by Ana E Ross
“It’s about time you got here,” Rose said, glancing up from her task of stuffing envelopes. “I thought we’d never see you again since you’ve living in a ritzy town, driving fancy cars—”
“It’s nice to see you, too, Rose.” Michelle winced as a wave of heat hit her in the face. The room was next to the boiler room and that made it as hot as a sauna. The air-conditioned car had kept her cool and comfortable, but now... She pulled a tissue from the box on the desk and mopped her forehead. When the sweat kept pouring she crouched down in front of the box fan and rotated her head to get the cool air on every inch of her skin.
“I guess you don’t have that trouble anymore?” Rose declared, giving her that ‘have you slept with him yet?’ look.
“No, I don’t. They have central air in those parts.”
“Still sleeping naked?”
“Rose!”
“Just asking because...” Rose unlocked a drawer, pulled out an envelope and gave it to Michelle. “This was hand-delivered today.”
Michelle opened the envelope and pulled out a check. “Whoa!” She exploded with disbelief at the generous amount made out to the center from Dr. Erik LaCrosse, Jr., OB/GYN.
“You had anything to do with that?” Rose asked.
Still in a sense of shock, she stared at Rose. “I mentioned that I volunteer here sometimes. Had to since it was on my resume. But I haven’t spoken to him about the place since...” She did mention it last night on the patio.
“You didn’t even ask him for money? You are campaigning, aren’t you? Everybody you come into contact with is a potential donor, Michelle.”
“I know but, I just started working for the man. I don’t want to be hitting him up for money already.” Michelle handed the check back to Rose.
“Well,” Rose said, returning the envelope with the check to the drawer. “He must be quite a man and have a lot of money at his disposal to have written a check this big.”
Apparently. Michelle didn’t want to discuss her relationship with Erik, especially with Rose, who was known as Gossip Girl. “Have you seen Jessica today?” she asked of an eight-year-old girl who frequented the center—her favorite little one—because she reminded her so much of herself as a child—skinny, feisty, and tough.
Rose nodded. “She’s here. She wanted to be alone, so I sent her to the quiet room.”
“She okay?” Michelle asked, frowning.
“Are any of these kids okay, Michelle? Every day brings a new challenge and a new set of trouble for them. You can relate.”
Michelle walked to an adjoining door that opened up into the quiet room.
She knocked. When she got no response, she opened the door and peeped in. Jessica was sitting on a bench and staring out the window. The room was humid and stuffy, and she wondered how long she’d been in here. She went over and sat next to her. “Hi, Jess.”
Jessica didn’t move a muscle.
“Why the long face, honey?”
Sad, blue eyes stared back at Michelle, and the lower lip hung a little lower. “I can’t go to summer camp.”
“Why not? You told me your mom had been saving up all year to send you to camp.”
“She was, but her car broke down. She has to get it fixed with my camp money. She says if she don’t fix the car, she can’t go to work, and if she can’t go to work, she can’t pay the rent, and if she can’t pay the rent, we’ll be on the streets.” She swiped at the tears on her cheeks. “It’s not fair.”
Michelle sighed with exasperation. It never stopped. Just when you thought you were ahead, you step on a banana peel someone tossed carelessly in your path, and you find yourself flat on your ass. Again. “I’m sorry, Jessie. It isn’t fair. You’ve been waiting for this all year.”
“I feel so stupid. I already told everybody I was going to camp. They’re gonna laugh at me.” Her eyes flashed angrily. “My father is rich and he never gave me anything. He should give me my camp money. I hate rich people. They’re all mean.”
Michelle understood her anger, but not her logic. Jessica was the product of a brief affair her mother Gina had with a local businessman. He’d since married and started a family without ever acknowledging Jessica’s existence. Too scared to fight, Gina let him get away with denying her child support and her daughter’s rightful place in the family estate. If it were up to Michelle, she would have hauled his ass into court a long time ago. But it was not up to her.
