Seconds later, Jeb was on the phone with his mother. After exchanging greetings, he said, “Mom, I was wondering if you’d mind watching a little girl named Chloe this afternoon.”
Silence. Jeb could almost hear the wheels turning in his mother’s mind. During the storm, he’d had time for only quick calls to check on his parents, and he hadn’t wanted to answer all the questions that would arise if he mentioned his houseguests.
“Chloe? How old is she?”
“Six, and the sweetest child I’ve ever met.”
“And who are her parents?”
Jeb grinned. Though he’d always been discreet, Kate had long since accepted that her sons were sexually active. “She’s not mine.” He paused. “Not that I don’t wish she were. When I say she’s sweet, I mean really sweet. I met her mom, Amanda, during the ice storm when I was helping people over on Elderberry.” Jeb made short work of recounting how dangerous the situation had been. “Anyway, I was afraid to leave them there, especially without a vehicle, so I brought them to my place.”
“And they’re still there?”
Kate’s tone implied that Amanda and Chloe had been in his home for an inordinately long time. “Yes. The next day when I went over to check on her place, half of the roof had collapsed.” Jeb explained his near escape.
“Oh, my God!” Kate cried. “You could have been killed, Jeb.”
“Yep, but what scares me worse is that the first collapse brought support beams down on the sofa where Amanda and Chloe were huddling for warmth the previous evening.”
Kate muttered something Jeb didn’t quite catch. “You did the right thing by taking them in. I’m proud of you.”
Jeb knew his mom was full of questions, so he decided to head her off with answers. “Amanda works part-time at the elementary school cafeteria, but the hourly wage is low. Even before the storm shut down the schools and got her laid off, she was barely managing to keep the wolves from her door. So I’ve offered her a job as my housekeeper in exchange for room, board, and a small wage.”
“I’ll bet she’s thanking God for small blessings.”
Jeb glanced over his shoulder to make sure Amanda hadn’t slipped downstairs. “She hasn’t accepted the job yet. She’s—um—wary. But I’m working on her.”
“Wary?”
Jeb had already intruded upon Amanda’s privacy. It wouldn’t be right to reveal every detail of her history to a woman she’d never met. “Bad marriage, a bastard for a husband. Men aren’t high on her list of favorite things. I’ll leave it at that.”
To Kate’s credit, she asked for no more details. “Well, in answer to your initial question, I would love to watch Chloe for a few hours. It’ll be fun!”
* * *
Amanda overslept, and when she got downstairs, Jeb blindsided her with news of an appointment with a Crystal Falls attorney that afternoon.
“Today?” Amanda heard the trill of panic in her voice. “That’s awfully fast.” She’d been hoping for a couple of days to wrap her mind around the situation and accept that she had no choice but to take Jeb’s money. “Are you sure this guy is good?”
“He’s been ranked one of the best family law attorneys in the state. He’s our man.”
Amanda imagined Jeb tucking a thick wad of money in her hand in only a few hours. She wasn’t ready for this, but she had no alternatives. “I have no one to watch Chloe, and I do not want her to be present in the lawyer’s office.”
“Got it covered. My mom has agreed to watch Chloe.”
Amanda’s heart clenched. “I’ve never left Chloe with anyone, let alone a stranger.”
Jeb’s hazel gaze held hers. “My mom—her name is Kate—is a grandmother waiting to happen. She raised six kids. I’ll bet you ten bucks that Chloe will love her and be calling her Grandma in fifteen minutes or less.”
After waking Chloe and getting her dressed, Amanda found her hands trembling as she showered and then fussed over what she should wear. She had nothing appropriate, only worn jeans and tops that had seen better days. A high-end attorney probably considered thousand-dollar suits to be everyday clothes. She decided on her least faded pair of blue denims and a cotton blouse that looked halfway new. Choosing footwear was easy. She pulled on the low-cut boots that Jeb had bought her. I’ve never thanked him. Every time I tried, my throat clogged.
Amanda sank onto the edge of the bed, listening to the musical sound of Chloe’s voice and the deeper pitch of Jeb’s drift upstairs. Why is it so difficult for me to accept help? Amanda had no answers. She knew only that admitting she couldn’t make it on her own filled her with trepidation and a horrible sense of inadequacy.
