Читать книгу Montana Match - Merrillee Whren - Страница 11

Chapter Three

“Come on, Daddy. You have to come and play with us.”

Parker turned away from the kitchen counter and toward the sound of his daughters’ pleas. “Girls, I’m talking to Heather and your uncle John. You know better than to interrupt.”

“But you guys never quit talking.” Rose scrunched up her little face, her lower lip protruding.

Parker suppressed a smile and tried to look stern. “That doesn’t mean you should interrupt, does it?”

“No.” The girls shook their heads.

“So what do you say?”

“Sorry for interrupting,” the girls replied in unison again.

“Good. Please remember that.”

“We will. Are you going to play?” Jasmine waited for his answer, her dark brown eyes wide.

“Play what?”

Rose pointed toward the living room, easily visible in the house’s open-floor plan. “Chutes and Ladders with Brittany. We need one more person.”

Parker glanced over to see whether Brittany was watching, but she was talking with Heather’s brother, Mike. A flash of envy sparked through Parker’s mind. What a strange reaction—an uncalled-for reaction.

Before he could reply, Heather leaned over and whispered in his ear. “I think that’s an excellent idea.”

He turned and scowled at her. “I know what you’re trying to do.”

“Yeah, helping Rose and Jasmine find a fourth.” Heather gave him a feigned smile of innocence.

“You’re not fooling me.” Parker stared at Heather and shook his head before he turned his attention back to his daughters. “Mike can be their fourth.”

“Oh, no. Hannah and Lexi have already challenged Mike and me to play Rook.” Heather grinned. “You see, the last time the cousins got together, Mike and I were the Rook champs, so they have to try to unseat us. We can’t let that happen.”

Parker tried not to frown. “Okay, I’ll play.”

“Yay!” Rose and Jasmine clapped.

“Calm down or I may change my mind.”

With the little girls tugging on his arms, Parker trudged across the room. First Heather, now his girls. Was this a conspiracy to push Brittany and him together? Maybe he was being paranoid. The girls were too little to have any romantic ideas. They just wanted to play with their new friend. They’d practically adopted Brittany the moment they met her.

Parker tried to focus his attention on the game board sitting on the coffee table. He forced a smile as he surveyed the situation. Where should he sit? Next to Brittany or across the table from her? Either way, his mind wouldn’t be on the game.

“Sit here.” Rose pointed to the spot opposite where Brittany had taken a seat on the floor.

“Okay.” Hoping to avoid looking at Brittany, Parker sat crossed-legged on the floor. “How do you play this game?”

Rose let out a huge huff. “Daddy, we’ve played this before. You should know.”

“Oh, yeah, I remember now. I go up the ladders and down the chutes.”

“That’s right.” Jasmine shoved the spinner at Parker. “We have to spin to see who goes first.”

“Ladies should go first.” Parker pushed the spinner back to Jasmine.

Jasmine giggled. “I’m a girl, not a lady.”

Parker tugged on one of her braids. “You and your sister are little ladies.”

Rose looked at Brittany. “And Brittany’s a big lady.”

“We say she’s a grown-up lady, not a big lady.”

Brittany chuckled. “It’s not every day that someone calls me big. It’s nice to be taller than someone for a change.”

As the girls and Brittany laughed together, Parker couldn’t help thinking about how the top of her head had barely reached his shoulder when she’d stood near him while they were skiing. There definitely wasn’t anything big about the petite young woman sitting across from him, unless it was her heart, as she showed kindness toward his girls.

While his daughters took turns spinning, Parker finally ventured another look in Brittany’s direction. She smiled again, and he couldn’t deny the way it made his heart jump.

This was nuts. True, he hadn’t associated with a single woman close to his age in a long time, so maybe his response was only natural. He was a man with an appreciation for a good-looking woman. That shouldn’t bother him, except that he kept wondering whether she would make a good nanny for his girls. He was letting his need for a nanny run away with his thoughts.

Brittany took her spin. Tiny freckles dotted the back of her hand as her slender fingers flicked the little arrow, making it whirl around and finally land on the one. She looked up at him. “Well, I’m certainly not going first. Your turn.”