Michelle pulled the girl into her arms. “Jessie, honey, you can’t judge all rich people by the actions of one just as you can’t judge people by the color of their skin or the clothes they wear. I work for some rich people and they are pretty nice to me.”
“I don’t care. I don’t care about anything.”
Michelle sighed. “Do you believe in miracles, Jessie?”
“My Sunday School teacher says they happen. But I’ve never seen one.”
Neither have I. “Let’s pray for one, anyway,” Michelle said, even as she wondered how to go about bringing a miracle in the young girl’s life.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Michelle was on her way from ballet when her cell rang. She pressed the Bluetooth clipped to her ear. “Hello.”
“Hi, Michelle.”
She hesitated for a moment. “Hi, Erik.”
“Where are you now?”
“On our way home from ballet.”
“Just as I thought.”
“Is that my daddy?” Precious yelled from the back seat. “I wanna talk to my daddy.”
“Did you hear that?” she asked Erik.
“I heard that. But before you put her on, I called to ask you to bring her to the hospital.”
“The hospital?”
“Yes, um... There’s something I have to do tonight, and she’ll probably be in bed by the time I get home. I can’t let a day go by without seeing my daughter. You didn’t have any other plans, did you?”
She had planned to leave Precious with Mrs. Hayes and go down to the club for some alone time, maybe go for a swim. But Erik spending time with Precious was far more important. He was making a big effort to bridge the gap between him and his daughter, and she wasn’t going to stand in his way. “No plans. We were just going to hang out at home.”
“Is she dressed appropriately or do you need to go back to the house to change?”
“She’s dressed.”
“Good, then I’ll see you in a little bit. Just come into the main entrance and ask for me. They’ll point you in the right direction.”
“Okay.”
“You can put Precious on now.”
No goodbye. Nothing. Michelle pulled into someone’s driveway and made a U-turn. She parked the car on the side of the road, picked up the cell from the passenger’s seat, set it to phone, and handed it to Precious.
“Hi, Daddy. You know what?”
As Precious brought her father up to date on her day, Michelle put the car into drive and started down the main road that led to Route 101 and Manchester.
Erik had left earlier than usual this morning, so she hadn’t seen him since yesterday when he’d taken Precious to their father and daughter event. Last night, she would have thanked him for the money he’d given to the center, but by the time she’d gotten back from visiting Robert, both Erik and Precious were in bed.
Since that first morning when she interrupted him in the kitchen, she paced herself to come downstairs after he’d eaten breakfast, showered, and dressed.
She would lie in bed and listen to his footsteps past her bedroom door on his way to the master suite. She would imagine him stripping off his running clothes and standing naked under the shower. Her heart would race and her body would tingle from the vision of him soaping up a washcloth and rubbing the hard muscles of his chest and arms, moving lower to his washboard stomach, reaching around to his tight delectable buns, then sliding to the front of his strong thighs...
“Michelle! Daddy wants to talk to you again.”
Michelle blew a
puff of air out through her mouth. From Precious’ tone, she imagined that the kid must have been trying to get her attention for a while. She licked her dry lips, took the phone from Precious, and pressed it to her ear. “Hi.” Her voice cracked on that one syllable.
“Hi again. Um… I need you to do me a huge favor.”
“What?”
“I haven’t eaten since breakfast, and the food here isn’t the best. I was wondering if you’d mind stopping at a deli on Elm and picking me up a sandwich. I’ll call it in.”
“Sure. No problem. Where is it?”
He gave her the name and location of the delicatessen.
“I know that place. They make the best sandwiches in town.”
He chuckled. “You want anything? It’s on me.”
“No. I’m good.”
“Thanks, Michelle. I’ll see you soon.” He ended the call.
Michelle tossed her cell on the seat. Her heart was beating with anxiety, but not just because she was going to see him. She wondered if she would meet Bridget, the ‘friend’ who interrupted them the other night. She was a colleague, a social match, and no doubt as couth as they came. The woman he’d told he was never too busy for, even though at the precise moment Bridget called, Erik had been asking her about her past life.
