She pulled away from me and studied my expression as if trying to see if I’d made the offer out of obligation. I hurried to reassure her that that wasn’t it.
“I want you to stay here, Georgie. I’ve missed you. I miss…” It surprised me to feel a lump rise up in my throat. “I miss having family around.”
“I don’t have any way to help you pay rent right now.”
Georgie and I were technically half-sisters. While Georgie and I shared a mother, I’d not been lucky enough to share a gene pool with Georgie’s absolutely loaded father who’d turned over a rather generous trust fund to her the moment she graduated college.
Georgie’s admission that she couldn’t help with rent meant that her decision to finally ‘settle down’ as she’d put it, probably had more to do with the fact that she’d finally spent all her money than any sheer desire to end her years-long adventure. Although, as I looked into her tired eyes, I had to admit to myself that it was probably a little of both.
“That’s okay. It’s not as if I was planning on having a roommate anyway. I’d be so happy to have you here. Just take some time to figure out what’s next for you. Don’t worry about rent.”
She looked at me skeptically. “Are you sure? I have no idea what I really want to do with my life. My degree is useless.”
That much was definitely true. Having a degree in fashion design and no eye for fashion wasn’t going to do her a whole lot of good.
“Well, what are you good at?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, Sue. But I know that I’m not going to be able to just do nothing for very long. I’ll start looking for a job soon. In the meantime, I’ll clean your apartment, do your laundry, and help with meals to pull my weight. I know your weekdays are swamped with patients.”
It had taken me a while after starting my physical therapy practice to get the hang of things—a long while—but after several years of trial and error, I’d nailed down a routine that somehow enabled me to balance work, groceries, and home care. I didn’t need Georgie to clean my apartment. In fact, the very suggestion stressed me out. My routine was set. I was happy to have her live here, but it was just fine with me if she didn’t mess that up.
As I was about to tell her just now much I didn’t need her to clean my apartment, an idea popped into my head.
I didn’t need her to clean for me, but I did know someone who was going to be in need of as much help as he could get once his world stopped spinning, and now that the funeral was over, that was bound to happen soon. It would only be a week or so before the casserole deliveries would slow, all the extended family would go home, and Caleb would be left to deal with more than he could handle. Having a clean house wouldn’t solve everything, but it might at least take one thing off his plate.
“I think I’ve got my place covered, but would you be open to cleaning for someone else?”
She stared at me, and I could see as her expression changed that she’d realized where I was going. Gramps must’ve told her about Beth.
She reached out and gathered my hands in hers as she gently squeezed them.
“I’m so sorry about Beth, Sue. I should’ve said that the moment you walked in, but I just didn’t want to upset you right after your date. It’s hard, you know? You want people to know you care, but you don’t want to say something that causes them to fall apart all over again if they’ve just gathered themselves up.”
I nodded, swallowing another lump in my throat as I tried not to cry. “I know. It’s okay.”
Georgie continued. “I only met her that one time she spent Thanksgiving with us, but she was so incredibly sweet. And yes, if you’re talking about me cleaning her home, I think that’s a great idea.”
“Great. I’ll call Caleb later tonight and see if we can go visit with him sometime over the next few days. If he agrees—which I can’t see any reason why he wouldn’t—I’ll pay you for it.”
Standing, I grinned at her and bobbed my head toward the guest bedroom. “Now, let’s go see what sort of progress we can make on that disaster of a room before it gets too late.”
I didn’t imagine we would make much. If my suspicions were correct, we’d spend more time talking than unboxing, and Georgie would be bunking with me, at least for tonight.
The morning after his date with Allanah, Ross woke up horny and irritated. He’d forgotten how much more pleasurable it was to be aroused by an interaction with an actual woman than the fantasies of his own mind. It wouldn’t do. It wasn’t good for him to start wanting again. His days of sharing his life with another had been put to rest with his marriage to Silva.
