by Renee Hart
She knew Darren would pay her whatever she asked within reason, of course. Not having an actual work schedule or clearly defined job responsibilities hadn’t mattered until now and the only reason that it mattered now was because she was falling in love with her boss and his daughter. There, she’d admitted it. Now the only question she had to answer was simple. What was she going to do about it?
Right now the only thing she could do was get up and get the day started. She couldn’t stay in bed all day. Katie clearly needed her nanny.
***
Hearing the light clatter of dishes, Mandy followed the sound into the kitchen. She found Katie sitting at the breakfast counter with a bowl of cereal and her newspaper. Seeing Mandy, she said good morning somewhat sheepishly and busied herself with the paper.
There was no sign of Darren, not even a dirty coffee cup in the sink or leftover coffee in the pot. She realized he wasn’t in the house as he was always the first one up. It almost looked like he’d left last night as he usually at least had coffee in the morning. She felt too shy about it to ask Katie.
She made some coffee and dug a container of yogurt out of the ‘frig. Joining Katie at the counter, she sat down quietly and began to stir her yogurt absentmindedly. She realized the child was sneaking glances at her from the corner of her eye.
“So, what would you like to say,” Mandy began.
Katie sighed deeply.
“I think I’m supposed to say I’m sorry,” she began hesitantly. “And I am, sorry, I mean.”
She paused to consider her next words carefully. Mandy waited patiently.
“When I came home last night and no one was here, I got really scared.”
“I don’t understand why, Katie. You know your father would never leave you. He loves you. He even went to court to fight for you when your mother died. What were you scared of last night?”
Katie stared at her cereal bowl and Mandy saw a tear slip down the side of her face.
“I was scared that something bad happened and you left,” Kate mumbled.
Mandy was shocked into silence by her confession. She struggled between wanting to comfort the child or to try and explain how she would have to leave at the end of the summer. She knew there would be no comfort in that explanation.
“Katie, you know that I have a job, another life in Atlanta, don’t you?”
She nodded sadly.
“This is a summer job and at the end of the summer, this job is over. I have to go home.”
Katie nodded again as a few more tears slipped down her cheeks.
Mandy stopped talking and began to clear away the counter. She was overwhelmed with sadness at this situation. No matter how hard she tried to fix this, it wouldn’t be fixed. What would my grandmother do, she wondered.
Without thinking any further, she went over and put her arms around Katie. As the little girl clung to her, sobs racked her body. Soon the two of them were crying as Mandy’s heart broke for the child. She’d already lost so much in her life, but Mandy couldn’t change any of that. She had her own responsibilities back in Atlanta.
***
For the next couple of weeks, Darren made himself scarce. He’d call and talk to Katie every day, but he never asked to speak to Mandy. He’d leave notes about things on the counter for both of them, but Mandy’s notes were always carefully worded instructions about his schedule problems or needing something when she went to get groceries. There were no more excursions for the three of them or evenings together or quiet times on the patio.
Katie asked him time and again when they could do this or that together, but he was always tied up with something. He’d come in long after the two of them were in bed and leave before they got up. Mandy considered waiting him out on the couch, but realized she wouldn’t know what to say if she did. She had to consider that maybe he really didn’t want to see her and their day together was a mistake. She was sad, but she was also relieved as it took any burden away from her to end a relationship.
Then she recognized the real problem this situation was creating. In avoiding her, Darren was missing out on time with Katie and that wasn’t fair to her. Mandy knew she had to confront him and find some sort of resolution. The question was how to do that and maintain a professional air between them.
She decided to use a creative approach. After Katie went to bed, she texted him a note.
“Dear Mr. Covington,
When I took this summer job, I expected to be treated in a fair and equitable manner. Since I began working for you at the end of May, I haven’t been paid anything AND I haven’t been given a single day off. It’s now July and I’m deeply concerned about this matter. Please contact me to discuss this as soon as possible. Mandy.”
Within the hour, he was standing in the kitchen with a very red face.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m really sorry. I’ve been horribly unfair to you.”
“Actually,” Mandy said, “I’m more concerned about how you’re treating Katie. I’m not worried that you’re not going to pay me. I know you will and I’m not worried about having a day off since this isn’t like a real job. It’s more like living someone else’s life, if you want to know the truth. But, avoiding me is keeping you away from your daughter and that’s what worries me. She doesn’t deserve to be punished because we messed up.”
“You’re right. You’re absolutely right. I’ve been a complete fool.”
Mandy didn’t try to rub salt in his wounds by agreeing with him, but on the inside, she agreed completely. She was relieved to know he could be taught also.
“How do we fix this,” he asked. “What will make you comfortable?”
“Well, we can’t go back to how we started out. That would make it harder on Katie when I leave at the end of the summer. I think you need to put some ‘Katie time’ into your schedule and explain to her how I need to have a couple of days off every week. I think she can understand and accept that.”
Darren considered her ideas and agreed. They decided her time off would coincide with the days he was free from work and he would set-up things to do with his daughter during those days. Mandy would be free to do whatever she wanted without them. She saw the upside and the downside at the same time. She wondered what she would do to fill those empty days alone in a strange city where she had no friends.
