The Bachelor Boss (6 page)

Thanks in advance, parents. We plan to have a marvelous day!

Mrs. Boswell

A sick feeling had settled in Hannah’s gut as she looked once again for nonexistent money in her purse. She’d dropped the bag to the table and turned toward her living room furniture. In moments, she’d dismantled the couch and two chairs and was running her flattened hand in the furniture’s crevices, looking for spare coins.

She recalled the front door opening and closing behind her and Hannah felt a gust of cold, late-March wind sweep into the house. “Close the door, Trisha. You’re letting the heat out!”

“What heat?” Her sister had come into the living room rubbing her still-mittened fingers together. “It’s freezing in here.”

“I had to turn down the thermostat. Do you have any idea how much our heating bill was last month?”

“No, and I really don’t want to.”

“It’s my fault we’re living like this—paycheck to paycheck, barely getting by,” Trisha said miserably in a half whisper. “We’re wearing long johns and jackets to bed and eating pork and beans and Ramen noodles at the end of every month. And it’s all because of me.”

“Nonsense,” Hannah said briskly. “If you want to be helpful, tell me you have forty-two cents.”

Trisha looked puzzled but had obediently dug into her pocket and retrieved a quarter and two dimes.

Hannah sighed with relief then and took the coins from her younger sister’s hand. “Now Danny can go on the field trip tomorrow. I was forty-two cents short.”

Trisha had flung herself onto the couch now stripped of its cushions. “I could get on full-time at the café and earn some real money. I’m sick of scrimping.”

“We can get by until you graduate. Once you’re earning a salary, everything will be fine.” Hannah had been exhausted down to the marrow of her bones. Sometimes she wished Trisha were a little more mature. She always talked like she understood financial matters but she was still pretty weak in common sense in that area. Hannah hoped it wasn’t a mistake, running her so quickly through the nursing program.

“No. It’s too much.”

“You can’t do that, not after making it this far. It would break my heart.”

Trisha’s pretty face was troubled. “Sis, you’ve been taking care of me since I was fourteen years old. I can’t believe you aren’t sick of it by now.”

Hannah recalled wrapping her arm around her and pulling her close. “You are my family. It’s you and me, babe, remember?”

It had been that way ever since her parents had succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning while vacationing with friends in a ski chalet in Montana.

“You didn’t ask to raise a teenager. You got dumped on. That’s all there is to it.”

“No, you know better than that.” At twenty-four, Hannah had already graduated from nursing school and was old enough to take responsibility for her young sister. They’d made a home, the two of them, and when Hannah had married Steven St. James and given birth to her son, Danny, it had seemed they finally had a perfect family. Perfect, that is, until Steve, a high school teacher, had had a brain aneurysm burst while he was playing basketball with some of his buddies in the church gymnasium.

Left responsible for both her sister and her son, Hannah had worked all she could, tightened the proverbial belt, prayed hard and trusted God to carry her through. She would keep doing the same.

“What’s up, Hannah?” Trisha had asked her.

“A little setback, that’s all. We’ll be fine.”

That had set Trisha on alert. “Define
setback.
”

“Things are slow all over. The agency had to let me go, but I’ll find work soon. No matter how rough the economy, people need help caring for elderly family members.”

“You got fired? Hannah, that’s terrible!”

“I got laid off, okay? That sounds better.”

“Don’t equivocate. You’re out of a job.”

“Listen, honey, I’ve been a professional caregiver since the day I graduated from college. That’s when Dr. Harvey hired me to help care for his ailing father, remember? Until recently, Family Affairs had a waiting list of clients who’d asked specifically for me. It’s just that there have been fewer inquiries into professional home care since the recession. More and more people are choosing to care for parents or grandparents themselves because of the cost. There will be another job soon, Trisha.”

Doubt had clouded Trisha’s features. “I know, I know, God will provide. But what do we do in the meantime? Go on a bread-and-water diet?”

Hannah had tried to respond slowly, careful not to say anything that might jar something loose inside her, like the frail walls that were keeping her composure in check.

“If things pick up, Family Affairs will consider rehiring staff.” She’d worked at Family Affairs ever since she had gone back to work after Steve’s death.

