Family Ever After

by Margaret Daley

  “Not the color, the shape, the spacing. In fact, your mouths are the same, too.” Noah lifted his iced tea and took a sip. “Timothy showed me where Peter and Jacob were hiding.”

  “Hiding?” Under Noah’s intent scrutiny, the urge to squirm inundated her worse than when she had been talking with Alice.

  “Well, not really. But I was thinking if they were smart that would be what they were doing.”

  “I thought you were involved in Stone’s Refuge. Aren’t you on the Henderson Foundation board?”

  “Yes, I’m one of the founders of the refuge, and I do visit but I don’t participate personally as much as Jacob and Peter. They are much more familiar with children than me. My participation is more along the lines of a monetary one.”

  “So children aren’t your thing?”

  He frowned. “I didn’t say that exactly. I’m more comfortable around teens than young kids.”

  “I haven’t had a chance to tell you what Children’s Protective Services has come up with for Rusty, Lindsay and Adam.” Laura leaned toward Noah and Cara and lowered her voice.

  Noah tensed. “This doesn’t sound good.”

  “It won’t be the best solution and I foresee some problems, but there’s nothing that can be done about it with the shortage of foster parents in Cimarron City.”

  “You weren’t able to keep them together?” Cara curled her hand around the arm of the chair, knowing by Laura’s sad look the answer.

  “No. They tried. If I had room, I’d take them in. Our fourth house won’t be finished for at least four or five months so we don’t even have a place for them. Children’s Protective Services has agreed to wait until Adam is out of the hospital in a few days before moving them.” Laura tried to smile, but the corners of her mouth quivered. “The homes are supposed to be close to each other, maybe a mile or so between them.”

  “A mile! That might as well be across town.” Noah’s frown strengthened into a scowl that darkened his eyes. He bent closer to Laura and Cara, with his elbows on his knees and his hands gripped together. “There’s got to be a way.”

  Her friend stared into Noah’s angry face and said, “Then you take them in.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “What?” Noah jerked back in his chair.

  “Let’s face it. You’re the only one I know who has a huge house with plenty of room for three kids. In fact, they could get lost in your place. You probably wouldn’t even know they were there.” Laura scanned the yard as though counting her kids to see if they were all there.

  “Yes, I would.” The cords in his neck constricted, sending pain shooting through his shoulders and down his arms. “They make noise. When I’m home, I want peace and quiet.”

  “You’re hardly home.”

  “Exactly. What kind of foster parent would that be?”

  Laura scooted her chair closer, the sound of it scraping against the wooden deck grating down his spine. “I know when you agree to do something you put your all into it. These children would be blessed to have you as their role model. You already know Adam and I know you like him. I can see it. Adam can see it. So admit it.”

  “He stole from me.”

  “See how desperate he is.”

  Laura’s statement punched Noah in the gut. Although he’d never stolen, he’d been that desperate when he was growing up, and no one had helped him until Alice and Paul had come along. They turned his life around and he owed them. Would taking the three children in for a few months be enough to pay them back for what they had done for him?

  “Yeah, well, not as desperate as I would be if I had three kids running around my house.” Any conviction he’d wanted to interject into his words somehow got lost as he continued to remember how the Hendersons had saved him.

  Snapping her fingers, Peter’s wife grinned. “I’ve got it. Hire someone to look after the children when you’re working. Someone motherly. Someone who can be there when you have to work. They certainly need someone like that, especially Lindsay.”

  “Where in the world am I going to find someone motherly? The women I know, besides you and Hannah, aren’t that type.” Because that was the way he had wanted it. But he didn’t need to tell Laura that. She knew he avoided any serious relationships. A shallow one was all he needed when he was looking for feminine companionship.

  Laura’s eyes widened, and her grin evolved into a full-fledged smile. “So you will think about it? That’s great. I’m sure we can come up with someone who is good with children and can keep house. She could stay in the back bedroom off your kitchen. Wasn’t it called a servant’s quarters when you bought the house?”

  “First, you want me to take in three children and now a kid-friendly housekeeper. My place is only so big.” He started counting his bedrooms and had gotten to five when Laura waved both of her hands in excitement.

  “I’ve got a better idea. How about your cottage behind the garage? It would be perfect. It was a guest house at one time.”

  “It still is. I just don’t have guests. I like my privacy, Laura.” Noah swung his attention to Cara, who sat next to her friend, listening to the exchange with a neutral expression. Maybe she could talk some sense into Laura because obviously what he was saying wasn’t getting through. “Help me.”

  “A cottage? That certainly could be appealing to someone.” Cara fidgeted in her chair.

  No, I didn’t mean help me that way, Noah wanted to shout.

  “Cara, you’re right.” Laura angled toward her. “And you could be that someone. Noah’s estate would be a wonderful place for your son. You’re a great housekeeper.” She shifted her attention back to him. “So you see, problem solved. Cara is interested in the job, so you’ve got the help you wanted.” She jumped to her feet. “I’ll leave you two to work the details out. I see Alexa bothering her little brother. I’d better put a stop to it before it gets out of hand.”

  Wide-eyed, Cara watched her friend scurry away.

