Summer Girl

by Boeshaar, Andrea

  With that, he exited the house, and Jena walked back into the kitchen. Mandi and Carly both watched her with expectant grins, causing her to feel like doing something silly. Lifting her arms, she let out a whoop, before shouting, “We’re going to have a fun day today!”

  The girls caught the excitement. They laughed and jumped off their chairs.

  “C’mon, Carly, let’s go get dressed.”

  Jena chuckled as the girls ran out of the room, imitating the hoot she’d just produced. Glancing around at the glasses, plates, and crusty casserole dish, she figured she had about ten minutes—if that—in which to clean up the kitchen.

  ❧

  Life seemed good again as Travis drove back to his office. After six hours in court, the judge had ruled in his favor in the Hamland case. Travis felt like he was back on top of the world.

  Parking his sleek, black Lexus, he sauntered into the busy downtown office building and rode the elevator to the tenth floor. Stepping out of the car, he walked down the muted yellow marble thoroughfare to the glass doors on which the names Duncan, Duncan, & Larson were etched in gold lettering.

  “We–ell, congratulations,” Craig greeted him in the lobby of their office suites. “Nice day in court.”

  “Oh, honestly,” Yolanda Timmerman muttered from behind the receptionist’s desk, “an idiot could have won that case. It was obvious the company was negligent in Mr. Hamland’s injury.”

  Travis bit back a retort. He’d worked hard, done his research, and he’d won fair and square. . .and he wasn’t an idiot, either!

  “Trav, I need to talk to you,” Craig said. “Follow me into my office.”

  “Sure.”

  He didn’t bother to look in Yolanda’s direction. He didn’t need to see her exotic, dark features to know that her lips were curved in a mocking smile.

  Entering Craig’s office, Travis shut the door behind him. “Isn’t her internship up yet?”

  Craig chuckled. “Sit down, Travis.”

  Setting his briefcase on the adjacent armchair, he did as Craig bid him. “What’s up?”

  “Oh, nothing really. . .just a minor inconvenience.”

  Travis began to worry. “What kind of inconvenience?”

  “Isabella Minniati.”

  Travis winced at the name of the top executive of a local sports team—one that D D & L was courting and hoped to represent. “What hoops does Bella want us to jump through this time?”

  “Oh. . . ,” Craig waved a nonchalant hand in the air, “. . .she’s suddenly big on families, kids, and pets.” He lifted a busy brow. “She’s expecting, you know?”

  Travis lifted a brow of his own. “Is she? Well, congratulate her for me.”

  Craig grinned. “You can congratulate her yourself. I’ve invited her to dinner on Thursday night to celebrate her newest, um, discovery.”

  “Obviously you want me to be there.”

  “Well, of course. . .seeing as dinner will be at your house.”

  “What?! My house?” He shook his head. “No. Won’t work.”

  “Travis, it’s a perfect backdrop. You have a comfortable home. Your daughters are as cute as koalas, and your home ec summer girl can whip something up for dinner.”

  “I can’t ask Jena to do that.”

  “The firm will pay her. Tell her we’ll give her. . .oh, a hundred bucks.”

  “A caterer would cost two grand.”

  “Yes, well, all the more reason to have your summer girl put her skills to good use.”

  “What if she bombs? What if dinner is a complete disaster?” Travis didn’t really believe it would happen, but there was always that possibility.

  “The answer’s simple. We’ll explain to Bella that your summer girl is but a mere college student, and we’ll laugh it off. Then we’ll order a pizza.”

  “Let’s just order pizza to begin with.”

  “Now, Travis, we owe it to your summer girl to prepare her for life. What if she winds up marrying some businessman whose job requires him to entertain? You don’t want that poor girl to be completely in the dark, do you? We’re offering her a chance to gain valuable experience.”

  Travis laughed. “That’s quite a stretch, Craig. How long did it take you to think up that logic?”

  “About as long as it took you to convince Judge Thompson that Dwight Hamland is now permanently disabled because he bent over to pick up a quarter that accidentally flew out of the vending machine he was working on at the shop.”

