“Yes, and I had an expert idea,” she said. “The dogs. Let me go with it, Sam. It’ll work great, you’ll see. You won’t be disappointed.”
She didn’t get it, how important this business, these people, were to him. How he wanted things to stay the same for them, wanted them to be safe. He stopped directly in front of her, crossing his arms. “No.”
“It’s community service,” she teased, cocking her head to one side. “Helping animals. Doesn’t that make Hinton Enterprises look good?” She edged neatly out of the chair and went around behind it, creating a barrier between them. She leaned on the back of the chair, her eyes sparkling.
He frowned away the energy her smile evoked in him. “You sure you didn’t have training as a lawyer?”
“Just four or five dogs,” she said, ignoring his question. “And Troy would be there the whole time.”
Sam felt as if he was losing a business negotiation, which never happened. But then again, he never sat across the table from a negotiator like Susan.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Embrace the change, Sam. Sometimes, it can be a good thing.”
He sighed. “If Troy can be there the whole time,” he said grudgingly, “I guess we can give it a try.”
Chapter Eight
Susan slipped out midmorning and power-walked to the park in downtown Rescue River. Hopefully, the materials to set up for Sam’s work picnic would be here. Hopefully, Daisy would be, too, to help her.
Hopefully, Sam wouldn’t be anywhere nearby.
She didn’t need the distraction of her boss, kisser extraordinaire.
Last night had been amazing, wonderful. Her heart, which she kept so carefully guarded beneath her mouthy exterior, had shown itself to be the marshmallow that it was and melted.
And as a result, Sam’s coldness and dismissal afterward had bludgeoned said heart.
Back to the old way, the independent way. She’d decided it last night, and kept herself busy putting out fires and getting the new kids’ entertainment organized this morning. Their little argument had fanned the attraction flames a bit, but she’d stayed businesslike and she was proud of it.
As she got to the park, she was glad to see that the large tent was up and the tables there. Sam spared no expense for his workers, but at the same time, he didn’t want it to be overly fancy. He just wanted everyone to feel comfortable and have fun. So her job was to add a touch of down home to the whole thing.
“Hey!” Daisy strolled toward her, yawning. “Where’s the coffee?”
Knowing her friend, Susan had stopped at the Chatterbox and picked up two cups. “Here’s yours, black with sweetener.” She handed it over.
Daisy sank down on a bench beside the tent while Susan opened all the boxes.
“Here’s our centerpieces,” Susan said, holding up a bunch of kids’ tractors. “Sam had me order enough so that every kid can take one home. We’ll march them along the green runners so it looks like they’re, you know, on a farm.”
“Sweet.” Daisy took a long drink of coffee.
And it was sweet. Sam was good to his employees. An amazing boss, an amazing man. A real catch.
Just not for her.
To distract herself from the sudden ache in her heart, Susan looked around. There was a father and son tossing a softball while a nearby mom spread a red-and-white plastic tablecloth over the picnic table. At one of the park’s pavilions, two pregnant women sprawled on benches while their husbands fired up the park’s grills and a couple of babies played at their feet.
And there was Fiona, the new mom in town, pushing her youngest on the swings while her other three children kicked a ball nearby.
Susan had talked to her mom this morning. Apparently Donny was doing well at camp, but her mom sounded not so great. Surprisingly lonely. She’d even asked about how Susan was doing and how she liked her new job, whether she needed anything. It was an uncharacteristically maternal call, and Susan wondered what was going on with her mother.
Thinking about her family made her miss them. Susan sighed. “Holidays can be hard for us single folks.”
Daisy didn’t answer, and when Susan glanced over, she saw that her friend’s eyes were filled with tears.
“What’s wrong, honey?” Susan asked, sinking down onto the bench beside her.
Daisy shook her head. “I’m so tired of being single, but I just can’t get into dating.”
“Not even Dion?”
Daisy stared at her as if she’d grown two heads. “No!”
“Why not?”
“We’re friends. I don’t want to mess up a good friendship by trying to go romantic.”
“But friendship is a good basis—”
“No way.”
“Keep praying about it,” Susan said, because obviously her friend wasn’t open to discussing the topic further, “and I will, too.”
“Pray about yourself while you’re at it,” Daisy advised, “because you and Sam have some major vibes going on between you.”
Heat climbed into Susan’s cheeks. “It’s obvious?”
“To me, it is, because I know both of you so well,” Daisy said. “What’s going on between the two of you, anyway?”
Susan contemplated telling her best friend about the kiss. For about ten seconds. But Daisy was protective of her brother and Susan wasn’t at all sure about how she felt about it, so she clamped her jaw shut and got busy unpacking tractor centerpieces.
“Susan? Are you seriously not going to answer?”
“Nothing’s going on,” Susan said firmly.
A welcome distraction came in the form of Xavier, who jumped into Daisy’s lap. A minute later, Angelica appeared with baby Emmie in her arms, breathless. “Hey guys,” she said.
“Where’s Mindy?” Xavier asked.
“She’ll be here soon, with her dad. Which makes me think we’d better get more done.”
“Oh, Sam will be worrying, all right,” Daisy said.
