little girl got up and rushed over to Emily, skidding to a stop just short of her. Washable paint dotting her arms and face, she demanded, “Are you here to cook for us?”
“Emily is here to consult with us and help us solve our problem,” Dan explained. “She’s going to give us some ideas on what we can eat for dinner that will make everyone happy.”
“Good luck with that,” Tommy grumbled. He grabbed a bottle of some sports drink from the fridge, guzzled half and started toward the door. “I’m going for a run.”
Dan held up a hand. “You just got home from wrestling practice.”
Tommy shrugged and plucked his sweat-dampened T-shirt away from his body. “I didn’t get enough of a workout.”
Emily gauged the flushed state of his skin and thought maybe he had.
“Not now,” Dan repeated with paternal firmness.
Ava stood. “I don’t have time for this, either. I’ve got to study.” She picked up her heavy AP Biology textbook and highlighter.
On a Friday night? Emily wondered. Shouldn’t the girl be going out with friends or just relaxing after a long week? As Emily had planned to do herself before getting waylaid by Ava’s father?
Not to be outdone by her older siblings, Kayla tugged on Emily’s blouse. “I’ve got to paint. Want to watch me?” She grabbed a brush so quickly she knocked over a jar of paint, splattering the table and floor.
Irritated, Tommy said, “Dad, make her get that stuff out of here!”
Kayla clamped her hands on her hips and tossed her long, disheveled blond hair. “I’m supposed to do my artwork in the kitchen, so I don’t make a mess on the carpet!”
Ava looked up from her book long enough to put in her two cents. “Yeah, well, your stuff is in our way, as always!”
“Kids, that’s enough,” Dan reprimanded them just as a stiff-legged older man with a white buzz cut walked in. Dan introduced him to Emily as Uncle Walt.
Walt looked at Dan, perplexed. “I thought you were cooking tonight, Dan.”
Dan shrugged. “Change of plans.”
Emily looked at Dan. Had she been lured here under false pretenses?
He flattened a hand over his heart. “I wasn’t going to try and rope you into it.” Dan grabbed a roll of paper towels and knelt to mop up the spilled paint.
“Why not?” Uncle Walt argued, lending a hand, too. “If she can cook and she’s here and it’s dinnertime…Anything she makes would have to beat your cooking.”
Dan took the ribbing with the affection it was given. “Thanks,” he said wryly. Standing, he tossed the towel into the trash and went to wash his hands.
“It doesn’t matter who cooks—meals around here suck,” Tommy grumbled.
Which made Emily wonder if the kids liked the food anywhere. “What about with your mom?” she asked, curious as to whether Dan’s ex had it any better when she had the kids. “What do you do for meals when you’re with her?”
The room suddenly grew very silent. No one volunteered anything. Feeling like she’d plunged headlong into quicksand, Emily forged on, searching for information. “I gather meals are a problem there, too, then.”
Another heartbeat passed. Then another.
Walt cleared his throat. “Didn’t Dan tell you? My great-niece hasn’t lived in the United States since she and Dan split up.”
Chapter Two
Emily only wished Dan had thoroughly filled her in before she’d accepted this gig. If he had, she would have known this was the kind of situation that tugged on her heartstrings. And hence, one she should avoid. Now, more than ever…
“Mom’s in Africa,” Tommy blurted out.
“Keep up, will you?” Ava scolded, shoving her glasses up on the bridge of her nose. “That was last week. She’s in China this week.”
“Whatever.” Tommy shrugged, edging toward the back door again. “The point is, she’s not here. She’s never here.”
Kayla picked at the rainbow-colored volcano she had built with her modeling clay. “Yeah, we wish she would come back to see us ’cause we miss having a mommy.”
Walt grimaced. “My niece is a physician for the International Children’s Medical Service, or ICMS.”
Which meant, Emily concluded, that Dan had full custody of their brood, with all the attendant joys and problems. As well as his ex-wife’s great-uncle. This was an interesting situation.
Dan paused, his expression filled with remorse. “I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear about that.”
Emily slowly exhaled, belatedly wishing she hadn’t asked a question that had upset the whole clan. On the other hand…what did the former Mrs. Kingsland’s ongoing neglect of her kids have to do with her? Nothing, she reassured herself firmly, since she didn’t expect to be here very long at all. This was Dan’s dilemma—not hers!
Kayla tugged on Dan’s sweater. “Dad, I need dinner now!”
Appearing frustrated he hadn’t made any strides toward solving his problem, Dan silenced the complaining with a motion of his palm. “Fine. We’ll order pizza.”
“Not again!” the two older kids said in unison.
Dan sent Emily a look as if to say, See what I’m dealing with here?
Kayla stomped her foot. “But I’m really, really hungry!” she wailed as tears pooled in her eyes.
“It’ll take at least an hour to get here at this time on a Friday night,” Ava predicted with a beleaguered sigh.
Once a problem solver, always a problem solver, Emily thought. “How about I just whip something up?” She figured she and Dan could talk and consult while she cooked. Then she’d be able to take her paycheck and exit, before she got hopelessly enmeshed in the ongoing family drama.
“Uh…that could be a problem,” Dan said.
Walt nodded. “We haven’t had a chance to go to the grocery store yet.”
“We only go on the weekends,” Kayla said.
Emily knew people generally had more in the pantry than they thought. “Just let me have a look.” She opened the fridge and realized she had her work cut out for her. They were right—pickings were meager. “I can handle it,” she said confidently.
“How long is it going to take?” Kayla asked, pouting.
Emily was already assembling ingredients on the counter. “Twenty minutes.”
“That’s faster than we could get
