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“You’ve babysat the twins before. Maybe you should go instead of me,” Olivia murmured, stalling for time. Nelson was still watching them.
“I—I don’t want to babysit all alone. I’m kind of—tired.” Emily’s jerky voice came out in little gasps. “I was up late last night.”
“How come?” Olivia didn’t understand why the girl wanted to escape, but she recognized the extreme anxiety in Emily’s voice. The way she kept checking to see if her brother was still watching them was curious. It wasn’t that Olivia wouldn’t welcome the extra help with the two busy boys, but she had a feeling allowing Emily to come with her would only irritate Nelson more and she did not need that. “Were you sick?”
“No.” Emily blurted the word out too fast. “I was busy doing—stuff. It took longer than I figured. You could phone Mr. Woodward and see if it’s all right, couldn’t you?” Emily’s big eyes implored her to say yes. “I wouldn’t be any problem. I promise.”
“I’m not worried about that, honey.” Instinct was telling Olivia that Emily had come to her for help. She didn’t know why yet, but she did know she could not fail the girl. “Look, I’ll call Reese and get his approval while you check with your brother. I have to have Nelson’s permission to take you with me.”
After a long pause, Emily agreed. As she slowly walked across the parking lot, Olivia pulled out her cell phone and explained the situation to Reese. He sounded puzzled.
“So I get two babysitters. The twins are going to be ecstatic. They’ve been talking about you constantly.” He chuckled. “Of course Emily can come. In fact, if she wants, she can babysit on her own. I’ve been trying not to ask her because I know she loves being with the other kids at Byways and babysitting fulltime is no way for a thirteen-year-old to spend her summer.”
“She loves Byways, but she adores the twins.” At Byways, Emily was also with Nelson most of the time, and Olivia was no longer certain that was a good thing.
“Hey, if she comes today, you’d be free to do other things.”
“I suggested that, but she said she was too tired to babysit on her own. I think something’s wrong between her and Nelson, though I’m not sure what that might be.” Olivia reassured him she’d do her best to find out the problem. “Maybe she’ll relax with the twins and tell me what’s wrong.”
“Maybe. They probably had an argument.”
“I think it’s more than that.”
“Such as?”
“I don’t know. Yet.” She changed the subject. “Are you trying to do me out of a day with those two sweethearts, Reese?”
“No way. If you’re sure, come on over and bring Emily. She can probably use a break.”
“I’m sure. We’ll see you in a bit.” Olivia snapped the phone shut.
Her gaze slid to brother and sister, who stood facing each other on the stairs. She couldn’t hear what Nelson was saying, but Olivia could see the effect it was having on Emily. Her whole body sagged as if she’d been physically hit. Her chin dropped to her chest, her pretty face lost all animation as she stared at the ground.
Olivia fumed. Nelson could be as miserable to her as he wanted, but he was not going to take it out on his sister if she could help it. She tossed her handbag in the car, slammed the door and started forward.
“Is there a problem with Emily coming with me, Nelson?” she called. “I’ll be responsible for her.”
For a moment it looked as if Nelson would argue. But then he said something to Emily, some whispered remark that Olivia couldn’t hear. Emily backed away, but she nodded quickly, obviously agreeing to whatever he stipulated.
“Fine. Emily can go. But I expect her at home by seven. No later.”
“Not a problem. Thanks, Nelson.” Olivia grabbed Emily’s hand, found it icy cold. “Come on, Em. Let’s blow this place,” she said, and pulled her toward the car.
“I’ve never heard you talk like that.” Emily clambered into the car. The relief on her face did not need translating.
“You’re going to hear lots of stuff today. I’ve never babysat twins before.” Olivia switched on the engine and shifted into gear. “Hang on to your hat. Time to get to work at the Woodward house.”
The Kirsch siblings’ relationship had bothered Olivia ever since she’d come to Byways. Now a niggling worry would not be silenced. Something was clearly wrong between Emily and Nelson. Olivia needed to find out what.
“Mr. Woodward said it was all right for me to come?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t he want you to come over?” She glanced sideways, but Emily would not meet her gaze.