“Okay.” Parker reached for the spinner, and their fingers brushed. Her touch sent a jolt straight to his heart. He hoped the reaction didn’t show on his face. Maybe it was her thoughtfulness toward Rose and Jasmine that had him feeling this way.

The arrow pointed to the number two.

“Yay!” Rose picked up the spinner. “I got the highest number, so I’m first.”

“Yes, you are, and we’ll go around the table this way.” Brittany made a clockwise motion with her hand. “So your dad goes next, and I’m last, since I had the lowest number.”

“But it doesn’t always work out that way, does it, Daddy?” Jasmine looked at him for confirmation.

“No, it doesn’t. Sometimes life isn’t fair.” Thoughts of the unfairness in his life threatened to darken his mood, but he wouldn’t let negative feelings dampen this time with his girls.

Rose patted Brittany on the arm. “Daddy always says that when he tells us we can’t stay up late, even though he does.”

Nodding, Brittany chuckled. “Daddies are like that. My dad says that all the time, too, when I complain.”

Parker didn’t say anything, but wondered whether she was thinking about losing her job. He wanted his girls to grow up with a realistic outlook, though he hoped his sometimesgloomy viewpoint wouldn’t unduly color their world. Still, life wasn’t fair. Sometimes it was downright unjust. There seemed to be a lot more chutes than ladders in his life.

As the game got underway, he tried to steer his thinking in a more positive direction. He was here with the family who loved him. That should be all he needed, but he sometimes wished he could have his old life back. That wasn’t going to happen. Too much animosity still existed between him and the people he knew in Stockton, and he had to protect his girls from any unkindness. That was a top priority.

After each of them had a few turns, Brittany landed on a square where a ladder propelled her to a square near the top of the board. “Wow! I liked that spin.”

“Now you’re going to win.” Rose stuck out her lower lip.

“You never know.” Brittany shrugged. “The game’s not over.”

“Yeah. She could land on that chute a few squares ahead and go way back.” Jasmine pointed to the place three spots away.

“That’s true.” Parker handed the spinner to Rose, so she could take her turn. He hoped her attitude improved. He hated dealing with her sour moods. Was it the result of the changes that had taken place on the ranch with Jenny and her family leaving, or had his less-than-sunny outlook rubbed off on Rose? He hoped he wasn’t to blame. Being a parent held a lot of responsibility, but he was still glad for the choice he’d made to adopt these little girls.

“Daddy, it’s your turn.” Rose poked his arm with the spinner.

He took his turn, realizing he’d been doing too much thinking, rather than enjoying the game. When Brittany had her next turn, she landed on the square Jasmine had mentioned earlier.

As Brittany moved her game piece down the chute to a place much closer to the beginning, she laughed and gave Jasmine a playful tickle in the ribs. “How did you know that was going to happen?”

“It almost always happens when we play.” Jasmine giggled.

Her high-pitched giggle joined Brittany’s laughter. The joyous sound touched something deep inside Parker. It felt like the warmth of a sunbeam on a cold day, but he steeled his heart against it. He would let his little girls work on his emotions, but he couldn’t let someone outside the family circle move him.

A little while later, Rose raised her arms above her head in triumph. “I won. I won.”

Parker smiled at Rose. “Good job.”

Brittany patted Rose on one arm. “You’re the champ this time.”

“I want to be the champ, so let’s play again.” Jasmine grabbed her game piece and plunked it down at the starting point.

Narrowing her gaze, Rose did the same. “Just cuz we play again doesn’t mean you’ll win. Maybe Brittany or Daddy will win.”

“That’s true.” Brittany nodded. “But she’s going to try, aren’t you, Jasmine?”

“I am.”

Rose tapped Brittany on the arm, then picked up the spinner. “I won, so I get to go first.”

“That’s right. You do.” Brittany picked up her marker. “Let’s get started.”

Parker glanced over at Brittany. What did she think of his competitive daughters? Maybe he was too worried about normal sibling rivalry, but hadn’t there been a lot more of it lately? That was another reason he needed to find a nanny. Isolated as they were, it was hard to gauge what was normal behavior. He needed another perspective.

