Mothers of the Year

by Lori Handeland

  “Thank God. What got into her?”

  “I’ll tell you later.”

  “Wait,” Vee said. “I called about something else, too. You need to go to Fargo tomorrow.”

  “Can’t.”

  “You have to. The new pitcher is balking at coming to hicksville. The boss man wants you to go and convince him personally.”

  “A guy from Fargo is calling Kiwanee hicksville?”

  “He’s never seen the neon on Paramount Street.” She began to talk with an exaggerated country twang. “Doggone stuff purt near lights up the whole county.”

  “Funny.”

  “I thought so. I can watch the kid while you’re gone, but she’s going to have to come to my place. I have my mahjong club tomorrow night.”

  Scott’s head reeled at the thought of telling Dani she had to stay at Vee’s and listen to the mahjong tiles clack until he got home around midnight, if he was lucky.

  His gaze went to Kelly Rosholt. “Never mind. I might have a solution.”

  He disconnected. “Excuse me one more time,” he said, then speed-dialed an old friend as he walked into the living room.

  Five minutes later, he knew what he needed to. His college roommate had become a private investigator, which could be quite handy at times. Justin had done a quick check on Rent a Mommy, and the business had a stellar reputation, as did Kelly Rosholt.

  “Sorry about that,” he said as he returned to the kitchen. He fixed Dani with a stare. “Vee was worried about you.”

  She looked down.

  “You can call and apologize later.”

  “Yes, sir,” Dani said.

  That was more like it.

  Scott turned to Ms. Rosholt. “I’d like to take you up on that offer of party planning.”

  “Great.”

  Her smile was purely professional. He wondered if she practiced in the mirror. Kara always had, though her smile had been a different kind of professional.

  “I’d also like to hire you to take care of Dani and help around here for a week or so. I just took the job as manager of the Kiwanee Warhawks. I need to find live-in child care, but I haven’t had the chance. Until I do, can I count on you?”

  “Certainly. When should we start?”

  “I have to leave town tomorrow.” Dani made a soft sound of distress. “Just for the day. But I won’t be home until you’re in bed, Dani.”

  Her face eased. He was going to have to find someone she bonded with, and soon, because this job was going to involve a lot of days, as well as nights, on the road.

  “I’ll have someone here before school gets out tomorrow,” Ms. Rosholt promised.

  “Not you?” he asked.

  “I don’t work in the field anymore.” She glanced at Dani and her face seemed wistful. “Someone has to be in charge.”

  Scott had to admit he was relieved. He wanted Dani to be taken care of by a motherly type—someone who would bake cookies, read stories, tuck her in—all the things her real mother hadn’t been capable of doing. Kelly Rosholt didn’t appear capable of them, either.

  Oh, he was certain she was an excellent businesswoman. She had to be to have begun Rent a Mommy only five years ago and already made such a success of it. But her demeanor, if not her blond hair and curvy figure, reminded him too much of Kara for comfort.

  Scott reached into a kitchen drawer and withdrew a key, handing it to Ms. Rosholt. “If your employee could be here by three, so Dani doesn’t come home to an empty house.”

  “Of course.” Her eyes met his, and Scott experienced a dangerous tingle. “You can count on me,” she said.

  Strangely, he felt that he could count on her. Not that he wouldn’t send Vee over to check on things tomorrow.

  He might be a fool, but he wasn’t stupid.

  KELLY DROVE toward Madison, happy she’d averted the crisis, thrilled to have a new client, saddened by what she’d seen.

  Kiwanee reminded her so much of the place where she’d grown up, the memories nearly overwhelmed her. But Kelly had spent years forgetting. She wasn’t about to let a single visit to one tiny town bring everything back. She was stronger than that.

  Still, she felt sorry for the kid. She understood where Dani was coming from. Kelly would make certain she sent the perfect “mommy” to watch over Dani until the father found a more permanent solution.

  Kelly spent a few seconds thinking about Scott Delgado. She couldn’t help it. From the moment he’d burst into the house, she’d had a hard time keeping her eyes off him and her mind on the discussion.