“Hey,” Angelica said. “Is Mindy all set for camp?”
“I think so,” Susan said. “It’s next weekend, right?”
“That’s right,” Angelica said, “but when I mentioned it to Sam, he didn’t seem to know anything about it.”
“I told him,” Susan said. “He wrote the check. I’ll talk to him about it.” But uneasiness clenched her stomach. The camp was one Xavier was attending for a week, with Angelica, and they had a special program where younger siblings and relatives could come for a weekend. She and Angelica had discussed it, and while she’d explained the details to Sam, he’d been distracted. She’d been surprised when he said it was okay.
Hopefully, this was just a little misunderstanding she could clear up quickly when he arrived, and then she could fade into the background and refill bowls of potato chips and play with Mindy.
They soon had the tent decorated in patriotic, farm decor. Just in time, because the caterers arrived to put out the food, all-American hot dogs and hamburgers, plus a taco bar and tamales.
She and Daisy sank down at a picnic table with cold drinks.
“I’m sweating already,” Daisy said.
“Me, too.” Susan fanned herself with a napkin.
“Any thoughts of getting work done?” came a stern voice behind them.
The hairs on Susan’s arms stood on end. Sam.
Daisy raised her eyebrows at Susan, ignoring her brother. “Somebody’s cranky. Wonder what’s wrong with him?”
He kissed me and he regrets it. Susan shrugged. “Who knows?”
Mindy, who’d come with Sam but stopped at the swings where Xavier was, ran up to them. “Daddy, Xavier says I can ride with them to camp. And I’m going to stay in a tent!”
Sam looked down at her and then his face focused. “Camp? W
hat camp?”
Mindy looked worriedly at Susan. “I’m going to that camp with Xavier. Right?”
“Right,” she said reassuringly, and turned to Sam. Best to get this over with now. “It’s that special-needs camp. Xavier goes every summer, as a cancer survivor. They have a program for kids with limb differences. We talked about this.”
“No, we didn’t. When is it and where?”
“It’s next weekend, or at least, Mindy’s part is only for the weekend. In West Virginia.”
Sam’s eyes widened. “She’s not going to sleepaway camp in West Virginia. She’s five!”
“Daddy! I’m almost six!” Mindy drew a big six in the air to make sure everyone understood.
Susan squatted down. “I’ll explain it all to Daddy. You run and keep Xavier company, okay?”
“Okay,” Mindy said doubtfully, and ran off.
Sam’s face was tight and closed as she led him over to a quieter part of the park.
“We talked about this. It’s a done deal.” Even as she spoke, guilt clutched at her. Sam had been distracted with Helen’s arrival, the evening after they’d gone to the lake. He’d gotten a phone call when she’d been explaining the details, and he’d signed the check amidst a lot of other household expenses.
He shook his head. “I didn’t okay her sleeping away. She’s way too young.”
“They have programs for younger kids who go with relatives. Angelica’s going.” She paused for emphasis. “Sam, I think it’ll be good for her. She needs to meet other kids with limb differences.”
“No.”
Susan drew in her breath and counted to ten. “She’s going to be very disappointed. She wants to go with Xavier. And Angelica will be there the whole time.”
“Parents can go?”
She nodded, knowing exactly what he would say.
“Then I’ll go.”
“Sam.” She touched his arm. “Troy and Angelica think it’ll be best if you don’t go.”
“Troy and Angelica aren’t Mindy’s parents. And neither are you.”
That truth hit her like a whip to the heart. She needed to watch herself, because her feelings as Mindy’s nanny had begun to overflow their professional boundaries. It was all too easy to love the little girl. Easy to care too much about Mindy’s dad, too, who was currently glaring at her, intent on putting her in her place.
She swallowed her hurt feelings. “I know that! I’m just someone who cares about her and has a role taking care of her. And who knows what kids with special needs, need.”
He glared. “If I’m not going, then Mindy can’t, either.”
She threw up her hands, exasperated. “Fine. It’s your money you’re wasting. And it’s you who can explain to Mindy why she can’t go. I’m going to...” She looked around. “Set up the salt and pepper shakers at a perfect angle because I’m sure the control-freak boss of Hinton Enterprises will come in and redo it if I don’t.”
She spun and stormed into the tent.
Soon Sam was back in charming boss mode, and Susan watched him and marveled at his self-control. He’d been furious at her five minutes ago, but now he was all professional.
And it was clear his employees loved him. They crowded around him, and teased, but with respect; they listened to everything he had to say.
There was a moment when she thought the dog thing was going to be a disaster. Just when he’d stood to make his traditional speech, a squirrel had run past the dog crates and the dogs had gone haywire with barking, drowning out whatever Sam was saying.
But Sam responded graciously, with a joke, while Troy got the dogs under control, and then Sam continued his speech without a hitch.
Several people expressed interest in adopting dogs. And the local paper had come to cover the event and snapped more pictures of the dogs than anything else. Undoubtedly, there’d be a feel-good story featuring Hinton Enterprises in the paper tomorrow.
