimed. “I want a green one!” he declared as he climbed up on the counter. Carla removed him with a loud sigh of exasperation.

  “You don’t even know what a smoothie is, Levi,” Riley said.

  “I do too!” He climbed up on the counter again. “It’s green.”

  “Off the counter, please,” Jane said. “A smoothie is like a milk shake, only better for you. And they make great ones at Daisy’s Saddle-brew Coffee Shop. I was thinking it would be nice to get out of the house for a while.”

  “Yes, go, go,” Carla said. “You kids are driving me crazy this week!”

  “I don’t want to go,” Riley said. She was dressed in black pencil jeans and a black hoodie, in spite of the warm, humid weather.

  “We’re going,” Jane said firmly but pleasantly. “Think of it as a field trip!”

  Riley sighed dramatically, but she pushed away from the counter and walked toward the door. It wasn’t much, but after the week Jane had had, she took it as a sign of progress.

  They drove to the center of town in the Range Rover Mr. Price had made available to Jane to cart his kids around. At the Saddle-brew, Jane spotted Samantha Delaney’s short dark hair behind the counter. Jane had met Sam her first day in Cedar Springs, and they’d become friendly when Jane had stopped in for a coffee while she’d been out looking for a job.

  “Hey,” Sam said, smiling at the kids. “So I guess you took the job, huh?”

  “I did,” Jane said and forced a smile, as if it had been a fabulous opportunity. She ordered smoothies for the three of them—a special green one for Levi—and chatted with Sam a moment before steering the kids to stuffed chairs near the front windows.

  “Hey, maybe we’ll see Dad!” Levi said and hung over the back of the chair, watching the cars pass by. “Riley, there’s your friend!” he said suddenly, turning so quickly to Riley that he almost spilled his green smoothie before Jane caught it and righted it.

  “Who?” Riley asked, peering at the window. Her pretty face suddenly paled. “Oh, great,” she muttered, and pushed deeper into the cushions.

  “Tracy!” Levi shouted when the door opened, and he waved his arm like he was flagging down a rescue plane.

  “Levi, shut up!” Riley hissed, but Tracy had heard him and, together with a large woman, walked to where Jane and the kids sat. “Hi, Levi! Hi, Riiiley,” she said, nudging Riley’s boot with her sandal.

  “Hi,” Riley said shyly.

  Tracy was a cute girl with long brown hair and bangs. She was wearing a halter top and a pair of turquoise short shorts. She smiled easily at Jane. Popular girl, Jane thought.

  “Hello,” Jane said, coming to her feet. “I’m Jane Aaron.”

  “I’m Tracy, and this is my mom, Linda Gail.”

  “Linda Gail Graeber,” her mother said and smiled warmly at Jane. “Are you Riley’s aunt?”

  “Ah, no. I’m a nanny.”

  “Nanny!” Linda Gail said, as if that excited her. “Riley, you didn’t tell us you had a nanny.”

  “That’s because I don’t. She’s only temporary until my dad gets back from Germany, and he’s coming home today.” Riley said all that without looking up.

  Mrs. Graeber gave Jane a sympathetic smile.

  “Why are you wearing that?” Tracy asked Riley. “It’s hot.”

  Riley pulled the hood over her head and shrugged. Tracy had a sense of style that Riley did not yet possess, and it seemed to Jane that Riley shrank a bit in Tracy’s presence.

  “What did you do to your hair?” Tracy asked, leaning over, peering at the bit of pink that peeked out from Riley’s hood.

  “She made it
pink,” Levi said.

  Jane glanced at Levi—and gasped with alarm. She made a lunge for him, grabbing his arm. He’d climbed onto the back of the chair and was balancing himself on two feet. She quickly yanked him down. “What are you doing? You don’t want to fall and hurt yourself.”

  Levi responded by bouncing onto his seat in the chair.

  “You’re a handful, aren’t you, Levi?” Linda Gail said cheerfully as she affectionately brushed her daughter’s hair off her shoulders. “I’ve got two more at home and I’m still getting used to them,” she said to Jane. “Are you from Cedar Springs?”

  “No, Houston.”

  “Houston,” Linda Gail said, nodding. “You came all the way out here to be a nanny?”

  “Mom,” Tracy moaned. “Don’t start.”

  Linda Gail laughed. “All right, all right, I won’t be nosy.”

  Tracy nudged Riley with her foot again. “Want to come over later this week? We can go swimming.”

  “Can’t,” Riley said. “My dad is coming home.”

  “At least call me,” Tracy said. When Riley didn’t respond, Tracy shrugged it off. “Okay, see you,” she said, and bounced up to the counter. Jane didn’t think that Tracy would be lacking for any phone calls this summer. She probably had more friends than Levi had trucks.

  “It was nice meeting you, Jane,” Linda Gail said pleasantly. “Welcome to Cedar Springs.”

  Jane thanked her and watched her walk away before sitting in her chair again. She put her hand to Levi’s legs to stop his kicking, and looked at Riley. “Tracy seemed really nice.”

  Riley looked down.

  “I bet your dad wouldn’t mind if you wanted to go over to her house one afternoon to swim,” Jane suggested.

  “I don’t want to swim.”

  “Why not?” Jane asked curiously.

  Riley sighed, as if Jane were taxing her. “Can we please go now?”

  It would be nice, Jane thought, if she had a clue how to talk to this kid. She made a mental note to never, ever, teach middle school. Talk to her like an adult, Nicole had advised her. Jane would have to report back that speaking to this twelve-year-old like an adult wasn’t exactly working gangbusters, either. She looked at her watch. It was early yet, but she said, “Yeah, let’s go. Your dad could be home in an hour or so.”