Connections

by Amelia C. Adams

  “I just had my interview, and I got the job,” she said.

  “That’s great! So . . . why do you look so rattled?”

  “It’s just . . . I can’t explain it. They’re giving me more than I’d ever even dreamed they would.”

  “That’s the kind of people they are. They take care of their employees.” Rob nodded toward the parking lot. “I’m still taking you to lunch, right? You look like you could use something cold to drink.”

  “I really could.”

  “Then let’s go. This way.”

  The car he unlocked wasn’t a truck—it was a beige sedan, which surprised her, but only because it was so . . . normal compared to the giant truck. She slid inside and noticed how immaculate it was inside. Not the slightest whiff of food.

  “I felt a little underdressed when we went out yesterday, so I thought I could make more of an effort today,” he said as he started the engine. “Plus, we’re celebrating.”

  “Underdressed?”

  “Yeah. You were wearing nice clothes, and I had three inches of sawdust under my fingernails.”

  Maggie looked down at her outfit. Her slacks were growing thin from age and use, and her blouse was faded. He thought this was dressed up? He must have to go through all this effort. For some reason, tears prickled the backs of her eyes. He was being so sweet.

  “Where to?” he asked. “This is your party—anywhere you want.”

  “Do you know what I really want? Some great Mexican.”

  “You’ve got it.” He put the car in reverse, and they backed out and then pulled onto the street. “So, when do you start?”

  “Day after tomorrow. Andrew has me moving into a new apartment and going clothes shopping first.”

  “Sounds like fun,” Rob replied, even though he grimaced.

  “Not into clothes shopping?”

  “Um, no. I do it once a year, and let me explain how it goes. I dump everything out of my drawers onto my bed, and I divide it into three categories—too ratty to wear ever again, too ratty to wear in public, and too ratty to wear to church. I throw category one away, relegate the other clothes to work clothes or hanging-out-at-home clothes, and then I go buy two or three nice shirts in case of a wedding or a funeral or something. That’s about it.”

  “No new socks or underwear?”

  “Well, yes, but this is only our second date. I didn’t think I should be mentioning socks and underwear until at least our third date.”

  “Because socks are scandalous?”

  “Socks are very scandalous. You have no idea how many women I’ve chased off by mentioning my socks.”

  “Oh? How many is that?”

  Maggie had meant for her question to be lighthearted, but Rob’s face went serious. “Not so many, actually. The girlfriend I had the longest decided a little while ago to move back to Afghanistan, where she’s from, and work in the embassy. She didn’t love me enough to stay here, and I realized I didn’t love her enough to go with her, and that was hard. We thought we were committed, but when it came down to it, the ties just weren’t there.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” She could hear his regret in his voice. “Maybe it’s better to discover that now rather than later.”

  “Definitely. We’ll always be good friends, though—we’ve been exchanging emails, and it’s fun to hear what she’s been up to.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, that was a depressing note to throw into your celebration. Let’s see—we were talking about clothes shopping. Wait—that’s depressing too.”

  Maggie laughed. “Maybe for you, but I’m looking forward to it. I know exactly where I’m going, too. There’s a great store in the mall that I’ve glanced in several times, but I’ve never needed such nice clothes before. This time, I’m going all the way in, and I’m going to try stuff on and everything.”

  “That almost sounds a little bit like a threat.”

  “I think it is—I’m going to take the place by storm.” Or maybe a mild spring shower—she didn’t know how much money she’d been given. It would be rude to open the envelope in front of Rob, though—she’d wait until later.

  He pulled the car into the parking lot of Los Amigos, a restaurant she’d never been to, and spoke Spanish to their waitress when she came around for their orders. “That’s pretty cool,” Maggie said when it was just the two of them at their table again.

  “I hire temporary workers when we get backed up, and many of the most skilled journeymen speak Spanish,” Rob explained. “Knowing how too comes in handy.”

  “I bet. Did you just pick it up as you went?”

  “Most of it, yes. I also went down to the high school and took a class. They thought it was kind of weird having a thirty-year-old in there with them, but we all survived.”

  He was thirty, huh? A little bit of an age difference there. She wondered if it mattered. They were just having lunch together . . . two days in a row. It wasn’t like they were getting married or anything.

  “I’m taking some classes at the community college,” she told him. “Continuing education must be in the air.”

  “Must be. What are you taking?”

  “Humanities stuff, mostly. Art, literature . . . I’ve always been interested in things like that. The things that make the world a more beautiful place.”

  “I like that. As a society, I think we’re getting too caught up in getting ahead and making a buck that we’re forgetting to stop and appreciate things like art and literature and nature and even architecture.”

  “You’re into nature?”

  “Very much.” Rob glanced up and thanked the waitress as she set two glasses of Coke on the table. “I go hiking or camping as often as I can.”

  “No hunting?”

  “No.”

  “Don’t believe in it?”

  He laughed. “Mostly it’s because I’m a terrible shot. I don’t object to it as long as the right permits are in place and it’s not just for sport.”

  “My dad used to camp a lot. I remember that about him.”

  “Did he pass away?”

