Hired by the Single Dad (Single Dads of Seattle #1)

by Whitley Cox

  “He has both, plus a behavioural consultant.”

  “And he or she has programs done up specifically for him?”

  “She does. They all do. He sees the speech path once a month, OT twice a month, and BC every six weeks.”

  “Okay.”

  “I need you to be here for him all day. Meaning, I want to hire you to be his support at school, as well as his support at home. I’ll pay you for a full ten hours and double time for any overtime. He needs consistency and somebody he trusts.” His eyes softened as he took in Gabe in Tori’s lap. The child was happily stacking all the red blocks single file into the tallest tower he could manage. “And he seems to trust you.”

  Ten hours a day? What about school? She didn’t want to be a nanny. She didn’t want to be an intervention therapist for the rest of her life. She had big goals. Goals of becoming a behavioral consultant herself and opening up her own practice. Hiring all kinds of different therapists to help out children who needed it most. She couldn’t give that all up now.

  Ever since her first job as a babysitter at twelve years old, she’d fallen in love with children. And over the years, she’d done a lot of babysitting for family and neighbors, family friends and even for her dad’s chiropractor and his family. She spent her summers nannying or as a camp counselor. But it was during her sophomore year in high school, when she was a camp counselor for a special-needs camp, that she found her true calling. In fact, it was one child in particular—Seth, a sweet little seven-year-old boy with Downs Syndrome and autism, who had helped her realize what she was meant to do with her life, who she was meant to work with.

  Seth had taken such a shine to her that his parents had hired her to do respite work with him for eight hours every weekend. She’d worked with him right up until she graduated high school. Even now, his parents sent her updates on him and pictures.

  She went to open her mouth, to protest his job proposal and see if she could negotiate, but Mark cut her off.

  “Whatever you were making at your other jobs, I’ll double it.”

  Tori’s bottom lip damn near hit Gabe on top of the head.

  “I also want to pay for your schooling.”

  What the hell?

  “I’ve spoken with Gabe’s behavioral consultant, and she is willing to consider you for a practicum position. You’d have to apply with her on your own merits, but she is currently accepting new practicum students. Apparently, you can do the majority of your schooling by distance, which would allow you to be with Gabe during the day.”

  “Y-you want to pay for my schooling? Dr. Herron, I can’t accept such a generous offer.”

  “Please, call me Mark. Again, I apologize for being dishonest on Friday. I should have been up front that it was me who needed the therapist for my son.”

  Tori’s mind was running a million miles a minute. “Fine, Mark. I appreciate your offer, but I can’t allow you to pay for my schooling.”

  His dark brows narrowed in adorable confusion. “Why not? You want to go back to school, which I totally respect and encourage, but you can’t afford it. I can. I need somebody like you to help me with my son. It’s a win-win.”

  “But … ”

  “Talk to Janice Sparks, Gabe’s behavioral consultant, and look into the practicum she’s offering. We can take it from there. But I don’t want you to give up on your dreams because you simply can’t afford them.”

  He was like her fairy godfather or something. Arriving just in the nick of time. When things couldn’t be closer to rock bottom, he sprinkled fairy dust that smelled like scrumptious manly cologne and turned her rotting pumpkin of a world into a beautiful Ferrari of new hope.

  That’s how the story went, right?

  Could the fairy godfather also be Prince Charming? Could he pull double duty?

  “I’m going to call your references in the morning, but I would like for you to start as soon as you’re able to. Do you need to give your other jobs notice?”

  Had she even accepted the position?

  He was just so persuasive, so charming, so … dreamy. His voice, his eyes, the way his lips moved when he spoke had her mesmerized.

  Oh shit.

  Creepy Uncle John eating chicken wings without a shirt on, sitting in a kiddie pool full of Jell-O, humming “Barbie Girl” and showing off his long, fungus-covered toenails.

  There we go.

  She’d never be able to look at her Uncle John the same way again, but that didn’t matter. He was finally being useful. And not just grossing the crap out of her family and annoying the shit out of her father.

