Preacher Wore A Gun

by Joyce Livingston

  Tassie huffed as she unfolded her napkin and placed it in her lap. “ ‘Promising’ isn’t exactly the word I would use to describe my day. Grueling would be more like it.”

  “I take that to mean you didn’t have any success.”

  She felt her mother’s hand lovingly circle her forearm. “Perhaps tomorrow will be better, dear.”

  Tomorrow—how she hated to even think about doing the same thing the next day. “Maybe I made a mistake coming back to Grand Island. Not that living in Omaha was so terrific, but at least there seemed to be more jobs there. But that’s hindsight. I’ve already quit my job and given up my apartment. Don’t worry, Mom. God knows I need a job. He won’t let me down.”

  Later, as the two were cleaning the kitchen, her mother received a call on her cell phone from one of her friends at church. Tassie smiled at her then shooed her out of the room, motioning that she would finish the job herself. When the kitchen was finally back to order, she moved into the living room and sat down on the sofa beside her father. “I love you, Daddy,” she told him, leaning her head against his shoulder.

  He lowered his newspaper and smiled at her. She loved his smile. Why couldn’t she have inherited his dimples?

  Grinning and excited about something, her mother flitted across the room toward them. “Tassie, guess what! I think I have a job for you!”

  Before Tassie could respond, her mother wiggled her way in between the two and sat down. “That was Phyllis Cramer. She said her neighbor is frantic for a babysitter for his three children!”

  None too enthused, Tassie screwed up her face. “Thanks, Mom, but I don’t think so. I love children, and have had plenty of experience as a babysitter, but I need a full-time job.”

  “It is full time, actually more than full time. He wants a live-in nanny, and Phyllis says she thinks the pay is pretty good. She’s already highly recommended you!”

  She frowned. “Why would a man need a live-in nanny? Where’s his wife?”

  “Gone. Killed in a car wreck a few years ago I think Phyllis said.”

  “Doesn’t the guy spend any time with his kids?”

  “Yes, as much as he can, I guess. She said he needs someone there 24-7 because he works odd hours and is sometimes called out on a case for days.”

  “Case? What’s he do?”

  “Oh, I guess I didn’t mention that. Phyllis said he is a detective. His wife’s mother has been living with him and caring for the children but apparently there was some kind of disagreement and she has moved to California. Phyllis has been pinch-hitting and taking care of them until he finds a replacement. I think you should go see him.”

  Tassie gave her head a slight shake. “I don’t know, Mom. He’s probably looking for someone on a permanent basis. I doubt he’d want to hire me for just three months then have to find someone to replace me.”

  “You’ve always been great with kids. You ought to at least talk to him, find out exactly what he does want.” She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a piece of notepaper. “My friend gave me his number.”

  Tassie took it and stuck it into her jeans’ pocket. “I’ll think about it. Meantime, I’m going to go out in the backyard and toss the Frisbee to Goliath.”

  ❧

  As she dressed the next morning in preparation for hitting the pavement again in search of a job, she remembered she had left her car keys in the pocket of her jeans and reached into the closet to retrieve them. As she pulled the keys out, a folded piece of paper fell to the floor. But as she picked it up and turned to toss it onto her dresser she stopped. Maybe she should give that man a call; then at least she could tell her mother she had tried. Most retail stores didn’t open until ten so she still had plenty of time before slipping on her shoes and heading out. Pulling her cell phone from her pocket, she dialed the number. To her surprise he answered on the first ring.

  “Mr. Drummond? This is Tassie Springer. I’ve just moved back to town and I’m looking for a job. Phyllis Cramer, a friend of my mother, said you were searching for a full-time babysitter. I thought—”

  “When can you come for an interview?”

  What? I know Mrs. Cramer recommended me but isn’t he going to ask about my qualifications? “I—I guess I could come anytime it is convenient for you.”

  “Where are you now?”

  “Now? At—at my parents’ home on Wilson Way Road.”

  “What’s the house number?”

  “Ten sixteen, but—”

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes.” A click sounded in her ear.

  Still holding the phone in her hand, Tassie staggered her way into the kitchen where her mother was preparing the ingredients to go into the bread machine. “He’s coming here.”

  Her mother screwed the lid onto the bottle of ground cinnamon then swung around. “Who’s coming here?”

  “The guy who needs a babysitter. Mitchell Drummond.”

  Three

  Mitch double-checked the address then punched the doorbell button with one hand and worked at his tie with the other. This woman—this Tassie Springer, if he liked her and felt she would do a good job—had to say yes. At this point I’d almost settle for an orangutan as a babysitter if it could keep my kids in line. He smiled to himself. Maybe that’s not such a bad idea. Wonder where I could get one.

  When a lovely late-fortyish-looking woman answered the door, smiling at him, he thought maybe God had heard his prayers after all. “I’m Mitchell Drummond. I’m the one who needs a babysitter—ah, I guess these days they call them a nanny, someone full time.” When she pushed open the screen door he quickly stepped inside.

  “Would you like a glass of lemonade? I made it fresh not more than an hour ago.”