  She vaguely remembered his name from his pro-baseball days, but that wasn’t what intrigued her. She had been drawn to his thick, dark, slightly curling hair and equally dark eyes, which were complemented by tanned skin from a lifetime outdoors. Just over six feet, with wide shoulders and narrow hips, he walked with an athlete’s grace. He no doubt had an athlete’s pecs and abs, too.

  Her fingers clenched on the steering wheel as she guided her SUV around a sharp curve of the highway. What was wrong with her? She hadn’t been attracted to a man since her divorce. Broken hearts were not easily mended; broken lives took even longer. Kelly’s heart, her life, her very dreams had been crushed. She didn’t think she’d ever recover.

  Initially, the children she’d watched over had helped; then they’d begun to hurt. Being with them only emphasized Kelly’s inadequacies and brought home the fact that she’d never be a mother. Never.

  So Kelly had remade herself into a businesswoman. She walked the walk, talked the talk, wore the clothes, the makeup, the hairstyle. The first step to a successful franchise was looking the part.

  Kelly pushed her memories of the past into the past as she exited the highway. Instead of returning to her apartment, which was filled with boxes and little else, Kelly went to the office. She needed to find someone to send to the Delgados’ tomorrow, but, according to the computer, all available mommies were otherwise engaged.

  She called Paige. One of the twins answered.

  “It’s Auntie K,” she said. “Where’s your mom?”

  “Giving Maggie a talk.”

  “Uh-oh. What’d she do this time?”

  Paige’s twins, Mary and Margaret, might be identical, but they were as different as two girls could be. Margaret, or Maggie, loved animals, dirt and sports, not necessarily in that order, while Mary craved frilly socks, brightly colored pencils, crisp white paper and books.

  “Someone said I was a priss. She walloped ’em,” Mary said matter-of-factly.

  The two girls, despite their differences, were inseparable, and woe to anyone who messed with either one of them.

  “Then they fell in the mud and rolled round and round,” Mary continued. “Mom was not amused.”

  Kelly smiled, hearing Paige’s voice coming out of her daughter’s mouth. “I bet not. Was Mags hurt?”

  “Nah. But she’s suspected.”

  “Of what?”

  “Can’t go to school for two days.”

  “You mean, suspended.”

  “Okay. I gotta go. Mom’s yellin’.”

  “You better let me talk to her.”

  The phone hit the counter with a painful thud. “Mom! Auntie K wants you.”

  Seconds later, Paige came on the line. “Why did I have twins?”

  “Because triplets would have been too cruel?”

  She sighed. “They’ll be the death of me.”

  “Something has to be.”

  Paige made a derisive psst before asking, “What’s up?”

  “I need a mommy to help a single dad in Kiwanee.”

  “I’m interviewing this week. Should have someone by Friday.”

  “She’s supposed to be there by three tomorrow.”

  “Ain’t happening.”

  “I already promised.”

  “Unpromise. We were down to one mommy—Lisa—then she bugged out. Pickings are a little slim right now, but we have our standards.”

  Those standards were what
had made Rent a Mommy thrive. They didn’t hire just anyone. Their employees were empty-nesters, mothers of high-school-age children and, in the summer, teachers or education majors.

  “As soon as school’s out, we’ll have an influx,” Paige continued. “And again in the fall when the moms need more to do. Right now we haven’t got a huge roster to choose from.”

  “But—”

  “Don’t look at me, either. Princess Hits-a-Lot got herself suspended. I’ll be here for the next two days.”

  “Crap.”

  “I know much better expletives than that.”

  “Too bad you can’t use them.” The twins repeated everything.

  “No, but I can think them, over and over and over again.”

  “Does it help?”

  “Not one bit.”

  “I promised this guy,” Kelly said. “Lisa screwed up and he’s desperate.”

  “You’ll have to do it.”

  “No!” Kelly blurted, her heart thumping like the wheels of a speeding freight train at the thought of spending any time in Kiwanee.

