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He shut off the cell phone, thinking about what she’d meant. When it hit him that Sharon thought he was getting serious about her, he almost stomped on the brakes. Damn! He’d let Vanessa get under his skin and trick him into doing the right thing. Then he’d tried to outsmart her, and now look at the mess he was in.
Sharon was a good date, presentable, sophisticated. She didn’t require a lot of maintenance, either. But he, unlike his father, did not intend to be caught by a pretty face or a good body. His stepmother had taught him that lesson.
Should he call Sharon back and cancel? No, he needed protection from Vanessa.
What was he thinking? He didn’t need protection from any woman! He could handle himself…couldn’t he?
THE EFFECT RICK’S INVITATION had on Lindy was remarkable. She always seemed to be smiling. And thinking about Wednesday. Monday, after a relaxing weekend, she announced, “It’s only two days until Wednesday.”
Vanessa looked up in surprise. “Well, yes, Wednesday is always two days after Monday, Lindy.”
“Yes, but we don’t always have an invitation to Rick’s for dinner, you know.”
“Ah, yes, I forgot about that.” At Lindy’s alarmed look, she hastily added, “Temporarily, of course. I have it written in my day planner.”
“Oh, good. I was thinking maybe I could wear my new pink dress.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“What will you wear?”
“Me? I don’t think it matters what I wear. Rick will be focused on you, not me.”
Lindy kept her head down, saying nothing for several minutes, but Vanessa waited patiently.
“Maybe…maybe Rick only invited me so you’d come,” she finally said, almost in a whisper.
Vanessa put her arm around the young girl. “I can guarantee you that’s not the case. Don’t even give it another thought.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. I think he realized he should be there the first time you come back to the family home. That’s what his father would’ve wanted—Let me rephrase that. That’s what your father would’ve wanted.”
Tears filled Lindy’s eyes. “I can’t really remember him,” she confessed. “When I think about him, I remember how he made me feel, rather than what he looked like.”
“Don’t you have a picture of him?” Vanessa asked, shocked.
“No. Mom didn’t have any pictures of him. I asked her once, but she said no.”
“Maybe while we’re over there Rick will let you have a picture of your father.”
“Do you think he might? I’d like that.”
Vanessa made a mental note to call Rick later, when Lindy wasn’t around.
Just then, the phone rang downstairs, which meant it was for her parents. Vanessa ignored it. Betty would answer it if her mother wasn’t available. To her surprise, Betty called up the stairs for her.
“Excuse me, Lindy. I’ll go see what Betty wants.”
She quickly ran down the stairs to the kitchen.
“Vanessa. Your sister is on the line, wanting to know if Lindy could baby-sit tonight,” Betty said. “She didn’t want to call on your line because she figured Lindy would hear the conversation. She thought you should decide if you thought it was okay before she talked to Lindy.”
“Oh. I’d better talk to her.” She went to the phone in the library. “Becca? It’s Vanessa. You need Lindy for tonight?”
“Yes. Jeff wants me to accompany him to dinner with one of his clients. We’ll be home before ten. Do you think Lindy could baby-sit?”
“She probably could, but you could bring the kids over here.”
“I know, but I thought it would be good for Lindy’s self-esteem, and the kids will be in bed asleep when we get home, which will be nice.”
“Okay. Do you want to talk to her?”
“I’ll call on your line, if you want, and we can pretend this conversation never happened. Okay?”
“Sure. Give me a couple of minutes to get back upstairs. And, Becca? Thanks.”
Vanessa could hear the smile in her sister’s voice. When Rebecca said, “I wasn’t around when you were little. It’s the least I can do. And it helps me, too.”
After hanging up, Vanessa hurried upstairs. Rebecca was right. Baby-sitting would help Lindy’s self-esteem. She composed her features so Lindy wouldn’t know what was happening until Rebecca called.
Lindy looked up. “Is everything okay?”
“Sure. Betty wanted to see if we’d be happy with what she was thinking about for dinner. But I told her we always love anything she fixes,” Vanessa said with a smile.
Before Lindy could ask what was for dinner, which Vanessa realized would have been the snag in her story, the phone rang again. “Hello?” Vanessa answered. “Oh, hi, Becca. Yes, she’s here.” She handed the phone to Lindy, who looked apprehensive.
That apprehension turned to delight as Lindy listened to Rebecca’s request. After agreeing to the offer, she hung up the phone and turned to Vanessa in excitement.
“She wants me to baby-sit! She said the kids like me and she thinks I’ll be responsible! Isn’t that amazing?”
“I think it’s perfectly normal. How much is she paying you?”
“Paying me? Oh, no, she shouldn’t pay me!”
“Why not?”
Lindy gave her a shocked look. “But I’m just—Isn’t that something you do for each other?”
“Maybe, and she knows that I’d baby-sit for her, but she wants to have the kids in bed on time in their own beds. That means someone has to be inconvenienced by coming to her house. And that means she’ll pay you.”
“And you think I should accept it?”
“Yes, I think you should.”
“I’ll give the money to you, of course.”
“Why would you do that?”
“To help pay for the things you’ve bought me.”
Vanessa smiled and shook her head. “Your brother is paying for everything. You can offer him the money if you want, but he won’t take it.”
Lindy seemed thrilled, and wandered off to her room with a big smile.