***
At first Katie balked at this new arrangement. She understood that everyone was entitled to have a day off from their job, but she didn’t like leaving Mandy alone. She’d beg Mandy to come along to wherever they were going or ask to stay home if Mandy couldn’t go with them. The three of them struggled to come to terms with this each in their own way.
In the end, the adults basically forced it and no one was really happy about it, but there didn’t seem to be any other way. They made it through the month of July and slipped into August. The end of summer was in sight, but no one was counting the days, not even Mandy. She and Darren danced carefully around their feelings when they were around each other. When they were apart, they thought about nothing else.
***
One of Katie and Mandy’s favorite haunts over the summer was Pioneer Park in the center of town. The two of them spent many happy days watching the crowds of tourists studying the rusting tractors and the old riverboat at the center of the park. They often brought a picnic lunch so they could listen to the music as the park hosted local talent weekly. By the end of the summer, they’d listened to many kinds of music from blue grass to jazz and everything in between.
Mandy was thinking this would be their last outdoor concert as the time for her to leave was drawing near. They secured their favorite picnic spot and started tossing the Frisbee around. The park was crowded with tourists as usual and Mandy kept a careful eye on Katie as they played.
Suddenly Mandy froze as she spotted a familiar face on a nearby bench. The man was staring at her intently. Katie didn’t realize Mandy wasn’t paying attention and she threw the Frisbee accurately
for a change. Both of them were startled when it hit Mandy right in the eye. Mandy dropped to her knees in surprise and pain as Katie and the man rushed over to her.
“Brian,” she exclaimed in pain and surprise. “What are you doing here in Alaska? How did you find me?”
Brian knelt down next to her as Katie took in the appearance of this strange man. His clothes appeared crumpled and dirty as if he’d been sleeping in them for days and he was unwashed and unshaven. He even smelled bad. She couldn’t believe Mandy knew this man.
“Mandy, are you okay,” Brian asked ignoring her questions.
She stared at him with her one good eye.
“Mandy, I’ve been a fool. I made a terrible mistake letting you go. I’ve come to find you and make this all right between us. I want to marry you!”
Katie was speechless at this stranger’s words and stared at the two of them in dismay. She knelt down next to Mandy and put her arm around the woman protectively.
“You go away, mister,” she said fiercely. “We don’t want you here.”
She looked at Mandy for confirmation that her words were true, but Mandy just moaned.
Brian leaned back on his heel and stared at her. He searched her eyes for any sign she still had feelings for him, but aside from the rapid swelling around her injury, he saw nothing to encourage him.
“Let me get you some ice for that,” he said as he rose to his feet.
Hurrying over to the drink stand, he got some ice in a plastic cup. When he turned around, he saw Katie and Mandy quickly gathering up their things as they hurried to get away. He rushed after them as they headed for the parking lot. It was clear to anyone watching the two women were trying to get away from him.
They’d just reached the curb near the front entrance when a dark colored van raced up and squealed to a stop in front of the three of them. The door flew open and a large man in a suit stepped out with his hand in his pocket. He grabbed Brian’s arm and told the three of them to get into the van in a very menacing tone.
Mandy and Katie dropped their things and slid into the back seat together. Brian and the large man climbed into the middle seat. Brian was blubbering as the man slammed the door closed and the driver took off in a big hurry.
“Mr. Remington would like to have a word with you,” the large man said with a sneer.
Brian continued to blubber.
Mandy and Katie sat in the backseat quietly as they tried to figure out what was going on and how they’d suddenly gotten involved. Mandy had her arm around Katie and the girl was leaning over in her lap as if she was frightened or crying. The man wasn’t paying any attention to them at all.
Suddenly Mandy realized what Katie was doing and put her arm about the girl’s shoulders. She nodded quickly as Katie gave her a look and slipped the cell phone back into the pocket of her jeans. They both relaxed as they figured help would soon be on the way. Mandy’s eye continued to swell and the ice was melting back on the curb at Pioneer Park. Brian was still blubbering.
They hadn’t been driving very long when the van pulled up behind a hangar at a private airstrip. A Lear jet was parked next to the building and the hangar door stood open. The large man joined by his companion, the driver, ordered the three of them to get out. They all walked together into the hangar with Mandy and Katie at the front of the group.
“Who are you,” a well-dressed man asked as he saw them come into the hangar.
Katie was the first to speak.
“I’m Katie Covington and this is my nanny, Mandy Hastings, and YOU are in a lot of trouble!”
The man’s face froze as he took in the child’s words and the woman’s obviously battered appearance.
“What have you two idiots done,” he growled.
His outrage was apparent.
The two men looked at each other in confusion as they held onto Brian’s arms.
“We followed this guy like you said, waiting for the chance to pick him up quietly, but when he met these two, the three of them were running away. We had to grab them or take the chance on losing him.”
Mandy and Katie turned in amazement to look at the man speaking.
“We weren’t running away with him. We were running away from him,” Mandy corrected the man.