  “Then you’ll have to back out of the job.”

  Kelly chewed her lip. She couldn’t do that, either. The quickest way to bad word-of-mouth was to leave someone in a lurch with child care. Besides, she had promised.

  “Hell,” she muttered.

  “I knew you’d see it my way,” Paige replied. “Have a nice day.”

  Paige hung up. Kelly ran through all the expletives she knew in her head, and discovered her friend was right.

  It didn’t help.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  KELLY DIDN’T GET MUCH sleep. She went to the office early so she could take care of business, then left at one in the afternoon, ran home and changed out of her suit and into a pair of khaki slacks and a fitted peach sweater that conveniently matched her nails. She added taupe pumps and finished off with silver earrings, a necklace and bracelet. She left her hair in its French twist. A little overstated for the outfit, but at least it would be out of her face. Before two o’clock, Kelly was on the way to Kiwanee.

  The second trip took her five minutes less than the first. She knew her way now. In a few days, she’d know the way much better than she wanted to, but she was determined to make the best of the situation.

  She’d gone into this business to use her talent at being a wife and a mother to lend a hand to families and children who needed her. She’d also had little choice in the matter. She hadn’t known how to do anything else.

  She could have become a teacher, but that would have involved moving in with her parents and continuing to live in the same town as her ex-husband while she got her degree, and that Kelly could not bear. So she’d left her home, her family and her dreams behind, and she hadn’t returned. She couldn’t.

  The sign Welcome to Kiwanee flashed by, and though just the sight of the town invoked unpleasant memories, she was also glad she’d arrived. She could get to work, occupy her mind, try to face her demons and forget about the past.

  “Please, God, let me forget about the past,” she prayed as she parked in front of the Delgados’.

  Inside was quiet, not exactly neat, but not messy, either. The house was lived in. The place felt like a home.

  Shoes had been kicked into a corner. A raincoat and sweatshirt hung on a coatrack, along with a baseball hat that sported the letters KW and a strangely vicious-looking bird strutting along the base of the brim wearing a miniature version of the same hat.

  Cereal bowls, a juice glass, a coffee cup had been rinsed and set in the sink. Kelly loaded them into the half-full dishwasher. From the slime on the plates inside, she surmised that last night’s dinner had been spaghetti. Kelly hit the rinse button, hoping it wasn’t too late to avoid staining the white plates forever.

  A note lay on the countertop.

  Thank you for coming. Dani gets out of school at two-thirty, so she should be home no later than three. Please feed her, help with the homework and put her to bed by nine. No TV until the homework’s done. No cookies until she’s eaten a fruit or a vegetable. (I mean it, Dani!) My cell number is 555-4253.

  Scott

  Kelly set the sheet back on the counter, then glanced into the refrigerator where she discovered defrosting chicken breasts, lettuce, tomatoes and plenty of fruit in the bin if salad wouldn’t cut it.

  A quick check of the clock revealed she had plenty of time to walk to the elementary school, meet Dani and make certain she found her way to the right house today.

  At work that morning, Kelly had found the address of the school, as well as the directions. Kiwanee Elementary lay only four blocks away on the other side of the small downtown area that made up the business section.

  As she strolled down Paramount Street, she said hello or nodded to everyone she passed. Most faces were curious. She was obviously a stranger, just as obviously not a tourist, so who was she? If they saw her more than once, they’d ask. But for now, she was an intriguing mystery in a town that had few of them.

  Paramount Street catered to the tourist crowd that would arrive with the beginning of baseball season. Several restaurants, an ice-cream salon, bookstore and craft/souvenir shops lined the sidewalks. Kelly turned on School Road just as the final bell shrilled.

  Within seconds the doors slammed open and children spilled out. Kelly stood at the edge of the playground, her mouth curving as she watched the kids run off. Shouts and laughter filled the air.

  The sun shone today, but the temperature hovered below average, darn close to freezing. She frowned when Dani appeared, wearing jeans and yet another pink T-shirt—how many did she have?—with nothing more than a lined windbreaker and no hat.

