by Maria Geraci
She tidied up her desk, told Darlene, the receptionist, that she’d be out for the rest of the day and drove her car toward the center of town. The parking lot to the preschool was packed, so she had to circle around to Main Street and park in front of Heidi’s bakery. It was almost four and time for the ceremony to begin.
The Sunny Days Preschool had been around for a couple of decades and was a big hit with the community. They had a Mother’s Day Out program and a well-respected curriculum for three-and four-year-olds. The campus consisted of a moderately sized one-story building painted in cheery apricot with bright blue trim. Hibiscus bushes hedged the manicured lawn, and there was even a little white picket fence surrounding the backyard play area. Brightly colored balloons and streamers floated in the warm, late September air.
Jenna plastered on her best city employee smile and went to greet the preschool’s director, a middle-aged woman with salt-and-pepper hair who introduced herself as Mrs. Hodges.
“We’re glad someone from the city could be here for our new playground grand opening,” she said, shaking Jenna’s outstretched hand.
“Glad to be here.” She leaned in for a conspiratorial whisper. “Plus, I was promised cake.”
Mrs. Hodges laughed. “Cupcakes to be exact from Heidi’s bakery and muffins from The Bistro.”
Jenna nodded in approval. She might be a relative newcomer, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that it wasn’t any kind of celebration in Whispering Bay without Lucy’s famous muffins.
“I was just showing this lovely family around the school.” Mrs. Hodges turned to indicate the small group coming up behind her.
Jenna’s smile froze on her face.
Rats. It was Ben. And Rachel and the insufferable Greta.
There was another woman too. She was tall and slim with dark hair and kind brown eyes. If Jenna was a betting woman, she’d say this was Ben’s mother.
Chapter Eleven
“Uncle Ben!” Rachel pointed to Jenna. “It’s the nice lady who knew my daddy!”
Mom look startled. “You knew my son Jake?”
“Hello,” Jenna said, smiling nervously at Mom. “No, that is… I’m sorry there’s been some confusion. Totally all my fault, too.”
For five days he’d respected her wishes. He hadn’t made any attempt to see her. It had gone against his every instinct, but he’d done it. The last place he thought he’d run into her was a preschool playground celebration.
“I was just telling Ms. Pantini that there’s cupcakes and punch inside.” Mrs. Hodges glanced at her watch. “Another fifteen minutes and we’ll begin?” Before Jenna could respond, she waved to another family. “Excuse me, that’s the Grossmans. They have triplets!” The preschool director took off, leaving them to stare awkwardly at one another.
Jenna was the first to react. She bent down and looked Rachel in the eye. “Honey, when I said I knew your daddy, what I meant to say was that I used to be friends with your uncle Ben. We knew each other at school a long time ago.”
“Oh.” Rachel looked crestfallen. “So, you didn’t know my daddy?”
“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t.”
Mom shook herself into action. “I’m Pat Harrison, Ben’s mother.”
“Jenna Pantini. It’s nice to meet you.”
“So you were at the University of Miami with my son?” His mother’s voice held a dangerous note of interest Ben had never heard before.
“Jenna and I were study partners our first semester,” he clarified.
“I see.” Mom looked at Jenna the way Rachel looked at ice cream.
“So are you going to school here?” Jenna asked Rachel.
“Grandma says that I can come in the mornings, and Greta says it’s about time I went to school so I can start salsa-ing.” She frowned. “But this is my just-for-now school because when I go to Mami to live with Uncle Ben, I’ll go to another school. I hope they have balloons there, too. Do you think they will?”
Jenna took a few seconds to absorb all that. She smiled warmly at Rachel. “Definitely! Balloons at school are a must. And learning how to salsa is very important, too.”
Rachel giggled.
“Social-izing,” Greta corrected in a frosty tone. “And it’s Mi-ami, Rachel, not Mami.”
Rachel rolled her eyes. “That’s what I said!”
Jenna bit her lip to hold back her laughter. Ben couldn’t help but smile as well. Glad to know that his niece could hold her own when she had to.
“Are you here to check out the preschool for your children?” Mom asked Jenna.
“Oh, I don’t have any children. I’m the city manager and I’m standing in for the mayor today. Ribbon-cutting duties, and all that.”
“No children? Does your husband also work for the city?”
Real sly, Mom.
Jenna’s upper lip twitched. “No husband either.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Mom said. Any minute now his mother would be cackling with glee. He needed to squash this fast.
“We should get going,” Ben said. “You want a cupcake, right, Rachel?”
“Yes, please!”
“I feel like I have to mention that sugar at this time of the late afternoon really isn’t good for the child,” Greta said. “Or for anyone else either.”
“But doesn’t sugar help the medicine go down?” Jenna asked with mock innocence. “Maybe in your case it’ll help sweeten up your disposition.”
Greta’s eyes bulged.
Mom started laughing.
“Oh look, they’ve got muffins, too. Good luck with the ribbon-cutting,” Ben called to Jenna over his shoulder as he dragged away his little family, including a sputtering Greta.
A few minutes later, Rachel was digging into a cupcake while Greta warned her not to get icing on her new dress.
