by SUE FINEMAN
After several seconds of silence, Brian called, “Jenna? Are you here?”
“Yep. Right here in the living room with Katie.”
“You could have knocked or something.”
Or something was right. How long had he been living here with whoever that was in there with him? The furniture had been rearranged and there were fresh flowers on the kitchen table. He and his girlfriend were making themselves right at home.
She sat down on the sofa and thumbed through the mail. There were no utility bills, so she assumed Brian had paid them. Was that what happened to her child support? Had Brian been using it to live on?
He came out of the bedroom barefoot, his hair mussed, and lipstick on his face. “Having a good time, Brian?”
“I was until you got here.”
“Someone new?”
“Uh… Jenna, you said I could stay here.”
“Yes, I did. I just came to check the mail and see if I still had an apartment. Do I still have an apartment, Brian?”
“I thought you were living in Gig Harbor.”
“I was, but if I can’t find a job there, I plan to move back at the end of the week. Is that a problem?”
“Hell, yes, it’s a problem. I’m paying the rent. That means I get to live here.”
She sighed deeply. He’d found a new girlfriend and moved her in for the duration. It could be a week, a month, or six months, but Brian’s affairs never lasted much longer than that.
A pretty girl with long black hair came out of the bedroom. She looked like a college cheerleader. He introduced her as Gabriella. “Look, Jenna, you have to give us time to find another place. The gay nerd will let you stay at the inn, won’t he?”
She looked him in the eye and told him what she knew he didn’t want to hear. “Alessandro Donatelli is not gay.”
“How do you know?”
Jenna lifted her chin. “How do you think I know?”
“Dammit, Jenna. I told you not to do that stuff around my daughter.”
“And I told you not to let your father smoke around her. Did he tell you she ended up at Urgent Care that evening?” Brian wasn’t there when she’d picked up Katie. He probably hadn’t been there since she’d dropped her off three hours earlier.
Brian’s eyes widened. “No.”
“Katie is not going to your father’s house again, and speaking of your father, I need some child support, Brian.”
“Isn’t my old man paying it?”
“Nobody is paying it.” She stood. “I’m going back to Gig Harbor. If I can’t find a job this week, I’ll call so you can move out. Okay?”
“Not until the end of the month, Jenna.” He reached in his pocket and handed her two hundred dollars. “It’s all the cash I have on me. If you’ll give me until the end of the month, I’ll send you a thousand more.”
She took the money. “Fine. End of the month. I’ll expect a check by Friday.”
After taking Katie to the bathroom, they headed back to Gig Harbor. “Katie Bug, it looks like you get to spend a few more days with your kitty friends.”
And Alessandro.
<>
Jenna spent the afternoon on the phone, calling the help wanted ads in the newspapers. She found a job in the Bremerton area that she’d qualify for, but it didn’t pay enough to live on even if she was still getting child support, which she wasn’t.
It was nearly nine that evening when she got a phone call from Cara. “Jenna, sorry to be calling so late, but I just now got Johnny to sleep. He’s had an upset tummy today, so he wanted me to hold him.
“I understand you’ve done office work before, and I’m desperate for an assistant. Teresa has been working for me for several years, and she thought she could return after the babies were born, but she’s got her hands full. I could put an ad in the newspaper, but I don’t have the time or patience to interview people, and I hate to hire someone I don’t know. Would you be interested in the job?”
“Did Alessandro put you up to this?”
“Al mentioned to Nick that you were looking for work, and the timing is perfect. I thought I could get along without an assistant, but there’s an important meeting coming up in California at the end of the month, and I need to be ready for it. With three kids and a queasy stomach, I’m getting behind.”
Jenna wanted to scream Yes! but she knew Alessandro had arranged this.
“I’ll pay the going rate and I have a benefit package for all my employees. The hours won’t be regular, and I’ll want you to travel to California with me from time to time. Katie can come along. The staff at the estate watches the kids while I’m working there.”