Seconds later, when she entered the kitchen, she saw a beautifully prepared breakfast set out on the table. Jeb broke off a conversation with Chloe to give Amanda a slow appraisal that made her skin tingle. “You look great.”
Amanda released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “From the ankles up, I look like hand-me-down Sue, but the boots are fabulous.” She swallowed. “Thank you for buying them for me.”
He placed a palm atop Chloe’s head, fingering a dark curl as if it were spun silk. “I’m sorry about the white lie. It was the only way I could think of to get you to accept some decent winter outerwear. What you had was completely inadequate.”
Amanda shifted her gaze to the platters of food on the table. “Sort of like the white lie you told me about being a lousy cook so I’d accept your offer of a job?” Shut up, Amanda. He’s been nothing but generous. You have no right to be taking shots at him. “With amazing alacrity, you seem able to switch your culinary skills on or off.”
He grinned. “Busted. I’m a great cook. But that doesn’t mean all of it was a white lie. When the busy season hits, I have little time for kitchen stuff or for cleaning this huge house. I survive on peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches. During the slower months, I could be making furniture if I had help in the house.”
“Yum!” Chloe inserted. “I hope I’m here when you’re busy, Mr. Jeb. Peanut-butter-and-jelly is my favorite.”
“Well, if your mommy accepts the job, she’ll do most of the cooking, and I doubt she’ll serve that. But maybe we can have them sometimes.” Jeb gestured at the table. “Let’s eat before our breakfast gets cold.”
As Amanda approached the table, she felt like a victim of sudden-onslaught rheumatoid arthritis. Her joints were half-frozen and hurt when she moved. Pride. She felt ashamed of herself for speaking harshly to Jeb after he’d been so kind.
She took a bite of the fried potatoes and almost mimicked Chloe by saying, “Yum.” Instead, she rolled the flavors on her tongue and swallowed before saying, “These are better than mine. What’s in them?”
“Diced green onions, some flakes of fresh garlic, salt and pepper, and a dash of my secret ingredient, sugar. At the last, I toss in some grated cheddar, but only a little. But I have to correct you. Your fried potatoes and gravy are spectacular.”
“So are these.” Amanda took a bite of bacon. “I think I’ve gained a pound by merely breathing the air here.”
* * *
Depending upon road conditions, the drive to Crystal Falls took from thirty minutes to an hour. In Mystic Creek, long icicles still hung from tree limbs, eaves, and power lines, lending the quaint town a fantasy appeal. Everything glistened as if it had been sprayed with liquid silver. Fearful that Highway 97 might be treacherous, Jeb wanted to leave early for Amanda’s appointment. And rather than drop Chloe off with his mom and hurry away, he wanted to spend some time there while the two of them got acquainted. For one thing, he didn’t want to leave the girl feeling fearful, and second, he knew Amanda would be worried sick all afternoon if she didn’t first see Chloe settled in comfortably with his folks.
Jeb hadn’t underestimated his mom’s ability to win over a child. Kate met them in the entryway. Until that moment, Jeb
hadn’t realized just how much Amanda resembled his mom, both of them petite with dark hair, brown eyes, and delicate features. Shit, I’ve got a mother complex. Jeb quickly shoved the thought aside. The likeness in appearance was purely coincidental. He hadn’t latched onto Amanda because she reminded him of his mom.
While Jeb stood there like a stump with deep roots, grasping Amanda’s arm, his mom had already sprung into action, shaking Amanda’s hand, saying how pleased she was to meet her, and then bending low to greet Chloe, who was leaning against Jeb’s leg.
“I figured you’d be here for lunch,” Kate said with an enthusiasm guaranteed to delight six-year-olds. “So hurry and come with me! We’re going to make picture pizzas!”
Chloe, who loved to draw, bounced away to enter Kate Sterling’s world of childhood delight. She grasped the older woman’s hand and, in the process, abandoned her mother.
“What are picture pizzas?” Chloe asked.
“Anything we want to make them into!” Kate replied. “We can try to do a heart pizza, or a dog pizza, or a horse pizza. Plus, I have an idea how we can try to make rooster pizza!”