  “Tori?”

  “Huh?” She closed her eyes and shook her head, visions of Uncle John, chicken wings and Mark’s emerald eyes bouncing around behind her closed lids.

  “You okay? I asked you when you could start.”

  Crap.

  “Um, I just have my dog walking business right now, but my sister is actually doing it for me at the moment.”

  “What happened to the other jobs?”

  She let out a sigh and picked up a red block next to her hip and mindlessly passed it Gabe. The little guy grinned up at her and happily stacked it on top of his tower. “After I found out Ken cheated on me, I started to spiral a bit. I couldn’t get out of bed, and it wasn’t fair to my jobs, so I quit them. The restaurant, the therapy company. I gave my dog-walking business to my sister.”

  He nodded, his eyes crinkling in the corners as his mouth twisted in an understanding half-smile. “I get that. Been through a nasty divorce myself.”

  “It takes a lot out of you.”

  “It certainly does.”

  “You’re feeling better though, right?” Unease flashed behind his eyes.

  She hoped her smile mitigated some of his concern. “I am, yeah. Wallowed in self-pity for a bit there, but I picked myself up by my bootstraps and am doing much better. I didn’t mean to scare you there. Sorry.”

  His eyes fell back on his son. “Onward and upward, it’s all any of us can do, right?”

  “Sounds about right.” She blew out a breath. “How did the divorce affect Gabe?” She knew that divorce could be rough on even neurotypical kids, having their routines and households turned upside down, but it could be even more difficult for children on the spectrum.

  The thin, grim line of his mouth said it all. “It was hard on Gabe. He really struggled. A lot of new behaviors came out of it, and not all of them good.”

  “Makes sense. Is it tough, the back and forth between your house and his mother’s house?”

  Oh crap. She hadn’t even asked if she was going to be required to work for Gabe’s mother as well. How awkward would that be?

  “She’s not in the picture.”

  “She—”

  Was she dead? Had they divorced and then she died? Had he killed his wife?

  Way to jump to the most ludicrous conclusion. Yeesh!

  “She left. Signed over custody and everything. She’s moved across the country. Found Gabe’s diagnosis too much to deal with.”

  Her hand flew to her mouth, covering her gasp. “I’m so sorry.”

  His jaw tightened, and those beautiful eyes she was quickly finding herself getting lost in developed a harsh glint to them. “Don’t be. We’re in a good place now, me and Gabe. But my job is demanding, so that’s why I need the help.”

  “What kind of a doctor are you? Do you not keep weird hours?”

  “I’m a radiologist. And yes, sometimes I do. But I’m an attending, so my hours are flexible. I can also do a lot of work from home, and I do, once Gabe is in bed. It will typically be an 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. kind of day, but sometimes I may need you to stay later.”

  Before she knew what she was doing, Tori tilted down her neck and smelled the top of Gabe’s head. Her eyes closed.

  When she opened them again, Mark was watching her. Fire burned behind the intense green, and his nostrils flared. “Does Monday work for you?”

  “Monday?”

 
“To start.”

  Wow! Here just yesterday she wasn’t sure how she was going to afford groceries and school for the next few months, and now today she had a brand-new job, paying double what she’d made at her other jobs, and somebody was willing to pay for school.

  “Do you think Gabe will be okay with me accompanying him to school?”

  “Let’s ask him.” He slipped off the bean bag and knelt in front of his son. His knee touched Tori’s, and a spark raced through her body. He placed a big, tanned hand on his son’s shoulder. “Eyes on me, buddy.” Gabe lifted his head, but Tori couldn’t tell if he was looking at his father. Eye contact could be a challenge for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD. Mark’s other hand fell to the block in Gabe’s hand. The little boy grunted his frustration and made to pull away, but Mark stopped him. “Eyes on me.” Mark’s smile melted Tori’s insides. “Good. Do you want Tori to come to school with you?”

  Gabe’s head whipped around, and he stared at Tori. This time, the eye contact was undeniable. His smile was enormous, showing off all his pearly white teeth.

