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Tess rolled her eyes. “You’re working odd hours as a substitute teacher. Your full-time contract doesn’t start for a couple of months. I’d bet you anything that John will be paying a better hourly rate than Bozeman Elementary School.”
“I like my job. Even if he is paying more, money isn’t everything.”
“What about the deposit you’re saving for your first home? You could put a lot more money in the bank if you worked for John. Besides, you like Bella. What’s not to like about the job?”
“I’m not working for John Fletcher,” Rachel said firmly. “He could choose anyone he wants to teach Bella. I don’t even think he likes me.”
Tess' eyebrows shot up. “Are you kidding? He didn’t take his eyes off you when you were holding Bella on the dance floor.”
“He was watching Bella.” Rachel picked up the two dresses Tess had put aside. “Just because you’ve found your happy-ever-after moment with Logan, it doesn’t mean that the first man who looks at me is my happy-ever-after man.
Rachel knew that something would have come second in John’s life while he was building his company. That something must have been his daughter. “I’m not interested in someone who thinks money is more important than family.”
“You don’t know if that’s true. He could be a good guy.”
Rachel looked at the dresses in her arms. “There’s more chance that he isn’t.”
“What about Bella? If she’s as unhappy as you think she is, then maybe you could help her?”
“I don’t think she’s unhappy. And even if she is, the only person that can help her is her father.”
Tess sat back in her chair. “Are you sure?”
Rachel knew that The Bridesmaids Club had helped women with more than dresses. They’d changed people’s lives with a little kindness and a helping hand. Bella was worried about her dad. The only person that could help Bella was John. A teacher with a soft spot for big brown eyes wouldn’t be able to solve Bella’s problems and neither would The Bridesmaids Club.
Rachel held the dresses tighter. “John needs to talk to Bella. I can’t help them.”
Tess picked up the list in front of her. “I think you’re being stubborn. Bella asked for our help and you’re the best person for the job.”
Rachel’s eyes narrowed. “If you’re worried about Bella, you could always help her yourself.”
Tess smiled. “Nice try, Ms. McReedy, but I’m not a teacher. If anyone can help Bella, it’s you. John Fletcher isn’t the only person that needs to work out what’s important.”
Tess ignored the glare that Rachel sent her way. Bella might be looking for a bride for her father, but Rachel wouldn’t be helping her.
John Fletcher wasn’t looking for a wife. He was trying to conquer his habit of frowning to make his daughter happy. The only other thing he needed to do was slide a teaching contract under someone’s nose. With the money he’d be offering he could afford the best teacher in the whole country.
Before he knew it, he’d have a happy daughter, the perfect tutor, and a face that didn’t get premature wrinkles.
It was a win-win situation for everyone.
***
John slowly lifted himself off the edge of Bella’s bed and looked down at his daughter. Her long, dark lashes fluttered against her cheeks. She turned in her sleep, cuddling her favorite soft toy close to her chest.
They’d spent the day with his brother, sliding down one of the hills on his ranch, making snowmen and Christmas angels, and anything else had Bella wanted to do. After more than one game of Scrabble and a dinner of homemade pizza, Bella had arrived home tired, but happy. She’d put her pajamas on and crawled into bed, ready for the beginning of her favorite book.
John had read Anne of Green Gables so many times that he could almost recite the whole story word-for-word. They’d only just made it to the end of chapter four before Bella fell into a deep sleep. He kissed the top of her head, pulled her blankets up so that she didn’t get cold during the night, and tiptoed out of her room.
Halfway along the hallway, he reached down and turned the night-light on. The soft pink glow lit the way to the bathroom. It gave Bella a sense of security, an independence she wouldn’t have had without it.
He looked at the book in his hand, then back at Bella’s room. He didn’t want to risk waking her up, so he took it into the living room and left it on the coffee table.
It was eight-thirty on Sunday night. Snow had been falling for the last four hours, coating everything with a deceptive picture-perfect veneer. Regardless of what they’d have to do tomorrow to dig their way out, it was the kind of evening that he’d always enjoyed.
Part of that enjoyment came from his parents. He’d grown up in a Scrabble-crazy house. On nights like this, he’d played Scrabble with his mom, dad, and brother until they were ready for bed. They’d test each other’s word-building abilities, double-check his mom’s creative use of words with their favorite dictionary, and groan their way through the hundreds of three letter words their dad could make.
But that was more than half a lifetime ago. If he’d been able to look into a crystal ball and see what was in store for his family, he might have treasured those times more than he had.
He walked into the kitchen, poured himself a coffee, and looked out of the window. Pitch black nothingness stared back. He turned the radio on, listened to the latest weather forecast, then turned it off when someone started singing about falling in love.
As he walked past the kitchen table, he picked up his new house plans. For the last twelve months, he’d been renting the home they were living in. He could have stayed with Grant in their parents’ old home while he decided where he wanted to live. But he had a business to run and living forty minutes from town wouldn’t have worked.
A month ago he’d bought a parcel of land overlooking Emerald Lake. With its amazing lakefront views, the mountains surrounding them, and the open fields in front of the building site, it was one of the most incredible places he’d ever seen. The three thousand acre development was split evenly between four owners. With only one house allowed per property, it was the kind of place that he’d dreamed about for years.
His cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and answered the call.
“You got home okay?” Grant’s voice echoed down the phone.
“It was slow. We got through just before they closed the road. Thanks for today. Bella loved it.”
“Bella loves everything about the ranch.” John could hear the smile in his brother’s voice. “You should move out here over the Christmas break. We might get snowed in, but there are lots of things to do in this big old house.”
“Thanks for the offer, but we’ll be all right.”
“If you change your mind, you know where I am. Did Auntie Betty get in contact with you?”
Betty Fletcher was their dad’s sister. Since their parents death ten years ago, she’d become their main contact for what was happening with the rest of the family. She was the only person in three living generations who was interested in preserving the stories passed down from one family member to another.
John checked his phone. “Nope. What did she want?”
“She’s ready to publish the book about our family history. Send her an email telling her how many copies you want.”
“Do you think she included the story about Great Aunt Nellie’s ghost?”
Grant laughed. “Probably. I haven’t seen much of Nellie in the last few months. It must be too cold for her.”
A gust of wind tore across the roof of John’s home. The shingles rattled and banged making him wonder if Great Aunt Nellie had heard them laughing.
“You still there?” Grant asked.
“Yeah. The weather’s getting worse.”
“It’ll get a lot worse before the storm’s over. Have you made that phone call you said you’d make?”
“Not yet.” John had told Grant about Rachel, about the conversation he wanted to have with her.
“She’ll be back at school tomorrow. You should call her now.”
“It can wait another day.”
“Bella needs a tutor. This weather is going to make her go stir crazy if you leave Mrs. Daniels in charge. Call the teacher tonight.”
John rubbed the frown away from his forehead. “I know you’re my big brother, but you should have grown out of bossing me around.”
“I don’t know who told you that,” Grant scoffed. “Make the call. You looked as though you could do with one less thing to worry about.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Let me know how you get on. If she says no, just add another zero or two to her pay.” With that last cheerful comment, Grant ended the call and left John staring into space.
He’d negotiated multi-million dollar deals with the government, dodged bullets, and bombs. Calling Rachel shouldn’t have been the big deal it had become. But for some strange, totally over-the-top reason, he was worried that she’d say no. And to be honest, he couldn’t blame her.
