Next Door Secrets (Secrets Series Book 2) (9 page)

The man in the
colorful hat took some notes and didn’t speak for a minute. “Do you realize
that communication will be difficult? There won’t be cell phones and the mail
can be very slow.”

“That’s all right.
I wouldn’t mind going off the grid for a while.”

Caleb cocked his
head. “What are you running from?”

Parker raised his
hands in his defense. “I’m not running from anything.”
Besides
himself. “I’ve always wanted to volunteer and I think I have a lot to offer.”

“Such as?”

“Business savvy. I
built my own company from the ground up and I’d like to help other people
succeed the way I have.”

“Tell me more
about your business.” His pen was poised above the paper.

“Ever heard of
Mall Land?”

“Sure. Another
example of American excess.” At first he shook his head, then recognition
crossed his features. His eyes grew wide and he turned a little crimson.
“You’re
that
Parker
DuBois
?”

Parker nodded. “I
agree with you. Mall Land doesn’t give me the kind of personal satisfaction
that I’m sure the Peace Corps will. I’m proud that I’ve created a lot of jobs,
but when I look back on my accomplishments, I want there to be something more.”
Swallowing, he hated to think how soon he would be looking back on a life
coming to an end. He pushed away those thoughts.

“Well, we have
several villages in Africa that could use some guidance on how to create
businesses. Would you be interested in going to Togo?”

A smile spread
across Parker’s lips. “I’ll go anywhere you need me.”

“Good attitude.
They harvest
shea
butter there. Ever heard of
shea
butter?”

Parker shook his
head.

“It’s used in
cosmetics, lotions and medicines.” Caleb became animated with his hands. “The
women and girls crack open the nut from the
shea
tree
with rocks. Then they crush it with a mortar and pestle before roasting it over
an open fire in the hot sun. Finally, they add water and separate the oils.”

“It sounds
low-tech.”

Caleb smiled.
“Your job is to respect their ways while suggesting improvements. It’s a
delicate balance.”

“I’m all about
respect.” Parker imagined building a factory
which
could harvest
shea
butter a hundred times faster than
by hand. That was the American way, but would that destroy their tradition? “I
could not only offer my business advice, but if necessary, I could bankroll projects.”

“We don’t expect
volunteers to spend their own money.”

“But at Mall Land
we’re committed to giving at least five percent of our profits away to
charities. It might as well be a village in Africa.”

“If that’s true, perhaps
you’d be willing to fund a school in the village.”

Parker nodded.
“Gladly. I’m a big believer in the value of education. In fact, we hire college
interns and give away $500,000 in scholarships every year.”

“That’s great. We’re
always trying to raise money for so many things: books, desks,
sports
equipment. When you go, you’ll see kids kicking
around tattered soccer balls with their bare feet. It’s so different from the
world in which we live.”

“I can’t wait.”
Parker’s knee started jiggling again. He couldn’t remember the last time he was
so nervous or so excited about anything. “When do I start?”

# #
#

When Beth returned
home from the office,
Kaylee
ran up to her in the
parking lot and said, “Save me!”

Beth walked toward
her place. “What do you need saved from?”

“The woman my dad
hired to watch me.”

Picturing the
woman with the big sunglasses and the baby stroller, Beth unlocked the front
door. “You mean your aunt?”

Kaylee
followed Beth inside. “She’s not my aunt, just some
mean lady.”

Gesturing toward
the couch, Beth waited for
Kaylee
to sit before she
did. “How is she mean?”

“She doesn’t do
anything fun with me. She talks on the phone all the time, makes me change her
baby’s diapers, which is really hard with only one arm.” She raised her cast as
if to remind Beth.

“Well, it doesn’t
sound like she’s a great babysitter, but it’s not her job to entertain you.
It’s her job to keep you safe.”

“But you’re
funner
. I want you to be my babysitter.” Her voice turned
into a whine.

Flattered and
annoyed at the same time, Beth smiled. “It’s ‘more fun,’ not ‘
funner
.’ And it’s your dad’s call on who watches you.”