“I thought maybe since the boys got in the water at the wedding, that Mr. Woodward wouldn’t want me around them so much.” Emily turned to stare out the window.
“I’m sure you’re wrong about that. Reese told me you’re great with the twins. He wouldn’t lie about that and if he didn’t want you with them, he wouldn’t have said you could come today. He sure wouldn’t have enough faith in you to try to send me home.”
“Send you home?”
“He thought you’d be okay to babysit by yourself. That doesn’t sound like he blames you for anything. Does it?”
“I guess not.” Something was definitely wrong.
“Emily, you know that if you ever need to talk to someone, about anything, I will always listen, don’t you?”
Emily kept staring out the window. A moment later she reached up to scrub her knuckles against her cheek.
“Thanks,” she whispered.
Olivia’s misgivings grew. But she said no more, leaving it to Emily to initiate conversation when she was ready. A few minutes later the girl relaxed enough to point out interesting things along the way. Soon she was chatting freely, and by the time they arrived at Reese’s house, she seemed perfectly comfortable.
“I am so glad to see you. Both of you.”
Olivia didn’t think the look on Reese’s face was relief, but she couldn’t quite decipher what it was, other than to say it made her heart rate increase and her skin feel warm.
Though he was dressed in his usual business attire, Reese did not look as polished as usual. His sandy hair stood up in unruly tufts. There was a green streak marring the perfection of his pristine white shirtfront—marker perhaps?—and evidence of white hand prints on his knee. A splotch of red decorated the underside of his jaw.
The twins raced outside and enveloped them in jubilant hugs. Olivia hugged them back, genuinely glad to see the children again.
“Can we go jump on the trampoline, Mr. Woodward?” Emily had each child by the hand, holding them back as they strained to pull her inside the house.
“Sure.” Reese nodded. “Sure. But make sure the netting is fastened around the side.”
“I always do.” Her giggles burst out as the twins pulled hard on her arms. “I’m coming, Brett. I’m coming!”
“Hold on a second, guys. Don’t I get a hug before I go?”
Olivia’s heart gave a bump of longing as Reese’s big strong arms gathered his sons’ wriggling bodies to his chest. Her arms ached to hold her own child again, to feel the bliss of baby-soft skin against hers, to breathe the sweaty aroma of a busy child on a warm day, to hear a certain voice chirp, “I love you, Mama.”
“Olivia?”
She blinked away the mist of the past and found she was alone with Reese.
“Sorry.” Her mocking half-laugh sounded shaky in her own ears. “Guess I zoned out. Any last-minute directions?”
“More like warnings. Tons of them.” His eyes held hers, a question in their depths. “But I haven’t got time right now.” He rasped a hand across his jaw. “I didn’t even have time to shave this morning.”
“I believe that stubbled look is very fashionable.” The way he kept watching her told Olivia something else was going on. “There’s nothing wrong, is there?”
“What’s with Emily?”
“I don’t know yet. She asked, no make that begged, to come.” Ordinarily Olivia wouldn’t have shared her concerns, but as Nelson worked for Byways, and since Reese was head of the board, she felt it important to go on the record with her suspicions. “I think she and Nelson were arguing about something. Their relationship troubles me.”
“Because?” He frowned.
“It’s too early to be certain and I’d just be voicing suspicions, but next time you’re at Byways, watch their interaction. I’ll be interested in your opinion.”
“I’m not sure my opinion is worth much lately,” Reese muttered.
“Want to explain that?” It wasn’t only her emotional reaction to him. Olivia knew something else was going on with him.
“Not right now.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “I’ve got to get to work. I’m sorry to dump this on you and run. It’s a lot to ask.”
“It’s fine. Besides, I have Emily to help me.”
“Yeah.” His cell phone rang. “Yes, Grandmother. I realize I have two clients waiting. I got hung up, but I’m on my way now. Thanks.”
She saw the way Reese glanced wistfully toward the house as the children’s laughter carried toward them.
“They’ll be fine,” she said softly.
