Chapter 2
Trev led the way up the stairs, listening for the footfalls of Leah, who fell in behind him. He wished she’d walk beside him. He wanted to learn more about her. Where did her family live? What had made her decide to go into medicine?
He shut down that part of his curiosity. None of that mattered. As long as she was good with his parents and reliable, they’d work together fine. In fact, there might be weeks when he didn’t see her at all. The thought made him droop. In their few minutes together, she’d brightened his day considerably. First, she was pretty: she was small and petite, her skin was like a rose petal, her thick, long blond hair was drawn in a loose French braid that traveled to the small of her back, and it was easy to get lost in her wide gray eyes. She was the opposite of Desiree, who had been almost as tall as Trev, with skin like alabaster, dark tangled brown hair, and brown eyes that she greened up with a pair of contact lenses. Desiree looked and tasted like candy with her high heels and short skirts that showed off the best pair of tanned legs Trev had ever seen.
Trev’s heart clenched. It had been almost a year since Desiree died just outside this beautiful home in the waters of Beaver Lake. He tried to push the memory away, but it whispered around him like a familiar and unfriendly phantom. In spite of his best efforts to dismiss the recollection—the day he’d found Desiree’s lifeless body in the water, less than a football field away from shore—the memory was no more than a blink away with its vivid detail.
“Are you all right?” Leah asked.
Trev came back to himself and stopped. Turning to Leah, he swallowed hard and looked into her light gray eyes, which were full of concern and empathy. Her honest and sincere consideration brought him a degree of comfort and kept him rooted to his spot and his gaze fixed on Leah’s eyes. No one ever asked him how he felt anymore. Appreciation for Leah softened him. He chided himself. She wouldn’t ask again if she knew what had happened on that fateful afternoon. “Yes. I’m fine. Thanks.”
Leah didn’t question him again, but he felt her eyes on him, watching. He steeled himself against the dark memory of Desiree’s death and the warm feelings towards Leah trying to infiltrate the thick, twisted grief lodged in his soul. Her one job was to look after his parents. She wasn’t his therapist or even his friend. Although he probably needed both, it wouldn’t be a good idea to mix business with friendship or therapy. His parents’ needs came first, and since it had become apparent that his sister wasn’t able to care for his parents, Leah was the next best thing.
“By the way, how did you hear about me?” Leah asked as they reached the top of the stairs.
“Jett Eastwood from here in The Cove suggested you. Well, that’s not exactly how it happened. I ran into his best friend, Aaron, at Highbury Assisted Living. He was playing bingo with Charlize’s mother. Anyway, I considered assisted living for my folks but decided to keep them home. Aaron talked to Jett, and his fiancée, Hannah, contacted me and suggested I call you.”
“Oh yes, I know Hannah. We were friends at the rehab center. I appreciate her recommendation.” Leah changed the subject. “Do your folks spend their time up here?”
Trev knitted his brows. “Yes, and I’d like for them to get downstairs and out of the house. There is some slope to the yard on the way to the lake, but the garden is nice and flat. They could walk with no problem, but after the accident, they became afraid to get around. I think that’s kept them housebound. We have an elevator, so they don’t have to navigate the stairs. They do come down for meals and in the evening to spend time with me and Allison, if my sister isn’t glued to her room.”
“Will I meet Allison?”
Trev hesitated for a fraction. “Probably not. I think she had a blog post and video she wanted to get done today. She considers herself some kind of a fashionista. She’s just shy of a thousand followers.” He tried to keep the contempt from his voice. Desiree had taken Allison under her wing and had high hopes for Allison’s talent for fashion, but Trev seriously doubted that Desiree’s vision for Allison involved his sister spending hours in her room working on a vlogging channel and dropping copious amounts of money on items that came by UPS. He cleared his thoughts as they made their way down the wide carpeted hall of the east wing of the home. Trev stopped at the last door to his left before motioning toward the end of the hallway. “Here’s the elevator.” Turning back to the bedroom door, he knocked.