Now that she was alone, it was time for Vanessa to put into action her earlier plan. Lindy wanted a picture of her father, and that’s just what she would get. No matter that Vanessa had to go to Rick to get it.
Chapter Four
When Rick answered his cell phone after he got back to his hotel, a familiar voice sounded in his ear.
“Hi, Mrs. Abby. Everything okay?”
“Of course,” his housekeeper replied. “But I have a question. Miss Shaw called earlier today. She asked if you had a spare picture of your father for Lindy. Apparently the child doesn’t have a photo of him.”
Rick couldn’t think of anything to say. While he was annoyed that Vanessa had called, a sadness niggled at the thought that Lindy didn’t have a picture of her own father. Every child should have that, he thought, and again he took responsibility for not thinking of that nine years ago. He’d just assumed Anita—He pulled up short on that thought; he should’ve known better than to expect anything from that woman.
Before he could reply, Mrs. Abby continued.
“Miss Shaw suggested I might find a photo or duplicate one so you could give it to Lindy Wednesday night. When I said I would, she said not to do it without checking with you first, because she didn’t want to make you mad.”
Rick growled inwardly. The sadness and sympathy he had felt for Lindy were pushed out by anger and indignation, thanks to that incendiary comment. To believe that—and to say it to his housekeeper! That was all he needed, for Vanessa to make him sound like an unfeeling animal.
“She sounded very nice on the phone,” Mrs. Abby said. “Why would that make you mad?”
“It wouldn’t have. She’s a difficult female, that’s all.”
“Hmmm. Whatever you say. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
“Uh, Mrs. Abby,” he said quickly, stopping her from hanging up. “How did Miss Shaw get my number at the house?”
“She said she’d spoken to your attorney.” She paused. “That was all right, wasn’t it?”
“Fine.” No sense bringing his housekeeper into his feud with Vanessa. “I’ll be home late tomorrow night. Don’t wait up for me.” He always said that, and she always did anyway.
“Yes, sir.”
Rick shut off his cell phone before he let out a few choice words about Vanessa Shaw. She’d already disrupted his sleep since he’d met her. Now she’d managed to upset Mrs. Abby, too.
Of course he wouldn’t mind giving Lindy a picture of their dad. He hadn’t realized she didn’t have one. Dad would’ve wanted—He wasn’t going to think about what his dad would’ve wanted. Not now. That only led to thoughts about that damn Vanessa Shaw! And his own guilty conscience.
He was tired. Tonight he wanted to get a good night’s sleep—at least one good night before he had to face Vanessa Shaw again.
VANESSA PICKED UP Lindy from her baby-sitting job when she called to say Rebecca and Jeff were home. Since they only lived five minutes away, it didn’t take long. Lindy seemed happy, but when they got in the car, after saying goodbye, she almost exploded in excitement.
“Jeff paid me fifteen dollars, Vanessa! Fifteen dollars! I’ve never earned any money before. Can you believe he paid me that much?”
“Hmmm, I thought the going rate was maybe twenty dollars for the night,” Vanessa said. “I didn’t realize Jeff was cheap. I’ll have to complain.”
“Vanessa, no! You can’t complain! I—”
Vanessa laughed. “I’m teasing you, honey. I think fifteen dollars is a generous payment.”
“Oh! I can’t believe you did that to me!” Lindy shouted before she began giggling. “You had me so worried.”
“I’m glad you’re not upset. And I’m glad you have a sense of humor. You’ve been too serious way too long.”
“I know. But I didn’t have anything to laugh about.”
Vanessa reached out and caught Lindy’s hand. “But your life has changed now, and you need to do a lot more laughing.”
“Yes,” Lindy agreed with a smile.
They rode in silence the rest of the way home. But when they were walking up the stairs on their way to bed, Lindy asked, “Do you think Rick laughs much?”
Vanessa didn’t want to answer that question. But she believed in being honest if she could. So, after they reached the top of the stairs, she stopped and looked at Lindy. “No, honey, I don’t. But I don’t think that’s any of my business.”
“But, Vanessa, it’s my business, isn’t it?”
“I suppose so.”
“And I’m your business, aren’t I?”
“Yes, of course, honey, but—”
“So that makes Rick your business, too.”
Vanessa turned and continued on to Lindy’s room. Lindy followed her. When Vanessa got to the room, she sat down on the bed and patted the space beside her for Lindy.
“Sweetheart, don’t you want to be my business?”
“Yes, of course.”
“I’m glad. But Rick doesn’t want to be part of my business. And if he doesn’t want that, then there’s nothing I can do for him.”
“Maybe…maybe Wednesday night you could tell some jokes?” Lindy asked hopefully.
Vanessa chuckled. “Obviously you’ve never heard me tell a joke. I’m no good at that.”
“Really? Do you know any jokes?”
“No, Lindy, I don’t. If you laugh, maybe he’ll catch on. Maybe just being around you will help him laugh more.”
“But I don’t think I’ll see him much after Wednesday night. After all, he won’t have the excuse of showing me the house.”
“Perhaps you can invite him to dinner over here again later on. And I think we should invite Mrs. Abby to lunch before you start back to school. She’ll want to see where you live, and meet Betty. That way, she’ll know you’re being well taken care of.”
“I haven’t seen her since I was six, when Dad was alive. Do you think she’ll care?”
