Summer Girl

by Boeshaar, Andrea

  “When are the fireworks gonna start?” Mandi wanted to know.

  Jena looked at her wristwatch. Eight o’clock. “In about an hour.”

  Carly heaved a sigh. “That’s a long time.”

  “Not that long,” Mandi argued. “Besides, it has to be dark out first before we can see the fireworks, so Daddy said we get to stay up late.”

  Carly ceased her complaining.

  Jena coaxed the girls out onto the rooftop patio. A panoramic view of Lake Michigan spread out before them. A few miles away, a summer festival drew throngs of people to the lakefront, and Jena pointed out the Ferris wheel and other brightly lit attractions.

  “Can we go there?” Carly asked. “To the fair?”

  “Maybe. But not tonight.” Jena thought a weekday afternoon might be a good time to attend, and if she recalled correctly, the festival ran for the next five days.

  “There you are!”

  Glancing over her shoulder, Jena saw Bella Minniati heading their way, wearing a navy skirt and a red and white silk top. Travis followed close behind her.

  “I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Great news.” Bella paused just inches away, and Jena got a whiff of her expensive perfume. “Travis is coming to work for the Mavericks. Isn’t that awesome? It’s about time he ditched those crooks, Duncan and Duncan. Don’t you agree?”

  Jena swallowed a laugh. “No comment. I’m only the summer girl.”

  Travis let his head drop back and hooted. “Since when did that ever stop you from voicing your opinion?”

  She gave him an indignant glare before looking at Bella and rolling her eyes.

  “You know, you two are really cute together. But. . .” Bella waved a hand. “. . .don’t count on me to play matchmaker. I initiated a relationship between a couple of my best friends, and once they got married, they never forgave me.”

  Jena laughed.

  “Listen, Bella, the last thing Jena and I need is you playing matchmaker.”

  “Whatever you say, Travis.” She turned to Jena. “Now, then, let’s you and I talk some business.”

  “Bella, this is a party. You’re supposed to relax and enjoy yourself.”

  “You hush.”

  He expelled an audible breath.

  “Joe and I are purchasing a daycare center,” Bella said, “and we’d like you to head it up—be its director.”

  “Me?” Jena could scarcely contain herself. Bella was offering her a dream come true! “When?”

  “As soon as possible.”

  “Well, I, um, have to finish my last semester of college.”

  “Fine. Can you start January second?”

  “Oh, well. . .”

  Jena recalled her contract with Travis and what he’d said the afternoon before she’d signed it. With people like Bella Minniati in the world, we need a contract. Sliding her gaze to the right, Jena found him rocking on the soles of his feet as he stared out over at the lake with an ever-so-innocent expression plastered on his handsome face. That snake! He’d known what he was doing the entire time. But in rethinking the matter, Jena realized she couldn’t feel angry with him. He paid her a great salary, and she lived rent-free.

  “Actually, Bella, I wouldn’t be able to start until June first of next year.”

  “Oh?” Bella looked at Travis. “And why is that?”

  “I signed a contract promising to watch Mandi and Carly for the next year.”

  “You traitor!” Bella exclaimed with a toss of her blond head. “How could you?”

  “I’m not a traitor. You gave me fair warning.”

  Jena couldn’t help feeling rather flattered that Bella and Travis were fighting over her services. “Maybe we can come to some sort of compromise.”

  Travis gave her a terse look that said he wouldn’t budge on the matter.

  “On second thought, Bella, I think you’re going to have to find yourself another director.”

  The slim, blond woman’s face contorted in sheer aggravation. “Don’t let him cow you, Jena. I’m sure there’s a loophole in that contract somewhere.”

  “I doubt it, but it doesn’t matter. Travis isn’t cowing me. He’s doing me a huge favor. I’m the one making out in this deal.”

  “Yeah, see, Bella?” Travis slipped an arm around Jena’s shoulders. “I’m actually helping Jena out.”