She sounded serious. Maybe this wasn’t about Alessandro. “You’re serious about this job?”
“Serious and desperate. I need you, Jenna.”
“Then we’ll give it a try, but if it doesn’t work out, I’ll leave. No hard feelings.”
“That’s good enough for me. When can you start?”
“As soon as I find a daycare or school for Katie.”
“Bring Katie along for now. Sophia’s here. She and Bridget watch the kids while I’m working. How about nine tomorrow morning, here at the house?”
“I’ll be there. Thanks, Cara.”
Jenna hung up and let out a loud whoop. She had a job.
Alessandro trotted down the stairs. “Something happen?”
“I’m going to work for Cara.” She playfully slapped his arm. “As if you didn’t know.”
He grinned. “I didn’t, but I’m not surprised.”
She told him about Brian taking over her apartment. “He won’t stay forever, but in the meantime, I don’t have an apartment.”
“You don’t need it now. You can stay right here.” He kissed her and whispered, “Let’s celebrate.”
Jenna cocked her head and looked him up and down. She knew what he had in mind, and she was more than ready. She turned on the old radio in the living room and twisted the dial until she found good dancing music. Moving to the music, she strolled over to Alessandro and draped her arms around his neck, so close she could feel his erection. “It doesn’t take much to…” She gently bumped him there. “… excite you, does it?”
Al growled low in his throat and moved slowly to the music, one hand on her ass and the other threaded through her soft hair. He brushed his lips across hers and whispered, “Kiss me, woman.” He should have brought some condoms downstairs. If she was going to tease him like this down here, they’d never make it up to his bed. He wanted to throw her down on the rug, rip her clothes off, and bury himself deep inside her.
Still holding her behind against him, he slid his hand under her shirt and released her breasts. Brushing his hand over her nipples brought a moan, but he wasn’t rushing it tonight. Tonight, he wanted to bring her along slowly and make her beg for it. She was so responsive and she gave so much of herself, he wondered if he could hold himself back that long.
They danced around the living room, moving as one, so close they could have shared the same heartbeat, and then the song on the radio changed to a bouncy tune. He turned it off and they walked upstairs together, stopping every few steps for a kiss. They looked in on Katie and continued to the end of the hallway, to his bedroom.
To an unforgettable night of slow, sweet passion.
<>
Jenna woke to a little girl calling, “Mommmy.” Alessandro was still sleeping in bed beside her.
“I’ll be there in a minute, Katie.” Jenna glanced at the clock and jumped out of bed. It was already eight o’clock, and she had to be at Cara’s at nine. Making love half the night before starting a new job was probably not the best thing to do, she thought as she rushed around to get ready in time.
At six minutes to nine, she strapped Katie in the car and drove to Cara’s house. It wasn’t far, and they were only a minute late when they arrived. Sophia met them at the door and took Katie down to Sophie’s room to play.
Jenna followed Cara into her
office, which was on the top level of the house. It was fully equipped with two computers, a fax and copier, bookshelves, file cabinets, and a big window seat that overlooked the water. It looked like a comfortable sitting room instead of an office. Working in here would be a pleasure.
“Teresa kept a notebook of information. She called it her bible.” Cara opened drawers in the desk. “Ah, here it is.” She handed it to Jenna.
They sat at the round table in the corner and talked about Cara’s estate, about the office she kept in San Francisco for her investment staff, the foundation she’d established in her mother’s name, and the art museum she’d had built to display her grandfather’s art collection. “I hold quarterly meetings with the board members of the Monica Andrews Foundation to review what we’re funding, who is requesting money for what, and so forth. Mary Margaret McMillen, who heads the foundation, sends me information to review before the meetings, and it’s usually enough reading material to keep me busy for a month. I don’t have time to read it all before the next meeting, so I need help with that.”
“You want me to read it for you?”