The downside, if you were looking at it from Sam’s point of view, was that Mindy fell in love with a little black-and-white mutt with a bandage on one leg. While Mindy cradled it, Troy explained to Sam how it was non-shedding and, at three years old, already house-trained. “It’ll probably always have a limp, though,” Troy had said.
“It’s got a hurt paw, like me,” Mindy had said, cuddling the dog.
Susan’s heart squeezed, and she looked up at Sam. The raw love for his little girl that shone out of his eyes almost hurt. She had a feeling that Mindy would end up with that little dog as a birthday present.
As the party went on, Sam seemed to let go of control a little bit and relax. The children played with the dogs and enjoyed the park and the play equipment, running hard, making up games. That gave the adults space to linger over their plates of food, talking and laughing. Aside from a few teenagers, no one seemed to have their cell phones out.
It was an old-fashioned type of picnic that could have just as easily taken place fifty years ago. A perfect kind of event for an old-fashioned, close-knit community like Rescue River, and Susan was proud of her part in organizing it.
Until the topic of Sam’s being single came up. “We think Mr. Hinton needs a girlfriend,” said Eduardo, a good-looking, thirtysomething groundsman at Hinton Enterprises. He sometimes moonlighted for Sam, helping with the landscaping around the house, and seemed to hold a privileged position among the Hinton workers; right now, he was sitting at a table with Sam and five or six other employees.
Sam’s father, who’d been sitting at an adjoining table with Susan and Daisy, spoke up. “That’s exactly what he needs. But not just a girlfriend, a wife.”
“And a mama for his little girl,” one of the older secretaries said.
“Hey, what about Susan?” someone said, and the group at the picnic table turned to look at her. “She’s single, and she already takes care of Mindy.”
“Good call,” Eduardo said. “Muy bonita.”
Totally mortified, Susan stared at the ground. She knew she should come up with some kind of a joke to make the moment go by easily, but for the life of her, she couldn’t think of one.
“You people need to stick to business, and so do I.” Sam’s voice was strained.
“But Daddy,” Mindy chimed in, climbing up into Sam’s lap, “I do want a mommy!”
The images evoked by those sweet words made Susan’s cheeks flame and her heart ache with longing. To be wanted, needed, cherished. To finally have a real home.
She stole a glance at Sam’s clenched jaw. Obviously, his employees’ suggestions hadn’t induced the same images and longings in him. And he wasn’t finding the gentle jokes funny, either.
If only the ground would open up and swallow her.
* * *
Sam stood under a giant oak tree in the Rescue River Park, talking to a group of five or six longtime employees who didn’t seem to want to leave.
Even while he listened and laughed with them, he couldn’t help watching Susan.
Apparently, she’d recovered just fine from that awkward moment with his employees. She was tying garbage bags and helping to carry heavy food trays to the truck. When a little boy ran up crying, she squatted down to listen, then took his hand and walked back to the tent to find the tractor he’d left on a table.
As he watched, Eduardo approached her, spoke for a minute, then gave her a friendly handshake that, to Sam’s eyes, went on a little bit too long and was accompanied by a little too much eye contact.
He tamped the jealousy down. He didn’t want Susan as a long-term part of his life, so why feel bad when other men admired her? She was totally inappropriate for him. Just witness this whole ridiculous camp situation. His blood pressure rose just thinking of Mindy going to camp.
Marie would never have allowed it.
But Marie’s gone, and you
have to move on.
That new voice inside him was unfamiliar and unwelcome, but Sam was honest enough to know that it spoke truth. He had to stop focusing on Marie, had to let her go.
But if he did that, would his life be as it had been for the past twenty-four hours—crazy and emotional? Going from the intense excitement of kissing Susan to the low of feeling guilty, like a bad boss hitting on his employee? Angry about the camp. Embarrassed by his workers’ jokes.
He didn’t want such an exciting life, couldn’t handle it. He wanted life on an even keel. Stable. Comfortable.
As he bid goodbye to the final couple of workers, his father approached. He’d stayed in the background during the picnic, letting Sam have center stage, but Sam had been conscious of him, as always. Though his father’s health didn’t permit him to run Hinton Enterprises anymore, he’d started the company and cared about its success, and Sam always respected his opinions.
“What did you think?” he asked his dad.
His father clapped him on the back. “Another good picnic,” he said. “You have a way with the workers. They like you.”
“Thanks.” He knew what his father wasn’t saying; the workers liked Sam better than they’d liked his father. Personality difference, and maybe the struggles of starting something from the ground up. His father wasn’t an easy man to get along with.
Sam knew he wasn’t always easy, either, but he at least could laugh at himself—usually—and listen to other people’s ideas, talents his father had never mastered.
Since his father was so hard to please, his approving remarks about the event felt good.
They turned together to stroll back toward the almost-empty tent. Just in time to see Mindy run to Susan, hug her legs and get lifted into her arms.
“Looks like those two are close,” Mr. Hinton remarked.
Sam nodded slowly. “It sure does.”
“You worried about that?” Mr. Hinton asked.
“A little,” Sam admitted. “But Mindy needs women in her life. She’s attached to Daisy, and now to Angelica, but those two aren’t always around. Susan fills in the gaps, that’s all.”
Small-Town Nanny Page 12