“Come in,” A muffled voice came from the other side of the door.
Leah placed her palm on Trev’s arm as he was about to turn the knob. The weight of her hand startled him, and he tried to ignore her sweet and inviting presence. He hadn’t been touched by a woman since Desiree. Hadn’t he shut that part of himself off? Frowning, he pulled away. “Yes?”
“Do they know I’m coming?” Leah asked.
Trev immediately missed Leah’s light fingers on his skin, and he wished he hadn’t been so abrupt to disengage. “Sorry. Yes. I’ve told them about you, and they’re both looking forward to meeting you.”
Leah smiled. “Good. Thank you.” If his sudden retreat from her contact affected her, she didn’t let it show. At the very least, he appreciated her professionalism.
“Ready?”
She raised her eyebrows and nodded with cheer.
Trev opened the door and ushered Leah before him. “Hey, Mom, Dad. I’d like you to meet Leah Thomas. She’s going to be working with us throughout the summer.” He turned to Leah, “Leah, meet my parents, Paul and Rebecca Michaels.”
Trev stepped away from Leah, observing her carefully. This moment mattered. How would she react to the slightly sour smell of elderly and unwashed bodies? Would the overall clutter in the large room and the general disheveled look of his parents—his mother in her aqua velour jogging suit and his father in navy-and-black sweats—curl her lip with disdain? He hadn’t warned her about their appearance on purpose. If she recoiled, looked away, or so much as tightened her mouth, he would thank her for her time and send her on her way. That was how Allison treated them, and it irked him. He tried to encourage them to take better care of themselves, but since he was their son, they weren’t inclined to listen to him. He hoped—no, prayed—for better luck with Leah.
Leah moved forward and knelt on one knee, taking his mother’s hands in her own. Her smile reached her gray eyes in authenticity. “Good morning, Rebecca, Paul. I’m so happy to meet the both of you.”
A slow smile came across his father’s face as his eyes warmed. He glanced at Trev’s mother, who also showed new animation.
Rebecca spoke. “We’re pleased to meet you, Leah.”
Leah brightened, changing the subject. “I’m happy to be here. Can you tell me how you spend your time?”
Trev noticed the shadow come across his mother’s face. “We don’t do much. It’s starting to get hot outside, and as you can see, we don’t feel so good. The summer heat about kills me, so we mostly stay here.”
Leah continued her questioning. “If we could make you more comfortable, would you go outside?”
Both of his parents nodded, and Leah moved into a serious inquiry. What did they like to read? Were they receiving physical or occupational therapy? Did they enjoy visitors or trips into town? How would they feel about starting an exercise program with her? What was their favorite park? How comfortable were they showering on their own? What did they like to eat?
Trev watched Leah with growing admiration and appreciation. She didn’t talk down to his parents, tell them what they needed to do, or act like they were stupid because of their age or lack of mobility. Her kneeling position put her on their level, but from her query, it was obvious that she would expect more of them as they worked together.
Through her probing, Trev found hope. This young woman was knitting together the precious fabric of the torn relationship between him and his parents, offering a way out of their apathy and his helplessness around their current condition, and it all stemmed from gentle and honest interest and compassion
.
“When do you start?” Rebecca asked.
Leah laughed, a merry and forthright sound that came from her belly. “I’m not sure. I’ll have to talk to Mr. Michaels about that.”
Rebecca waved her hand. “Call him Trev. Everybody does.”
Leah laughed again. “We’ll go have a conversation right now and see what we come up with. I’m sure he’ll let you know when we’re finished.”
Rebecca’s eyes turned misty. “He’s a good boy.”
Abashed heat traveled from Trev’s chest into his neck and face. “Okay, Mom. We’re not here to have you sing my praises.”
“Who else is going to do it if I don’t? That Desiree never had anything nice to say. That girl wanted nothing more than to party.” His mother gave him a puckered look.
Panic crawled up Trev’s throat, snuffing out every warm feeling with its icy grip. His eyes flew to Leah, who patted his mother’s hand. “Maybe you can tell me about Desiree the next time I come for a visit.”