Finally, the second game ended with Brittany as the winner. Parker reached over and put an arm around Jasmine’s shoulders. “Well, Jas, looks like you and I weren’t meant to be winners tonight.”

“Let’s play a different game.” Jasmine glanced around the room. “Can we play cards like Heather?”

Before he could formulate a response, Brittany picked up a deck of cards from the nearby end table. “Do you girls know how to play Crazy Eights?”

The little girls shook their heads.

“Then I’ll teach you. It’s easy. We’ll play a practice hand to help you learn.” As Brittany explained the rules of the game, she dealt out the cards, then with the cards exposed she showed them the strategies involved.

While Brittany helped Rose and Jasmine through the practice hand, Parker couldn’t help noticing how well Brittany related to his girls. She’d welcomed their attention and had been patient with their bursts of temper.

When they finished practicing, Jasmine placed the cards in front of Parker. “Daddy, since you won the practice game, you can deal.”

“Okay.” Parker shuffled the cards.

He tried to soak up his daughters’ joy while he dealt each person seven cards. But his thoughts didn’t linger on the happy interaction humming through the room. For some reason, being around Brittany made Parker think of the twins’ mother, Sydney. He didn’t know why. Brittany didn’t resemble Sydney in the least. Maybe it was the age. If Sydney were alive, she would be about the same age as Brittany. He’d tried to help Sydney, but he’d failed. All these years later, the failure still caused an ache deep in his soul.

While they played several games, Parker’s thoughts kept coming back to the idea of asking Brittany about the nanny position. She fit seamlessly into his family circle. He had to talk to Heather about it.

“I’ve won two games in a row.” Jasmine picked up the cards and started a clumsy attempt to shuffle them. “Daddy, you’re not doing so good now that we’re not playing a practice game. You need to pay better attention.”

“Okay, I’ll try.” Parker chuckled, knowing that his mind had been preoccupied with Brittany, rather than Crazy Eights.

Rose turned her attention to Brittany. “How come you got those brown spots all over your face?”

A blush colored Brittany’s cheeks, and Parker wanted to somehow take back his daughter’s question. He didn’t have a clue how to react to Rose’s blunt observation. Should he apologize for Rose or try to make light of it? He hadn’t thought about the fact that his girls had never been around anyone with freckles.

Brittany’s laughter rescued him from his embarrassment. “The brown spots are called freckles.”

“How come we don’t have them?” Jasmine looked first at Rose then at him.

Again Brittany saved him from having to come up with an answer. “You don’t have freckles because your skin has more melanin in it than mine.”

Jasmine knit her eyebrows. “What’s mela…nin?”

“It’s a chemical that protects the skin from the sun.” Brittany went on to elaborate about why she had freckles.

“I wish I had freckles like you.” Rose gazed at Brittany with adoration.

Shaking her head, Brittany smiled. “You’re the first person I know who wants to have freckles like me.”

“I want freckles like you, too.” Jasmine vied for Brittany’s attention.

Laughing, Brittany gathered Rose and Jasmine in a hug. “You girls are wonderful. We all need to learn to be happy with the way God made us and not wish to be like anyone else.”

The girls giggled, and Parker took in their joy. What did they think about the way Brittany talked about God with ease? Had he been wrong not to talk about God with them? He’d left that kind of talk to Delia and Jenny because he’d never resolved his own anger with God over what had happened with his job and Sydney.

As Brittany looked his way, he hated to admit that he was drawn to Brittany’s cute freckled face, too. “Okay, girls, we’re done playing games. Time for bed.”

“No,” the girls wailed in unison.

Parker stood. “Yes, you can play more tomorrow.”

“Your dad’s right. I’ll even teach you some new games, okay?” Brittany gave the girls another quick hug, then glanced in his direction, seeking his confirmation.

“Sounds like a good idea to me.” As Parker started to usher the girls toward the bedroom, he turned to Brittany. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. I had fun.” Brittany waved.

While Parker led Rose and Jasmine up the stairs, he couldn’t help thinking that he was looking forward to tomorrow, too.

With Rose and Jasmine tucked into bed for the night, Parker sneaked away to the pine-paneled room that was listed in the rental brochure as the owner’s retreat. A small stone fireplace and a wall of bookcases filled with books of every description made for a cozy refuge. A dim glow emanated from a single floor lamp in the corner. The room offered Parker what he needed—a sanctuary and solitude. He liked the quiet because he was out of the habit of interacting with people.