Amanda looked up at Jeb and offered him a slightly bewildered smile. The question in her eyes said, Is your mom for real? Jeb, who’d helped Amanda over the ice outside, released his hold on her arm
He registered Chloe’s excited intonations coming from the kitchen without making out all the words. He gleaned only enough to know that his mom had the dough shooter out and her plan was to squirt a thin, gluten-free mixture onto pizza stones.
“Gluten free?” He winked at Amanda. “No one in the family is allergic. I guess my mother is on another dietary kick.”
“We can try to make animals, triangles, squares, and people!” Kate exclaimed.
Jeb guessed that Chloe wouldn’t care as much about the outcome of her artwork as she would about the fun of trying.
Jeb looked down at Amanda. “I told you. Mom loves kids. Chloe will have a great day. She may wish you were here to share the fun, but she won’t miss you or feel sad. Are you reading me?”
Amanda’s beautiful, soul-deep eyes misted with tears as she nodded. “Your mom is adorable.”
He guided her through the house where he’d grown up. “Let’s observe the action. Mom can get crazy when it comes to kids. She won’t care if she winds up with pizza sauce on the walls. She loves children as much as I love—” Jeb broke off. He’d almost said as much as he loved sex. But it wasn’t actually true that he loved sex. Granted, he’d had his share of intimate encounters, but afterward, he’d felt nothing emotional. Besides, the word sex wasn’t one he should use in the presence of the wary woman beside him.
Amanda noticed his pause and asked, “As much as you love what?”
Thinking quickly, Jeb replied, “As much as I love standing outside at night, staring up at a starry sky and contemplating the magnificence of creation.”
Amanda’s gaze went blank for a second, as if she were trying to see a starlit sky in her mind’s eye. Then she smiled and nodded. “Is there anything more beautiful than a starlit sky to touch our souls?”
Monkey sex with you. All positions, no limits. Hell, if I could swing from a chandelier with you and plunge to my death, I’d die a happy man. Jeb had always spoken his mind and prided himself on the trait. But Amanda didn’t need to know what he was thinking at that moment. He suspected that few women wanted to know what a man actually had on his mind. When they asked what you were thinking, maybe they really wanted to hear—well, what they wanted to hear.
He bypassed the formal living room and large dining room on his left and moved into the great room, where, as a boy, he’d kicked holes in the walls during his karate phase and tracked black muck onto the carpet after fixing his motorcycle. The area featured a full-size pool table, a rock fireplace, a comfy sectional in dark brown that created a U shape off to the right, and a spacious adjoining kitchen to the left. It didn’t compare to Jeb’s kitchen, but his mom and dad had designed the area for large family dinners, with plenty of counter space and an island bar with stools on one side and a work area on the other.
With a kitchen towel already tied around her neck, Chloe stood on the stepstool that Jeb had once used and watched with fascination as Jeb’s mom filled a shooter with pizza dough. Today his mom was using what he called the “straight tip,” which had always been his favorite.
Jeb motioned for Amanda to take a seat on a barstool beside him, and they watched the pizza-shaping process. With Kate as a guide, Chloe’s initial attempt to make a heart resulted in a lopsided one, but her second effort was nearly perfect.
As the child spurted dough onto the stone, Kate said, “We can each choose what kind of pizza we want. I have different cheeses and meat, and plenty of vegetables.” Kate hugged Chloe’s shoulders and whispered loudly enough for Jeb to hear, “Do you eat meat? If so, you can add some sausage or pepperoni.”
“Yes, we eat meat,” Chloe replied, “but Mommy and I don’t choose to eat animals that are our friends.” Already squeezing out another small heart, she added, “That’s not okay.”
Jeb had another oh, shit moment, but he was grateful for the enlightenment. He stiffened on the barstool as Chloe went on, sounding much older than her years.
“For instance, Mr. Jeb raises chickens.” The child tipped her head sideways. “But he doesn’t eat the hens that lay his eggs. So all of them have names, and he goes to the grocery store to buy chicken to eat.”
Jeb’s mom sent him the piercing look that he remembered from childhood. He gave her an eyebrow twitch in response, praying that she got the message and wouldn’t tell Chloe that he’d regularly harvested older hens prior to the child’s presence in his home.