  “Should she come to school with you? Maybe hang out with you at home after too?”

  Gabe’s head bobbed in a nod, then he flung his arms around her neck so hard she toppled over where she sat, taking them both down to the ground. All to the warm, melodic laughter of Mark “Dr. Dirty Dreams” Herron.

  4

  “So, how’d the first day go?” Mark asked, wandering into his kitchen Monday night to find Gabe and Tori sitting at the table playing a matching game.

  His kid looked happy.

  Tori glanced up from their game, her smile making him trip over nothing but his attraction to her. “Pretty good.”

  “And school?” He sat down next to Gabe and ruffled his son’s hair before pecking him on the forehead. Gabe didn’t so much as glance his father’s way. He was too engrossed in the Ninja Turtles matching game he loved so much.

  Tori nodded, this time not bothering to look up at him. “There were a few tears when they abruptly canceled P.E. class because some of the overhead lighting had come down, and electricians were in there. But when we went outside for a quick run around the school and splashed in some puddles, he was all smiles again.”

  “That’s it?”

  Mark called the school after he knew Tori and Gabe had left for the day. He spoke with Gabe’s teacher and asked for feedback on Tori and how she was with Gabe. You can never be too careful, and even though he had called all of Tori’s references and received nothing but glowing praise from all her former employers, he wanted to know what Gabe’s teacher thought of her. Mrs. Samuelson had nothing but positive things to say, too. She even said that Tori spearheaded a game with the whole class that Gabe could easily participate in, and Gabe even won. Normally, Gabe didn’t participate in many games because he wasn’t verbal and so many of the activities involved verbal or sign-language communication. Gabe knew some signs, but he wasn’t consistent with them, so it made communication tough.

  According to Mrs. Samuelson, though, Gabe had been all smiles and participated with the other children without any incidents or frustrated outbursts.

  He hadn’t had a good day like this in a long time. Possibly ever.

  Tori lifted her head and focused on his face, her lips twisted as if she was hiding something. “I hope you don’t mind, but seeing as it was our first day and everything had gone so well, I stopped at the smoothie shack on the way home and we grabbed smoothies as a treat. I know you want us to come straight home from school, have a nutritious snack and then begin working on therapy programs. But … ” She shifted her gaze back to Gabe. “We had smoothies, drank them down on the dock and watched the boats, then came home. We’ve been working on therapy programs ever since.”

  Mark’s heart constricted inside his chest. He loved that she was so interested in his son, so devoted to making sure Gabe enjoyed his day and adjusted well. He didn’t care that they went for smoothies or that they went down to the dock. What he cared about was that his son had a smile on his face, had made it through the entire day at school and had eaten something. Those were Mark’s goals for Gabe, and on day one, Tori had already surpassed them.

  But the face he was making as he stared at them playing their game must have confused her, because with a tremulous voice, she brought him out of his thoughts. “I made sure to pack the smoothie with spinach and a scoop of protein powder. So it was actually pretty healthy. And I spent the weekend poring over the programs his behavioral consultant sent me, and I managed to implement a few on the dock. Obviously adapted to life skills rather than classroom, but he still did really well.”

  He smiled at her. “I’m not mad at all, Tori. You did amazing. He’s never had a first day with a new therapist as successful as this. Keep doing what you’re doing, and I don’t think we’ll have any issues.”

  Her bright blue eyes glimmered beneath the contemporary lights that hung over the big, natural-edge kitchen table. “He’s a lot of fun.”

  Mark glanced down at his son. “That he is.” With a groan, he pushed himself back up out of his seat. “He’s also a picky eater, so I’m happy if you managed to get some veggies and protein into him. Dinner is always a struggle.” He wandered over to the fridge and opened it. He’d debated picking something up on his way home, but his new year’s resolution had been to cook more at home and not let laziness and fatigue interfere with him making his son a home-cooked meal. “What do you feel like for dinner, bud? Mac and cheese? Spaghetti? Grilled cheese and tomato soup? Mashed potatoes and chicken tenders?” Pretty much the four things he knew his son would eat.