  “There was a little more to it than that.” Travis stood and lifted his briefcase. “But I’ll talk to Jena and let you know what she says. I’ll warn you, though, I’m not going to coerce her into doing anything that she’s not comfortable with. The last thing I need is for her to quit on me.”

  “True, true. . .” Craig leaned back in his chair. “But give it your best shot. You’re a persuasive guy, and there’s millions of dollars riding on this deal.”

  Then why be so cheap? Travis wondered, leaving Craig’s office for his own. Then, again, that was Craig Duncan’s middle name—Cheap. He sighed and entered his office. Maybe he’d just go ahead and hire a caterer and leave Jena out of this.

  ❧

  “Are you sure your new boss won’t care that I’m here visiting you while you’re on the job?” Mary Star Palmer asked.

  Kneeling on the pavement in the tiny courtyard as she and the girls planted flowers, Jena glanced over her shoulder. “No, I don’t think he’ll care. It’s not like I’m neglecting my duties.”

  “Do you want some help?”

  Jena smiled at her blond, blue-eyed friend. “No. We’re just about finished. You just relax and drink your lemonade. You’ve had a rough day.”

  “Amen! I’m telling you. . .there’s not a job to be had in this entire city.” Star sighed.

  “Maybe somebody else needs a summer girl,” Mandi said, her hands covered in rich dark topsoil and a black smudge across her nose.

  “Naw, I don’t think I could be a summer girl,” Star announced, her hoop earrings wobbling as she spoke. “Too much work.”

  “Yeah, too much work,” Carly parroted. “Just like planting flowers.”

  “This isn’t work,” Mandi argued. “This is fun.”

  Carly didn’t reply right away but watched as Jena dug a hole and carefully placed in a geranium into the earth before filling it around with dirt.

  “I’m hungry,” Carly whined. “I don’t wanna plant flowers anymore.”

  “We’re almost done, and then I’ll make dinner,” Jena said.

  “Noooo, right now.”

  Jena stared up at the pouting little girl. “How about a few crackers while you wait? Would you like some crackers?”

  Carly nodded.

  Standing, Jena brushed herself off and entered the house. She plucked the graham crackers from the cupboard and returned to the yard. Sitting Carly on one of the two picnic benches, she opened the box.

  “Hey, what are you making for supper?” Star asked.

  “Grilled chicken and a tossed salad.”

  “Yum.”

  “Want to stay for dinner?” Jena said, going back to her knees to finish the flower-planting project.

  “Will your boss care if I stay?”

  “I don’t think so. He’s not that kind of a guy. Besides, he doesn’t get home until eight.”

  “Well, then, sure. I’ve got no plans tonight, other than to soak my tired feet. I must have walked ten miles today and filled out just as many applications.”

  Jena inserted the last of the geraniums into what would become a colorful border. She stood and stretched out a kink in her back. Carly began to cry for no other reason than the fact she was overtired. At three years old, she still needed an afternoon nap.

  Taking the little girl by one of her dirt-covered hands, she led her to the hose and washed her off. Carly protested the entire time. Next came Mandi’s turn for her grubby bare hands and feet to be hosed off. After that, Jena cleaned off the gar
dening tools and sent Mandi over to Mrs. Barlow’s next door to return them. Jena had looked but couldn’t find a hand spade and rake in the garage and basement—although she hadn’t felt comfortable performing an in-depth search. It seemed easier to borrow them from kindly Mrs. Barlow.

  Carly’s whines and complaints suddenly became a raving tantrum. Carrying the kicking and screaming child into the house and upstairs, Jena managed to wash her red, tear-streaked face and change the little darling into her nightgown. Minutes later, Jena left her in her bedroom to finish her temper fit.

  Star crossed her eyes. “I don’t know how you stand it. I couldn’t put up with a kid acting like that!”

  “She’s over-tired. She’ll probably sack out up there.” Jena glanced at her wristwatch. Five-thirty. That wasn’t too terribly early. There was a good chance Carly would sleep through the night.

  Just then, Mandi skipped into the house. Jena instructed her to go upstairs and change clothes, which she did without a single objection.

  “Hey, Star, will you keep an eye on things while I run over to my apartment and take a quick shower?”