“That woman,” Mom seethed, not bothering to lower her voice.
Ben waited till Greta took Rachel to the bathroom to say, “Okay, I get it. Once we’re all settled, Greta’s out of here.”
“Why not now?” Mom demanded.
“Because you’re still going back and forth between here and Hopalinka, and I have work to do. Neither of us has the time to devote to Rachel full-time yet.”
“I hate it when you’re right.” Her gaze settled across the room to Jenna who appeared to be in the middle of an animated conversation with another woman. “Don’t think that your little muffin distraction is going to make me forget about Jenna.”
“She’s just an old friend from college, Mom.”
“Friend?”
“Not even a friend. Like I said we were study partners one semester, but we lost touch.”
“But you liked her. Still do from what I can see.”
“You could tell all that in the two minutes we were together?” he teased.
“You’re my son, Ben. I love you more than anyone in the world. You might be able to hide what you’re feeling from everyone else but never from me.”
He stilled.
“She’s pretty, I’ll give her that. And that hair! That color didn’t come out of a box. She’s spunky, too. You have to love how she gave it right back to Greta. I like her. And yes, I can tell just by talking to her even for a few minutes that she’s a real genuine person. A real nice girl.”
“Too nice for me, Mom.”
“Oh, pooh. I’ve never once believed all those ridiculous rumors about you and that Playboy Bunny. Especially now that I know what you and Tiffany have really been up to. And besides,” she added, “no one’s too nice for you.”
“You’d say that even if I was in prison.”
“I would not. Okay, so maybe I would,” she admitted. “You should ask her out. I bet she says yes.”
“And you know this because?”
“You’re not the only one wearing their heart on their sleeve. That girl likes you as much as you like her.”
“Even if that were true, which believe me, it’s not, there’s no point. I’m only going to b
e in town a few more weeks.”
“But you never know what can happen! Don’t you want to get married and have a family?”
He might as well tell her the truth, or at least enough of it so that she’d know this crusade of hers was a lost cause. “Mom, Jenna and I went out last week. You’re right. I do like her. But she’s not interested.”
“What?” His mother looked dumbstruck. “How can she not be interested in you? What’s wrong with her?”
“There’s nothing wrong with her. She’s not interested because we have a not-so-nice past. And it’s completely all on me. Okay? Now, please, let’s get back to what’s important here. What do you think of the preschool? Mrs. Hodges said that considering our situation they’d be happy to take Rachel on a temporary basis.”
Her shoulders slumped in defeat. He could see that she wanted to continue talking about Jenna, but he’d successfully shut the door on that subject. “The school is fine,” she conceded. “Rachel seems to like it and that’s the important thing.”
“Good, then that’s settled?”
She nodded. “And…I’ve been thinking about what you said this afternoon. You’re right. Rachel needs the two of us, so I suppose that means I’ll be moving to Miami.”
“It’s not Siberia, Mom.”
“I know it’s not, sweetheart, and I can’t tell you how much your stepping in and helping with Rachel means to me. And to her. She adores you. She really does.”
“She’s my niece. The two of you are my responsibility.”
“Not really. Not if you didn’t want it to be.”
“I want it to be.”
She gave him a strained smile, then looped her arm through his. “Looks like it’s time for the official ribbon-cutting.”
They collected Rachel and weaved their way out of the building to the playground area. Ben figured there were probably about two hundred people at the ceremony, including the local press. Jenna began her speech with a few words about the history of the preschool, making sure to thank all the principal players and the people who’d contributed their time and money to the new project.
She was warm and funny and didn’t talk overly long. Then, posing for the cameras, she smiled and cut the yellow ribbon that was strung around the entrance area, officially opening the playground. Kids and adults began streaming in, testing out the new equipment. Ben lifted Rachel onto a set of monkey bars. Jenna, he noticed out of the corner of his eye, made her way through the crowd like a politician, taking the time to talk to everyone she met along the way.
Like he’d told his mother, Jenna had made her feelings abundantly clear. She didn’t want anything to do with him. And with Mom now on board to move to south Florida, his mission here was almost complete. They could pack her things up, put Mom’s trailer up for sale and even have a little time left over to enjoy the beach house. He’d continue his work on the Earl Handy estate from the comfort of his leather chair in the Miami office.
Mom tapped him on the shoulder. “Honey, I hate to break this up, but I have to go to work.”
He helped Rachel down from the monkey bars and handed her over to Greta. “I’ll meet you by the swing set in a few minutes.” He waited till they were gone. “I thought you quit your job last week.”
“I did, but Carl just called. He still hasn’t gotten a replacement for me and he’s short on the evening shift.”
“That’s his problem, not yours.”
“Don’t be cross with me. I’ve worked at the Stop and Go since before you were born and Carl’s been good to me through all the tough times. I’m just filling in until he can hire and train someone else. That’s all.”
“How long is that going to take?”
“Just a couple of weeks. Three, tops. You rented that big house on the beach for a month, right?”
He didn’t like that she felt the need to go to work this evening. But he wasn’t going to argue with his mom. The fact that she’d agreed to move to Miami was a big weight off his shoulders. Besides, Carl Russell was a good guy, and his mom’s loyalty to him couldn’t be faulted.
