Kitabı oku: «A Mother For Cindy», sayfa 3

Jesse tore her gaze away from him and asked, “Have you made up your mind about the kitten for Cindy?” There she was back on track with her plan—Felicia and Nick.

Chapter Three

“I don’t think I have much choice.” Nick placed the bowls and spoons on the counter.

“You always have a choice. I’ve got a feeling you’re never backed into a corner that you don’t want to be in.” Jesse cradled the ice-cream container against her chest while retrieving the tray of chocolate chip cookies. The cold felt good against her. It seemed to be unusually hot in the kitchen.

“True, especially in business. But this is personal and it involves my daughter. She wants a pet bad. I suppose a kitten is better than a dog, snake or gerbil, and Boswell agreed with me.”

“Then you’ll get Cindy a kitten?”

“Yes. You said you knew where I could get one.”

She nodded. “We can go tomorrow afternoon. I’ll call Felicia and arrange it.”

Nick opened the back door and let Jesse go first. “Don’t say anything yet to Cindy. I want it to be a surprise. I don’t think she would get a wink of sleep if she knew she was going to pick out a kitten tomorrow.”

“My lips are sealed.” Jesse pressed them together to emphasize her point, but it was hard for her to contain her happiness. Her plan was back on track. Tomorrow he would meet Felicia and be impressed with her knack for organization. Her home was spotless.

Okay, so maybe Felicia was just a little bit too organized and obsessed with having a clean house, Jesse thought. The sound of the sofa cover crunching beneath her when she sat on Felicia’s couch punctuated the silence with that declaration. The plastic stuck to the backs of Jesse’s legs and made her conscious of her every move.

The simple act of crossing her ankles and smoothing her shorts down drew Nick’s attention. One corner of his mouth lifted. For a few seconds his gaze ensnared hers, and she felt as though they were the only two people in the room. His way of drawing a person’s focus to him must be a valuable tool in the business world. In her world, it was disconcerting, Jesse decided.

“I’m so tickled you want to give one of my babies a home.” Felicia straightened a stack of magazines on the coffee table. The top one sat at a slight angle from the others. Definitely out of place. “I won’t give my babies away to just anyone. Thankfully Jesse can vouch for you.”

Somehow Felicia managed to cross her legs, the silence from her action indicating a certain degree of grace that Jesse obviously didn’t possess or the fact this woman had had a lot of practice sitting on her plastic covers. Jesse wanted to believe it was the latter.

“Have you ever had a pet before?” Felicia asked, cutting into Jesse’s musing.

“No, but I’m sure we’ll be able to manage,” he answered with all the confidence of a man who was used to running a large company.

“You have to do more than just manage. You have to love your pet.” One of Felicia’s cats curled herself around the woman’s leg, purring. She picked up her pet and buried her face in its fur.

“I can do that,” Cindy chimed in, bouncing several times in her enthusiasm.

The sound reverberating through the room drew Felicia’s look. The “look” would have made anyone freeze, Jesse thought, and she began to reassess her friend’s candidacy for Cindy’s mother. Glancing about, Jesse wondered if Felicia spent every wakened moment cleaning her house. The thought sent a shiver through Jesse. She hated cleaning her house and avoided it whenever possible.

Maybe she was being too harsh in her judgment of Felicia. After all, the woman loved cats and anyone who was an animal lover must have room in her heart for children. Jesse stood. “Why don’t Cindy and I go pick out a kitten while you and Nick work out the details?” Jesse took the little girl’s hand and quickly left the living room. Nick and Felicia needed time alone to get to know each other.

The four kittens were out in the sunroom. One was sleeping on the white ceramic tiled floor, two were prowling and the last one was playing with a piece of gold ribbon. The black kitten with a white mark on its forehead batted the ribbon, chasing it around. Cindy laughed and went over to it. It stopped to check the little girl’s lacy socks, licking her leg. She laughed again and picked up the kitten. Jesse noticed the cat was a male.

