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He gave me a pointed look as I sat down. “Don’t even try it. No one can win against Charles. Not me. Not Mason. Not the girls. Not at a game of basketball, not at a game of Mario Kart, not in the boardroom, and I doubt on a plate of steak. So, yeah … it’s a lost cause. Just enjoy your food.”
As soon as Charles sat down, my eyes flickered up to meet his, defeat and a bit of gratitude rushing through me. “Thank you.” I tipped my chin toward his plate. “Aren’t you going to send that back to the kitchen?”
“It’s fine.” He cut up Mary’s chicken strips next to him. “I don’t want to make the girls wait any longer. Plus, we always eat together.”
The look on his face told me I shouldn’t try to push it. I wasn’t used to people taking care of me in this way. I was used to fending for myself. “Thank you,” I repeated.
“You’re welcome.” He nodded, a tiny tip of a smile to his mouth. “Now, Mary, can you please say grace?”
Mary smiled big and wide. “God is good. Thank you for food.”
The table laughed.
“All right, let’s dig in,” Brad said, already twirling his fork in his fettuccine.
I bit my lip for a second, watching everyone else eat before I tried the first bite of my steak. And it was absolutely divine. My mouth was in heaven as the meat melted against my tongue. I almost sighed out loud; it was so good. I could have hugged Charles for giving up his dinner for me.
“So, now that you have Becky working for you …” Patty’s voice trailed off as she cut up Sarah’s chicken beside her. “I’m requesting an early leave—this Sunday.”
Charles sat up straighter in his seat.
Brad’s eyebrows furrowed. “Come on, Patty …”
Mason visibly frowned. “Why so soon?”
Her eyes crinkled as she spoke, “My job here is complete. Mission accomplished, as Sarah would say.” She patted my hand on the table. “And now, Becky is here. I’m at ease, leaving. You guys have everything you need now.”
My heartbeat picked up in speed, and I blew out a breath. All my belongings could be packed up within two suitcases. Given my circumstances, I didn’t keep anything with me that wouldn’t allow me to leave quickly if I had to.
I’d been with Patty for so long that I couldn’t help the nervous butterflies that took flight in the pit of my stomach, moving on to my new family without her. Though I was excited to start anew, caring for the children, I couldn’t help the feeling of apprehension from pushing through. I knew nothing about Chicago, the big city, or how to care for children. I’d thought there would be a transition period, a time where I would slide into the job with Patty beside me.
I guessed that was not happening.
The gnawing nervousness had my stomach flipping and flopping, and my steak didn’t taste as good as it originally had.
Chapter 8
Becky
The next few days flew by, and before we knew it, the dreaded Sunday arrived. Mary and Sarah cried all day, understandably so, as Patty was the woman who had loved them and assisted in raising them for the last four years.
The girls were by Patty, hugging her fiercely on the couch, their delicate arms wrapped around her small frame. I took it upon myself to make sure that all her bags and boxes were labeled properly.
Patty had been with the Brisken family for years, so it only made sense that she had accumulated so many personal mementos from their time together.
On my hands and knees, I labeled the fourth and last box. Charles had paid extra to ensure that all of Patty’s belongings would go all at once.
When I had initially helped Patty pack, I’d realized how intertwined she was in their family. Homemade presents from the girls. Paintings they’d made together. She was in almost every family photo and had gone on a handful of family vacations with them—the Bahamas, Disney, Universal.
I couldn’t help but gawk at some of these photos, three well-built, shirtless men on the beach with these two young girls. Talk about chick magnets. There was no denying the bystanders in the picture openly ogling in the background. But it was Charles that stuck out to me.
From me gripping his forearm, to our steak incident, to my first night here when he’d brought my belongings up to my room, and right after when I’d watched him tuck in the girls, I couldn’t stop thinking about him, even when he wasn’t in the room.
I told myself I needed to get a grip, but tell me what woman wouldn’t be attracted to a man who had the strength and build of Zeus and the gentlest of hearts?
I could be attracted to him—that wasn’t a sin—but I’d vowed after my last relationship to never share my feelings and life with another man ever again.
Last night, I’d gotten the girls ready with Patty, trying to memorize the routine, and I’d walked in on Charles reading Mary a bedtime story. My heart had melted as Charles lay on her tiny bed beside her, his voice soft and sweet, opposite of his normal commanding tone.
