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If what she suspected was true, the systems hadn’t let her down. Two lying, scheming adults, putting their own agendas first, had done that. A slow burn started somewhere along her midspine and rose upward.
Nobody was allowed to mess with the sweet sanctity of a child for selfish desires. Not on her watch. And while Ginger O’Neill had seemed devoted to Addie, if she’d begun the process based on a lie, then she’d voided at least the moral part of the contract. And that was enough to thrust Josie forward.
* * *
“You’re here. Good.” Jacob rose from his desk in the work trailer as Josie came up the metal steps the next afternoon. He crossed the narrow space and opened the door. “I’ve just printed up the signature copies of the amended agreement. Carrington agreed on all points except one.”
“A deal breaker?” She lifted her right brow and gave him the same look his daughter offered on a regular basis. Part scoffing, part teasing.
“I hope not. They want a long-term contract. They want to know they’ve got you on board for at least five years. They’d prefer ten for longevity’s sake, but I talked them down to five. The two-year option your lawyer cited is off the table because if you walk after two years, we lose a whole lot of work and momentum. Are you all right with that?”
“Five it is.”
“Good.” He handed her the pen, relieved. He’d been surprised to see the twenty-four-month amendment, and not surprised when Carrington officials balked. No new enterprise wanted to risk a major schedule upset two years in. She bent to sign the contract. When she did, her long rust-brown hair tumbled over her shoulder, obscuring her face from his angle.
The warm smell of cinnamon wafted to him. And nutmeg? Maybe. With something else, a pungent, woodsy scent. She smelled of fall in the spring, and why did he find that singularly attractive?
She finished signing and flipped her hair back over her shoulder as she straightened.
The scent hit him again, hints of warm spices on a vibrant May afternoon. And for some reason, on her, it fit. “Is it all right if I send a crew over first thing in the morning to gather the equipment and supplies?”
“Tomorrow is fine. And if it makes things easier, I can have all of my stuff out of the restaurant and apartment by Friday.”
Easier? The delay caused by her argument over eminent domain had pushed the lakeshore part of the project into crisis mode. A lakeside hotel with no docking facilities wasn’t conducive to a successful grand opening. “You don’t need the full thirty days?”
“Not if your crew is doing the big stuff. I travel light.”
“We’d appreciate it, Josie.”
“All right.” She tucked her purse strap a little farther up her shoulder. “I’ll head out. Is Addie at school?”
“For the next four weeks. Followed by summer vacation and a two-week spot with no child care.”
“How does that happen?”
He made a face. “I didn’t realize that the school calendar up north differed from the South. I assumed, and it got me into trouble.”
“What will you do with Addie?”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. It’s the worst possible timing. I even checked with your cousin, the one who runs the other preschool everyone talks about.”
“Rory.”
“Yes, but she’s closed for those two weeks, too.”
“It’s kind of a thing here, for the schools to close down and reopen after the Independence Day weekend. I didn’t realize that was unique.”
“I suppose every area has their scheduling quirks.”
“Climate and agriculturally inspired. Or folks just need a little time to regroup. If you need help, let me know.”
Let her know?
“We’ve got several nice college kids who come back in May to work summer jobs,” she explained. “A lot of them might be spoken for already, but it’s a possibility. Or I could watch her. I’m going to be staying in my aunt’s apartment over her garage. It’s right in the village, just behind The Square. There would be kids in and out all the time, the whole Gallagher crew. And I’m not working until you have a kitchen in place over here, so it could work. Just a thought.”