“But she’s
terrible! She made me make my own lunch and everything.”

“What did you
make?” Surely the woman didn’t let
Kaylee
use the
oven.

“PB & J.”

Beth released a
breath. “I’m sorry you don’t like the woman, but there’s nothing I can do about
it.”

“You have to. Tell
my dad how horrible she is to me.”

“But she doesn’t
sound horrible. She doesn’t sound great, but not horrible.”

Chewing on her
thumbnail,
Kaylee
looked deep in thought. “I don’t
like her because she called me fat.”

Beth sucked in
air. “She did? What were her exact words?”

“She said I was
fat and clumsy and that’s why I broke my arm.”

Anger pounded in
Beth’s chest. “Are you telling the truth?” Even
Kaylee’s
dad said she tended to make up stories. Her little head nodded and tears shone
in her blue eyes. Beth reached her arms out and pulled
Kaylee
into a tight hug. Stroking the little girl’s hair, she smelled a light peach
scent. “You’re right. That was a mean thing for her to say.”

“Even if it’s
true?”

Swallowing, Beth
chose her words carefully. “It’s never OK to call someone names.” Even so, she
would love to help
Kaylee
get her weight under
control so she didn’t have to put up with a lifetime of rude comments. She
wondered what kinds of exercise someone could do with a broken arm.
 

Kaylee
remained in Beth’s arms as tears ran down her chubby
cheeks. Beth wondered if all eight-year-old girls cried this much. She’d only
known her a few weeks and she’d seen her break down three times. Of course,
anyone would probably cry when they broke their arm. She just wondered if
Kaylee
was more vulnerable since she didn’t have a mom
there to kiss her boo-boos and read her bedtime stories. Did Jim do that? Good
question.

When
Kaylee
spoke, her voice sounded fragile. “Please talk to my
dad and tell him how mean the babysitter is. I don’t like her. I don’t like her
and I’m
gonna
run away the next time she comes over!”

Panic jumped
inside of Beth. “No, you can’t run away. I would miss you.” Not to mention all
the creeps out there who might snatch an innocent girl. She took a few deep
breaths, planning what to do. “I promise I’ll talk to your dad and see what I
can do.”

Kaylee
sat up and looked her in the eye. “You will?”

Beth nodded. “I’d
do anything for you.” She gave her shoulder another squeeze. Part of her wasn’t
quite ready to let her go.

A few minutes
later, someone pounded on her door. “Hold on!” Beth rubbed
Kaylee’s
back before she stood. She opened the door to see Jim’s fist in mid-air ready
to knock.

His cold gaze
landed on
Kaylee
. “Go home. Now!” As soon as the
child scurried away, he glared at Beth. “Did you report me to CPS?”

“What? I don’t
even know what that is.”

“Child Protective
Services. Just because
Kaylee
broke her arm while I
was at work, some social worker is all up in my business. I can’t believe you
ratted on me. I’m a good father.”

Stepping back, she
held up her hands as if that could settle him down. “No one’s saying you’re
not. I don’t know what’s going on, but I didn’t call anyone about you.”
Although she didn’t think
Kaylee
should be left
alone, it wasn’t her place to do more than offer to babysit.

Releasing his
fist, he took a breath. “Well, someone called. I spilled my guts to you the
other night and now CPS shows up at my door. It seems suspicious to me.”

Shaking her head,
she tried to think who might have reported him. “Maybe it was the doctor. She
couldn’t believe
Kaylee
hadn’t gone for medical
treatment the last time she broke her arm. Or maybe it was the landlady. When I
called her about
Kaylee’s
lost key, she said
something about how kids shouldn’t be left alone.”

They stood in the
doorway staring at each other. Suddenly he looked around as if embarrassed that
someone might have heard
their
exchange. “You’re sure
you didn’t report me?” His voice was quieter this time.

“Positive.” She
opened the door wider. “I’d like to talk to you, though. Why don’t you come
in?” He did, but didn’t take a seat. She closed the door so they could talk
privately. “I don’t know how to say this, but I’m concerned about the woman you
hired to babysit
Kaylee
.”