  While that much was true, Jena couldn’t help but wish she understood her boss. He didn’t want Bella to play matchmaker, yet here he stood with his arm around her. Furthermore, he looked at her hard enough to make her knees weak. Was it just his way of being kind? She hadn’t thought so this morning. . .

  “I can’t believe you went behind my back and did this, Travis, knowing I wanted to hire Jena. I don’t suppose you told her about my offer before you convinced her to sign your contract.”

  “I didn’t go behind your back. You said you were giving me fair warning about stealing my summer girl.” Travis shrugged. “So I did something about it.”

  Travis’s hand slipped from Jena’s shoulder to the back of her neck where it felt like a branding iron against her skin. She held perfectly still, thinking he should remove it for propriety’s sake but wishing he’d hold on to her forever.

  “Listen, Bella, if you’re looking to hire a spineless attorney, I’m not the guy. But I’m not a crook, either.”

  Bella pursed her lips and regarded him with a raised eyebrow. “Oh, you’re right, Travis. I hate to admit it, but you’re absolutely right. You played fair and square.” She sighed and glanced at Jena. “Take a lesson from me. Keep your wits about you, or else you might find yourself working for Travis Larson for the rest of your natural-born days!”

  “There are worse things in life, you know, Bella.”

  That’s the truth, Jena thought with a grin. But before she could utter a syllable, her attention was captured by two little girls who couldn’t wait for the sun to set.

  Much later, on the way home after a spectacular display of fireworks, Jena noted that Travis seemed unusually quiet. She didn’t question him and instead listened as Mandi sang an interesting rendition of America the Beautiful. “. . .the land of the Braves and the home of the free.”

  Jena giggled inwardly. Travis was more influential on his daughters than she gave him credit. But as a very sports-minded male, she figured he’d do well as the Mavericks’ lawyer.

  They reached Travis’s white stucco home, and while he carried Carly’s sleeping form upstairs, Jena tended to Mandi. Before long, the girls were tucked into bed and on their way to a peaceful night’s sleep.

  “Hey, Jena. . .” Travis turned on the stairway, his right foot planted on the same step on which she stood, his other one step down. “I’ve been thinking. . .maybe I did bamboozle you into signing that contract. If you’d like, I’ll let you out of it. The last thing I want is for you to be unhappy.”

  “I’m not unhappy. Not in the least.”

  “But you might be, come graduation time when that director’s position looks a lot more rewarding than watching my daughters.”

  It occurred to Jena that Travis must have been brooding over this very issue since the show of fireworks began.

  “Travis, the contract I signed with you works for me and my schedule. If Bella still needs a director in the spring, then. . .I’ll let you negotiate that contract for me.” She laughed.

  He smiled. “You’re sure?”

  “Positive.”

  “Last chance.”

  She let it go. God showed her she’d done the right thing in agreeing to stay here for the next year. “Travis, did you hear what Mandi said to me tonight just before you turned off her bedroom lamp?”

  “She said she loved you. She always says that. Carly too. That’s why I hate the thought of you getting another job.”

  “And that’s why I’m not ready to go. I don’t mean to overstate my position here, but I believe the girls need me right now.”

  “Hardly an overstatement. They do need you. . .an
d so do I.”

  Jena’s heart seemed to stop at his admission, although she reasoned that he could be referring to the stability factor in his life and in the lives of his girls. But when Travis reached out and brushed several strands of hair off her cheek, Jena had a hunch stability wasn’t what he meant. His eyes darkened with emotion, and her mouth went dry. He’s going to kiss me!

  But in the next moment, the telephone rang and jangled them both back to their senses.

  “I should go home. . .”

  Travis nodded before bounding up the stairs to get the call. “G’night, Jen.”

  “Good night.”

  ❧

  As the days progressed, Travis became engrossed with wrapping up his job at his law firm. Jena saw him for only minutes in the morning, and he rarely came home for dinner. She told herself she should feel relieved. No more long looks and emotionally charged interludes in the stairwell to deal with, but the truth was—Jena rather missed Travis. What’s more, Mandi and Carly missed their daddy. But he phoned a couple of times each day, and the girls got a chance to chat with him.