“I want this one. What do you think?” Cindy cuddled him to her face. “Oh, she’s so cute.”

“It’s a male.”

“How can you tell?”

Jesse wasn’t prepared to go into the facts of life with Cindy. For a second, nothing came to mind. “He’s made differently,” she blurted out, sweat beading on her upper lip.

“Oh.” Cindy seemed to accept that lame reason, hugging the kitten to her. “Let’s go show Daddy.”

So much for giving Nick and Felicia time to get to know each other. Jesse searched her mind for a delay tactic. “Don’t you want to check out the other kittens to make sure he’s the one?”

Cindy shook her head. “I know.”

Jesse stood for another minute in the middle of the sunroom, before saying, “Then I guess we should show your dad.” Hopefully five minutes was long enough for them to strike up a…friendship. Suddenly the idea of a relationship between Nick and Felicia didn’t seem right and that thought bothered Jesse.

When she and Cindy entered the living room, silence hung in the air, Nick’s expression neutral. Felicia looked as though she were sitting in a dentist’s chair waiting for the drill. Jesse plastered a smile on her face, intending to get the conversation going.

Nick shot to his feet. “We’ll take good care of the kitten. Are you sure you don’t want any money, Miss Winters?”

Miss Winters? Not a good sign.

Felicia straightened, bristling at his suggestion. “No. A good home is all I request, as I told you a few minutes ago, Mr. Blackburn.”

Mr. Blackburn? Definitely not a good sign.

“I’ll take real good care of Oreo,” Cindy said, nuzzling the kitten.

At the door Nick stooped to slip on his shoes while Jesse put hers on then held Oreo so Cindy could buckle her sandals. When Felicia had asked them to take off their shoes before coming into her house, Jesse should have realized the meeting would go downhill from that moment. Nick had started to say something but snapped his jaws closed. That hadn’t stopped Cindy from blurting out the question they had all wanted to know, “Why?”

“Goodness me. You might get some dirt on my carpet,” Felicia had answered.

Well, one good thing came of this visit, Jesse decided as the door closed behind them. Cindy had her kitten. That had to be worth something.

“An interesting woman,” Nick commented as they walked to Jesse’s car. “I’m surprised she has cats in her house. Won’t they track in dirt?”

“Her cats never go out.”

“I see.”

Jesse doubted it. She really needed to try one more time. “Felicia’s very nice and good with animals…well, cats at least.”

“I’m sure she is.”

“She’s the town librarian. Every Saturday she has a story hour for the children. She’s quite good at reading to them. Nate loves to go. Maybe Cindy could go with him next Saturday.”

“I’ll see,” he said as though he wasn’t certain he wanted his daughter within a hundred yards of the neat freak whose house they were standing in front of, not a blade of grass out of place.

Nick finished his last leg lift and pushed to his feet. Sweat drenched him. Taking a towel and wiping his face and neck, he stared out the picture window that faced Jesse’s house. He saw her climb the steps to the deck and enter her kitchen, her movement a graceful extension of her lithe body. With her brown hair cut short and feathered about her face, her large green eyes and ready smile emphasized her pixie look.

He remembered the time he’d seen Jesse right after he’d finished his physical therapy exercises. He couldn’t believe it had only been five days ago. She was all Cindy talked about—besides her kitten and her new friend, Nate. Suddenly he seemed surrounded by Jesse and her family. And the last thing he needed or wanted was another woman in his life. He was still piecing his life back together after his accident and his unhappy marriage to Brenda.

He turned away from the picture window and limped toward the door, determined to accomplish two things this summer: get to know his daughter better and get back to being one hundred percent after the last operation on his leg. For two months he’d promised to devote himself to those two tasks. He could run Blackburn Industries from here for that short amount of time. He would have to leave the everyday affairs of his company to his capable staff, but he already had been doing that since the accident. Cindy needed this. He needed this.

“Daddy! Daddy!” Cindy slid to a halt, tears streaming down her face.

He knelt in front of her, the action intensifying the pain in his leg. He ignored it and clasped his daughter’s arms. “What’s wrong, princess?”