  Maggie took a sip of her drink before answering. “Um, no. Went to jail for drug dealing, got released a few years back, and I have no idea where he is.”

  “Oh, wow. I didn’t mean to pry.”

  “You’re not prying. It was a natural question, and I just happened to have a really rotten answer for it.”

  “And your mom?”

  “Equally as rotten.”

  “I’ll stop asking questions now,” Rob said, unwrapping his straw. “I’m not very good at this game.”

  “You’re fine. I’m just more challenging than most.” Maggie folded her arms on the table. “You probably came from a really great background, huh?”

  “I did, yeah.”

  “Parents still together? Loving grandparents?”

  “Yes to both. I’m sorry you didn’t.”

  “Well, it’s not your fault. I won’t hold you accountable for it.”

  “That’s really great because I don’t think I’m that powerful. I mean, I’m awesome and I’m charismatic, but I don’t think I’m influential enough to change someone’s entire life like that.”

  “I think that would be a terrible power to have.”

  “You do?” Rob looked thoughtful. “What if you had that power, but you only used it for good? What if you could change someone’s life for the better just by snapping your fingers or wiggling your nose or something?”

  “In the first place, I can’t wiggle my nose. I’ve tried—it doesn’t work. Secondly, I don’t know.” Maggie used her straw to spin her ice cubes around while she thought. “I’d like to end things like hunger and abuse, the really hard issues, but for the rest of it? Sure, I wish my parents hadn’t made the choices they did, but I can’t resent it too much. The things I went through made me stronger. I’m not as confident as I’d like to be all the time, but for the most part, I like who I am, and I don’t know if that would be true if I hadn’t gone through some
of the stuff I did.”

  “Very well put, and a great attitude to have,” Rob said. “I think I like you, Maggie Childers. You’re going to be a good influence on me.”

  “What? Why? What horrible flaws do you have to overcome?” He didn’t have any that she’d detected so far, and that was enough to make her a little suspicious. No one was that perfect.

  “I did have a great childhood, and I have supportive parents and cool siblings—pretty much the ideal background, but I still tend to get a little whiny when things don’t go my way.”

  “Whiny?” She couldn’t picture it.

  “A bit. Not like, little girl whiny—more like, older girl whiny.”

  She laughed. “Because that’s so much better?”

  “Yes. Absolutely. Seriously, though, I love your attitude.”

  “Thank you. I made it myself.”

  Their food arrived, and Maggie glanced at Rob often as she ate. She’d noticed his good table manners the day before—the man could eat a giant burger without plopping it on his shirt, which was amazing—and now she was equally impressed with his knife-and-fork skills.

  “Was that your mother or your father’s influence?” she asked, motioning down at his hands.

  “Pardon?”

  “Your fantastic table etiquette. The total lack of sloppage.”

  “My mother. My father taught me how to tie my shoes. I’m rather impeccable at that, too.”

  “I’m very pleased to hear that they both had a hand in your education. It’s important to split the task equally.”

  “I agree. It would have been terrible to have marvelous table manners, but untied shoes.”

  Maggie wanted to pinch herself. What was happening to her life? She’d spent so many years scrambling to make ends meet, dating guys who couldn’t hold up their end of a conversation, and living in a hole of an apartment that she’d thought that’s all there was for her. Now she was getting ready to start a job that would pay her well, moving into an apartment that had to be better than what she was used to, and Rob? Handsome, smart, charming, funny, down to earth . . . absolutely everything she’d ever wanted, but had told herself she’d never have. It couldn’t be real, she thought for the millionth time. Things like this just didn’t happen to girls like her.

  “What are you thinking?” Rob asked.

  “I’m thinking about this amazing cheese sauce,” she lied, not ready to tell him quite everything that was on her mind. She’d been pretty open as it was—honesty was sometimes best in small doses.

  “Do you always pull such interesting faces when you’re thinking about cheese?”

  “Absolutely. It’s a very emotionally evocative food.” She forked up another bite. “This restaurant is awesome. Thanks for bringing me here.”

  “Well, for a celebratory lunch, we couldn’t go just anywhere.” He picked up his glass of Coke and held it for a toast. “To new jobs, new hotels, and new friendships.”

  “Hear, hear,” she replied, clinking her glass against his.

  Friendships, hmm? Is that what this was? And why did she keep waffling back and forth about what she wanted it to be?

  Chapter Three

  Rob dropped Maggie off at the hotel so she could get her car, and then he ran home and changed. He was going to help Danny with the concrete for Jimmy’s flower beds, and he couldn’t do that in khakis. He pulled on some work clothes, grabbed his boots, and was out the door again within minutes, not wanting to keep Danny waiting. The edges for the first two beds were done, but they had quite a way to go before nightfall, and everything needed time to cure before the flowers arrived.

  Griffin was waiting for him when he pulled up in his truck. “Hey,” he said as Rob climbed out. “I’ve been looking for you.”

  “I’m sorry. I took a break for lunch. What’s up?”

  “Yeah, I heard something about lunch—and the new head housekeeper.”

  Rob grinned. “Her name is Maggie, and she’s . . . well, I’m not sure what she is, but I like it.”

  “Glad to hear it. About time you settled down.”