Trisha had been about to speak, but she stopped when the front door again flew open.

“Hey, Trisha, did Mom tell you about the field trip our class is taking tomorrow? It’s going to be awesome!” Danny kicked off his boots, shed his parka and dropped his Spiderman book bag on the floor. Then he threw himself onto the couch between his mother and his aunt. “Right, Mom?” His green eyes, so much like his father’s, glowed as he looked up at his mother.

“Yes, terrific.” Hannah’s voice sounded oddly strangled in her ears.

He looked at her quizzically but didn’t pursue it. Instead he took Trisha’s hand. “Can I have popcorn and hot chocolate for my snack?”

“Sure, little buddy. Let’s go.” Trisha had allowed herself to be led into the kitchen.

Hannah had waved them away, behaving as if what they’d been discussing was unimportant. But it
was
important. Their budget was figured down to the penny. That had already been underscored by her inability to provide her son with forty-two cents for a field trip. What would happen to them now that she was out of a job?

She groaned and pounded on her pillow.

She had received three nasty collection letters in the mail. Never before had she felt so shamed. Granted, she’d been late to pay her bills, but she’d been sure she’d have the money soon. She’d never had a bad-check notice in her life—until now. How had things fallen apart so quickly?

Because, of course, they’d been living from hand to mouth ever since Trisha had started school. Her sister had applied for scholarships, but none were forthcoming. She held her small job as a waitress, but her studies were demanding. Every penny Hannah earned went toward bills. They had no cushion left for an emergency of any sort. She’d become the working poor and it grieved her terribly. What would Steve have thought? He’d been a fanatic about paying bills on time. He would never have let them get into this fix, but what else could she have done? Now, she’d had to move into the Matthews’ house and out of the house to save it.

In her new, still unfamiliar bedroom, Hannah fell asleep and dreamed that she and Danny were moving across a vast desert, all their worldly possessions strapped to the back of a cantankerous camel. Sandstorms came and went. Every oasis turned out to be a mirage and she awoke with her mouth parched. She didn’t want to know what a dream expert might say about that.

* * *

In the quiet of his office the next morning, Tyler replayed the scene with Irene last night.

He had to give Hannah credit for averting disaster by offering her help. If Irene had left, he would have been in a world of hurt. It only underscored how important it was that this young, delicate woman could handle Lily. The odds were against her, considering Lily’s track record.

He was sorry, too. He liked the feisty redhead. She was definitely the prettiest caregiver they’d had, but the delicacy of her looks belied the spine of steel she exhibited. He found himself wishing to see her outlast his grandmother’s imperious demands. Time would tell, he decided. Until then he’d silently cheer Hannah on.

“Morning, sir,” his secretary Melanie had greeted him when he’d arrived. She’d picked up a sheaf of papers. “Things to sign. You’ve also got a lot of phone calls to return. Several new manufacturers have contacted us recently looking for an export agent. Your attorney has been calling. He’s looked over those documents we sent to him and he’s found a couple irregularities he’d like corrected before you sign them. There’s a new wholesaler in Spain who wants to talk to you, and those catalogue companies we contacted have sent their bids. Oh, yes, and one of the freight forwarders wants you to look at the new shipping rates before he books cargo space.”

She drew a breath before continuing, but Ty held up his hand. “Don’t tell me any more. Just give me the things that needs immediate attention. When I’m done with that, I’ll take the stuff that should have been done last week.” He scraped a hand through his hair.

“I’m sorry to flood you with this first thing.”

“It’s hardly your fault.” He took the papers she handed him. “Don’t put any calls through for a couple of hours—especially from Lily. She has got help at home now. I’m going to have to wean her from calling on me.”

She looked at him with surprise. “Yes, sir.”

Ty lost himself in work, and when he glanced at the clock it was already one in the afternoon. Because Melanie hadn’t sent through any calls, he’d taken care of many of the tasks before him. He wondered how many times his grandmother had called and how irate she was that she hadn’t been let through.

Melanie was back from lunch and opening mail. The office was surprisingly serene. She turned around when Ty entered and handed him a list of phone calls to return.

