you’re not careful, this town will wrap around your heart like ivy on an oak tree, pretty and strong. That’s what it did to me, more than thirty-five years ago, when I moved here with my Bobby. ’Course, it helped that the man himself was also wrapped around my heart.” Della smiled, clearly proud of her town and the man she’d married.
A man who had had an affair more than thirty years ago with Katie’s mother, an affair that had produced Colton. Katie had seen pictures of her mother from those years, before her drinking took its toll. Vanessa Williams had been beautiful, with long dark hair, deep green eyes and a wide smile. In the years since Colton and Katie had been born, she’d morphed into a sullen, resentful woman who considered both her children as unwanted burdens.
But Della Barlow—she was obviously the kind of mother everyone wished they could have. It was clear she loved her sons and her husband, despite the brief bump their marriage had hit more than three decades ago. Katie had no doubt staying here would be like coming home.
“So, Katie, what do you do?” Della asked. “Or, a better question, what do you want to do, since not all of us work at our first-love jobs when we’re young.”
It had been a long time since Katie had thought about her ideal career. She felt like she was in middle school again, lying on her bed and looking up at the cracks in the ceiling. When she was eleven, she’d imagined they were paths, creeping like a spider out in different directions. If she took this path, she’d end up there, by that missing chunk of plaster. That path, and she’d connect with that path and that one, and end up fading into the window frame. The world had seemed open and endless back then, filled with crazy ideas like becoming a veterinarian and an actress and a chef, all at the same time. “I... I don’t know. I’ve been an accountant for so long, I don’t know anything else.”
“Was that your dream, working with numbers?”
Katie scoffed. “No. I sort of fell into it. I was good at math, and I got a scholarship to college, as long as I enrolled in the accounting program. I’ve been doing this job so long, I don’t know if I can do anything else.”
Della waved that off. “Honey, you are as young as a baby bird. You still have time to go after whatever dream you want. Heck, I’m in my fifties and just now embarking on my dream.” She gestured at the sunny yellow kitchen, the off-white cabinets, the wide plank floors. “Dare to do something different, while you aren’t tied down to a family and a dog.”
Dare to do something different. That was part of why Katie was here, because she didn’t know what else to do with herself, except for something different. She couldn’t stay one more second in Atlanta, where everything she looked at reminded her of what she had lost. “I don’t even know where to start.”
Della’s hand covered hers. “Start with cookies.”
“Cookies?”
“Of course. Everything’s better with cookies.” Della grinned. “And then, if you’re interested in something temporary, I know someone who needs some help for the next few weeks. It’s not a glamorous job, but I guarantee it’ll be fun and not at all like accounting.”
Katie took a bite out of a chewy chocolate chip cookie that melted against her tongue. Like the rest of the house and the owner herself, the cookies were the best ever. “What kind of job are you talking about?”
“Well...” Della took a sip of coffee, then wrapped her hands around the mug, “Sam Millwright is in need of a tutor. If you ask me, he needs a good nanny, too. I’ve met Charity Jacobs, the one working for him now, and she’s a dear girl, but in over her head.”
A tutor maybe, but a nanny? As in someone who watched kids all day? Katie had zero experience with children, unless one counted the couple summers she’d spent as a camp counselor. But that had been a team experience—never one where she was on her own, in charge of everything from sunup to sundown for a kid. She’d never had a younger sibling, never really babysat (okay, so she had watched her neighbor’s Pomeranians twice, and commandeered her cousins almost every holiday meal, but that wasn’t the same thing), never even watched a friend’s child, let alone helped anyone with homework. And the thought of being with a baby...
“Sam’s kids are just the cutest little things you ever did see. Libby just turned eight, and Henry is three,” Della said. “You’d love them.”
Three and eight. So not babies. Maybe doable. Maybe. But still, a nanny? Della was right, that was about as far removed from accountant as Katie could get. Except she had no desire to be a nanny, and not enough experience to even consider the job.
“Wait...did you say he needed a tutor, too?”
Della nodded. “Libby’s struggling in school. Ever since her mom passed away, she’s been having a hard time keeping up, poor thing. Sam’s doing the best he can, but it’s tough, being breadwinner and everything else at the same time. His regular babysitter up and quit a month ago, and Sam’s been struggling ever since to find someone to watch the kids. He’s got Charity filling in part of the time, but she’s...” Della made a little face. “Anyway, I had the kids over here yesterday, trying to take the load off Sam, but you know, it’s hard to run a business and watch two kids.” She smiled. “Even if they’re truly the nicest kids ever.”
Couple of nice, sweet kids. How hard could it be? Katie would have to tutor only one of them, it seemed. And the extra money would be a godsend while she was debating her next move. Not to mention, as Della had said, it wasn’t accounting. It wouldn’t be a job that would require her to remember a million details or figure out complicated tax structures. It would be almost as easy as just staying home all day, except she’d hopefully be too busy to think. If the girl was eight, it wasn’t like Katie was going to need a master’s in English to tutor her. What was that, third grade? She could handle third grade homework help. And surely the math would be a breeze for her. As much as Katie said she wanted time to think, to breathe, just the thought of all that time in her head...
She’d rather be working. Doing something that wasn’t difficult, but still kept her mind from spinning. “Sure. I’ll talk to him.”
“Lovely!” Della grinned. “I’ll give him a call quicker than a bunny running through a pepper patch.”
Della did as she’d promised, calling up Sam Millwright a second later. Katie caught only half the conversation, but it was full of “you’re going to love her” and “she’s delightful” endorsements of Katie. Della dropped Colton’s name into the conversation and that seemed to be the clincher. Della hung up the phone, then scribbled an address on a piece of paper. “Here’s his address,” she said. “He said to be there at eight thirty tomorrow morning and he’ll give you an interview.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Katie said, taking the paper. It wasn’t moving on or moving forward, but it wasn’t standing still, either, and for now, that was enough.
It was only a little after eight in the morning and already Sam had resorted to bribery. “If you eat your breakfast, Libby Bear, I’ll let you have a cookie.”
Probably not the healthiest bribe, but at this point, after dealing with the kids for two hours—thanks to Henry waking up at the crack of way-too-early—Sam was desperate. Hell, most days he was desperate. Between the kids and an overly eager one-year-old golden retriever, Sam felt outnumbered, outmaneuvered and