His face grew red
again. “CPS said I’m not allowed to leave
Kaylee
alone while I’m on the road. Apparently it’s against the law to leave a child
unsupervised, even though my parents did it all the time.”

“I understand
that, but
Kaylee
said that the babysitter is mean to
her.”

“
Kaylee
says a lot of things that aren’t true.”

“She said the
woman called her fat.”

The color of his
face washed out. “Maybe the girl could lose a few pounds, but that's no one's
business.”

Beth nodded. “What
ever happened to your sister? I thought she was supposed to help out with
Kaylee
.”

He took a deep
breath. “The truth is I don’t have any family in town.”

Why would he say
that he did? Was it because he knew he’d get in trouble for leaving
Kaylee
alone overnight? She couldn’t imagine the stress of
raising a child without the support of a spouse or family. That’s one reason
she’d placed her baby for adoption all those years ago. She pushed away the
memory. “Maybe I could adjust my hours at work so I’d be here when the school
bus drops her off. I could keep an eye on
Kaylee
until you get home. In fact, we could go for walks in the neighborhood to get
some exercise. I think she eats partly because she’s bored.”

He crossed his
arms. “You can adjust your work schedule?”

“It won’t be a big
deal.” Her palms moistened as she thought about approaching her boss. What mattered
most was that
Kaylee
needed her. Now she had to spin
it so Jim would go along. After all, that was what she did for a living:
marketing. “It would be nice for me to have company anyway. You’d kind of be
doing me a favor.”

“I insist on
paying you.”

“No. We’re
neighbors. We help each other out. Just like you showed me how to open the
mailboxes.” She remembered as a child borrowing an ingredient from the neighbor
when her mom had to bake a casserole at the last minute for someone in the
congregation. People didn’t do stuff like that much anymore and she thought it
was a shame. “And if I needed to borrow a cup of sugar, I’m sure you wouldn’t
let me pay you for it.”

His eyes seemed to
lose their focus while he considered this. “The sitter really called
Kaylee
fat?”

“That’s what
Kaylee
said. I don’t think she’d make that up. She was
crying.”

“I don’t need no
charity and I don’t like owing people.”

“Like I said, I’d
like having someone to talk to on my walks. It’s an equal trade.”

He uncrossed his
arms and shook her hand with a firm grip. “You have a deal. At least until I
can figure something better out.”

# #
#

After sharing a
quiet dinner with Hannah and Parker, Beth tossed and turned all night. She
didn’t want Hannah to leave so soon. She had no idea the next time she’d see
her daughter and she regretted that this visit hadn’t been the
fun,
bonding experience she’d hoped for. Whenever she
managed to stop fretting about that, she’d start to worry about asking her boss
for a different schedule.
 

The next morning she
left for work early, feeling groggy and nervous. When she walked down the hall
of Healthy Habits Vitamins & Herbs corporate office, she saw the light
beneath her supervisor’s door. She’d been in the marketing department for about
six months and she still felt like the newbie. Taking a breath, she knocked on
Lina’s
door. She stepped inside when she heard the twenty-something
call, “Come in.”

Today
Lina’s
wild red hair was pulled back with a barrette at the
nape of her neck. Looking creative and stylish, she wore a blue dotted blouse
with pinstriped pants. Beth had never figured out how to mix patterns so that
it looked intentional and not crazy, so she admired this trait in
Lina
.

Lina
watered the fern in her window with a shiny copper
pitcher. “Plants. So much less demanding than kids.” She smirked, probably
assuming that Beth had chosen her career over motherhood, just as
Lina
had.

“I have a proposal
for you.” Beth remained standing so they’d be close to the same height. It was
weird to work for someone a decade younger than she was. In the few months
she’d reported to
Lina
, the young woman seemed
driven, but fair. Beth had just asked for three days off to spend time with
Hannah. Now she was asking for another favor and her palms grew damp in
anticipation. “What if I came into work an hour early and worked through lunch.
Could I leave at three o’clock?”