Maybe she should be glad Bridget had interrupted them since she had no idea how she would have answered Erik’s question about the person who’d hurt her. She couldn’t very well spill her guts about how her father had stolen her money then bailed. Instead of feeling jealousy toward Bridget, she should be thanking the woman for saving her hide, even if she was the woman Erik turned to for sexual gratification. Bridget was probably the ‘something’ he had to do late tonight.
Just as he’d promised, Erik hadn’t touched her since that first night. He was probably just curious about her. And it wasn’t as if she hadn’t invited it. She’d made the first move by holding his hand, and he had responded.
It was never good to mix business and pleasure, anyway. Getting involved with her boss would only complicate both their lives. Things usually turned sour after a hot affair, and she was sure that’s all it would be between them. The likes of Erik LaCrosse didn’t get serious with women like her. And when the affair ended, she would have no choice but to leave her post, contract or not.
She was falling in love with Precious and really enjoyed taking care of her. She didn’t want anything to mess up their relationship. And since sleeping with her father could definitely ruin that, it was out of the question.
***
“I really appreciate all you’re doing to help solve this case once and for all, Garret,” Erik said to the detective on the other end of the line. “It’s been on ice for too long. The fingerprints in that car belong to somebody and if I have to tear Manchester apart to find the man who owns them, then so be it.”
“I understand your frustration, Erik, but you need to step back and let the experts handle it,” the detective admonished. “I’ll be briefing some of my best men later, and when we meet tonight you can give them a first hand account of the accident. Until, then, stay away from inner city back alleys. They’re the most dangerous places at nights. The people who frequent those spots are seriously unstable and they look out for each other. Your daughter has already lost one parent. Don’t cause her to mourn for another.”
“I won’t do anything stupid. I just want this nightmare over once and for all. “I have to go, Garret,” he said when he heard a knock on the door.
“Alright. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Come in,” Erik said as he hung up the phone.
The door opened and Bridget walked in, flipping her long blonde stresses behind her shoulders. She threw him an easy smile. “My last appointment canceled,” she said. “Since we’re both free, I thought we could run down to the café and grab a bite. We still have to finish that conversation we started the other night.”
Just what he needed—Bridget’s unwarranted attention. Erik walked to a window overlooking an open field at the back of the hospital. It was a beautiful day and some employees were seated around picnic tables having lunch. A couple children played in the sandbox while others climbed a monkey bar. The sights took him back to the times when Cassie would bring Precious in to have lunch with him. He missed those days.
“I’m waiting for Precious, Bridget. Her nanny is bringing her in so I can spend some time with her. I didn’t see her this morning and I have somewhere to be tonight. She’ll be asleep by the time I get home.”
“What, you have a date?”
Catching the anxiety in her voice, Erik pushed his hands in the pockets of his lab coat. Maybe if she thought he was dating someone else, she’d stop coming on to him. It was getting old and tiresome. A woman as intelligent, successful, and attractive as she shouldn’t be wasting her time trying to seduce him—a man who was clearly not interested. “I’m reopening Cassie’s case, Bridge.”
She rushed to his side. “Why, Erik? Haven’t you put yourself through enough pain already?”
“Perhaps, but I’ll never be able to move on until the bastard who killed Cassie is behind bars. I need closure.”
A musing look cloaked her face. “Are you saying you’re ready to move on?”
Erik gazed out the window again. Was he ready to move on? He didn’t know. He just knew that his cravings for Michelle were growing by the day. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. He had deep feelings for her. Feelings he hadn’t had for a long, long time. Yet every time he looked at a picture of his wife, he knew he had to close that door completely before he dared open another. He didn’t want that cloud hanging over his head any longer. He’d known the minute he saw Michelle walking up his driveway. She’d barged into his life and thrown open doors he’d closed two years ago, evoked feelings he’d buried with Cassie.