“Oreo’s gone!”

Jesse kneaded the dough, flipped it over and started all over again, shoving her palms into it. She pounded her frustration out on the soon-to-be loaf of bread. Still no one came to mind as a possible candidate for Nick and time was running out. He would only be here seven more weeks. Courting a potential wife didn’t happen overnight. Of course, it would help if he left his house more often. Then she might have a better chance of fixing him up with someone.

Who? That was the problem. She had been so wrong about Tara and Felicia. The third one was the charm. But who?

She placed the dough in a blue ceramic mixing bowl and covered it with a damp cloth. The doorbell chimed. She quickly washed her hands, then hurried to answer it.

The worry on Nick’s face prompted her to ask, “Is something wrong with Cindy?”

“Yes—I mean, no, not her exactly. Oreo. He’s gone. We can’t find him and she’s beside herself. You haven’t seen him, have you?”

“No.” She stepped out onto the porch and automatically scanned the area as though that would produce the errant kitten.

“I thought so, but I had to ask. I’m desperate. I promised Cindy I wouldn’t come home until I found Oreo. I’ve been up and down the street, along the lakeshore. Nothing.”

“What happened?”

“Oreo darted out the front door when Cindy came back from playing with Nate this morning.”

“I’ll get Gramps and Nate. We’ll come over and make some posters to put up around town. Cindy can help with them. It’ll make her feel better if she’s doing something.”

“When I left, she was in her room crying. She didn’t want to talk or do anything.”

“I’ll get the supplies we need and be right over.”

“What should I do in the meantime?”

“Hold Cindy.”

“I tried. She cried even louder.”

“That’s okay. Hold her anyway.” Jesse rushed back into her house to gather some poster board, markers and her family.

When they arrived at Nick’s house, Boswell immediately opened the door before Jesse had a chance to ring the bell. Silence greeted her as she entered. She hoped that meant that Cindy had calmed down.

As Boswell closed the door, the little girl, with Nick following, rushed into the foyer, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “You think we’ll be able to find Oreo? Daddy said you’re gonna help.”

The eager hopefulness in the child’s voice touched Jesse. She hated making promises she couldn’t keep, but it was hard not to say what Cindy wanted to hear. “If Oreo is in Sweetwater, we’ll find him.”

Heavenly Father, please help me find Oreo. Cindy has already lost a lot in her short life. I know I just made a promise I might not be able to keep. Please help me to keep this one promise.

“What if—”

Jesse laid her hand on the child’s shoulder. “No what-ifs. That’s wasted energy. We need to make some posters to put up around town and then form search teams to scour the area.”

“Then let’s get going.” Cindy took Jesse’s hand and dragged her toward the kitchen.

Jesse threw a glance over her shoulder at the rest of the group who remained standing in the foyer. “You heard her. Hop to it.”

The children sat on the floor in the kitchen and made posters while the adults used the counter and table. Cindy copied off Nate and drew a kitten that looked more like a dog.

Nick leaned close to Jesse and whispered, “Do you think this will help?”

Jesse got a whiff of his clean, fresh scent with that hint of lime. Her pulse rate kicked up a notch. This was a rescue mission, nothing more, she reminded herself and said, “I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t. The people in this town are wonderful. When they hear that Oreo is missing, they’ll help look, too. This is the best way to get the news out. That and talk to whomever we see while we’re putting the posters up.”

Doubt reflected in his gaze, Nick went back to work, absently massaging his thigh.

“Is your leg bothering you?”

“Nothing I can’t handle.”

Jesse wondered about that as she studied the tired lines on his face and the pinched look he wore. He’d already been out looking for the kitten.

“I think it might rain later. I have more trouble when the weather is about to change.”

“Then we’d better hurry and get these posters up. We can probably put them in some storefront windows so if it rains it won’t matter.”

