LITMIR.BIZ

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or the diner at some point in time.

      “This is Pearl….”

      Olivia finally took a breath and Ben took advantage of the opportunity to break into their conversation.

      “Is your room all right, Miss Paxson?”

      Olivia let out a little shriek and Leah jumped. He was surprised her feet could leave the ground in those boots.

      “Daddy, you scared us,” Olivia scolded.

      “I’m sorry.” He said the words automatically, even as he noticed that Leah’s cheeks were tinted pink.

      “It’s fine, Mr. Cavanaugh. Thank you.”

      “Miss Paxson said that I can use the door between our rooms,” Olivia said. “But she has more emergencies than Nanny B had.”

      Ben tried to decipher those cryptic words and gave up. “I know you have a spelling test tomorrow, peanut, so why don’t you study your list while Miss Paxson and I talk about some things.”

      Olivia looked disappointed but she nodded. “You’ll be here tomorrow, won’t you, Miss Paxson?”

      Leah glanced at him, almost as if she were wondering if he’d changed his mind. Not that he hadn’t spent most of the afternoon considering it! “I’ll be here when you get home from school.”

      “Nanny B always picked me up,” Olivia explained.

      “Then I suppose I’ll pick you up, too.”

      “Which is one of the things Miss Paxson and I need to talk about,” Ben said meaningfully to his daughter.

      “It was nice to meet you, Olivia,” Leah whispered before following him downstairs.

      Ben caught a whiff of something stirring the air that smelled like vanilla. He realized it was Leah. He quickened his pace a little and decided to talk to her in his office again instead of the living room.

      “Olivia seems to like you.” He motioned for Leah to sit down in the chair opposite his desk.

      “She’s a very sweet little girl.”

      Ben didn’t like feeling off-center. And the truth was he’d been feeling off-centered since that morning, when he’d interviewed Leah for the job. “My work takes me away from home a lot, Miss Paxson, and even though Olivia is in school full-time during the day, I don’t want her to be a latchkey kid when she comes home, making her own supper and waiting for me to come home in the evening. When Mrs. Baker left, I adjusted my schedule the best I could, but I will need you to take Olivia to school and pick her up at the end of day. I work most evenings until seven, and Saturday mornings, too. You can have one evening off per week and every Sunday.”

      He gave her a brief outline of the things that Mrs. Baker had taken care of and mentioned some of his own expectations about her duties. Finally he paused, waiting to see if Leah had any questions.

      Nothing could have prepared him for the one she chose to ask.

      “Where do you and Olivia worship on Sunday mornings?”

      “Worship?”

      “Do you have a church family?” She tried again.

      “No.”

      A church family? What kind of question was that? But he knew exactly what kind of question it was. It was the kind of question that someone who was a Christian would ask.

      He saw something in her eyes that looked almost like regret. But why would Leah Paxson regret the fact that he didn’t go to church? Maybe for the same reason his parents did. The unwelcome thought pushed its way into his head. They’d always told him that when he lost Julia, he hadn’t lost God, but he knew that was only partially true. How could you lose a God you weren’t sure had been there to begin with?

      Leah drew in a quick, unsteady breath. She could tell by the look on Ben’s face that he didn’t like her question. His expression wasn’t the neutral one of someone who went about their day-to-day business and didn’t think about God, either. He looked like someone who’d unexpectedly heard the name of a friend who’d betrayed him.

      A red flag rose in her mind, but Leah knew she had a bad habit of turning red flags into banners. Yet she had an important question and she needed to know the answer.

      “I go to Chestnut Grove Community Church,” she said. “Do I have your permission to take Olivia if she wants to go with me?”

      His eyes said no. His mouth even opened and started to form the word.

      “If she wants to go with you.” Those were the words she heard him say instead. And Leah could tell he was just as surprised as she was. “You’ve probably seen my brother and his wife there,” he added tersely.

      “Uncle Eli,” Leah remembered, not able to place him by memory. There were two morning worship services so it wouldn’t be unusual that she didn’t know them. “And Aunt Rachel. Who uses a caterer.”

      She probably shouldn’t have said that, but Ben smiled. “According to my brother, Rachel loves a challenge and she’s decided that cooking is the newest hill to conquer. She insists on making Thanksgiving dinner this year.”

      “Olivia mentioned that. And your parents are visiting from Florida?”

      “They’ll be here the day before Thanksgiving. Do you have family in Chestnut Grove?”

      The only family she had was studying her spelling words, but she couldn’t tell him that. “No. My mom passed away three years ago.” No point in mentioning her dad. He’d abandoned them when Leah was five and she didn’t have a clue where he was.

      “I’m sorry.”

      The two words were simple and Leah had heard them many times before, but she could hear the sincerity in his voice. He’d lost someone he’d loved, too. For a moment, Leah felt a brief connection with him. “Thank you.”

      Ben stood up. “Do you have any questions about your responsibilities or the schedule, Miss Paxson?”

      The schedule. He’d gone over it at the beginning of their conversation, detail by minute detail. She didn’t have any questions about it but she already had a few changes in mind!

      “Miss Paxson…” Ben hesitated and Leah braced herself. She’d known him less than twenty-four hours and had already figured out that when he said her name and then searched for the right words, he wasn’t going to be talking about an increase in her salary. “Mrs. Baker lived here for seven years. She became a member of the family. Like a grandmother.”

      Uh-oh.

      “You may want to go out…or have friends over. Maybe even your boyfriend.” Ben shoved his hands into his pockets. “I realize you have a life, Miss Paxson, and I know that taking care of my daughter is a job…”

      The word boyfriend had temporarily frozen Leah in place, but when she realized what he was getting at, she knew she had to say something.

      “Mr. Cavanaugh, this may sound silly, but taking care of children is my life. I’m committed to Olivia and it’s not just because I’m under contract—”

      “Technically, you aren’t under contract yet,” Ben reminded her. “Until the trial period is over.”

      Leah knew he hadn’t meant to hurt her with his matter-of-fact words, but she couldn’t imagine being with Olivia for a month and then leaving. Somehow, she knew a second goodbye would shatter her heart more than the first one. Getting to know her daughter, only to lose her again, would be even more devastating.

      Ben plowed his fingers through his hair in a gesture that clearly communicated his discomfort. “While you’re living here, treat this house as your home. I want you to feel comfortable here. That’s all I meant. I wasn’t questioning your dedication.”

      It was easy for Leah to see that

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