As he settled on the recliner, a knock sounded on the door. Tempted not to respond, he sat there a moment and willed the intruder to go away, but another knock followed.

“Uncle Parker, it’s Heather. May I come in?”

He couldn’t help smiling. Heather knew him too well. She wasn’t going to let him hide from his own guests. “Yeah.”

Heather peeked around the door. “Do you have a few minutes to talk?”

Parker motioned for her to come in. “Sure. What’s on your mind?”

“A couple of things.”

Parker pointed toward the lounge chair on the other side of the rectangular dark pine table. “Make yourself comfortable.”

“I heard you telling Dad at supper that Mark and Jenny left the ranch right after Christmas.”

Sighing, Parker nodded. “Mark had an opportunity to run a bigger ranching operation in Colorado.”

“Are you going to take over the ranch?”

“No, Derek is.”

“What are you going to do about someone to watch Rose and Jasmine during the day?”

“I’m looking, without much success.” Parker wanted to ask Heather about Brittany, but he hadn’t had time to think the whole thing through. “I thought you were here to talk to me about something that’s bothering you, not about my problems.”

“They’re sort of related.”

“How?”

“I’ve been offered a research job in a small town near Boston, but I’m not sure about moving to the East Coast—so far away from anyone I know.”

“I didn’t know you had applied for a new job.”

“I wasn’t looking, but the company needs a nurse to work with a doc who is doing clinical trials. It’s just what I want to do.” Heather eyed Parker. “They want a decision by this coming Wednesday.”

“You must want this position if you’re thinking about accepting it without even seeing the place.”

“When I was in middle school, we went to Boston on vacation.”

Shaking his head, Parker chuckled. “I hardly think that counts, especially since the job isn’t in Boston itself. But it seems to me that you want this, so I say go for it.”

“Then I need your help.”

“What does this have to do with me?”

Heather grimaced. “My decision affects Brittany, and that’s how this is connected to you.”

Brittany. After the things he’d been thinking about her tonight, uneasiness hit Parker’s gut. “What’s the connection?”

“I’m worried about her. She doesn’t have a permanent job, and I hate to leave her without a roommate. If I take the job, I plan to pay off my portion of the four months we have left on our lease. After that she’d have to pay all the rent by herself, and she can’t afford to do that. I’m not sure whether I should take the job, or how I’m going to tell Brittany if I do.”

“So what does this have to do with me?”

Heather looked down at the floor, not meeting his gaze. “I thought you could ask Brittany whether she’d like to have the nanny position.”

Disquiet crept into Parker’s mind, as he got up from the chair and walked to the window. He stared into the night. Light from the full moon shimmered across the snow. The moon was like a hole in the blackened sky and reminded him of the hole in his heart that nothing seemed to fill—even his little girls. How could he invite Brittany into his troubled life? But he’d already considered it. Heather was asking him to make a decision—one he wasn’t sure he was ready to make, despite the pressing need for a nanny.

Turning from the window, Parker stared at Heather. “She’s an accountant and a financial planner. Why would she consider being a nanny? That’s a big comedown.”

“The way I see it, you two need each other. You need a nanny, and she needs a regular job and a place to live. You can offer her both.”

“This afternoon she mentioned something about moving back to the Spokane area.” Parker shook his head. “Besides, do you think she’d want to live on an isolated ranch? And how could she come live on the ranch when she’s tied down with a lease?”

“I don’t think she’ll move back to Spokane unless she gets a job there.” Heather narrowed her gaze as she appeared to be thinking. “As for the lease, you could pay her portion as part of your job offer.”

Parker let out a harsh breath. “I could do that, but what would she think?”

“You won’t know unless you ask.” Heather shrugged. “Anyway, did you notice how Rose and Jasmine immediately took to Brittany?”

Parker didn’t want to admit that he’d noticed, and he didn’t want this to turn into another disastrous attempt to assist a young woman. Brittany would have to know about his past because he couldn’t offer her the job in good conscience unless he told her about it. He wasn’t sure he was prepared to do that. If he mentioned his reservations to Heather, she’d tell him to get over it, as she did every time she saw him. But somehow he couldn’t let it go. The unfairness constantly ate at him.