Knowing it was time for him to start his day, he moved to the bathroom and turned on the shower to allow the water to heat up. It was one of the many modern-day marvels that never ceased to amaze him—that one could create hot running water at will.
Just as steam began to escape from the top and sides of the shower curtain, his phone buzzed. Seeing that it was Caleb, he reached into the shower one more time to turn off the spray of water. He was undoubtedly calling to see how his date with Allanah had gone.
“Good morning to ye, Caleb.”
Ross could hear Maggie screaming in the background as soon as he answered the phone. Caleb sounded stressed and tired as he answered him.
“I know I’ve been asking a whole lot of favors from you lately, Ross, but do you think I could ask one more?”
“O’course ye can. I want to help ye in any way I can. What do ye need?”
Walking across his apartment and over to his desk while he waited for Caleb to answer him, Ross glanced down at his calendar. It was Monday. For months now, Mondays meant a cooking lesson with Beth at their house followed by dinner with her family. It would be the first Monday without her. He knew it wasn’t why Caleb had called him, but he made a mental note to tell Caleb his idea before letting him off the phone.
“Do you think you could walk Hannah to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting this week? And keep Maggie with you and watch her for maybe an hour after you drop Hannah off? I’m starting marathon training two days a week, and my trainer insists we do it early.”
That was the last thing Ross could possibly imagine him asking. Him, take care of children? He didn’t know the first thing about children. Sure, he’d been around Hannah and Maggie lots over the past year, but they’d never been left in his care.
He balked at the question. “Me? Do ye think…well, do ye think that best, Caleb? I doona know much about children, most especially babes.”
Caleb interrupted him before he could continue. “There’s no one else. I can’t stand for my family to stay here another day. I’m getting them out of my house by tonight if it’s the last thing I do, and all of my other friends have to be to work early. Your job is flexible. Besides, both of the girls adore you.”
That pleased him. He adored them as well—even if they did scare him to death. Another question formed in his mind.
“Are ye sure wee Hannah is ready to return to school? Do ye not think ’twill be hard for her?”
There was a break in the conversation as Ross listened to Caleb hush and soothe Maggie. Slowly, the small child’s wailing quieted.
“Oh, thank God. She’s been crying since five this morning. I think she’s picking up on the energy of everyone else in this house. As for Hannah, it wasn’t my idea that she go back so soon. She wants to. She told me herself. And yes, I’m sure it will be hard for her, but it’s hard just sitting around here, too. Everything is going to be hard for all of us for quite a long time, I expect. Will you do it?”
Ross couldn’t argue with that. Of course, he couldn’t say no. “Aye. I shall.”
He thought he heard Caleb exhale in relief.
“Good. Now that I’ve got Maggie calmed for the moment, I’m going to go hint, not-so-subtly, to my mother and brother-in-law that it’s time for them to return home. Thank you, Ross. I’ll see you Thursday morning. If you can be here by seven, that would be grea
t. That way I can get Maggie settled with you while I help Hannah get ready for school.”
Ross hurried to tell Caleb his plan before he got off the phone.
“Aye, but ye will see me tonight, as well. ’Tis Monday, and I doona think Beth would like it if we stopped having our weekly dinners. I’ll cook for ye and Hannah tonight. Surely Beth taught me enough that I can prepare one meal on my own.”
Caleb sounded unsure as he answered him. “You really don’t have to do that.”
“I want to. And now, ye must get the rest of yer family gone, for I doona know if I wish to cook and clean for that many people.”
“Deal. I’ll see you tonight. You can tell me all about your date then.”
Damn. Ross thought to himself, as he hung up the phone. He’d started to think that Caleb had forgotten all about it.
Of course, he wasn’t so lucky.
Chapter 9
It was wrong—he knew that much—but Ross had no idea how to go about fixing it. At least Caleb was busy with both girls. That way he wasn’t in here to watch his total failure.