  Then, the month of August arrived, bringing with it a week’s worth of thunderstorms. Jena took the girls everywhere she could think of just to keep from getting shack happy. They visited the museum, the art center, saw a silly movie with Star and Rusty, went roller-skating—after which Jena could barely walk. By the end of the week, all she wanted to do was relax at home and read a good book. However, Jena made one more trip—to the library, where she checked out several videos for Mandi and Carly and a novel for herself. Back home, she carried the television and VCR unit up from the basement playroom, rearranged the furniture in the living room, and made a tent for the girls with every blanket she could find upstairs. Finally, she lit a cozy fire in the fireplace and flopped onto the sofa with her story, A Bride for the Pirate. All was going well as the storm lit up the gloomy sky outside—

  But then Travis came home unexpectedly at two in the afternoon.

  “Hi, Daddy!”

  Uh-oh. At Mandi’s exclamation, Jena froze. She’d been so engrossed in her book that she hadn’t heard him come in. Lying on her back, she had her stocking feet up on the arm of the sofa, and she hoped Travis wouldn’t mind that she was lounging on the job and that his formal living room had been turned upside down. Slowly, she righted herself, combed her fingers through her hair, and stood.

  “Hi, Travis.” Jena thought he looked shocked as he surveyed the dismantled room. “I had planned to have this all cleaned up by the time you got home tonight.”

  He pursed his lips, nodded, but didn’t say a word.

  “We’ve got a tent, Daddy.”

  “So I see.” Looking away from Mandi, he met Jena’s gaze. “Something wrong with the TV room or the playroom downstairs?”

  She grimaced. “No fireplace.”

  “Ah. . .”

  Carly ran to him, and Travis scooped her up into his arms. “Wanna come inside our tent and watch Mary Poppins with us?”

  “I won’t fit in your tent, Baby.” After hugging and kissing his youngest, he set her feet on the off-white carpet, straightened, and regarded Jena again. “But I’ll tell you what I will do.”

  She gave him an expectant look and a tentative smile.

  He loosened his tie. “I’m going to cancel my three-thirty appointment and pop some corn. I mean, Jena, really, how could you have forgotten the popcorn?”

  He walked off before she could reply.

  Jena gaped in his wake. Sitting back down on the couch, she tried to convince herself of how glad she felt that Travis wasn’t miffed at her, but all the while, anticipation surged through her being at the thought of his joining their rainy day diversion.

  Minutes later, the smell of hot, buttery popcorn filled the house, and Travis re-entered the living room carrying a large bowl of the salty snack. He’d shed his tie and rolled the sleeves of his starched white dress shirt to his elbows. Pausing by the tent, he scooped out a portion for Mandi and Carly to share, then he headed for the other side of the sofa. . .or so Jena presumed. But instead, Travis planted himself right beside her.

  She couldn’t curb the nervous laugh that escaped her.

  “Popcorn?”

  “No, thanks.” She’d probably choke on it. Was he being overly friendly again, or was he trying to make a point?

  He tossed a handful of popcorn into his mouth. “What are you reading?”

  Before she could stop him, he’d reached across her and snatched the novel.

  He raised an eyebrow. “A Bride for the Pirate? Jena! What kind of junk is this?”

  With her cheeks flaming from embarrassment, she grabbed back her book. “It’s not smut. It’s an inspirational romance. The sardonic pirate realizes the error of his ways and gives all his ill-gotten gains to charity.”

  “And here I thought you were watching Mary Poppins.”

  Jena laughed. She’d missed Travis’s teasing. Then he stretched his arm out around the back of her shoulders, and she knew he wasn’t just being overly friendly anymore.

  She closed her eyes. “Travis, what are you doing?” When no reply came forth, she turned to look at him.

  He met her questioning stare. “I’m falling for my summer girl, that’s what I’m doing.”

  Jena glanced down at her hands, gripping the novel in her lap. She could scarcely believe the words Travis spoke—like something out of a beautiful love story.

  “The truth is,” he said, leaning closer, “I’ve been falling for you for months.”