Trev appreciated Leah’s easy manner in the face of his mother’s obvious derision.
“Now, Becca.” Paul reached over and took his wife’s free hand. “It’s not nice to speak ill of the dead.”
Fixing his gaze on Leah, Trev waited for any kind of flinch or shock from the young woman at the revelation of Desiree’s death. None came. Her eyes showed the same serene kindness he’d witnessed all through their morning together. That was it! Leah was kind, even in the midst of discomfort.
Leah stood. “I’ll go talk with Trev now.” Releasing his mother’s hand, she made her way back to Trev’s side. Her presence stilled him, and his shallow, panicked breath deepened.
“Off with you, then,” Paul said in a merry tone. “We hope to see you again, Ms. Thomas.”
Leah laughed as she turned back to Trev’s parents. “Call me Leah. Everybody does.”
Trev led the way into the hall. What just happened? A change in the mood of his parents had certainly taken place, but Leah’s heartfelt sincerity touched him too, shifting the inner weather of his spirit. A new breath stirred within, mixing with the shadowy gray fog of grief that kept him blind and stuck. Leah’s presence parted the clouds of his heartache and remorse and began making room for the fragile beam of something new.
Chapter 3
Leah traveled the twisting roads back to Eureka Springs and her apartment. She needed to put together a packet of information for the Michaels family that outlined her plans for Paul and Rebecca’s progress, along with her contract and other helpful information.
Pulling into the parking lot, she looked up at the clapboard building. It suited her needs for now. Her family had asked her to come home for the summer. They lived on the other side of town. Leah demurred. Going home to her family’s thirteen-hundred-square-foot, three-bedroom ranch didn’t appeal to her. She still had two sisters at home, and Leah craved her own space. Or maybe she craved distance from her family and the constant hardship of living hand to mouth.
Her mom and dad worked hard, but sometimes it wasn’t enough. Both of her parents—her mother as a maid and her father as a local mechanic—were at the mercy of the local economy. If either one of them were laid off, the family needed government assistance. It had happened more than once, and Leah hated what felt like a dirty little secret that made her different.
A prickly heat rose up Leah’s spine with the hateful memory of shopping with her mother when she was ten. She’d met her friend Brittany in the aisles of the store. The girls had giggled and waved to each other as they’d passed. At the checkout stand, Brittany and her mother had stood behind Leah as her own mother handed over food stamps to pay for their groceries. Hot shame had burned in Leah’s ten-year-old stomach as Brittany’s mother had curled her lip and her friend’s eyes had grown large. The next day at school, Brittany had distanced herself from Leah, and the two girls never spoke again.
Leah wanted to get as far from all of that as possible, and except for her older and married sister, Paige, she rarely spoke with her family. Only Paige knew of the details of Leah’s life. Leah talked to Paige about everything, including her nine-month relationship with Justin and how the whole of it had gone up in flames in one night for much of the same reason her friendship with Brittany was ruined. It always came down to the equation of money and status, and Leah was on the minus side of both.
She pushed away the memory, her thoughts drifting to more pleasant things, including her time spent in the Michaels household. Trev had offered her the job before they’d even sat down. They’d spent the next twenty minutes hammering out the details, and all the while, Leah had tried to keep her appeal for the man from turning into attraction. She’d done her best to focus on the conversation, in spite of her growing desire to lose herself in Trev’s gorgeous blue eyes. But it wasn’t just his masculine charm that pulled at Leah. Something from behind those blue eyes drew her, teasing her with a depth that went beyond their shared conversation around the details of pay, hours, and the other essentials of their working relationship. It helped that he’d walked her to her car and opened the door for her, a chivalrous move Leah couldn’t remember ever experiencing. She tried not to appreciate it, but the delight in Trev’s thoughtful courtesy still tingled throughout her body.