At that moment, chaos erupted outside as the sounds of squealing tires and running feet came to them, overlaid with the noise of a helicopter and the clatter of guns. The men found themselves covered with several laser sightings as the shout came from outside to give themselves up. The two large men were face down on the floor in a hot second while Brian commenced blubbering again on his knees.
Several Alaskan State Troopers rushed into the building with Darren right on their heels. As the men were contained, Darren put his arms around Mandy and Katie and hustled them outside. He hugged both of them close to him as they hurried over to the nearest police car.
When they got to the car, he dropped to his knees and looked Katie over carefully to see that she was okay. Then he turned to check on Mandy and seeing her bruised face and battered eye, he got really upset and yelled for an ambulance. The paramedics rushed over with a stretcher, but she waved them off.
“I’m okay! I’m okay! It’s not a big deal. I got hit with a Frisbee,” she said.
“Who hit you,” Darren said fiercely looking around.
“I did,” Katie laughed.
Darren looked at her in surprise and confusion. He didn’t see anything funny about any of this.
“I’ve got to tell you Dad, that kidnapping app on my phone works great!”
***
The next few hours passed in a blur of explanations as the story behind their kidnapping was revealed in part by each participant. They learned the two goons were private detectives hired by Mr. Remington to catch Brian. They’d followed him to Fairbanks and alerted Mr. Remington they were about to nab him. He flew up in his private jet to meet Brian face to face.
There was sufficient evidence to convict Brian of embezzling funds from the company, but the evidence was mainly based on the testimony of Mr. Remington’s daughter, Vanessa. She’d been left standing at the altar when the matter of the missing funds came to light and Brian had fled. Her father had some doubts about the whole business and wanted to talk to Brian before having him arrested and ruining his career.
Darren and Mr. Remington had a private meeting CEO to CEO to discuss everything while Brian and the two goons were held in custody. They didn’t share any of the details of their conversation. Using his considerable connections, Darren thought it best to make this entire incident go away. Media attention would possibly put Katie at further risk if someone got the idea there was something to be gained by kidnapping her.
Mandy agreed with his assessment of the mishap and didn’t want to pursue the matter either. She was glad to be rid of Brian and to see that he’d gotten what he deserved. There was a great deal of satisfaction in seeing how his plans had gone in the end.
The State Troopers got their own satisfaction in seeing the licenses of the two private detectives revoked. The four men involved were encouraged to leave the state immediately. Brian, in particular, was given a stern warning about not being welcome to revisit the state ever again. He simply nodded and left with Mr. Remington in his jet. The two goons had to buy their own tickets to go home.
***
The next morning, Darren was waiting in the kitchen when Mandy and Katie finally made their way downstairs. He’d made two stacks of pancakes with birch syrup and reindeer sausage. They giggled when they saw his handiwork. Each pancake was shaped like a heart. As they dug in and began to eat, Mandy noticed a message had been cooked into each one of her pancakes. Spreading them out on the plate, she began to read the words.
“Will….you….marry….me?” she read off of each one.
Katie looked at the two of them hopefully.
Mandy stared at the pancakes as her thoughts raced and a dozen voices chimed in her head in a noisy chorus of conflicting opini
ons. She knew in an instant all the reasons why this was a bad idea. It was easy to see why she should just say no, but there was one little voice that stood out from all the rest. This voice rarely agreed with the others and it always gave her the best advice.
In all her life, her grandmother had never steered her wrong, not one time.
Epilogue
Mandy spun around once more in front of the mirror to check the back of her dress. The simple white dress flared out from her waist into a long, fluttery skirt. She felt like a princess. Her heart was dancing with excitement as she carefully checked her hair and make-up one last time.
Katie was watching the large crowd of people below as they hurried to find their seats on the deck. Tiny, sparkling lights danced from every part of the beautiful paddle wheel boat. The band was playing a lively tune that brought an air of excitement to the crowd. This wasn’t going to be an ordinary wedding. She’d made great effort to see to it this event would be a wonderful memory for all of them. Her father and Mandy had given her free rein with the arrangements.
“Are you ready,” Katie asked. “I think it’s time for us to go. Are you ready to go yet?”
Mandy turned to look at her with a glint in her eye.
“I’m ready. Let’s go!”
The two of them linked arms and left the captain’s room together. Tina was waiting for them at the top of the stairs and she gasped at the sight of Mandy.
“You look wonderful,” she gushed. “Are you ready for this?”
Mandy laughed.
“Will you two stop asking me if I’m ready! I’m ready! Let’s do this!”
As they sorted themselves out, Tina signaled to her fiancé to let them know the bride was on the way. He waved at the musicians and they quickly ended the song they were playing and began the ‘Bridal March’. Katie started down the stairs first, with Tina following close behind.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Katie was able to see her father’s face as he stood at the makeshift altar next to the Captain. He looked so proud and happy as his eyes took in the sight of his beautiful daughter. Realizing that everyone had turned to look at them, Katie felt a moment of panic at finding herself the center of attention. Suddenly everyone stood up and Katie realized Mandy was coming into sight behind her. They’re here to see the bride, not you! Focus, Katie reminded herself sternly.