“I hope your silence means you’re considering my suggestion.” Heather’s statement interrupted his thoughts.

Hoping to avoid Heather’s scrutiny, Parker looked out the window again. “Have you mentioned the position to her?”

“No. I thought I should talk to you first.”

“Good.” Conflicting thoughts raced through his mind. He wanted to help Heather, and he needed a nanny. So the decision should be easy, but the attraction he had to Brittany complicated the whole thing. “How will she react to my past?”

“I’ve mentioned it.”

Parker’s heart sank. He feared hearing about Brittany’s reaction. “What did you tell her?”

Heather walked over and stood next to him. “She asked about Rose and Jasmine, so I told her about the rumors, about your losing your job and about Sydney’s death.”

“What did she say?”

Heather raised her eyebrows. “She said you were a very compassionate person and immediately believed you were innocent of any wrongdoing.”

“That’s good.” Parker wasn’t sure why he was so relieved.

Heather nodded. “Since you’re going to ask her about the job, I suppose you should know I also told her you were a recluse because of what happened.”

A recluse. No wonder Brittany had imagined him as an old man with a salt-and-pepper beard. “The recluse part’s an overstatement.”

“Not much of one.”

Parker stopped himself before he tried to refute Heather’s claims. Arguing with her would only put more ideas into her head. True, he’d kept to himself and rarely went into town. He didn’t want to deal with the stares or whispered comments when he ran into people he knew—people who used to be his friends and coworkers. He didn’t have anything to say to those people now, especially the ones from church. Why had they been so quick to condemn him? Where had God been in this mess?

Parker didn’t have the answers.

Crossing her arms, Heather stared at him. “Since you seem to have lost your ability to talk, would you like me to run the idea by her?”

Heather’s question rolled around in his mind. “I’ll talk to her.”

“She has great references.” Patting herself on the chest, Heather grinned again. “Me. She’s got experience as a substitute teacher, and she’s terrific with kids, as you witnessed tonight.”

Parker chuckled. “Have you ever thought of going into sales? You’re very convincing.”

“I just know how to make a persuasive argument. I say don’t waste another minute.” Heather pointed to the door. “Get out there and talk to her.”

“You’re not that persuasive. I’m going to sleep on it and see whether it still seems like a good idea in the morning.”

“Hey, nerdly uncle, don’t think too long, or I’ll talk to her myself.”

“Okay, nerdly niece, I’ve been forewarned.” Parker couldn’t help smiling at Heather’s reference to him—a moniker that brightened his mood. They’d been teasing each other this way for years.

“You know you’ve got me beat in the nerd department. I always tell my friends that you’re my mad-scientist uncle.”

Parker turned to look at Heather. “Is that what you’ve told Brittany?”

“So you are worried about what she thinks?” Heather shot him a speculative grin.

Parker shook his head and gave Heather a wry smile. “I think you should go bother someone else.”

“Okay, but while you’re in here by yourself, why don’t you spend a little time talking to God about hiring Brittany?”

Parker frowned. Why did Heather have to bring God into it? He hadn’t helped before, so what reason was there to believe He would be there now? “You know my feelings about that, and they aren’t going to change.”

“I’m still praying for you. And so is the rest of the family.”

Parker knew that was true. Every time he talked with his mother, he heard the same statement. “You always say that.”

“I’m going to keep saying it until you get right with God.”

“I gathered from something Brittany said tonight that she’s a Christian, too.”

Heather nodded. “We attend the same church. That’s how we started sharing an apartment. But don’t let that stop you from talking to her.”

“Your breathing down my neck is the only thing that’ll stop me.”

Heather backed up toward the door. “Okay, I’m out of here, so you can make plans.”

“Thanks.”

As the door closed behind Heather, he sank onto the nearby chair. Brittany seemed like an answer to a prayer, even though he didn’t pray anymore. Was God working on him—pulling him in despite his resistance? Or were his thoughts getting way ahead of reality? Just because he asked her didn’t mean she would accept.