скачать книгу бесплатно
“She won’t,” Colm assured his brother. “Me and Anna are a team, right, Anna?”
“Right, Colm. We’ve got it under control, Mr. Franklin. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”
Liam started to leave the room, and Anna called out, “Mr. Franklin, do you think that maybe we could drop the formal address and go with Liam and Anna from now on?”
He turned, frowned, then nodded. “Fine, Anna. Let me know if you need me.” He turned to go.
“We will, Liam,” she called after him.
It had been weeks since she’d begun assisting Colm, but Liam still treated her as if she were an enemy…someone to be on his guard around. She didn’t like it, and wasn’t sure what she could do about it. She sighed.
Colm didn’t notice. He reached for some pot holders and said, “Okay, Anna, let’s get us some spaghetti.”
She helped Colm with the rest of the meal prep. They’d already made the salad, and after draining the noodles, Colm sliced the bread. Anna talked about safety, warning of the dangers of hot water and sharp knives.
Colm repeated her rules back to her again and again until they set the food on the table.
Anna surveyed the result and was pleased. “Everything’s beautiful, Colm. Why don’t you go get Liam.”
“Liii-ammm,” Colm screamed.
She stifled a chuckle and used her best teacher voice. “Colm, what are the rules about inside voices?”
“It’s not polite to yell, so we use a quiet inside voice.”
“Right. If you go into the living room and get your brother, you don’t have to shout.”
“Okay.” He headed toward the door, but it opened and Liam was standing there. “Hey, see, Anna, the scream worked.”
“Yes, but it’s not polite.” She looked at Liam, who was frowning. So, what had she done now? Working with Colm was so satisfying. His brother? Not so much. More like a pain in her proverbial…
“It looks good, bud,” he said to Colm. His genuine pleasure over his brother’s successes robbed her of her annoyance.
Anna smiled at Colm. “Well, I’ll leave you two to dinner. Now, Colm, when you’re done, you help with the dishes, too.”
“And wash the wall,” Colm said.
“Yes,” she agreed, “and wash the wall. I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.”
“No, Anna!” Colm yelled, stopping Anna in her tracks.
“Inside voice,” she reminded him gently. “Is there a problem, Colm?”
He nodded. “Yeah, you helped make the food, you get to eat it.”
She glanced at Liam who was actively scowling at the thought. “No, you made the dinner for your brother,” she tried.
“And you,” he repeated stubbornly.
“No, sweetie. My job is helping you learn things, things that will make your life and your family’s life better. Tonight, we cooked, and you need to share that with your family—with your brother.”
“And you,” he insisted. “You had a snack with me first time I made it.”
Anna didn’t know how to get around that, so she looked at Liam, silently asking him for some help.
“Maybe Anna’s got a date,” Liam said.
Colm chortled. “Nah, she ain’t gotta date.”
Ouch. She didn’t have a date, but still—ouch.
“I think I should be insulted,” she said, quietly. And Liam quite unexpectedly laughed. Not a forced laugh either. This was the first real sign that Liam Franklin had a mood other than guarded or grouchy.
As he chuckled, Anna saw another side of the gruff man. A softer side. A side she’d glimpsed when he hugged Colm in the past, but this time it was directed at her, and it was sweet.
“If you don’t have a date, Anna,” he said her name as if it was still foreign to his lips, “we’d be happy to have you share Colm’s first official solo meal.”
Part of Anna wanted to lie and make up some excuse why she needed to leave, but instead, she nodded. “I’d love to. Though you know what this means, Colm?You need to set another place at the table.”
He broke out in a grin. “Another place for Anna. Got it.”
He ran across the kitchen, grabbed a plate and started to run back when Anna called out, “Walk, Colm. We don’t want you to fall and get hurt.”
“Or break the plate. But if I broke it, it’d be okay, ’cause we’d clean it up, right, Anna?”
He was so attentive, remembering her comments and instructions. “Right, Colm.”
When he’d set the plate on the table, he ran and got one butter knife and slowly walked toward the table.
“Uh, why don’t we sit down?” Liam suggested. “It looks as if this may take a while.”
He pulled out one of the chairs from the small kitchen table.
Anna was surprised by the act of chivalry. She’d never been a woman who insisted on such things. She was more than capable of pulling out her own chair or opening a door. But she didn’t find having a guy do them offensive, either. She simply hadn’t expected such a gesture from Liam Franklin. Wasn’t she still the enemy?
She took the seat and as Liam gently nudged her chair into the table, his hand brushed against her back. There was no bolt of lightning but there was suddenly an awareness for Anna. She’d only ever seen Liam as a—well, a barrier. Yet here, now, as he took his seat and smiled as Colm carefully set a place for her at the table, she again saw the man who cared deeply about his brother.
“Thank you,” she said.
“You’re welcome.”
They sat in silence until it became uncomfortable, but were saved when Colm finished and took his seat. “So let’s eat!”
He dished some pasta onto his plate enthusiastically and passed the bowl to Anna, who took some and passed it to Liam. The salad and rolls went around in a similar fashion. Anna found herself waiting for Liam to take his first bite. He smiled and said, “Very good, Colm.”
“Yeah, it is.” Colm’s mouth was full of food, so his words were a bit difficult to understand, but his smile wasn’t.
That smile was what made Anna’s job so rewarding. There was a pride in it that showed Colm’s growing realization that he could, as Sunrise promised, lead an exceptional life. That’s what she wanted for Colm Franklin—an exceptional life.
After they’d finished eating, Colm announced, “I’m done,” and made for the door.
“Uh-uh, Colm,” Anna called. “You cooked, so you get to help clean up.”
“Oh.” A moment later, he brightened. “Okay, Anna. I can do that.”