  Her heart seemed to swell in her chest.

  “Jena, say something, will you?”

  “I can’t. I think I just forgot how to breathe.”

  Hearing his laugh, she looked up at him.

  “You’re cute, know that?”

  Moving his hand behind her head, Travis pulled her toward him and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Jena’s head began to swim in a pool of sheer pleasure that sent delicious tingles to her toes. She didn’t want it to stop. As if sensing it, Travis kissed her again.

  “Daddy. . . ?”

  At the sound of Mandi’s voice, Jena pulled back. She noted the stunned expression that crossed the little girl’s face. But Travis didn’t seem the least bit troubled and kept his arm around Jena.

  “What is it, Honey?”

  Mandi inched her way forward before breaking out in a huge grin. “You were kissing Miss Jena!”

  “Yes, I was.”

  Mandi’s steps quickened until she reached her father and climbed up into his lap. Travis handed the popcorn to Jena, and she set it on the floor.

  “Do you like Miss Jena, Daddy?” The six-year-old glanced from one to the other.

  “Yeah, I like her a lot.”

  “Do you like my Daddy, Miss Jena?”

  “Sure I do. I wouldn’t have let him kiss me if I didn’t like him.”

  “Satisfied?” Travis poked his finger into Mandi’s ribs, and she wiggled and giggled. This brought Carly over to join the fun.

  After a tickle-fest, the front doorbell chimed. Both girls jumped off the couch and ran to answer it.

  “Expecting someone?”

  Jena shook her head. But it wasn’t long before Bella Minniati’s voice wafted through the foyer and into the living room.

  “I suppose we should greet her.”

  “She’ll find us. Don’t worry.” Travis sent Jena a sheepish grin. “She was the three-thirty appointment I cancelled.”

  “Nice going.”

  Travis laughed.

  “Well, well, well,” Bella said, entering the living room seconds later, “aren’t you two a cozy sight.”

  “Look at our tent!” Carly cried as she dove inside.

  “How fun!” Bella smiled, surveying the blankets suspended from the two armchairs.

  “And my daddy was kissing Miss Jena,” Mandi blurted before she too ducked into the tent.

  “Kissing Miss Jena?” Bella raised a brow. “In the tent?”
<
br />   Jena felt a blush creep up her cheeks and go straight to her hairline.

  “No, he kissed her on the couch,” Mandi informed their guest.

  Bella chuckled. “Was that in your contract too, Travis?”

  He snapped his fingers as if to say he’d forgotten to add that small benefit to their agreement.

  Unable to stand the embarrassment a moment longer, Jena stood. “Bella, would you like a cup of coffee?”

  “I’d love one.”

  “Travis?”

  “No, thanks.”

  Walking into the kitchen, Jena took her time preparing the rich-smelling brew. The scene with Travis played over and over in her mind. She felt his kiss on her lips and heard the words he’d said: “I think I’m falling for my summer girl.”

  Oh, Lord, she silently prayed, help me out here. I think I’m falling for Travis too!

  Nineteen

  Bella stayed for dinner since Joe had to work late that night. She chattered on about her pregnancy and the daycare center. “We’re closing on the building next Friday,” she said. “I’ll be interviewing for a director sometime after that. I think most of the staff can stay, but I really want someone with Christian values running the place.”

  Jena felt the weight of Bella’s stare. But she occupied herself with tending to Carly and making sure the little one got more food inside of her than on the floor. As tempting as the director’s position sounded, Jena had made her decision. However, she couldn’t help wondering if or how things would change since she and Travis had admitted their fondness for each other.

  Once they’d finished their meal, Bella helped Jena clear the table. Shortly thereafter, Star and Rusty stopped by to say hello. The rain had dissipated and the dark clouds broke, allowing slivers of sunshine through. When seven-thirty rolled around, the girls kicked up a fuss and didn’t want to go to bed, so Jena opted to take them for a walk. After all, the children had been cooped up practically all week. Everyone went along, Bella, Star, Rusty, and Travis.