“Yes, the requests for money. Mary Margaret doesn’t have time to do a summary of each request, and that’s what I want from you. Read the proposal and give me a summary page or two on who wants money, how much they need, what they intend to do with it, and who they think it’s going to help. I want your first impressions. If you were in my shoes, would you fund this project? How would it impact the people involved? If it sounds like a good project for the foundation, we’ll have someone do some digging to find out if anyone else is or should be helping these people. We don’t want to duplicate someone else’s efforts when there are so many other worthwhile projects.”
Cara handed her a stack of folders about a foot tall. “In the beginning, Nick helped me with this part of the work, but with his business doing so well and three kids to play with, he doesn’t have time.”
“He plays with the kids? I can’t remember my father ever playing with me.”
“Nick is the biggest kid in the house, and Maria claims that Blade isn’t much better. They both had terrible childhoods, or Nick did until he found Sophia and his cousins, so they’re making up for it now. The kids think it’s terrific, especially Max. He’s old enough now to appreciate having a father who teaches him how to do things, like play ball and hammer nails.” Cara sat beside Jenna at the round conference table in the corner. “I grew up with nannies, and I didn’t want that for my children. I want them to have warm memories of their childhoods, and that includes playing and cuddling with their parents.”
The more Cara talked, the more Jenna liked her.
Jenna filled out the employment forms Cara had left on her desk. The benefits included medical and dental insurance, a 401K plan for retirement, and life insurance. Her employer would be a corporation called the Andrews Estate. “How many employees do you have?”
“At last count it was fifty-eight, I believe, plus the staff at the museum. You’ll meet most of them when we go to California at the end of the month.”
Johnny came running into the room, with Max right behind him, and Cara smiled. “There are my boys.” An unmistakable odor emanated from Johnny’s pants.
“Johnny pooped his pants,” said Max.
Cara took Johnny’s hand. “Come on, you little stinker. You’re supposed to do that in the potty.”
“Couldn’t wait,” he said quite clearly. They were cute kids, and Cara was obviously a loving, involved parent.
She sat at the desk Cara had assigned to her and began reading, making notes as she read. The first proposal was written in legal language and was hard to plow through. No wonder Cara had trouble getting through all these proposals.
By lunchtime, Jenna had only gotten through three of the proposals.
Jenna took the kids for a walk on the beach after lunch. She didn’t mind office work, but she needed to stretch her legs, and the kids needed airing out. Johnny stopped to pick up a rock and show it to her.
She looked up to see a guard watching them from halfway down the hill and another down the beach. They were guarding Cara’s kids.
<>
The next day was the Fourth of July, and the Donatelli family had a picnic in the pavilion on the property between Nick’s house and Blade’s house. Nick and Angelo took the kids out for boat rides, dogs and kids scampered on the beach, and Al set up a volleyball net. They chose up sides and played until Blade and Maria’s little girl ran off with the ball. Everyone called to her, but Jeannie ran next door, to her home, and Blade ran after her. Her gay laughter filled the air when her daddy caught her.
Al watched Jenna laughing and playing with his family. They’d already accepted her as one of them, especially Ma and Cara.
After the little kids had been bathed and put to bed, some of the adults and older kids boarded the boat for an evening cruise to see the fireworks. Ma stayed with Nick and Cara’s kids and Katie, who had been put to bed with Sophie.
Al took Jenna’s hand and helped her onto the boat. He stood behind her on the deck, his arms around her shoulders, watching the fireworks. The kids were pointing and cracking jokes, but Al couldn’t concentrate on them or the fireworks.
All he could think about was getting Jenna alone in his bed.
Chapter Ten
Jenna called Brian to tell him he could keep the apartment for now. “I have a job here in Gig Harbor.” At least she had one for now. One of these days, she expected Teresa to want her job back, and when she did, Jenna would step quietly out of the picture.
“Who are you working for?”
“The Andrews Estate.”
“Never heard of it.”
He’d figure it out soon enough. “Brian, what happened with your lawsuit?”
“My attorney said I needed at least one witness to dispute the guys on the roof, and since you won’t testify for me, I’m dropping it.”
