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I sipped from the cup and smiled. “Usually, sickness doesn’t pick a time.” I lifted a finger. “Actually, it picks the worst time to take you down.”
He nodded his head. “Yeah, which is why I take a ton of vitamins. There isn’t a cold I haven’t killed yet in a few days, tops.”
“Lucky.” I made my way to the fridge, self-conscious as he leaned against the counter, ankles crossed, just staring at me.
This time, I wore a gray sweatshirt over my white tee. I wasn’t making the same mistake that I’d done last night.
“Sarah is up,” I said, matter-of-fact.
“Yeah, she’s usually up before her alarm. She’s my organized child. Mary …” He shook his head and took another sip of his coffee. “Good luck waking that kid up. She’s a whiner until we’re almost out the door.”
I laughed. “I have to look at their schedules to see what time they get out of school.”
“Three thirty.”
I knew from what Patty had said, as it was a private school, they didn’t have bus service, and I’d be picking them up daily.
“I’ll be in the carpool line at three.” That was a great amount of time at home. I mean, besides the girls’ laundry and getting dinner ready, there wasn’t much to do. “I know that Patty said you didn’t like her tidying up, but I like doing stuff like that, and there is so much time in the day, so …” I smiled before I took another sip of coffee.
“No,” Charles said, his answer firm with a rich timbre of his voice. It wasn’t even a soft no. It was a hardno means no. “We have a cleaning lady. Your main priority is taking care of the kids, helping them with their homework, doing activities with them.” His fingers tapped against his mug. “You’re up early, and you most likely won’t sleep before ten. After dinner and homework and baths and getting ready for the next day, it’s a lot.”
I blinked at him, tightly holding my hot mug. “But I won’t even know what to do with myself.” Maybe it was embarrassing to admit, but I had no life beyond my job. And I preferred it that way because keeping myself busy with my job kept my mind wandering into the past, to memories I never wanted to revisit. Plus, my job kept me inside, avoiding the possibility of being found.
“Relax,” he said, his voice gentler this time. “When they’re home, you’ll be busy.” He lifted his eyebrows to bring his point home.
I placed my coffee cup against my lips, taking a sip. “Honestly, there is only so much TV I can watch.”
He studied me for a second, unnerving me. “Have you ever thought about finishing your nursing degree?” His voice was soft, cautious even. He placed his coffee cup on the counter.
Just the thought sparked me with excitement. Had Ithoughtof it? I’d dreamt about it. I knew I was going to eventually get my nursing degree because I wanted something of my own. I didn’t own a house or a car, but I wanted a degree. And when I did get it, no one could take that away from me.
“I want to,” I said vaguely.
At my response, his face lit up. “You should. You could take some classes at the local community college. You’ll have from after they leave till three to take classes. And I’m sure they offer online courses too.”
I gulped, touched by his kindness. He barely knew me, and he wanted good things for me. The sentiment was overly kind, and a rush of energy surged through me at the thought.
“Thank you.” I placed my hand on his forearm, grateful. With the raise that I’d received from watching Eleanor to now watching the girls and the fact that rent was free, I could afford the credits at a local community college.
His eyes flickered to where we were connected, and a moment later, he pressed a hand on top of mine. “You should really think about it. We can make it work around here.”
Our eyes locked for a few long seconds, and the natural, comfortable feeling I felt around him shifted into something else, something deeper, more intense. I had to turn away from him and place my own mug on the counter.
“Thank you,” I repeated. My heartbeat picked up in my chest, and my cheeks warmed.
To distract myself, I opened the fridge and got some eggs out, clearing my throat. “So, per Patty, Mary likes scrambled, and Sarah like her eggs sunny-side up. How do you like your eggs?”
“I don’t eat,” he deadpanned.
“At all?” I playfully widened my eyes. “How’d you gain all that muscle, then?”
The side of his mouth tipped upward. Goodness, was it cute. Why couldn’t I get a full-on smile? I was sure when his smile surfaced, it was wonderful, like the sun shining through the clouds after the rain.
“I mean”—he shrugged—“I don’t normally eat breakfast. If I do, it’s not a big one. I just grab another coffee when I’m near the office.”
I flicked my hair over my shoulder as I grabbed a bowl to scramble Mary’s eggs. “You should know that breakfast is the most important part of the day.”
I passed him the carton of eggs, and he placed it on the kitchen island. Then, I passed him the bacon. His fingers brushed mine as he took it and set it on the island.