He glanced at the list. “I see you haven’t listed my grandmother. How many times did she call?”

“None, sir.”

“What?” He wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly.

“She didn’t call at all.”

“I wonder if something is wrong.” Then he stopped himself. He’d hired Hannah St. James to keep Lily busy. She was obviously doing it. He shouldn’t, like Lily’s old saying went, look a gift horse in the mouth. Surely someone would contact him if anything was wrong.

“Order me some lunch and have it delivered, will you? As long as it’s quiet I’d better keep working.”

He wandered back into his office and sat down feeling strangely bereft. He’d been on edge ever since Lily got hurt and then, suddenly, he wasn’t needed. It was exactly what he’d wanted, but it felt strange.

The empty feeling reminded him of all the things he’d passed up in order to live the life he had. Sometimes he wondered if he took Lily’s care too seriously. But she was the mother that his own mother was unable to be. Lily had been a socialite until he’d come to live with her, and she’d turned her back on all of it to nurture him. He had done the same for Lily.

It really hadn’t been that much of a sacrifice. After his fiancée Anita’s death, he’d never planned to marry again anyway. He believed that the kind of love they’d had never struck twice. They’d had what his grandparents had experienced. They were soul mates, best friends. He’d lived his life not believing he’d ever meet another woman like Anita.

He still felt he was to blame for her death. Anita had gone to Paris in part because of him. She’d gone to buy her wedding dress. She and her maid of honor had planned their shopping excursion down to the last detail and were so excited they talked of nothing else. After they’d found a dress, they rented a car to tour the countryside. They’d planned to be gone a week. A farmer’s truck stopped in the middle of the road with a flat tire, a quick turn of the steering wheel during which Anita lost control of the car and they would never return.

He hadn’t felt good about her going, but she was so looking forward to it that he hadn’t had the heart to say so. If only...if only what? He had forced her stay home? Everyone, including Anita’s family and his grandparents, would have told him he was being ridiculous. So he’d let her go and she’d never come back.

Hannah, he realized, was the first woman since Anita who appealed to him on more than a professional level.

To change the track of his thoughts, Tyler picked up another pile on his to-do list and dug in.

A soft knock on the door made him look up. Melanie peeked around the door. “I’m leaving now. Is there anything else you’d like me to do before you go?”

“Already?” He looked at his wristwatch. Six o’clock? “How did that happen?”

“No calls from your grandmother, perhaps?”

“I hope the house hasn’t gone up in flames,” he said wryly. “I can’t imagine how Lily’s new caregiver kept her off the telephone.”

“Sounds like you’ve got a winner.”

He was surprised to be able to agree.

When he reached the house, it was gleaming with light, lamps on in nearly every room. As he walked from the garage into the kitchen he could hear music playing—old music. The tunes of first “A Tisket, A Tasket” and then “Over the Rainbow” came floating from the back of the house, garnished with peals of laughter.

Chapter Seven

T
yler eased open the door and looked inside. What he saw made his jaw drop.

Lily and Danny were ensconced at the kitchen table dropping cookie dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper as music poured out of the radio. Irene, who was usually gone by this time of day, was at the other end of the table polishing silver. Hannah, in a vast white apron that dwarfed her small figure, was stirring something in a large, steaming pot on the stove. The entire house smelled wonderful—baking cookies, spicy sausage and chalky silver cleaner—and brimmed with energy. The place had done a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn since yesterday. It felt like the home he’d known as a child—full of light, music and fun. How had Hannah managed that in a single day?

Lily barely had time to look up and greet him.

Danny waved a teaspoon in the air. “We’re making oatmeal-chocolate-chip cookies. They’re my mom’s specialty.”

“They’re delicious,” Irene agreed. “I’ve had three and ruined my supper.”

Ty walked to the stove and bent over Hannah’s shoulder to see a creamy white soup in the pot. He could smell the sweet-savory sausage, the aroma of the cookies in the oven and a hint of lavender, which was no doubt Hannah’s perfume or bath powder. He didn’t know which of the aromas he liked best. The lavender was particularly enticing.