When the group was finished, Cindy wanted to go with Nate and Gramps while Boswell was going to check out the lake area again. Jesse and Nick decided to go in the opposite direction from the children and Gramps. They were all to meet at Harry’s Café on Main Street when they were through.

As they started to go their different ways, Cindy said, “Boswell, please don’t go near Fred and Ethel.”

The older man smiled. “I wouldn’t think of it, Miss Cindy.”

“Oh.” The little girl brought her hand up to cover her mouth, her eyes growing round. “What if Oreo went close to Fred and Ethel? Shouldn’t someone check?”

Jesse bent down in front of Cindy. “Believe me. We would have heard a ruckus if Oreo had. But if it will make you feel better, I can check.”

The tears returned to Cindy’s eyes. “Please.”

“Then that’s my first stop.” She started to stand up.

Cindy tugged on Jesse’s arm, stopping her, and whispered in her ear, “Please don’t let Daddy get too close. I don’t want him hurt again.”

A lump jammed in Jesse’s throat. “I’ll take good care of your father.”

“He might not be able to walk very far. His leg’s hurting him. It always does after he does his exercises. He’ll need to rest, but he’ll act like he doesn’t.”

Surprised at the child’s keen observation and assessment of her father, Jesse gave her a reassuring look. “I’ll make it seem like it’s my idea.”

Satisfied that her father would be taken care of, Cindy hurried to Gramps and Nate at the end of the driveway. Boswell took off toward the lake.

Nick came up beside Jesse. “What was that all about?”

“Nothing. Just girl talk.”

“Girl talk?” He shook his head. “In the middle of all of this?”

“Let’s go. I told Cindy I would check the area by Fred and Ethel’s nest first, but you have to stay back.”

“Believe me, I didn’t have any intentions of going near those two.”

Nick followed Jesse around back of her house and waited by the deck while she approached the two geese. They never took their eyes off her, but they remained quiet while she surveyed the area for she wasn’t sure what. Everyone would have heard if Oreo had come near Fred and Ethel. But a promise was a promise.

As Jesse made her way back to Nick, his gaze fixed on her and her pulse rate responded as it had earlier. For a few seconds she felt as though they were the only two people in the world. He had a way of stripping away the rest of mankind with merely a look. The intensity in his eyes unnerved her. She wasn’t even sure he was aware of it. It cut through defensive layers that protected her heart and was very confounding. When she’d lost Mark she vowed she would never put herself in that position again. The pain of losing her husband had been too much. Sticking to that promise had kept her safe for the past four years.

“All clear,” she said, eager to get their search started. There were lots of people in town and suddenly she needed to be around a lot of people. She might even be able to come up with a third candidate for Nick while they looked for Oreo.

As Nick nailed up the posters, Jesse stopped various townspeople to let them know they were looking for a lost kitten, all black except for a patch of white above his eyes. She assessed the women they encountered as possible candidates, but none were suitable.

“Do you know everyone in town?” Nick asked as he hammered another poster to a telephone pole.

“Practically, but then I’ve lived all my thirty-two years here.”

“I’ve lived all my thirty-five years in Chicago, and I don’t know everyone there.”

Jesse chuckled. “Not the same thing. A few million more in population can make a difference.”

He eyed her. “I’m beginning to wonder with you if it would. Have you ever met a stranger?”

“Sure. You.”

Nick favored his right leg more than usual as he walked beside her down the street. He tried not to act as if it were bothering him, but Jesse noticed, had for the past three blocks. That was why she had taken a shortcut to the café. She’d promised Cindy she would look after Nick—whether the man wanted her to or not. And she suspected he would be appalled if he knew what she was thinking.

She stopped in front of Harry’s Café. “Let’s take a break. The rest of the group should be here soon.”

Nick hesitated, surveying the street as if he were checking to make sure every pole had a poster on it.

“It’s been a long day. I was up unusually early this morning. I need to refuel. I could use a cup of coffee.” She realized six wasn’t unusually early in some people’s book, but she normally slept until six-thirty so it wasn’t a lie. Actually she’d tossed and turned a good part of the night, trying to get her neighbor and his problem out of her brain. She hadn’t been very successful so she could use a shot of caffeine to keep going.

