LITMIR.BIZ

       Chapter Three

      If it wasn’t for the fact that he had known Celia for the last five years and trusted her implicitly, Steve might have had some doubts about leaving his daughter with this brand-new housekeeper. But Celia was obviously completely sold on the young woman’s capabilities, and he knew for a fact that she carefully vetted everyone who worked for her. So if this young woman was good enough for Celia, well then, she was definitely good enough for him.

      Besides, it was either that or send his daughter away to a boarding school. He’d already looked into the matter briefly, reviewing several schools and even selecting the top two that seemed to have a great deal going for them. They were exceptional facilities and each would do well in furthering his daughter’s education, but her attending them would mean he wouldn’t see Stevi for long periods of time.

      So far, the longest he had ever gone without interacting with his daughter was a day and a half, and that was only because she was asleep when he had gotten home that one time and still asleep when he left for work early the next morning.

      Stevi hadn’t been thrilled to be left in the care of a housekeeper, and he knew she wouldn’t be happy about it now. But that was still a lot better than having to send her away altogether.

      “So,” Steve said to his new employee, as he walked back into the room, “did Mrs. Parnell explain to you that this was a live-in position?”

      That surprised Becky, but she managed to recover quickly. “Actually, she didn’t. What she did tell me was that she thought this would be a good position for me, and that she wanted you to be the one to explain everything that you require.”

      Steve took a breath. “So I guess I’d better do so,” he muttered. He glanced at his watch. “You’ll forgive me if I talk fast, but I have to be at a meeting in less than an hour and traffic at this time of day is usually abysmal.”

      Becky nodded. “It is that,” she agreed. “Just give me the highlights and we can discuss the finer points when you come home tonight.”

      “The biggest highlight is that I need you to look after Stevi—”

      “Stephanie, Dad,” his daughter said impatiently. “My name’s Stephanie.”

      “Right.” Steve tried again. “I need you to look after Stephanie—”

      “No, you don’t,” Stevi corrected once again, clearly pained by the declaration.

      For the sake of maintaining the peace, Becky intervened. She smiled, nodding her head. “I understand, Mr. Holder.”

      A sense of relief washed over Steve. There was a lot being left unsaid, but he needed to go, and this woman he was hiring to run his household seemed to understand that. “Bless you,” he murmured to Becky.

      “Get to your meeting, Mr. Holder. We’ll have plenty of time to talk about the rest of this later.”

      That was the moment when he knew.

      She was perfect, he thought. Absolutely perfect.

      But the true test would be if she could last the day with Stevi and not want to run screaming for the hills by nightfall—if not sooner.

      Mentally, he crossed his fingers.

      “Thank you.” Steve fished a business card out of his pocket. “If you need to call me for any reason, any reason at all,” he emphasized, “these are the numbers where I can be reached.”

      Taking the card from him, Becky glanced at it, then raised her eyes to his. “You move around a lot, don’t you?” she asked, amused.

      It took him a minute to realize she was kidding. “Try the top number first,” he said. “It’s my cell phone. Okay,” he added, already walking toward the door. “Any questions?”

      “Just one,” Becky told him. Pausing, whether for effect or to gather her thoughts together, she said, “You are coming back tonight, right?”

      He seemed taken by surprise that she’d even ask something like that. “Of course.”

      She met his response with a broad smile. “Then I’m fine.”

      Before he had time to rethink at least part of this situation, Stevi spoke up. “But I’m not.”

      “We’ll talk about it tonight,” her father promised, and the next minute, he was gone.

      Stevi stood there, her back to Becky, staring at the door even after it had closed and her father had left the house.

      Left her stranded.

      Judging by the way her shoulders slumped, Becky thought, the girl clearly thought she had just been abandoned. She needed to find a way to reassure Stephanie that she was going to be all right. That they were going to be all right.

      “I’m going to need a lot of help, you know,” Becky began, still addressing Stevi’s back.

      “If you feel that way, you shouldn’t have taken the job,” she answered, in a dismissive voice that belonged to someone older than a girl who was almost turning eleven.

      But Becky was determined to make an ally out of her. “No, I meant help from you.”

      This time Stevi did turn to face her, but she didn’t look friendly.

      “Again,” the girl repeated, clearly hostile, “if you feel that way, you shouldn’t have taken the job.”

      Rather than argue the point, Becky said gently, “I’m not your enemy, Stephanie.”

      In response, Stevi just glared at her, the look on her face loudly proclaiming that she thought differently.

      “You know who I feel sorry for?” Becky continued. When Stevi made no response, she went on as if the girl actually had answered, asking who that person was. “Your dad.”

      Stevi’s eyes narrowed, all but shooting daggers at this stranger who had invaded her space. The woman had no business talking about her father, even if he had just deserted her, leaving her at the mercy of this intruder.

      “Why?” she practically growled.

      “Well, for one thing, because your dad feels totally out of his element, trying to raise an almost-teenage girl,” Becky answered.

      Loyalty had Stevi coming to her father’s defense, even though this woman had voiced something that she’d felt herself more than once, if not exactly in those words. “My dad’s not out of his element!”

      Becky looked at the young girl closely, as if she was actually able to see beneath the layers of anger and bravado. The whole thing made Stevi nervous, though she did her best to cover that up.

      “Truth?” Becky asked her kindly.

      Stevi shifted from foot to foot, searching for a comfortable stance. “Well,” she finally said, backtracking slightly, “maybe just a little.”

      And then she straightened her shoulders, as if she suddenly felt that she’d admitted far

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