ghost of a grin lit the man’s face. “Does that mean none of my references revealed my sinister past?”
“Something like that.” In fact, his references had been glowing. One woman had gone beyond character references though, and had told Lindsey about Jesse’s wife, about the tragic accident that had made him a widower, and about his raw and terrible grief. Her sympathy had driven her to pray for the man and his little girl—and to decide to hire him.
“If you’ll carry Jade inside again, I’ll hold Sushi and leave her outside while we talk.”
Jesse did as she asked, galloping across the lawn with the child on his back, her dark hair streaming out behind like a pony’s tail. Dog forgotten in the fun, Jade’s giggle filled the quiet countryside.
“Would you like some tea? Or a Coke?” Lindsey asked once the child and man were seated inside on the old brown sofa. “I’ve been in the trees so long I’m parched as well as dirty.”
“A Coke sounds great, although we don’t intend to continue imposing on your hospitality this way.”
“Why not?”
He blinked at her, confused, then gave a short laugh. “I don’t know. Doesn’t seem polite, I suppose.”
She started into the kitchen, then stopped and turned around. “If you’re going to work for me, we can’t stand on ceremony. You’ll get hungry and thirsty, so you have to be able to come up here or into the office down at the tree patch and help yourself.”
“So I have the job.” With Jade glued to his pants leg, he followed Lindsey into the kitchen, moving with a kind of easy, athletic grace.
Lindsey stopped at the sink to scrub her hands. The smell of lemon dishwashing liquid mingled with the pungent pine scent emanating from her skin and clothes. It was a good thing she loved the smell of Christmas because it permeated every area of her life. Even when she dressed up for church and wore perfume, the scent lingered.
“If you want it. The hours are long. The work is not grueling, but it is physical labor. You can choose your days off, but between now and Christmas, things start hopping.”
An odd look of apprehension passed over Jesse’s face. He leaned against the counter running alongside the sink. “What do you mean, hopping?”
“Jesse, this is a Christmas tree farm. Though I’m mostly a choose-and-cut operation, I also harvest and transport a certain number of trees to area city lots, grocery stores, etc., about mid-November.” She dried her hands on the yellow dishtowel hanging over the oven rail.
“Do you do that yourself or have someone truck them?” He followed her to the refrigerator where she handed him two colas. He popped the lids and gave one to Jade, then took a long pull on the other, his silver eyes watching her over the rim.
“Right now I’m delivering them myself, but long-range I want a large enough clientele to ship them all over the country.” Her shoulders sagged. “But that takes advertising and advertising takes money—which I do not have at present.” Taking a cola for herself, she waved a hand. “But I’m getting off topic here. Let’s go sit down and discuss your job. Jade,” she said, glancing down toward the child, “I have some crayons and a coloring book around here somewhere if you’d like to color while your dad and I talk.”
The child’s eyes lit up, so Lindsey gathered the materials she kept stashed in a kitchen drawer and spread them on the table.
The child eyed the table doubtfully and clung tighter to her father’s leg. She pointed toward the living room, not ten feet away. “Can I go in there with you and Daddy?”
The poor little lamb was a nervous wreck without her daddy.
“Of course, you can.” Lindsey swept up the crayons and book and proceeded into the living room, settling Jade at the coffee table.
All the while, she was aware of the handsome stranger’s eyes on her. His references were excellent. She could trust him. She did trust him. She even felt a certain comfort in his presence, but something about him still bothered her.
Was it because he was too good-looking? She had been susceptible to good looks once before and gotten her heart broken.
No. That had happened a long time ago and, with the Lord’s help, she had put that pain behind her.
Hadn’t she?
The sharp tang of Coke burned Jesse’s throat as he watched the play of interesting emotions across Lindsey’s face. She was not a woman who hid her feelings particularly well. If he was to pull this off, he would have to win her confidence. And right now, from the looks of her, she was worried about hiring him.
“I’m a hard worker, Miss Mitchell. I’ll do a good job.”
“Lindsey, please. There can’t be that much difference in our ages.”
“Okay. And I’m Jesse. And this lovely creature is Jade.” He poked a gentle finger at Jade’s tummy.
His little girl beamed at him as though he’d given her a golden crown and, as usual, his heart turned over when she smiled. That one missing front tooth never failed to charm him. “Daddy’s silly sometimes.”
“I guess I’ll have to learn to put up with that if he’s going to work out here. What about you? What are we going to do about you and my dog?”
“I don’t like dogs. They’re mean.” When Jade drew back against the couch, green eyes wide, Jesse sighed.
What in the world was he going to do about this stand-off between dog lover and dog hater? He’d give anything to see Jade get over her terrible fear of dogs, but the trauma ran so deep, he wondered if she ever would. In fact, since Erin’s death, her fear had worsened, and other fears had taken root as well. She didn’t want him out of her sight, she was terrified of the dark, and her nightmares grew in intensity.
He took a sip of cola, thinking. “Could we just play it by ear for a while and see how things go? Jade will be in school most of the time anyway.”
“I work long, sometimes irregular hours, especially this time of year.”
“I don’t mind that.” The more hours he worked the more money he’d make. And the more time he’d have to question Lindsey and check out the farm.
“Then I have a suggestion. The school bus runs right by my driveway. Why not have Jade catch the bus here in the morning and come back here after school?”
Jesse breathed an inward sigh of relief. He’d hoped she’d say that. Otherwise he would have to take off work twice a day to chauffeur his child to and from school.
“That would be a big help.”
“Yes, but coming here will also put her in contact with Sushi morning and night.”
“Hmm. I see your point.” Pinching his bottom lip between finger and thumb, he considered, but came away empty. “Any ideas?”
“Yes, but fears like that don’t disappear overnight. We’ll need some time for Jade to acclimate and to realize that Sushi is one of the good guys.” She smiled