She considered the rest of the family. What was Trev’s sister, Allison, like? There seemed to be a beat of hesitation to discuss her. And who was Desiree? It wasn’t just Rebecca’s comment and sour look that spiked Leah’s curiosity, or Paul’s reminder not to speak ill of the dead. Beside her, Trev had stiffened. Panic, grief, and fear had risen from him like an Arkansas heat wave.
Leah dismissed the questions. None of these things needed to concern her. If Paul and Rebecca or even Trev or Allison wanted to talk about Desiree, Leah would be open to it, but she wasn’t there to dig into family secrets. The personal issues of the family didn’t need to overlap with her job of taking care of Paul and Rebecca Michaels.
Ever since early childhood, Leah had been drawn to the elderly. Her paternal grandparents had lived with her family until they both died within six weeks of each other when Leah was fifteen; their loss had left a hole in her heart and in her family. The passing of her grandparents had changed her life in other ways, too. She only had to share a room with Paige instead of all four of her sisters, and she still recalled the day her father called her into the dining room after her mother cleared the table.
“You must miss your grandparents,” her father began.
Tears formed in her eyes, and she nodded quietly.
Her father sat back in his seat. “You were a great help to them, you know. Your efforts were a big part of the reason they could stay with us. We never worried about them.”
A small sprout of satisfied pride pushed up in Leah at her father’s recognition.
He continued, “You’ve also managed to get straight As in school, and you’re on the honors list.”
Leah’s eyes grew large. She’d kept her scholastic success a secret. “How did you—?”
“Your school counselor called your mother a couple of days ago.”
Leah blinked in surprise.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” her father asked.
Leah broke her gaze from her father and focused on her hands folded on the table. How could she explain the need to keep everything separate from her home life? “I didn’t think it mattered,” she whispered.
Her father leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table. “Why wouldn’t it matter?”
Her earlier tears threatened to spill onto her cheeks. She dared not give voice to her greatest wish, the thing that rose in those unguarded moments between sleep and wakefulness: to escape the grinding poverty of Medicaid and food stamps. She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Oh, I think you do know.” Her father reached over and took her hands in his, his voice softening. “Don’t pretend with me. I want you to tell me the truth.”
Leah focused on her father’s callused, strong h
ands. Grease and dirt were rubbed so deeply in his skin, it was a part of him, embedded in every crease of his palms, nails, and fingers. The smell of gasoline and oil emanated from him. She grabbed his hands and squeezed his fingers within her own as if they were a life raft that could pull her out of the sea of poverty and bring her to the dry ground of recognizing her most fervent desire. “I want to be a doctor,” she blurted out. “I want to take care of others like Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw. I can do it, Dad. I know I can.”
Her father’s gray eyes turned steely. “I’ll tell you a secret your grandparents took to the grave and now only your mother knows.” He paused. “I wanted to become a doctor. I had good grades, and I loved science. I got accepted into the University of Arkansas.” His eyes retreated to their own sweet memory. “That was a great day. Your grandparents were so proud.”
“What happened?” Leah asked.
Her father’s face hardened. “I got distracted. That’s what happened. I wanted my first year of college to be memorable. I dated every pretty girl on campus, and I drank a lot of beer. My grades tanked, and I ended up being placed on scholastic probation. There was no way I’d get into medical school with a 2.0. I never went back.”
Leah gasped, her eyes widening.
“I was foolish and careless. I had to give up my dream of going to school and find a job with your paw-paw working as a mechanic. I don’t want the same thing to happen to you.”
Leah shook her head vigorously. “It won’t, Dad.”
Her father’s eyes turned to stone. “No dating or partying. You’ll work hard and make us all proud.”
Leah agreed. “All I want is to be a doctor.”
Her father’s eyes crinkled in the corners, where worn wrinkles met gray eyes. He stood. “And so you will.” His voice and his expression carried certainty and determination.
Leah blinked, showing her incomprehension. “But how?” She ducked her head. “We barely keep food on the table. You and Mom work constantly. How can we ever afford college?”
The Billionaire's Family Secret (Billionaire Bachelor Mountain Cove Book 15) Page 2