Kate visibly collected her composure. “Well, what man with any heart would eat a hen because she stopped laying?” Jeb’s mom sent him another straight-into-his-eyes message that said, more clearly than with words, You’d better live up to the image of yourself that you’ve planted in this child’s mind, or I will make fast work of kicking your fanny. And Jeb knew he’d let her do it.
If he got lucky and Amanda stayed with him—if he’d finally found the kind of love and commitment that his folks had—he would gladly eat store-bought chicken for the rest of his life.
But—and this was a much larger problem, both literally and figuratively—Jeb also raised at least two steers a year for meat, which he shared with all his family. How would he pull off slaughter day without sending Chloe into hysteria? That was a conundrum of gigantic proportions. The reason Jeb raised two steers for himself and his family was because Jeremiah knew that his wife would fall in love with the beeves if he raised them at his place. Kate would name them and give them treats, and then protect the animals with her own body when the slaughter truck arrived.
If Amanda and Chloe stayed with Jeb, he would have to move his steers to rented pastureland. Then, when it came time for the butcher, he’d tell Chloe that the animals needed more grazing in a distant pasture. Another white lie. He was getting much too good at telling them, which made him uncomfortable. But he honestly couldn’t think of any other way around the problem. No sane man would feed two steers for their entire lives out of the goodness of his heart. He needed to find a pasture to rent, fast.
Jeb was musing on that, and checking his watch, when his mother announced that lunch was ready. In response to Kate’s text message, Jeb’s dad came in from the stable to eat. Once Amanda and Chloe were introduced to Jeremiah, the group gathered at the table, said the blessing, and began devouring piping-hot pizza.
“After Chloe and I clean up the kitchen, we’re going to make holiday cookies,” Kate announced. “Sugar cookies that we can cut into shapes and decorate.” Directing a smile at Chloe, she asked, “Won’t that be fun?”
“I love making cookies!” Chloe crowed.
Amanda, sitting at Kate’s left, leaned clo
ser to her hostess to whisper, “She may make a huge mess. She gets a little too enthusiastic with the sprinkles.”
Kate laughed. “So do I, and making a mess is half the fun.”
Jeremiah dabbed the corners of his mouth with his napkin. “Text me when the first batch comes out of the oven. I want mine warm without frosting.”
Chloe flashed Jeb’s dad a wondering look. “Don’t you like frosting?” The possibility was clearly beyond the child’s comprehension. “That’s the best part.”
Jeremiah chuckled. “I love the frosting. Kate slaps my hands when I get into the cookies because she’s afraid I’ll eat them all. It’s just that my favorite thing in the whole world is eating cookies still warm from the oven.”
“Oh.” Chloe shrugged. “We’ll make sure to text you then.”
Kate gazed at her husband. “You’ll eat the whole first batch.”
Jeremiah retorted, “Eating the whole first batch is the fun part of cookie days.”
Chloe chimed in, “Mimi, we can let him eat the first batch if he wants. We’ll be making lots and lots!”
Kate nodded. “You’re right. He works hard outdoors so he builds up an appetite.” She winked at her husband. “Chloe asked if she might call me Grandma. I asked to be called Mimi instead.”
Jeb glanced at Amanda. Her shoulders were relaxed. Her eyes shone with warmth. He was glad he’d set aside time for them to linger before leaving for Crystal Falls. Now Amanda wouldn’t worry about her daughter while they were gone.
* * *
Jeb whispered to Amanda that they had to leave in forty-five minutes. Amanda wasn’t about to sit on her bum while Kate cleaned up the kitchen, so she stood to clear the table. Before she could collect a plate, Jeb beat her to the draw. She gave him a quick study, appreciating the fact that he was willing to help. Even more impressive, Jeremiah joined in the effort. Apparently, this was a family that played together, joked, laughed, and pitched in when there was work to be done. As an only child, Amanda had always wished for siblings, the more the better, but her mom had had great difficulty getting pregnant, so Amanda’s arrival had been considered a miracle by both her parents. No other kids had come along, and she’d been doted on. Amanda couldn’t complain. She’d been a happy kid. But to this day, she still yearned to live in a home that rang with noise and laughter.