  Rob held up both hands. “What’s this? You and Tabs have been dating for what—fifteen minutes—and you’re lecturing me about domestic felicity?”

  “Yes. I know everything now, and I know that it’s time you settled down. Now, is Maggie the one? No idea. Haven’t met her. But you, young man—you are ready.”

  “Yes, oh wise one. Now, why were you looking for me?”

  Griffin pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. “I got an email this morning and printed it off to make sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me. Does this say what I think it says?”

  Rob took the paper and read it. Then he blinked and read it again. “It looks like this man wants to hire us to build a high-end hotel in Vegas for him once we’re done with the Brody.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I saw too.” Griffin reached out and slugged Rob’s shoulder. “Can you believe it? We’re actually going to make a go of this, buddy.”

  “How did this . . .” Rob scanned the email again. “This Mr. Collins even hear about us? We haven’t advertised yet—we don’t have a website or anything.”

  “He’s a friend of Andrew’s. They got to talking about something last week, Andrew mentioned us, and he asked Andrew to send over some pictures of what we’re doing. Do you see the dollar signs on this job?” Griffin jabbed the paper with his finger. “This is going to set us up for a long time. We’re going to be on the map.”

  Rob nodded, not quite believing it. “I’d like to talk to Andrew first,” he said at length. “Just to make sure this guy’s on the up and up.”

  “I talked to him just now, but yeah, anything you want to ask, go for it,” Griffin replied. “I’m also going to check him out online and see if I can find out anything that way.”

  “Good idea.” Rob handed the paper back to Griffin, deciding to try not to think about it until he was done helping with the concrete. There were only so many things he could hold in his brain at any given time before something started to break down, and each thing deserved his best effort. “So, hey. I’ve been meaning to ask if the genealogist has found out anything about your parents.”

  Griffin fell into step beside Rob as they crossed the lawn to the flower bed where Danny was working. “Not yet. He says he’s been in touch with the police, and they’re digging out whatever old records they’re allowed to give him. He’s trying to find the sergeant who took care of me that first day when I was abandoned at the police station, and he’s even been talking about making a trip down to Texas to talk to some people in person.”

  “Wow. That’s some serious research.”

  “He says he loves doing it.” Griffin came to a stop and checked out Danny’s work. “These are going to look great. Has Jimmy seen them?”

  Danny nodded. “He stopped by and checked them out—seemed pretty pleased. I’ve never seen anyone take landscaping so seriously before.”

  “He told me that he wants to earn the trust Andrew’s put in him,” Rob replied. “I think he’s already done that a few dozen times over.”

  Danny finished smoothing out the wet concrete with his trowel and came to his feet. “I’ve got a few more sections poured over here,” he said, and the three men walked to that part of the lawn together.

  “So, you’ll talk to Andrew and then get back to me?” Griffin asked, harking back to the first part of their conversation, and Rob nodded.

  “I’ll do that today before I head home.”

  “Great. I’m heading out—catch you both later.” Griffin waved over his shoulder as he walked away.

  “What’s up with all that?” Danny asked.

  Rob was tempted to tell him—Danny would definitely be excited—but until a few more things were settled, he thought it would be best to keep a lid on it. “A business possibility. I’ll tell you when I know more.” He hoped his voice sounded casual enough. He didn’t want any of them—least of all himself—to get too excited whe
n this might not even pan out.

  “Can’t tell me yet. Got it.” Danny knelt down and applied his trowel to this section of wet concrete, flinging away the extra moisture that had risen to the top. “Do you want to start building the forms for the next section?”

  “Sure.” Rob didn’t mind taking direction from his guys when they were ahead on the project and knew better than he did what needed to be done.

  As he hammered the forms into place, using stakes to add stability along the edges of the beds, his mind drifted back to Maggie. He’d told himself he’d only think about one thing at a time, but she just had a way of sneaking to the front of the line. He’d already guessed that she’d had a troubled past—her eyes looked both wise and vulnerable—but her dad being a drug dealer hadn’t crossed his mind. And she had only hinted about her mom, but said it wasn’t pretty. Whatever had happened, she’d certainly taken it and used it to become a better person, and he had to admire her for that.

  He also had to admire the smooth skin on her arms. And the arch of her eyebrows. And the way she tilted her head just slightly to the left when she laughed. He had no idea why he’d noticed these random little details about her, but he had, and he couldn’t stop thinking about them. He hardly knew this girl—she’d wandered into his life literally one day ago—and she was already more important to him than he’d hoped she would be.

  He wasn’t doing the whole rebound girlfriend thing, was he? Yes, he’d been pretty glum when Dinah left, but he’d already realized that his feelings for her weren’t as strong as they should have been, and his depression was more from the lack of companionship than from the lack of love. He wasn’t rebounding because he’d dealt with his emotions a long time ago. So, what was this? Infatuation? Curiosity?

  He hammered in the last stake and then pulled out his tape measure to be sure that he’d set everything up correctly. Danny had already dug out the edge and pounded it down, making his job a lot easier, and now all that remained was pouring the concrete. He stood up, looked around for the wheelbarrow, and trundled it over to where he was working.