They’d driven to the preschool in two cars. Greta could stay here with Rachel until the open house was over. “I’ll drive you to the store.”
“No need. My car’s at your place. I can walk there and drive myself back to Hopalinka. And since I’ll be working late, I’ll just stay the night at the trailer.” Her eyes got a faraway look. “I’ll be putting it on the market soon anyway. It’ll be nice to spend another night in my own home.”
“I’m not letting you walk all the way back to the beach house.”
Rachel ran up to him, her cheeks pink with excitement from playing. “Do we have to go now?”
“No, sweetheart, you don’t have to go yet,” Ben said. “I’m driving grandma back to the house and you can stay here and play a little longer.”
“I can?”
“Sure. Greta will take you home.”
“What about the hamburgers?”
“How about you and Greta stop by the burger place and get them to go? We can eat them out by the pool.”
“Okay!” She skipped back to the swings and resumed playing with a group of children while he filled Greta in on the plan.
“Burgers and shakes. Anything else?” She yawned as if she’d rather be anywhere but here.
Since there were kids around he couldn’t say the first thing that came to his mind. But screw this. Mom was right. He needed to get rid of Greta ASAP. First thing in the morning, he’d have Gavin find another nanny.
* * *
Jenna stayed at the playground inauguration celebration longer than she’d anticipated. It was more than just a simple matter of cutting a ribbon. As she was the city manager, people kept coming up to her and offering her their opinions. On everything.
“I think there needs to be a four-way stop on Beach and Main,” one man said. “Used to be we didn’t need it, but now the traffic is getting out of control.”
“Why don’t you bring that up at the town hall meeting tomorrow night?” she suggested.
“Oh, I’ll be there,” he said. “High school gymnasium, seven p.m. sharp.”
Her feet ached from standing in her heels and her face muscles were sore from smiling.
It was almost six and everyone except the preschool staff was now long gone. She thanked Mrs. Hodges and the rest of the teachers she’d met today, then walked back to her car. Despite the two muffins she’d eaten earlier, she was starving. She’d been working so much that she hadn’t had time to hit the Piggly Wiggly this week so there was nothing in her refrigerator. After a long afternoon of schmoozing, she deserved a big fat juicy hamburger and fries.
She was about three blocks from the burger place when she spied a small figure walking along the side of the road. At first, Jenna thought it was a dog, but as she got near enough she realized… Good Lord. It was a child. And it wasn’t just any child. It was Rachel.
Chapter Twelve
What on earth was Ben’s niece doing walking down the side of the road all by herself?
Jenna slowed down, careful not to spook the little girl, and pulled her car over. Rachel’s tear-stained face broke out in relief at the sight of her. She ran into Jenna’s outstretched arms. Jenna gave the little girl a tight hug then a quick head-to-toe inspection. Other than a skinned knee and some dirt stains on her previously pristine white socks, Rachel seemed to be all right.
“Are you hurt?” Jenna asked.
Rachel silently shook her head as the tears streamed down her cheeks.
“Where’s your uncle?” Could there have been an accident along another road that she wasn’t aware of? Was Ben hurt? Please God, don’t let him be hurt.
“He’s…he… Grandma and him left to go to work.”
Work? “And Greta? Where is she? Is she all right?”
“Greta is taking elfies.”
“Elfies?”
“You know, with her phone.” Rachel imitated someone taking their own pictu
re.
“You mean, selfies? Sweetheart, I’m confused. What happened after you left the preschool?”
“Daddy and Grandma left. And Greta and me…we were getting burgers and we were waiting and she pulled out her phone and began doing the elfie, and I wanted her to do one of me, but she…she said I was too ugly for an elfie.”
Jenna saw stars. Good thing Greta wasn’t around right now or she’d be seeing stars, too, because she’d be halfway to the moon after Jenna got through with her. “I see.” Although, no, she didn’t really see at all.
“We were gonna get burgers and shakes and bring them back to Uncle Ben’s house to eat. But then, I got mad when she said I was ugly.”
“Of course you got mad! I would be mad, too. Then what happened?”
“I know it was bad of me, but I just wanted to go home.”
“So you left the restaurant?”
Rachel nodded.
“All by yourself? Without telling Greta or another adult?”
Rachel hung her head. “I told you, I was bad.”
“Oh, sweetie, you aren’t bad. And this isn’t your fault. But you can’t go wandering off by yourself, no matter how upset you might be. Promise me?”
“Okay,” Rachel said, still sounding pitiful. “Do you think Uncle Ben is going to get rid of me?”
Jenna felt her blood go cold. “Get rid of you? Why on earth would you say that?”
“Once, when I was bad, my mommy and daddy left me with Grandma for a long time before they came back for me. Maybe Uncle Ben will do that too.”
Shock combined with anger made Jenna’s eye twitch. Had Rachel been neglected in the past? She didn’t think so, but then, something here was all wrong.
She should call Ben and let him know that Rachel was all right, but she didn’t trust herself to speak to him just yet. Plus, she didn’t have his number.