Frustrated at the coagulated sauce in front of him, he read through the recipe once more and threw up his hands in frustration. He’d followed it exactly. Still, it hadn’t turned out. All of Beth’s determination to make him a self-sufficient cook had been for naught.
Glancing at the clock, he did the calculations in his head. He’d started dinner early. Most likely, Sydney would still be awake in Scotland.
Silently admitting that he needed professional help, he pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped on the screen so that it would video-call Sydney. He could’ve wept with relief when she picked up after the second ring.
“Hey. What’s up?”
Happy to see that she didn’t appear to have just been awakened, he flipped the screen around so that the camera pointed into the pot of ruined pasta sauce.
“I followed the recipe, and still it has turned to complete rubbish. Can ye tell what I’ve done?”
“Ah. Yeah. That’s um…That’s not great.”
He flipped the phone back around so that he could see Sydney’s face. “Is it truly that bad, lass?”
Sydney nodded and laughed. “Yes. I’m not sure what you were trying to make, but you’ve curdled the sauce. You’re going to have to start over.”
As if she’d been able to smell his failure, Hannah walked into the kitchen at that precise moment, crawled onto one of the barstools around the kitchen island where the stove was, and peered into the pot. She looked up at him and crinkled her nose.
“I’m not sure it’s supposed to look like that, Uncle Ross.”
Knowing that Sydney would’ve heard the young girl and understood that she was being placed on hold, he set his phone down on the counter long enough to answer her.
“Aye. Ye are certainly right about that.” He quickly pointed to the pan of frozen chicken strips he’d just heated for her. “Not to worry though, lass. Yer wretched chicken and absolutely terrible boxed cheesy pasta turned out just fine and are ready for ye to eat.”
She smiled at him, and it made something inside Ross’ chest ache. She was still so small, but when the young girl smiled, he could tell that she was going to look just like Beth when she was older.
“Is it the shaped macaroni and cheese?”
“Aye.”
“Then, I promise you, it’s not horrible.”
He laughed and reached up in the cabinet for the young girl’s favorite plate and bowl. He’d watched Beth reach for it enough times to know exactly where it was.
“I am pleased ye think so, Hannah, but I beg to differ with ye. Regardless, ye can go ahead and eat if ye are hungry. ’Twill be some time before I’m finished cooking for me and yer Da. I doona think he will mind.”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, please.”
Quickly making her a plate, he handed it to her and waited until she headed toward the dining room with her food before returning to Sydney. The moment he lifted the phone to his face, Sydney spoke.
“Well, she sounds adorable. How’s she doing?”
“The lass seems okay today, though her Da said that she cried herself to sleep last night. Poor thing. My heart is broken for her.”
Sydney nodded sympathetically. “Mine too. Okay, let’s see what we can do to salvage your dinner. What exactly is it that you’re trying to make?”
“Vodka pasta. I ordered it from an Italian restaurant a few nights ago and quite liked it.”
Sydney crinkled her nose at him and laughed once more. “Yeah, it’s not supposed to look like that. Can you show me the recipe?”
Obeying her, he picked up the piece of paper and held it in front of the camera while he waited for her to read over it.
“This says to use half-and-half, and I think that was probably your problem. It curdles too easily when you mix it with heat. Look in the fridge and see if they have any heavy cream instead.”
Thankfully, they did.
“Aye. They do.”
“Not expired?”
He looked over the carton and smiled. “No.”
“Good. Dump that sauce out and start again. Rather than half-and-half, use the cream. It’ll substitute just fine, and it will be less likely to curdle. You can do it. I have faith in you.”
Thanking her, he bid her farewell and moved to discard the ruined batch of sauce.
At least someone had faith in him. He had none whatsoever in himself.
Much later than he originally intended, Ross served up a new batch of pasta for his friend.
“I’m sorry it took me so long.”
Caleb dismissed him with a shake of his head. “Don’t worry about it. It actually turned out for the best. It gave me time to get the girls down, which means I can enjoy my meal without trying so hard. It’s exhausting trying to be strong for them.”
