Apprentice Father. Irene Hannon

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СКАЧАТЬ nod toward Emily and Josh, who were watching the exchange with trepidation.

      To his relief, she picked up his cue. “All right. But I’d like to meet the children.” Bending down to their level, she braced herself on her cane and gave them a sunny smile. “Hi. I’m Cate. Can you tell me your names?”

      Emily tightened her grip on Josh’s hand. “I’m Emily. This is Josh.”

      “I’m very happy to meet you both.”

      “Did you hurt your leg?” Emily inspected the cane.

      “Emily!” At Clay’s sharp rebuke, the little girl flinched and shrank back.

      Cate, however, took the question in stride. “I was sick a long time ago, and my leg never got all the way better. Neither did my hand.”

      As she lifted her left hand, Clay saw that it had limited function, too.

      Casting an uncertain glance at Clay, Emily edged closer to Cate and lowered her voice. “Do they hurt?”

      “Not too much anymore. Most days I don’t need this.” She indicated the cane. “But I was working in my garden on Friday, and I got a little sore.”

      “Mommy had a garden. With roses and ’tunias and ble-ble-gonias.”

      “Those are some of my favorites, too.” She turned to Josh, her smile warm and open. “What’s your favorite flower?”

      As Josh studied Cate, he withdrew his thumb from his mouth.

      Clay signaled to her. “He doesn’t…”

      “Daisies,” Josh interrupted.

      Clay stared at him.

      “I like those, too.” Cate’s smile deepened, and she took Josh’s hand in a gentle clasp.

      “We’re having pancakes for breakfast. At a restaurant,” he told her. “Can you come?”

      “Not today. But I’ll see you soon.”

      With a slight wince, she straightened up. “When would you like to get together?”

      She directed her question to Clay, but he was still focused on Josh. The boy had spoken! It was a breakthrough.

      Raising his head, Clay regarded Cate. Her physical limitations were obvious. Yet the minister had said she was between child care jobs, so she must be able to handle kids. She was sure handling Emily and Josh like a pro. If she could get Josh to talk, perhaps she could also help erase the haunted look from their eyes. “Would this afternoon be okay?”

      “I’m sorry. I always have supper with my family on Sunday afternoon.”

      “I hate to impose.” Clay tried not to appear too desperate. “But I’m overseeing a major construction project and I’ve already missed too much work. I need to get an arrangement in place as soon as possible.”

      For a terrifying instant Clay thought she was going to refuse. But to his relief, she relented.

      “Okay. I can stop by before I go to supper.” She withdrew a slip of paper and a pen from her purse. “What’s your address and phone number?” She jotted it down as he dictated. “I’ll come by about one, Mr. Adams.”

      “Make it Clay.”

      “And I’m Cate.” She bent down to the children again. “I’ll see you both later today.”

      “Promise?” Josh asked.

      “Cross my heart.” Smiling, she tousled his hair and stood to address Clay. “See you later.”

      “Thanks again.”

      As he watched her walk away, he found himself admiring her lithe figure. But beyond her loveliness, he’d been struck by how her mere presence had dissipated some of the turmoil that had clenched his stomach into knots since that fateful phone call ten days ago. With Cate in charge of the kids, he had a feeling he’d no longer feel as if his life was spinning out of control.

      Taking the children’s hands, he guided them back toward his truck. And made a reluctant admission.

      Going to church today hadn’t been a waste of time after all.

      

      Cate double-checked the directions she’d printed from Mapquest. Two more turns and she should be at the apartment complex Clay Adams called home.

      She still wasn’t quite sure why she’d agreed to meet him today. She didn’t believe in working on Sunday. But those two little children, with their big, solemn eyes, had touched her heart. They both needed a hefty dose of TLC.

      Nor had she been immune to the desperation in their uncle’s eyes.

      But those weren’t the only reasons she’d waived her no-work-on-Sunday rule, she acknowledged, as she negotiated the final turn before the entrance to his apartment complex. She’d also been drawn to the man himself.

      Why, she wasn’t sure. With his dark good looks, golden tan and slightly rough-around-the-edges demeanor, he was nothing like the boy-next-door type that usually appealed to her.

      Perhaps his generosity had captured her fancy, she speculated as she pulled into a parking space close to Clay’s apartment. Though grieving himself, he’d assumed responsibility for his sister’s children. And his efforts to find quality care for them suggested he possessed a kind and caring heart. She admired him for that.

      But that odd little flutter in her stomach when their gazes had met across the church grounds couldn’t be explained away by mere admiration, she admitted. It had been attraction, pure and simple. Clay Adams might not be her type, but he was handsome in a rugged, bad-boy sort of way that for some reason made her heart race. She wasn’t quite comfortable with the notion of working for someone to whom she was attracted. Yet for the sake of those two forlorn children, she could learn to control her reaction to him. She was sure of it.

      After setting the brake, she inspected the apartment development. It was well-maintained and landscaped, but there was very little open green space, and no play area, she noted. At least there was a park not far away. If she accepted this job, Cate intended to take the children there often. Their wan appearance suggested they needed fresh air, along with a place to run and play and just be kids.

      Opening her car door, Cate swung her legs to the ground and scooted to the edge of the seat. Although she hated to admit it, she’d overdone it in the garden a couple of days ago. Not only had she put extra strain on her leg, she’d pulled a muscle in her back.

      Once on her feet, she reached for her cane. In a day or two, she should be able to put that nuisance back in the closet. For now, though, it was a godsend. Especially when she realized Clay’s apartment was on the second floor. She could handle steps, but it was slow going even on a good day.

      As if on cue, a door on the landing opened. She looked up to find her potential employer watching her.

      “I forgot to tell you about the steps,” he called down, his expression troubled.

      She СКАЧАТЬ