Alessandro was right. He said it would never get to court.
“My old man still wants to meet Cara Andrews…. Hey, you said Andrews… Where are you working?”
“For the—”
“No, where.”
“At Nick Donatelli’s house. I’m Cara’s new assistant.”
He let out a whoop loud enough that she had to pull the phone away from her ear. “You can get me in to see her.”
“No, I can’t. She has guards to keep people like you from harassing her.”
“But—”
“No, Brian. Absolutely not.” If he thought she’d let him bother Cara, he’d better think again. Cara had enough on her mind without dealing with Brian Baxter, and after he’d brought that lawsuit against Alessandro, she wouldn’t have anything to do with him anyway.
<>
Mattie had a visitor, a distinguished gray-haired gentleman with a well-tended mustache. “Mrs. Worthington, I’m Dr. Spindler. Your orthopedic surgeon asked me to come by and see how your arm is doing.”
“It’s doing just fine, doctor. How long until I can go home?”
He checked the chart and smiled a little. “You don’t like the deluxe accommodations here?” He put the chart down and moved her fingers. “Will you be able to feed yourself and dress yourself? I don’t see why not, but although your arm is healing nicely, I wouldn’t expect it to be as strong as it was before you broke it. When we get older, we lose strength, and you haven’t been able to use that arm for quite some time.”
“Too bad I didn’t break the other arm instead.”
“Too bad you had to break anything,” he replied. “According to this chart, you’re in excellent physical condition for someone your age.”
Her parents had lived well into their nineties, and she didn’t expect to die for at least ten more years. And she expected to spend those years in the inn.
As soon as her arm healed, she was going home. That young man promised her she could live out her life there, and if he protested, she’d sue him and get her inn back. It wasn�
��t in writing, but they had a verbal contract, and she wasn’t letting him weasel out of it.
After the doctor left, she stared out the window at the courtyard. The kids in the daycare down the hall were playing in the sunshine. The flowers were blooming, and two of the aides were outside sitting in the shade. It must be break time, although she couldn’t for the life of her figure out why they needed breaks. They didn’t work that hard, and it always took them forever to come when she pushed the buzzer. At the inn, there were days when she was so busy she didn’t even have time to use the toilet until late afternoon.
When she was a little girl, she lived in the attic of the inn with her parents. Her grandparents and Uncle Roald lived on the main floor.
Papa would take her with him to the farm down the road for milk and eggs and vegetables, and they’d get their flour and other staples from the store in town. They’d take the horse and buggy, because it was too far to walk. Papa always drove down to meet the ferry twice a week. It brought the mail and newspapers along with the guests who stayed at the inn. Mama baked bread and fancy coffee cakes and other goodies, and Grandma cooked the best meals. They ate in the dining room with their guests. Mattie was always on her best behavior, as was expected of children in those days.
Uncle Bjorn was a fisherman who’d been washed overboard in a storm. They’d expected him to take over the inn someday, but with him gone, it came to Papa, their second son. Uncle Roald and Aunt Dagmar stayed at the inn with their parents until they married. Aunt Dagmar and her husband moved to Tacoma. They had fourteen children, like having a litter of pigs, Mama said. Uncle Roald lived in Gig Harbor until he died of old age. He had six children, and they’d all moved away. Mattie had lost track of them many years ago.
At one time, Papa had talked about leaving the inn to one of his nephews, since he only had a daughter, but Mama talked him into waiting. Mattie was old enough to marry, Mama said, and unless her husband had another business, she could help her husband run the inn.
So they waited. Mattie worked hard to show them that even though she was a girl, she was capable and dependable, because she didn’t want to lose the inn. And then Charlie came along. He was a guest of the inn, with his parents and brother. Mattie was long past twenty and she hadn’t had a single marriage proposal. Mama took one look at Charlie and decided that even though he was several years younger, he’d make a good husband for her spinster daughter. Charlie’s parents agreed, and before long they were engaged.