  He sat down as she gestured toward the sofa. “Thank you, no.” Then glancing around the room and being pleased with what he saw, he offered, “Lovely place you have here. So homey. Have you had much experience taking care of children?”

  Her hand went to her throat as she gasped. “Oh, I’m not the one interested in the job. It’s my daughter, Tassie. And as for your question, yes, she has had lots of child-care experience. As a teenager, she babysat for several families on a regular basis. Then when she went off to college she babysat for her neighbor’s children while the woman worked nights and weekends. She’ll be here in a moment, Mr. Drummond. She went outside to spend a few minutes with her dog.”

  Both he and the woman turned as an attractive young female came hurrying into the room and extended her hand.

  “Hi. I’m Tassie Springer. You’re Mr. Drummond?”

  “Yes.” He rose quickly and shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, Miss Springer.”

  After motioning him to be seated, she sat down across from him as her mother said a hasty good-bye and scurried from the room. “I hope I haven’t wasted your time. I never expected you to rush all the way over here before we’d even had a chance to visit on the phone. You never even asked me about my qualifications.”

  “Your mom took care of that after I got here. She told me about all the babysitting you’ve done. And you did come highly recommended.”

  “Oh? Then you know more about me than I know about you. Tell me about this nanny position of yours, your children, and what is expected of whomever you hire.”

  This woman sounds perfect for the job. “Well, my wife died a couple of years ago and since then, her mother has been living with us, caring for the children and running the house.” He nervously cleared his throat. “I have to be honest with you. Actually, my three children have been running her, and the house has pretty much gone unattended. My kids can be a real handful.”

  “I was sorry to hear about your wife. Her loss must have really been hard on you and your family.”

  “It has been hard.” But not as hard as the day she walked out on us to go live with her drunken biker boyfriend. “We have tried to manage, but now that my mother-in-law has moved to California I’m without a babysitter.”

  “You
have three children?”

  “Yes, Babette, she’s four. Tony, he’s thirteen, and Delana, she’ll be sixteen soon. After my wife died I used some of the life insurance money to buy a new minivan, so you’ll have dependable transportation to drive the children around to their activities. You’ll have a room of your own, of course, up above the garage, but I would expect you to sleep in the house on the nights when I have to be away. On the sofa or maybe in one of the girls’ rooms.”

  “And you expect the person you hire to live at your home seven days a week, with no days off? Not even Sundays?”

  “Oh, I’m sure I’ll be able to spare you at least one day each week, they just won’t be regular. I’m a detective, so my schedule is pretty hectic. I may work fifty hours one week and eighty the next. It depends on what’s happening on Grand Island’s crime scene. I just need to make sure if I’m out all night, or get a phone call and am called away, someone is there with the children.”

  “Is there anything else you’d like to know about me? I’m sure it must be difficult even thinking about turning your children and your home over to a complete stranger.”

  “I should probably ask more questions but I can’t think of any right now. I’m not very good at this sort of thing, but one thing I am good at is judging people. In my business you get so you can read ’em like a book, and you have had experience with children. Just meeting you and talking with your mother, I can tell you’ll work out fine. It’s obvious you’ve come from a pretty nice family.”

  She gave him a weak smile. “You—ah—haven’t mentioned the pay.”

  “Oh, I haven’t, have I?” He rubbed at his chin and gave it some thought. If he made it too low, she would probably say no without even considering it. And taking care of his kids wasn’t going to be any picnic. He threw out a figure he hoped would seem fair. “And, of course, other than your personal items, I’ll pay all your expenses while you’re there.”

  He watched while she gave it some thought, hoping and praying she would say yes. He was prepared to go a bit higher in wages if he had to, but not much. He made a decent salary with the Grand Island Police Department but it was never enough to do everything he would like to do for his family. “Well, what’s your answer?”

  Tassie scrunched up her face in thought. “I’ll admit I wasn’t too interested in the job when I first heard about it, mainly because I’d be working so many hours, but I could really use the salary you’re offering, Mr. Drummond. I’ve always liked and gotten along well with kids, so I’m not concerned about that part. And, thanks to my mom, I know how to clean. And when I was living at home she turned me into a pretty good cook—but there may be a problem we haven’t yet discussed. A problem I would have mentioned on the phone if you’d given me half a chance.”

  He leaned forward with a reassuring smile, willing to do whatever it took to get her to say yes. “I’m sure we can overcome whatever it is.” The more she said, the better he liked her. He had to convince her to accept his offer.

  “You said you needed someone full time. Working full time would be fine for me now, but I can only work through the summer. I’m going to go back to college in the fall. I want to get my degree.”

  Mitch felt as if he had been kicked in the stomach. Tassie had seemed so right for the job. Finding a nanny—one who would live in—was proving to be far more difficult than he had imagined when his mother-in-law just up and walked out on him without notice. “Only through the summer?”

  “Yes. I’m sorry but I had to be honest with you. Since that apparently won’t work out for you, I do hope you can find someone else. I know how concerned you must be, being without proper child care, especially since your children will soon be out of school for summer break. Couldn’t Delana care for her brother and sister until the fall semester begins? You said she was almost sixteen. I started babysitting when I was only twelve.”