  “Um. . .” Her tall, willowy friend gave her a skeptical look. “I don’t know, Jen. . .”

  “It’s quiet upstairs now. Carly probably passed out from exhaustion. Mandi’s an angel, and it’ll only take me twenty minutes. When I come back, I’ll start the grill, and—”

  “Okay, okay. Just make it quick.”

  “I will. I promise.”

  With that, Jena dashed out the back door and up to her apartment. The girls were safe and clean. She would be back in time to make a nice supper. What could go wrong?

  Six

  Travis braked in front of his house when the gold, orange, and russet blooms of marigolds in front of the hedges caught his eye. When had he phoned the lawn and garden company? Did someone there call him? Life had been so hectic, he couldn’t even remember.

  Puzzled, he maneuvered his Lexus the rest of the way into his driveway and parked. Grabbing his briefcase off the passenger seat, he walked into the small courtyard that divided the house and garage. The girls’ bikes were out, and Carly’s favorite doll had been forgotten on the picnic table. Travis picked it up and noticed the pink buds of geraniums that now graced the edge of the house. Along the fence were several tall green leafy plants.

  Since when does the lawn and garden company plant stuff without even asking what kind of flowers I want?

  Miffed, he stalked into the house only to find a tall blond young woman standing in his kitchen wearing blue jeans and a light blue top that barely covered her tanned midsection.

  “Who are you?” he asked, sounding brusque to his own ears. However, he didn’t care for the ring in her navel. “Where’s Jena?” He hoped she hadn’t quit and left this person in charge. With her hair going every which way, she had a ditzy look about her.

  “Uh-oh,” the young lady said her blue eyes widening. “I just knew this was going to happen. . .”

  “You knew what was going to happen?” Travis stepped into the kitchen.

  “Well, lemme start by introducing myself. I’m Star.”

  Travis felt his frown deepen. Star? What kind of name is that for a human being?

  “I’m Jena’s friend,” she continued, and as she spoke, Travis saw the braces on her teeth. “Jena said you wouldn’t care if I was here. I’m just holding down the fort until she’s done with her shower. She and the kids were planting flowers this afternoon, and—”

  “Daddy!” Mandi zoomed into the kitchen, and Travis braced himself before she flung her arms around his waist.

  “Hi, Baby,” he said, bending over and kissing her. “Where’s Carly?”

  “She had a meltdown, and now she’s asleep. I’m watching TV.”

  “Great. . .here, take Carly’s doll with you.”

  “Okay, Daddy.”

  Mandi spun around on one bare foot and hightailed it out of the room. Straightening, he glanced back at. . .Star.

  “So, you’re one of Jena’s friends, huh?”

  “Yeah, she led me to Christ, and now she’s discipling me. . . as well as trying to help me find a job.”

  “I see.” Travis sort of understood the religious implications of the young woman’s remark. His wife had been a born-again Christian, and she often spoke about “leading” someone “to Christ,” although “discipling” was a new one on him. He presumed it meant Jena was some sort of mentor. “You’re in college?”

  “Yeah, I’m going to begin my junior year. But I don’t go to the same school as Jena. I attend the University of Whitewater.”

  Travis blinked as Star tipped her head from side to side while she talked, and the hoops in her ears jangled. Nevertheless, he felt himself unwind. Things weren’t so bad—so out of control as he’d first imagined.

  “You said Jena and the girls planted flowers?”

  “Yeah, that’s why she needed the shower. It’s hot, and she got kind of sweaty, you know?”

  Exiting the room, Travis rolled his eyes. “Sweaty” was really more than he wanted to know. He traipsed into his office, a room with mahogany paneling and leaded glass-paned doors.

  Setting his briefcase on a nearby armchair, he spied some envelopes stacked on the corner of his desk and figured Jena had put today’s mail there. He lifted the small pile and rummaged through it. Hearing the back door open and close, he deduced that either Star left or Jena returned. He realized the latter had occurred when strains of female voices reached his ears.