  Noah shook his head as Laura left. “I feel like I was struck by Hurricane Laura.”

  Cara chuckled, the sound a little shaky. “She’s a force to be reckoned with.”

  “Now that’s she gone, you don’t have to pretend about the job.”

  “Pretend? Oh, you really weren’t—I mean… You don’t need a—”

  “No, I needed help with Laura since you two are such good friends. She doesn’t let an idea go when it takes root in her fertile mind.”

  Cara’s laughter spiced the air. “That’s my friend.” Her full lips set in a pout, her forehead crinkled in question. “But I wasn’t pretending. I’m better qualified to take care of your house than being a waitress. I know the waitress job is temporary and this one would be, too, but the prospect of having my own place is appealing.”

  “I’m crushed that you’d rather be a housekeeper than a waitress at my restaurant.”

  Those full lips he had no business staring at curved upward. “Aren’t you forgetting that I want to be your housekeeper instead?”

  “There is no housekeeping position. I have someone come in a couple of times a week to clean my house. That’s all I need.”

  “But what about Adam, Rusty and Lindsay?”

  The muscles in the back of his neck solidified into a rock. “There’s bound to be someone better than me who can be a foster parent to them.”

  She gestured toward the people around them. “Where? Didn’t you hear what Laura said? I don’t see them lining up to take three children in. They’ll split them up. This whole ordeal has been difficult on them and to have to be separated will be even more so.”

  Memories of how hard it had been for him and his sister to be separated washed over him. He looked around as though he hoped to see someone approaching offering to take them. All he saw were his friends and the children living at the refuge eating, laughing and talking as if they didn’t have any problems. “You’d really rather be a housekeeper?”

  She looked him square in the eye. “Yes. That’s all
I’ve really known. I’m good at it. At being the motherly type.”

  And that right there was why he would stay as far away from her as possible. He’d just have to do it on his estate, because he couldn’t say no to Laura’s gentle suggestion for him to take the three in for a few months. In a way, he could return all those years given to him because of Alice and Paul. It would be just a measly three months or until they found someone legit to be the kids’ foster parent. In the meantime he would do his own search for the right couple.

  “Okay. You’ve got yourself a job, and when a place comes up that will take all three of them, I’ll see if there’s another job available at one of my restaurants, if you want. Deal?” He offered her his hand, which she shook.

  “When do you think it will start?”

  “It shouldn’t take long for me to be approved since I have a working relationship with Children’s Protective Service because of Stone’s Refuge. They ran background checks on all of us involved with this place. I’d like you to be in place, so how about starting tomorrow?”

  “You move fast when you set your mind on something.”

  “I’ve been accused of doing that a few times.”

  “Do you think Timothy will have to change schools? He’s attending Washington Elementary.”

  “No, but Lindsay and Rusty will have to. Adam will be going to the same high school.”

  “That’s not going to be easy for them.”

  Her green gaze, filled with such concern, snared him. “I know. But the good thing is that they should be in a permanent place when school starts next fall. And if they end up living in the fourth house here at the refuge, Washington will be their school.”

  “You don’t think one couple will ever take them in?”

  Noah searched the yard for Rusty and Lindsay. He found Rusty talking to an older boy, new to the refuge. “No.” Saying out loud what he knew would happen made it sound so final. He was too familiar with the system. The knot in his gut grew.

  He started to return his attention to Cara when a shout erupted from Rusty, followed by the young boy tearing into the older one, his fists lashing out. Noah leaped up and raced toward the two kids. Noah arrived at the same time as Jacob who pulled the bigger child off Rusty and held him back while Noah caged his soon-to-be charge.

  Rusty twisted and bucked. “Let me go.”

  The hostility in the nine-year-old flowed off him as Noah tried to avoid being kicked. “Not until you settle down and tell me what this is about.”

  “He’s a liar.” The words exploded from Rusty’s mouth.

  “You wish.” The other boy glared at Rusty.

  Noah motioned for Jacob to haul the kid he had away. When they were safely out of eyesight, Noah loosened his hold. “Now I’m going to let you go, and you and I are going to have a talk. Understand?”

  A good minute later Rusty finally nodded, and Noah dropped his arms to his sides, fully expecting to have to chase down the boy when he tried to make a break for it. Surprisingly Rusty stood still, but the look in his eyes could have frozen Noah.

  “What was he lying about?” What had he gotten himself into, Noah thought with near panic. The only refereeing he’d ever done was between two employees, two adults—or near adults in the case of his teenage workers.

  “He said that Lindsay, Adam and me will be put in different homes. He heard Hannah talking about it.”

  “No, you won’t be split up.”

  Rusty lifted his chin, pushing his shoulders back. “Where are we gonna live?”

  “With me.”

  * * *

  “That’s the last box from the car,” Noah said, setting it down on the floor in the living room of the cottage. “Are you sure this is okay?”

  “It will be once I get it cleaned up. I’m glad Timothy is at school. Hopefully I’ll have things under control before he gets ho—here.” Cara rotated slowly around her new place.