In addition to having Garret reopen the case, he’d also started his search for his old friend, Clayton Monroe. He hadn’t really gone looking for an explanation about that night in Clay’s kitchen because he’d been afraid of the answers. He was ready for the truth now, to unearth whatever secret Clay and his wife had been hiding.
Bridget’s arms closed around him from behind, and her head fell against his shoulder. “Erik, if this is what you must do, just know that I’m with you. I’ll help in any way I can.”
“Um, Bridget—”
“Daddy.”
Erik stiffened at the sound of his daughter’s voice. He turned, with Bridget’s hands still clasped around him. He wanted to die when he saw the stunned look on Michelle’s face as she stood just outside the office, holding a brown paper bag in her hands. Why hadn’t he closed the door when Bridget came in?
Untangling Bridget’s arms from around him, he picked up his daughter and hugged her fiercely, raining kisses on her face. “How’s my little muffin?”
“I’m a big muffin, Daddy. And it’s gonna take a whole tub of butter to butter me up.” She giggled and wriggled around in his arms as he tickled her tummy.
“Hello, Precious. How are you, little darling?” Bridget tried to ruffle her curls.
“Hi,” Precious responded with minimal interest and turned her head to avoid Bridget’s touch.
Erik smiled to himself as he analyzed Precious’ relationship with the two women in the room. Precious had known Bridget for about five years, and she could barely tolerate her. She’d known Michelle for less than a month, and they’d already formed a solid bond.
“Who’s that?” Bridget asked, jutting her chin in Michelle’s direction. “I thought you said Precious’ nanny was bringing her, Erik.”
“That’s my nanny.” Precious eagerly brought Bridget up to date as Erik walked to the door.
Erik heard Bridget gasp behind him. “Come in, Michelle,” he said.
She shook her head. “I can wait downstairs ‘till you’re done visiting with Precious. Here’s your sandwich.” She held the bag out to him.
“Nonsense.” He grabbed her ar
m and pulled her into the office. He took the bag from her and set it on his desk. “Meet Bridget Ashley, my colleague,” he said, putting extra emphasis on the word colleague. “Bridget, this is Michelle Carter, Precious’ new nanny.”
“Not what I expected,” Bridget said, looking Michelle up and down. “What happened to the older, experienced nanny, Erik? She looks like a child herself, hardly a woman. You trust her with your daughter?” she asked silkily.
Her claws were definitely unsheathed, Erik thought in dismay. Was she going to start a catfight in his office, and in front of his child? He was about to say something when he saw Michelle’s back straighten and her dark eyes glimmer with belligerence.
“I assure you, Dr. Ashley, I’m no child. I’m all woman in every way that counts. I’m definitely not inexperienced. Your concern is touching, but just so you know, Precious and I have already bonded in a very special way. Our relationship is working out quite well, thank you.” She finished with a smile Erik swore could melt the icecap on Mount Washington.
Brava, he wanted to shout at the top of his lungs. She could hold her own against snobs like Bridget. He’d been concerned about how she would react to his circle of friends and colleagues, but he should have known Michelle Carter could take care of herself, and with such class and composure. Hadn’t she quite eloquently put him in his place the day he met her?
Erik glanced at Bridget’s dumbfounded face. Served her right. “Bridget,” he said, “can you take Precious out for a few minutes? I’d like to talk with Michelle.”
“Sure, darling. Anything for you.”
She smiled as if she thought he was going to scold Michelle for her insolence. He wanted to laugh. He set Precious on the floor. “I’ll just be a minute, then you’ll have me to yourself for one full hour. Okay, baby?”
“Okay, Daddy.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Michelle said the minute the door closed behind Bridget and Precious. “I didn’t mean to—”
Erik did laugh out loud then. “Please don’t apologize, Michelle. Bridget had it coming.” He gestured for her to sit in the chair in front of his desk while he perched on the side of the desk. “She was rude.”