  Moments later, he heard footsteps and glanced up from the mail. Jena gave him a smile. Her tangerine-blond hair appeared a deeper color since it was still wet, and she had secured it in the back of her head with one of those plastic pinchy-comb things his sister used to leave all over the house.

  “You’re home early.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been known to do that every so often.” Travis briefly noted the white t-shirt and tan straight skirt she wore. He also noticed her bare feet.

  “I’m getting ready to light the grill.”

  “How come?”

  “So I can cook the chicken that has been marinating all afternoon.”

  Travis pursed his lips and nodded. He thought about asking her if she’d cater Thursday night’s dinner party but hesitated.

  “Carly’s sleeping,” Jena said.

  “I heard. Mandi told me.”

  “She was exhausted beyond reason.”

  Travis nodded. “That happens sometimes when she doesn’t get a nap.”

  “So I’ve discovered.”

  He grinned at the quip.

  “I hope you don’t mind that my friend Mary Star came to visit me.”

  “Mary Star?” With the prefix, the name sounded a little more normal. “No, I don’t mind. But what made you decide to plant flowers?”

  “I saw an ad in the paper this morning promoting a big sale at a nearby garden center.” Jena casually leaned against the doorframe. “I thought it would be fun for the girls to plant flowers, water them, and watch them grow and bloom all summer. You know. . .give them a sense of accomplishment. So after Mandi’s swimming lesson, we went over and bought some flowers.”

  “Okay.” Travis decided “a sense of accomplishment” was probably worth some flowers. “How much do I owe you?”

  “I’ve got the receipt in my purse. I’ll give it to you later.” With that, she pushed off the door and headed for the kitchen.

  “Jena,” Travis called, wearing a smirk, “get back here.”

  She complied, but the innocent expression she mustered didn’t work.

  Travis crossed his arms. “Jena, you forget that I know this old female trick of diversion. Now, I’m not going to get angry. Just tell me how much I owe you.”

  “Eighty-nine dollars and ninety-four cents,” she blurted. “In addition to the flowers, I bought some tomato plants and bags of topsoil.”

  Travis wanted to laugh. That was a whole lot less than the cost of his usual lawn and gard
en company. “I’ll write you a check tonight.”

  “Okay,” she replied, but her face was a bright shade of pink.

  She made off for the kitchen again, and this time Travis couldn’t contain his chuckles.

  ❧

  “Was he mad?” Star wanted to know.

  “No, of course he wasn’t mad.” Jena tried not to audibly expel her sigh of relief.

  “What can I do to help with dinner?”

  “Want to put the salad together for me?”

  “Sure, I can do that.”

  Jena laughed at the understatement. Her friend had a flair for the culinary arts and hoped to operate her own restaurant someday. Walking to the fridge, Jena pulled out the lettuce, a tomato, and scallions and handed them off to Star.

  “Jena, I’ll light the grill,” Travis said, giving her a start as he strode through the kitchen. “You shouldn’t barbecue without shoes on. So unless you want me to burn the chicken, you’d better find something to put on your feet.”

  He marched out of the house, and Jena saluted in his wake. She looked over at Star who laughed at her antics.

  “He’s a hunk,” she said.

  “Yeah, and he knows it too,” Jena whispered in case Mandi was within earshot. “But I have to say he’s been very nice so far. A little bossy, but nice.”

  “A good-looking guy like him. . .a lawyer too. . .I’ll bet he’s got a line of women waiting to go out with him.”

  Jena nodded. The same thought had crossed her mind. But from what Mrs. Barlow said, Travis Larson was a family man through and through. Of course that didn’t mean he wouldn’t have an occasional date. In fact, Jena had a hunch he would ask her to baby-sit later than eight o’clock once Friday and Saturday night rolled around.

  “Jena, come out here, will you?” Travis’s deep voice boomed through the kitchen.

  “Orders from headquarters,” Star murmured with a laugh.

  Jena had to chuckle as she walked outside. “What’s up?” she asked Travis who was busy pouring lighter fluid onto the charcoal.

  “I’ve got a big favor to ask you.”

  “You’ve got a date and want me to stay late one night.”

  “Urrrnt, you’re wrong,” Travis replied, sounding like a game show host. He flashed her a captivating smile.