A Place for Family. Mia Ross

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СКАЧАТЬ very well.” Swallowing a bit of her pride, she included the others in her view. “I’m not exactly Mary Poppins, but I’m a quick learner. If you tell me what you want, I’ll make sure things get done your way. I’ll even work free for a week,” she added to sweeten the deal. She’d picked up that skill during her stint in online PR, and she hoped it would help her now.

      Marianne and Ridge exchanged another look, and she could only imagine what they were thinking: Why is she really here?

      They didn’t say it out loud, which Amanda really appreciated. As she’d told them, she just wanted a chance to start over. Once she had a steady paycheck, she’d answer all their questions. Even John’s. His wariness toward her wouldn’t make it easy to be around him all the time, but she’d have to cope as best she could. With her nicely toasted car still smoking out on the shoulder, she’d literally reached the end of her road.

      The fact that her twisting path had led her back to the Sawyers didn’t escape her. When she was younger, John’s large, loving family had treated Amanda like an extra sibling. Now, Amanda needed Marianne as much as Marianne needed her. If not more.

      “We can’t pay much, so we were offering live-in arrangements,” Marianne ventured. “Would you be staying here?”

      “Ordinarily I’d say no, but since my car—”

      “Broke down out front,” John interjected smoothly. “She’ll have to stay here awhile.”

      Amanda snuck a quick glance at him, but couldn’t tell if he liked the idea of her being so close by or not. She didn’t remember his being this difficult to read. Had he changed, or had she lost her touch? Either way, it was a complication she didn’t need, and she resolved to get her own place as quickly as possible.

      Cocking an elegant brow, the lady of the house flat-out asked, “John, would Amanda’s working here be a problem for you?”

      After enduring so much phoniness in California, Amanda found it refreshing to be around people who came right out and said what was on their minds.

      To her relief, he shrugged. “I work all day, then go down to my place, so it wouldn’t matter to me.”

      “I won’t be doing much of anything for the next three months,” she reminded him. “That means Amanda would be running the house, including the kitchen. If you want to eat, you’d have to see her at some point.”

      “No problem here.” He looked at Amanda. “You?”

      “Not for me.” Sensing she was on the verge of getting a “yes,” she pressed. “I could start now, if you want. I’d be happy to do some laundry and cleaning before the kids get home from school.”

      “We haven’t discussed your weekly salary.” Ridge named an amount she’d have laughed at six months ago. “Does that work for you?”

      “Definitely.” It wasn’t much, but it was significantly more than the $82 currently in her wallet. Besides, Harland was pretty far off the beaten path. Money would stretch a lot farther here than it had in L.A.

      After another wordless conference with his wife, Ridge nodded his approval.

      “We’ll give it a try,” Marianne announced with a smile.

      Amanda wanted to hug her, but with Marianne laid up in bed, she knew that was a bad idea. Instead, she clasped her hands tightly and gave them her warmest smile. “Fabulous. Thank you.”

      She wanted to assure Marianne and Ridge they hadn’t made a mistake, that she would do everything in her power not to let their family down. But these were down-to-earth folks, and overblown promises meant nothing to them. She’d show them, though, and make the Collinses glad they’d taken a chance on her.

      Chapter Two

      Fabulous, John silently echoed Amanda.

      That wasn’t quite how he’d describe it, but for Marianne’s sake he kept his opinion to himself. He had a hard time envisioning his old friend in this flashy woman standing in their living room, but she just might be the answer to their prayers. If she was as capable as she claimed to be, hiring her would keep the house running smoothly while the farm spun on its usual seasonal axis.

      All his life, John had trusted in God’s wisdom, even when it made absolutely no sense to him. If this was His solution to their problem, John would have to find a way to put aside his wounded pride and make it work.

      Standing, Ridge bent down to kiss his wife’s cheek. “Unless there’s another interview, I should get back to cultivating that cornfield.”

      “We’re done for today. I’m sorry we wasted so much of your morning,” she added with a scowl of disapproval.

      He grinned. “It wasn’t a waste. I got to hang out with you.”

      “Maybe tonight you can finish up early enough to have supper with the kids and me.”

      “I’ll do my best.” Lifting his hand in a general goodbye, he sauntered out the front door.

      “You look tired,” John told Marianne as gently as he could. “Get some rest, and I’ll show Amanda where everything is.”

      “Thank you.” Wincing, she placed a hand against her side and leaned back into her pillows. “I think they’re kickboxing in there.”

      “You want anything while I’m around?” he asked.

      “No, I’m fine.”

      “Just yell if you need me,” Amanda piped up. “I won’t be far.”

      With a wan smile, Marianne pointed to the cell phone docked on her night table. “Ridge texts me every ten minutes.”

      “That’s so sweet! But you can tell him to stop worrying and keep both hands on the wheel. It’s probably not safe to drive one of those big tractors while you’re texting.”

      “That’s what I told him, but my husband’s a very stubborn man. He didn’t listen.”

      “I’m here now, and I’ll take care of everything. You can all relax.”

      Their unlikely nanny-slash-housekeeper glanced at John, and he responded with a “we’ll see” kind of look. A lot of water had flowed under that bridge—some of it bad. Just because he was being nice didn’t mean she was off the hook. She’d wanted different things than he did—that much he’d understood. Over the years, he’d quit waiting for her to write or call, recognizing that it meant she was happy in her new life. Forgiving her had been tough, but eventually he’d done it because it was the right thing to do.

      Forgetting her had proven impossible.

      He was trying to act cool, but he had to admit that knowing she’d driven across the country in that death trap of a car really worried him. If she hadn’t jumped out when she did, she could have been killed. That stark realization brought all kinds of old feelings rushing back, and he was having a tough time getting them corralled again.

      Her story about moving home seemed sincere, but he didn’t quite buy it yet. She’d СКАЧАТЬ