  Thank you, Lord, for providing a home for Timothy and me, even if it’s only for a few months. It will give me time to figure out what I want to do with my life.

  “If not, your son can help you.”

  She ran her finger along the counter in the small kitchen off the living area. “Not with the sweeping and dusting. Timothy has asthma. I have to be careful.” She pointed to the wooden floor. “I’m glad there isn’t any carpet in the cottage. That’ll make it easier to keep clean for him. Dust sets him off.”

  “If I’d had time, I would have gotten a professional cleaning crew in here so you wouldn’t have to spend your first day on the job cleaning this place.”

  “The state moved fast once they knew you’d take all three children.”

  He chuckled. “Fast? Don’t you mean faster than a speeding bullet? I called the agency first thing this morning and talked with my friend. And here it’s noon and you’re moving in. Do you think they saw the sucker sticker on my forehead?”

  “No, they snatched up the best situation for these three children, and I think the kids will come to realize that.” She would make it work because she owed Adam. He’d come to her rescue when she’d needed help in the parking lot and she would come to his.

  He averted his head as if her compliment made him embarrassed. “Well, at least it’s only temporary,” he said in a quiet voice as though he needed to remind himself.

  Silence descended for an uncomfortable moment. Glancing around, Cara shuffled from one foot to the other. What had caused this man to close himself off from people? He professed to be a loner and the brief tour of his house had reinforced that. She didn’t know why he had bought such a big place to live in when it was obvious he used maybe four rooms in the whole mansion.

  “You don’t mind picking the kids up at school today?” she finally asked.

  His gaze connected with hers, intense—and for a few seconds full of doubt. “No, especially since it will give you more time to get this cottage in order. I’ll take Timothy with me to Stone’s Refuge to get Rusty and Lindsay’s belongings. I have a feeling once they hit my house you’ll have your hands full.”

  The grin he gave her warmed her insides. “But not you?”

  The smile widened. “I have dinner plans tonight.”

  With who? “Then you won’t be home their first night?” She schooled her tone into a neutral one although disappointment flitted through her.

  “I hadn’t thought of it that way. I guess I could reschedule it if you think it’s important.”

  “No, no.” She fluttered her hand in the air, more to dismiss her regrets than his concerns. “We’ll get along just fine.”

  Again quiet reigned. She moved toward a stack of boxes with some of her cleaning supplies. She didn’t understand her feelings when she certainly wasn’t picturing anything with a man like Noah—handsome, worldly and not a Christian. “When will Adam be released from the hospital?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  Was that relief in his voice?

  “Then if Rusty and Lindsay play nice, I’ll take them to see their brother,” Cara said.

  Opening the box, she studied its contents, keeping her attention trained away from him in case he could see her thoughts written on her face. She wasn’t nearly as accomplished as he was in hiding her feelings.

  “Ah, bribery. That ought to work.”

  “I call it negotiating. Like a contract you might have with someone. If you do this—” she presented her right hand, palm up “—you get this.” She did the same with her left one.

  “If you don’t run away tonight, you get to see Adam?”

  “Yes. Before long, you’ll get the hang of it.”

  “Contracts and negotiating I can handle. That’s right up my alley. Maybe this parenting thing isn’t too hard.”

  She laughed so hard tears ran down her face. Swiping them away, she said, “Yeah, you keep thinking that. Did I tell you I have some swampland in Florida I’d like to sell to you?”

  “I believe my new housekeeper is making fun of me.”


  Arching an eyebrow, she rummaged around in the box until she found her sponge. “You think?”

  His amusement dimpled his cheeks and eased the growing tension between them. He swept his arm across his body and bent at the waist. “I bow before your expertise in child rearing. You will have to mentor me these next few months. Believe me, I’m in over my head and still wondering why in the world I agreed to do this.”

  “Because you saw a need and wanted to do something about it, even allowed yourself to be talked into something you didn’t want to do.”

  “So you think you’ve got me figured out.”

  “Oh, no! I would never say that. My experience with men is very limited.” She hurriedly dug around in the box until she found the cleaning liquid and started for the kitchen. “Now if I’m gonna get this place in ship shape order for my son, I need to get busy. If you stay, I’ll put you to work.”

  “I think you’re trying to get rid of me.”

  “Smart man.”

  “What if I tell you I have an hour before I need to be at work and I can help you until then?”

  She stopped dead in her tracks and swung around to face him. “Really?” Her husband had always run in the other direction when she began cleaning.

  “Actually, I’m kind of handy at it. Remember I have a chain of restaurants and have worked every position, including cleaning the restrooms.”

  “Well, in that case—” she walked back to the box and withdrew some more supplies, thrusting them toward him “—you can start with the bathroom.”

  “I’m gonna regret telling you that,” he said with a chuckle, but he took the sponge and bottles and headed toward the back.

  Cara set about tearing the kitchen apart, always conscious of Noah in the other room. Ten minutes into her task, he broke out whistling some song she wasn’t familiar with. Before long she found herself whistling along with him as she scrubbed the sink.

  Tim never would have helped her, not even taking care of his own study. But then she and her husband had never really been a team, and it had been her fault. Tim had been a good, Christian man.