“First we clear the table. The leftovers go in a container in the fridge and…”
She didn’t expect Liam to stay and help, and when he did, she wasn’t sure what to make of it. He kept giving her odd looks, and she had even less understanding of what they were about.
“Kitchen’s done,” Colm said loudly half an hour later. “I’m gonna go watch TV. I think my Wizard show is on Disney. Anna, you wanna watch it with me?”
She glanced at Liam who was frowning. “I should probably be leaving, Colm.”
“Not yet, Anna,” Colm said. “You could stay longer, ’cause you have no date, remember?”
She expected Liam to agree that it was time for her to go home. She was sure he’d be polite. He’d make some noise about how he was sure she had something else to do. But what he said was, “Maybe we could all play a game? If you have the time, Anna.” He seemed to say her name with more ease.
Colm grabbed her hand. “Yeah, Anna, that’d be good. We can play a game.”
Anna smiled. “Maybe a hand of Go Fish?”
“I don’t know that one,” Colm said.
“If you can find some cards, I can teach you.” She’d barely got the words out when Colm shot down the hallway toward the living room.
“Are you sure Colm can handle a card game?” Liam asked.
“Liam, he can count and read a lot of words. It might take him a while to get the feel for the game, but he’ll do fine.”
And he did. Within a couple of hands, Colm had the idea and was holding his own.
“Go fish!” he shouted gleefully.
Anna did and on Colm’s next turn, he put all his cards down. “I got ’em. You gave me that five and I got it.”
“Great job, Colm.” She glanced at her watch. “But now, I really need to get home. I have an early day tomorrow.”
“You have an early day here tomorrow?” Colm asked.
“No. We talked about this, remember? We marked the calendar in the kitchen. I’m back the day after tomorrow.”
Colm threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly. “Okay. I’ll miss you, Anna, ’cause you teach me lots of stuff, like making spaghetti and puttin’stuff in the fridge after we’re done eatin’. You teach me good.”
“I taught you—”
He interrupted. “Yep, you did.”
Liam was smiling—again. Anna thought she could easily get used to seeing that expression on his face. He said, “Get your shower and put your pajamas on, bud. I’ll show Anna out.”
“Okay. ’Night, Anna.” Colm hugged her again.
She mussed his hair. “’Night, Colm.”
She knew from Liam’s tone that he wanted to talk to her, so she waited until Colm disappeared up the stairs and said, “Yes?”
He didn’t look annoyed, but if not, she wasn’t sure what he wanted to talk about.
He simply said, “Thank you.”
“For…?”
“For everything. You were right. Colm is capable of so much more than I ever imagined.”
His admission surprised and touched her. “You’re welcome.”
“Anna, I have to go out of town on Thursday. I know that three days is short notice, but it’s only one night, and I wondered if you’d found someone to stay with Colm?”
Anna had put off confirming someone. She wasn’t sure why, but had a sneaking suspicion that it was because she didn’t want to share the Franklin brothers with anyone else. “If you don’t mind, maybe I’ll stay with him? I mean, it’s one night, and it would give us more time to work together. I see so much potential in Colm, and there doesn’t seem to be enough time in my day to try as much as I would like to with him.”
Liam didn’t offer his opinion about her staying with Colm. Instead, he said, “Can I ask you a personal question?”
“You can, but I don’t promise to answer.” She smiled, hoping to soften her response. Liam was so much more approachable tonight that she didn’t want to jinx it.
“Why?” was all he asked.
“Huh?”
“Why do you do what you do? I can’t imagine the money is fantastic. And it seems that the hours are long. So, why do you work for Sunrise?”
That was a question that Anna not only didn’t mind answering, but relished sharing. Maybe Liam would understand her goals for Colm better if she did.
“I had a client. Denny. He was starting his first job at a local plant where he would be packing boxes. It wasn’t only him. I worked with the supervisor, as well. I explained that I’d help Denny get the rhythm of the job down, and stressed that he should do well with the status quo, but that for out-of-the-ordinary things he would require someone to help him. I like being sure that a client’s boss has realistic expectations. Two months after I’d gone, Denny’s supervisor called and told me that they’d hired a new person and that when the woman had made a mistake on the assembly, Denny had gone over and helped her. He said that Denny had told her that everyone makes mistakes. That she should take her time and ask for help when she needed it. The supervisor was so impressed. He wanted to employ more people from our program.”
“Those were your words that Denny said, weren’t they? I recognize them from Colm. If you make a mistake, it’s like the milk—you clean it up and start over. Things like that.”
“Yes.” She knew she could be somewhat repetitious with her catch phrases, but her clients needed to hear them over and over until they fully understood them. “And to answer your question, that’s why I do it. There are so many special people out there. They might take longer to learn something, or they might need to learn a bit differently than most folks, but with some assistance and time, they can lead remarkable lives. And if I can help that along, well, it means something to me. My job is important to people and that’s why I do it.”
Even as the words left her mouth, Anna wished she’d said something…well, something less. She felt naked. Exposed. And, Liam Franklin was the last person she wanted to feel like this with.
She wasn’t sure why and she wasn’t about to explore the reason. “I really should go now. Thanks for allowing me to share Colm’s first meal.”
“About Thursday,” Liam said before she could bolt out the door. “Yes. I knew you’d suggest someone reliable, but I’d have worried. I trust you with Colm. It’s a big meeting, and I appreciate you saving me the worry. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll be here on Wednesday and you can give me the specifics of your trip then.”
“I’ll see you day after tomorrow, then.”
“Wednesday,” she agreed, then rushed out. Admittedly, an annoyed Liam Franklin seemed much easier to deal with than this insightful one.