“I know. Thanks.” He turned toward his car.
“Wait!” Olivia grabbed his arm then dropped her hand when he turned to stare at her. “Sorry, but there’s this little problem. May I?”
Reese said nothing, simply inclined his head, granting permission. She moved in front of him, lifted her hand and touched the rock-solid edge of his jaw.
“Is this blob of ketchup part of your fashion statement?”
He groaned, pulled a tissue from his pocket, dampened it and rubbed it against the offending area. Then he looked at her, raised his eyebrows in a question.
“Gone. You are good to go.”
“They wanted pancakes and sausage for breakfast,” he explained.
“Which would explain the flour fingerprints on your knee.” Olivia couldn’t stop her laughter when he groaned and bent down to dust off the offending marks.
“Anything else?”
“You do have some green on your shirtfront, but if you put on a jacket it won’t show.”
Reese muttered something grumpy as he found the mark.
“Pardon?” She couldn’t help giggling.
“I said, my jacket’s in the car. Hopefully, it’s clean.” He threw her a disgusted look when she snickered. “You will lose that smile when you see the inside of the house. Promise you won’t take it out on me later?”
“No promises.”
“I was afraid of that.” He shrugged. “Don’t try to straighten, okay? It’s enough that you’re looking after the kids. I have a cleaner coming tomorrow. They’ll take care of it.”
“Go to work, Reese. Stay as long as you need to. We’ll be fine.”
He stood silent a moment, then nodded.
“Thank you.” He climbed into his car.
“Have a good day.”
“It’s looking better all the time, Olivia.” He met her gaze and held it for a moment. Then he drove away.
Olivia watched his car disappear from sight before she walked inside the house. Her eyes bugged at the mess.
An old adage about idle hands flickered through her mind. No way was she going to have to worry about that today.
Eight-thirty.
Reese rubbed the back of his neck and wondered if he should phone Olivia again.
To say what? That he was going to be even later than he’d promised the last time?
“What are you still doing here, son?” Winifred stood in the doorway looking almost as fresh as she had when he arrived this morning. “Shouldn’t you be at home, tucking those little sweethearts of yours into bed?”
Yes, he should be. But instead Reese was stuck here, digging for a solution to a problem he’d created.
“Hi, Grandmother. You’re here rather late yourself, aren’t you?”
“I had an afternoon nap, doctor’s orders.” She chuckled. “Whereas you look like you didn’t even get a full night’s sleep.”
“Brett had a nightmare.” Reese scrambled for a way to find the answers he needed without telling his secret. “You know the chapel you wanted to include in the Chicago store? Are you still certain about it?”
“More than ever. If there’s a chapel on-site, people will want to use it for their weddings. If they do, we get a chance to talk to them about the giant step they’re taking and maybe the opportunity to mention God’s plan for marriage. The chapel is integral to the new store.” Winifred’s excitement lit up her eyes. “For so long I’ve prayed for a chance to share my faith more openly and I believe a chapel is something God will use. Why are you asking?”
“I’m concerned about costs. Renting space on the Magnificent Mile that includes a chapel carries a hefty price tag.”
“But that was one of the things you said was so great about the Garver property—the ability to have all the square feet we need.” Winifred’s flawless temples furrowed. “If I recall correctly, you agreed that was the best part of starting another store—the chance to let God direct things.”
He had. But only because that’s what she wanted to hear.
“Has something changed, Reese?”
“There have been some snags,” he admitted, but stopped when her face went white in that way that meant her heart was acting up again. “We have to be mindful that space there is extremely costly.”
“I have no doubt you’ll handle that.”
She trusted him. It didn’t seem to matter that he was only a Woodward by adoption. Winifred, his parents, his siblings—they all felt he was up to the challenge and not one of them had expressed the least doubt about his ability to do his job since he’d come home from law school. The insecurity lay hidden inside him, a by-product of long ago.
Reese let Winifred ramble, hoping it would calm her and give him an idea of something they could cut back on. But according to Winifred, everything she’d dreamed of was in the plans for the Chicago store, especially the chapel.