Ross had no doubt of it. Caleb’s strength over the past week astonished him.
“What do ye think of it?”
Ross watched nervously as Caleb went in for his first bite. When he smiled, Ross relaxed.
“It’s delicious. And now that it’s ready, you can’t put it off anymore. How did your date go?”
Ross could see no reason to lie to him, even if he had no plans to ever see Allanah again.
“I enjoyed every minute. She is lovely.”
Caleb’s expression appeared way too delighted. Then just as quickly, so sad that it hurt Ross to look at him.
“Great. Then you two can go out again tomorrow night. There’s a limo company in town that’s doing Christmas light tours, and I booked Beth and me a private one a few weeks ago. I’d forgotten all about it until I got the reminder email from the tour company this morning. I broke down for the better part of the morning when I read it. Beth had really been looking forward to it.”
Brushing past the fact that he knew he would feel odd going on a date intended for Beth and Caleb, Ross knew he would have to come clean about what he’d decided.
“That’s a kind offer, Caleb, but I’ll not be seeing the lass again.”
“What? Why not?”
He shrugged. It wasn’t something he could easily explain to anyone. “I dinna expect the date to go well, so I dinna think ’twould be a problem, but I simply doona wish to date.”
Ross could tell by Caleb’s confused expression that he was about to pry further, but Ross was momentarily saved by the sound of Caleb’s phone ringing from across the room.
Ross continued eating as Caleb got up from the table to grab his phone.
“Speak of the devil. It’s Sue.”
Ross cringed at the name. How anyone thought the name suited her baffled him.
“Doona say anything, Caleb.”
“Yeah.” Caleb laughed as he carried the ringing phone back over to the table. “Do you really think I’m going to listen to that?”
Dread settled into Ross’ stomach as Caleb answer the phone.
“Hey, Sue.”
C
losing his eyes, Ross ran a hand through his hair as his nerves doubled. Only able to hear Caleb’s end of the conversation, he listened in.
“Oh, really? Look, the house is already starting to fall into disarray. You don’t even need to bring her here for an interview; I’ll happily let her clean whatever she wants to. Thank you, Sue. I appreciate the thoughtfulness more than you know.”
Silence filled the room, and Caleb listened to whatever Allanah was saying. Eventually, when Caleb spoke again, Ross knew he was in trouble.
“That sounds great. Hey, listen. Ross is here with me right now, and he was just telling me how much he enjoyed your date. He wants to talk to you, actually. I think he has a pretty cool idea about something you two could do tomorrow. Do you mind if I hand him the phone?”
His friend’s grief was the only thing that kept Ross from sending something hard and heavy flying toward Caleb’s head in that moment. Knowing he was now trapped into asking Allanah out on another date, Ross took the phone from Caleb’s hand.
“Good evening, lass. How are ye?”
The sound of her voice when she answered him was warm. He could envision her smiling on the other end of the call.
“I’m well. I didn’t mean to interrupt you two. I was just reaching out to Caleb about a possible job for my sister.”
“Ah.” He could think of no reason to delay the inevitable. “Are ye free tomorrow night, Allanah? Would ye like to accompany me on a Christmas light tour?”
“I’d love to.”
“Perfect. I’ll text ye with the details. I’m handing the phone back to Caleb now.”
Furious, he watched as Caleb tried to keep from laughing.
“That sounds great, Sue. I’ll be here at two o’clock tomorrow afternoon to meet your sister. Thanks again.”
The moment Caleb hung up the phone, he burst out laughing.
“Get that look off your face, Ross. Trust me. You’ll thank me for this later.”
Chapter 10
While a lovely idea in theory, the idea of looking at Christmas lights from the heavily-tinted windows of a limo just didn’t work. Fifteen minutes into our two-hour ride, we still could see nothing out the windows.
Love Beyond Boundaries (A Scottish Time Travel Romance): Book 12 (Morna's Legacy Series) Page 6
