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“I wish I wasn’t.”
“But she’s only a child. Why would someone kidnap her because of what you know?”
John watched a woman push a stroller into the café. “I gave up trying to figure out people’s motivation a long time ago. Up until now it’s been relatively easy to look after Bella. She came with me whenever I needed to travel. Her tutor and a bodyguard came with us. Since we moved to Bozeman, things have been different. Bella needs a routine. She needs friends. I couldn’t give her that when we were moving around the country.”
“Is that why you moved to Bozeman?”
John picked up his drink. “Partly.”
Rachel waited for him to tell her more. When he didn’t say anything, she leaned forward, keeping her voice low. “So the tutor you want to employ would need to know how to look after Bella?”
John shook his head. “I’ve got staff who can do that. Bella’s tutor would need to know how to take orders.”
“You think I couldn’t?”
“You care about Bella. If she was in danger, you’d need to act quickly and follow what Tank, Tanner, or I said.”
“That’s only if I applied for the job.”
John sat back in his chair. “I already know that the salary I’m offering is four times what you’d earn at the local school. I also know that your full-time teaching contract doesn’t start until January. What’s stopping you from saying yes?”
It was Rachel’s turn to squirm under his gaze. “I’ve made a commitment to the school. They might not be able to find another substitute teacher.”
“What if they could?”
“Then I might be interested,” Rachel conceded. “But that’s a big might. It’s not easy finding part-time staff, especially this close to Christmas.”
“And you wouldn’t have a problem with one of my security guards following you?”
Rachel shook her head. “It would only be for two months. Once school starts in January, Bella will be joining her class and I’ll be working full-time.”
John smiled for the first time since she’d sat down. Her breath caught in her throat. This wasn’t the reaction anyone should have for their potential boss. It was just as well he’d be at work for most of the day. “What hours would you want me to work?”
“Nine to three.” John tilted his head to the side. “Is that a problem?”
“No, that’s fine. I want to keep volunteering at the library.”
“Does that mean you’ll accept the position?”
Rachel thought about the job John was offering her. She liked Bella, so teaching her would be fun. The money he was offering would make up for some of the savings she hadn’t been able to do when she was teaching part-time. As long as she spent as little time as possible around her boss, she’d be fine.
But before she could accept the position, there was one last thing she needed to sort out. “I need to talk to the principal at Bozeman Elementary. If they can’t find someone to replace me, then I won’t be able to leave.”
“I’d better hope they have someone else, then.”
Rachel picked up her bag and coat. “I’ll let you know what they say. When do you want me to start?”
“As soon as possible.”
She stood up and John did the same. “I still think you’re paying too much, but I’m not going to complain. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with Bella.”
“I should be the one thanking you.”
“Okay, well…” Rachel looked around the café, then stuck her hand out toward John. “I guess I’ll speak to you soon.”
His hand tightened around hers. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
Rachel shook her head. “I’ll be okay. Bye.” And before John could say anything, she walked out of the café and through the front doors. The cold air hit her face, cooled down her body, and made her worry about what she’d just done.
***
A week later, Rachel stopped her car in front of the gates separating John’s home from the road. She rolled down her window and pushed a button on a pole. The black iron gates slid open and she drove up the driveway, staring at the home hidden behind snow covered pine and spruce trees.
She didn’t know what she’d expected to see, but the white wooden siding home didn’t even come close. The traditional two-story home wasn’t what she would have imagined a billionaire would live in. She’d expected something grander, something big and overwhelming that looked like an art gallery instead of a family home.
She stopped beside the front porch and undid her seatbelt. She tried to imagine what it must be like to have so much money that you didn’t have to worry about paying the next utility bill, or counting down each week until you had enough money to make a good deposit on a home. If John’s biggest worry was someone following him, then he could count himself lucky.
The front door opened and Bella stepped out onto the porch. Her wide smile and laughing brown eyes calmed some of the nerves racing through Rachel’s body.
A man stepped out behind her. He had wide shoulders, long legs, and an awareness about him that screamed bodyguard.
Rachel got out of her car and waved at Bella. “Hi. I’ll just get my teaching things.” She opened her passenger door and wiggled the first box of crayons, paints, paper, and stationary toward her. She didn’t know what Bella did or didn’t have in her home, so she’d decided to bring all of her teaching aids with her.
“I can help you with that.”
Rachel turned and smiled at Bella’s bodyguard. “Thank you.” She passed him the first box and looked at the second. “I might have brought too much.”
He looked inside the box he was carrying. “Bella’s got most things she needs, but at least you came prepared. I’m Tank.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Tank. I’m Rachel.”
Tank nodded. She supposed he knew exactly who she was.
He held the first box under one arm and waited for her to pass him the second. “I’ll put these in Bella’s classroom. If you haven’t got anything else to take inside, I’ll move your car into the garage when I get back.”
Rachel passed him the second box. “I’ll leave the keys in the ignition.” Before she could thank him again, he disappeared inside. Rachel picked up her tote bag, closed the passenger door and took a deep breath. She was about to start her first day of her new job.
It would be fine. The two months would go fast. Before she knew it, she would be back at Bozeman Elementary, teaching a class of students without a bodyguard in sight.
“Ms. McReedy, come and see our classroom.”
Bella was practically hopping from foot to foot. Excitement shone from her face as Rachel made her way up the stairs. She gave Bella a quick hug before walking toward the front door. “Let’s go inside. It’s cold out here.”
“Mr. Daniels said it’s cold enough to freeze his whiskers.”
“Mr. Daniels is a wise man.”
A soft chuckle drifted across the room. “Don’t tell him that. His head will get so big that it will pop right off his shoulders.” A woman walked toward Rachel. “I’m Patty Daniels. It’s nice to meet you, Rachel.”
Rachel held her hand out. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Daniels.”
Mrs. Daniels waved her hand in the air. “Call me Patty. When an adult calls me Mrs. Daniels it reminds me of my mother-in-law.”
Patty didn’t look anything like the housekeeper Rachel had imagined. She’d expected to see someone in their mid-sixties with gray hair and a no-nonsense approach to life. Patty might have been in her mid-sixties, but she had short brown hair, a wide smile, and twinkly blue eyes that hinted at a streak of mischief.
“Tank has taken your teaching things into Bella’s classroom. Can I get you a hot drink to warm you up?”
“Thank you. That would be great.” Rachel needed to find out as much about Bella as she could. A hot drink sounded like a good way to begin.
When she’d called John to let him know that she could take the job, he hadn’t told her very much about what the last tutor had been doing. He’d sent her Bella’s academic record and a study plan of what Mrs. Daniels had been teaching her. There were notes about what Bella enjoyed and didn’t enjoy. It had filled in some blanks, but left others wide open.
Rachel held her hand out to Bella. “What if we all have a hot drink together? We can get to know each other a little better?”
Bella nodded and took Rachel’s hand. “Mrs. Daniels made some peanut butter cookies this morning. Do you like peanut butter?”
“I love peanut butter.”
Patty led the way into the kitchen while Bella chatted the whole way. Their home was every bit as traditional on the inside as the outside. A wide staircase wound its way upstairs from the front entranceway. Painted in a soft shade of buttermilk, the area was warm and inviting.
They walked through a large set of double doors. The living room’s paneled walls and marble fireplace gave the area a sense of grandeur, a feeling of permanence. The view from the windows was far prettier than she’d imagined a house in town could be. Snow covered trees glistened in the large backyard creating a picture-perfect winter scene. There were no fences separating John’s home from the other properties nearby, nothing to say that they were in residential suburbia.