  “Actually, I prefer to have an adult with them.” As disobedient as Delana is, there is no way that would work out. She would have the house filled with her friends the minute I left for work. He shuddered. Friends or boyfriends! Filled with disappointment, he rose and headed toward the door. “You sure I can’t change your mind?”

  “No, I dropped out of college once and I’m not going to let that happen again. I’m determined to get my degree.”

  He opened the door then stepped outside. “Keep my number just in case, okay?”

  “I will but I won’t be changing my mind. Nice to have met you, Mr. Drummond. I wish you the best.”

  When the door closed behind him, he stood on the porch for a moment, half tempted to ring the doorbell again and beg her to take the job. She had seemed so right. But he didn’t. She had said no and he had to accept it. Finishing college and getting her degree was important to her and certainly admirable. It wasn’t fair to even tempt her to give up such a noble thing.

  But as he climbed into his car and headed for the police station, he couldn’t help but compare the excitement he had felt on the way to Tassie’s house to how he felt now. Lousy.

  ❧

  Tassie received calls from two prospective employers the next day with each offering no more than minimum wage and less than twenty-five hours per week. As much as she hated to, she turned them down. She filled out applications at several more of the smaller shops in the mall then headed home, discouraged and again second-guessing her move back to Grand Island. Was this God’s way of punishing her? Wasn’t living with what she had done all those years ago punishment enough? Did He have to heap on more?

  “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” her father asked that evening. “Your mom told me about the nanny job you turned down. Is that what’s upsetting you?”

  She sat down next to him and snuggled close. He felt warm, safe, just like he had when she had been a child and had snuggled up to him with a book in her hand, hoping he would read her a story. “Sorta, I guess, that and being rejected by all the places where I’ve applied for jobs. I feel so low, Dad, like I’m of no value to anyone.”

  “You are to me, honey, and to your mom. Next to our Lord and each other, we love you more than any person on earth.”

  “I know, Daddy, and I love you for loving me, but I’m a twenty-six-year-old woman now. Not a child. I should be able to make it on my own. I can’t come running to you and Mom all my life.”

  “We like having you run to us; we just wish we could do more. God knows your needs, Tassie.”

  “I know, but my need right now is a job, and so far He hasn’t given me one.”

  Off in the distance a phone rang. Tassie leaped to her feet. “Be right back; that’s my cell phone. I left it in my room.” She hurried down the hall, hoping to get there before her voice mail picked up or the person hung up. “Hello,” she answered breathlessly.

  “Miss Springer?” said a familiar voice.

  “Yes?”

  “Hi, Tassie. This is Mitch. Mitch Drummond.”

  “Oh?” Disappointed it wasn’t another job offer, she felt her hopes deflate. “I’m really sorry, Mr. Drummond. I know you need a nanny but I can’t change my mind. I am going to college in the fall.”

  “What if I told you I wanted you to work only until the fall semester?”

  Slightly heartened, Tassie switched the phone to her other ear and sat down on the edge of her bed. “I—I don’t understand.”

  “Look, I need a nanny, babysitter, or whatever you want to call it, and I need one now. You’re available now, but only until the fall semester begins. Finding the right person for this job is proving to be much harder than I had anticipated and you seemed so right for it. So I got to thinking. If you agree to take the job only until your classes start, that will give me slightly over three months to find your replacement. Surely in that length of time I can find someone competent. It’s a win-win situation for both of us. What do you say?”

  She hurriedly thought over his offer. He was right, it would be a win-win situation for both of them and she could sure use the
kind of money he had offered. “Going to church is important to me. I’d have to have Sundays off.” Lord, if You want me to accept this job, please work things out so I won’t have to miss church.

  From the pause on the other end she figured she had blown it, that he wouldn’t agree since he had been so adamant about her working a flexible schedule; but that’s the way it had to be. He could take it or leave it.

  “Having every Sunday off might present a problem. The bad guys don’t take Sundays off. Crime happens seven days a week and when it occurs I need to be there.”

  As much as she wanted to take the job, she couldn’t. She had to honor God and stand her ground. “Then I’m sorry, really I am, but attending church is important to me.”

  When he paused again and the connection lay heavy with silence, she thought he had hung up on her. But as she pulled the phone from her ear and started to flip it closed, he said, “I have an idea that may work for both of us, if you’re agreeable to it.”

  Please, Lord, don’t let him offer me more money if I work Sundays. I don’t want to be tempted to miss church.

  “You could take my kids with you.”

  “To church?” His suggestion was one she should have thought of herself and she almost felt ashamed for not offering to take them. “I’d love to have your children go to church with me.” Thank You, God!

  “I’m afraid I haven’t been a very good father. I used to attend but I haven’t taken them since my wife—ah—died, and my mother-in-law certainly never took them. I like the idea of my children attending church.”

  “What if they wouldn’t want to go with me?”

  “They may rebel at first but I’m sure they’ll come around once they get used to it. I might even come with you, too, on the Sundays I don’t have to work. Believe it or not, I used to be pretty active in our church, even sang in the choir for a year or two. So will you come to work for me? I’d like you to start as soon as possible.”

  “Like—how soon?”

  “Tomorrow?”

  “And you’ll pay me what you originally offered?”