  She was talking to a group of girls who reminded Kelly of the crowd in Mean Girls—dressed not only too well, but too maturely, for their age. Short skirts, long hair that appeared to be highlighted—at seven? Were they nuts?—with heels on their boots and hoops in their pierced ears. Kelly half expected to see the glint of a belly button ring peeking out of the too short hem of their tops.

  “Dani!” Kelly called, and lifted a hand when the girl glanced her way.

  Dani’s eyes widened. She turned to the girl next to her—the tallest, blondest one—and said something before hurrying over. “I thought someone else was coming.”

  “I wanted to.”

  Not even close to the truth, but the kid had abandonment issues already—no shock there—Dani didn’t need to know that Kelly would have done anything to avoid this, if she could have.

  Dani’s lips tightened. She was about to say something when Barbie’s little sister showed up.

  “You must be Mrs. Delgado.” Her voice was so high and she spoke so fast that Kelly wondered if the kid had been sucking helium when no one was paying attention. She opened her mouth to correct her identity, but the girl kept talking.

  “We didn’t think you’d get here so soon. But this is great. You can start planning the picnic right away. I’ll have my mom call. Tonight!”

  She ran off, blond hair streaming, heels clopping along the sidewalk like a Clydesdale’s hooves.

  “Skipper,” Kelly muttered.

  “What?” Dani was staring at her with a mixture of fear and curiosity. Kelly probably did sound nuts.

  “Skipper is Barbie’s little sister, right?”

  “Who’s Barbie?”

  Kelly cut her a glance. “You’re kidding.”

  “The only Barbie I ever heard of was some doll. But how can she have a little sister?”

  “Why can’t she?”

  “Because she’s not real.” Dani rolled her eyes. “Duh.”

  “Never mind that,” Kelly said. “You didn’t tell your friends that your mom wasn’t coming, did you?”

  Dani looked away. “They’re not my friends.”

  “Seemed pretty friendly to me.”

  “They might be—” she slid a glance toward Kelly “—if they got to know me and liked me before they found out I was weird.”

&n
bsp; “Who said you were weird?”

  “I haven’t seen my mom in years. You don’t think that’s weird? Especially around here?”

  Kelly thought it was criminal, but she’d just keep that to herself.

  “Sweetheart, your mom’s behavior has nothing to do with you.”

  “You ever live in a small town?”

  “Oh, yeah.”

  “Then why are you lying?”

  Kelly contemplated Dani for several seconds. She wasn’t going to be able to get much past this child. Not much at all.

  “Okay. You’re right. Some people might think it’s strange you don’t have a mom, but they’ll get over it.”

  “Maybe you could just pretend—”

  “No, I couldn’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “You think your dad wouldn’t notice people calling me Mrs. Delgado?”

  Dani winced. “I suppose he might.”

  “Exactly. So you’d better come clean with the locals, angel face, or I will.”

  “All right.” Dani turned and started toward home, dragging her feet.

  Kelly ignored the annoying scritch-thump of shoes against the pavement. If she commented, she’d only be giving Dani a reason to keep it up.

  She kept walking, purposely moving ahead of Dani, letting the girl have some time to herself. Kelly had nearly reached Paramount Street when she realized the scritch-thump had stopped, but it hadn’t been replaced by anything else.

  Spinning around, half-afraid Dani had made a break for it—and wouldn’t that just be special, losing the child her first day on the job?—Kelly nearly collapsed in relief to see Dani in front of a big store window a hundred yards away.

  Kelly opened her mouth to call out, then noticed the intent expression on Dani’s face. Instead, she retraced her steps.

  The window was blocked by drapes but printed on the glass in large, flowing, pink script was Michelle’s School of Ballet.

  Kelly hadn’t seen such longing since she’d caught her own reflection in the glass outside the hospital nursery.

  “You like ballet?” she blurted.

  Dani spun on her heel and walked away.

  JUST SEEING the ballet school made Dani feel funny, both sad and happy, like she wanted to cry and she wanted to run and jump and laugh at the same time.