Nick opened the door for her and trailed her into the café to a booth along the front window. He slid in across from Jesse, the pinched look about his mouth easing some as he sat. For a few seconds Jesse found herself wanting to soothe away the tired lines about his eyes. She quickly flipped open the menu she knew by heart and studied it.

“I’m starved. I think I’ll get a piece of pecan pie, too. They have the best pecan pie in the state here. Goes great with coffee.” Jesse was beginning to wonder if Millie, one of the people they had met while passing out posters, had rubbed off on her. First, she was avoiding eye contact with Nick and now she was chattering away nonstop. Next, she would start giggling.

She needed to find a woman for him. Then maybe she wouldn’t think about him all the time!

The waitress came over and took their orders. Jesse studied the young woman who was the café owner Rose’s niece from Louisville and immediately dismissed her as a candidate. She was too young and, according to her aunt Rose, wild. She wouldn’t be a good influence on Cindy.

As the waitress brought them their cups of coffee, the door opened and in walked Beth Coleman. Jesse caught her friend’s eye and motioned her to their booth. Beth was quiet, direct and sensible. She was also a very attractive woman with shoulder-length blond hair and sky-blue eyes. She might be just right for Nick. Why hadn’t Jesse thought of her before now?

“Beth, it’s so good to see you,” Jesse said with more enthusiasm than usual.

“We just saw each other yesterday at the grocery store.”

Jesse cleared her throat. “I’d like you to meet Nick Blackburn. He’s staying in the Millers’ house for the summer. Why don’t you join us?” She scooted over to give Beth some room to sit.

Her friend hesitated for a few seconds, then took a seat next to Jesse. “I’ll join you until Darcy arrives. I needed to talk to you anyway about making one of your dolls for the Fourth of July charity auction at the church. Will you contribute again this year?”

“Of course. I’ve already started on the doll. I should have it done in a week or so.” Jesse looked across at Nick. “Beth’s a great organizer. Every year she almost single-handedly puts together a charity auction to benefit the needy families in our area. She also teaches high school English. On the side she teaches art to the young children in the summer. She’s quite talented. Beth’s so good with children any age.” Had she left anything out? Had she made her sound too good to be true? Was she losing her touch as a matchmaker?

Beth blushed a deep scarlet.

“It’s nice to meet you. I think I’ve met half the town today.” Nick took a sip of his coffee, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Jesse’s a great one to introduce you around town. I think she knows more about me than I do. Maybe I should take you along on my next job interview.”

Panicked her friend might be leaving town, Jesse said, “Nate has a few years to go before he gets to high school. He’s got to have you for English. You aren’t looking for another job, are you?”

Beth laughed. “You never know.”

Jesse studied her friend for a moment, wondering what she meant by that answer. “Nick has a six-year-old daughter. It might be nice if she joined one of your classes this summer. Nate’s taking the art class. It starts next week. What’s nice is that the parents can participate with the children.”

“I’m a firm believer that parents and children should do a lot of activities together. I have a few openings still in the art class if you’re interested, Mr. Blackburn.”

“That really will have to be Cindy’s choice. I’ll talk to her about it.”

His gaze narrowed onto Jesse. She tried not to squirm under its intensity, but it was difficult to sit still.

“Just let Jesse know. She can tell you how to sign up your daughter.” Beth rose, waving toward someone entering the café. “I see Darcy. I’d better go. We still have a lot of planning to do for the auction. It’s only a month away.” She hurried toward Darcy Markham.

Jesse ignored Nick—or rather his glare—and watched her best friend from high school fix her gaze on her and Nick in the booth. She could see a surprised expression descend on Darcy’s face. Bypassing the table Beth had snagged for them, Darcy headed straight toward Jesse.

“Okay, Jesse Bradshaw, what’s going on here?” Nick asked, his deep, raspy voice compelling her to look away from her friend and toward him.