  He’d picked up a cookbook over Christmas that was all about slipping vegetables into food undetected, so that kids were none the wiser, but still getting the nutrition they needed. He’d managed to throw cauliflower into mashed potatoes, butternut squash into his mac and cheese, and spinach into his spaghetti. But Gabe was becoming wise to his deception, and meals were getting tough again.

  “Dinner’s actually already made,” Tori said, her voice once again full of hesitation. “I hope you don’t mind.”

  Mark spun around. “You made dinner?”

  She shrugged, causing the wide neck of her striped gray T-shirt to slip off and expose one shoulder and a black bra strap. Mark had to stop himself from groaning.

  “Gabe helped me. He wanted spaghetti, so we did it together. He’s a great helper in the kitchen. Did all the stirring.”

  Gabe beamed next to her.

  She cupped her mouth and brought her voice down. “I set the tablet up for ten minutes and let him watch a show so that I could puree some spinach, peppers, carrots and broccoli into the sauce without him noticing.”

  Mark shook his head in disbelief. “Has he eaten it?” As much as he loved the fact that dinner was already made and he didn’t have to wait with a growling gut to eat and then fight his child to eat, he also really enjoyed dinner time with Gabe. It was where they connected, where they bonded. Even before Cheyenne had left, family dinner time had been sacred.

  She shook her head. “I asked him if he was hungry and wanted to eat before you got home or if he was okay to wait. He said he was okay to wait.”

  “How did he tell you that?”

  She made the American sign language sign for wait. “He told me.”

  “You speak ASL?”

  “A fair bit. Not fluent, but enough to get by. We’ve been signing a lot today. He’s very communicative.”

  “He is?”

  Her expression was curious as she stood up and made her way over to the stove where two pots sat. She turned both elements on. “Does he not sign with you?”

  “Not consistently.” Mark wandered back over to sit next to Gabe. It felt weird letting her take over the kitchen and dinner, but she didn’t seem to mind. If anything, she appeared right at home in his kitchen. Very comfortable.

  She shrugged before reaching into the cupboard and bringing out two plates. �
�Odd. I haven’t had any communication issues with him today.”

  “He must really like you.”

  She grinned back at him as she opened up the cutlery drawer. “I hope so, because I really like him.”

  “Has he tried the sauce?” Mark asked, in awe of this woman and how in one day she’d already managed so much with his son. If Gabe had tried the sauce and liked it, Mark was ready to fall at Tori’s knees and bow in reverence.

  She shook her head. “Not yet. But fingers crossed.”

  His gaze fell to the two plates she had waiting, and he got up again and carefully traversed the small space behind her, mindful not to accidentally touch her. Her presence in his house alone muddled his brain; accidentally touching her would probably send him over the edge. But he was close enough to smell her. Turning his face to the cupboard, he shut his eyes and inhaled. Fuck, she smelled good. He couldn’t tell what it was, but it smelled floral and feminine and it suited her.

  He grabbed another plate and put it down next to the other two.

  She glanced up at him with confusion.

  “May as well join us, seeing as you made it.”

  Tori shook her head and went to grab the plate, but he stopped her. This time their hands touched and a charge zapped him. It ran straight from her soft, delicate fingers through his arm to his heart, only to settle down somewhere between his legs.

  “I don’t want to impose or intrude,” she said, quickly tugging her hand out from under his. “I only made supper because it was getting late and I figured it was a good way to work on counting and fine motor skills. He counted all the spaghetti noodles before I put them in the pot, picking up each one with his fingers.”

  That was a brilliant idea. Why hadn’t he thought of that? He was always looking for more ways to get Gabe involved in day-to-day activities and help out around the house, as well as implement his programs into their daily lives.

  Now she had to stay.

  Knowing what it would do to him and hoping she didn’t get the wrong idea, even though all he had were wrong ideas when it came to Tori, he put his hand on her shoulder. “Please stay. Like you said, it was such a great day, we should all celebrate. And since you made it, you should really enjoy it too.”