“Of course you did,” Addie replied sarcastically.
That comment hurt, but what could she do? Addie had stopped asking other kids’ parents
to give her rides home in seventh grade when she’d overheard a couple of the girls
talking about how frustrated their parents were that Addie was even there, since that
meant someone would have to drive her home. Kayla completely understood. Addie was
her responsibility, not the responsibility of her teammates’ parents. Playing two
roles for Addie—financial provider and attentive parent all rolled into one—sure didn’t
leave a lot of time for picking Addie up from practices and games.
“I’m sorry, honey—” she began.
“I shouldn’t have even tried out,” Addie said, obviously close to tears.
This was Addie’s last few years before college. Kayla wanted them to be good ones,
full of happy memories—unlike her own high school years. This grandpa-type maid was
sounding better by the minute.
“Look, remember I told you about hiring someone to help keep up the house since you
and I are so busy right now?” Kayla asked.
“Yeah,” Addie replied, clearly still frustrated and disappointed.
“The cleaning agency called today and they have someone available who could also pick
you up from practices and stuff, but it’s a man,” she said. “I looked over the background
information the company emailed me. He was in the army for many years and has won
several medals. I’m not sure how much help an old veteran will really be around the
house, but he should be able to get you where you need to go. Maybe we could try it
for a couple of weeks and see how it goes. What do you think?”
“Oh, Mom, could he pick me up today so I can go?” Addie begged. “Please?”
“What if he’s some sort of creeper?” Kayla asked, surprised at Addie’s unconcerned
response. Addie was normally more cautious.
“If I get bad vibes I won’t even get in the car with him. I’ll call you to come and
get me instead. Please…I listen to my gut, Mom, and if it doesn’t feel right I won’t
go anywhere near the guy.”
“Okay. I will call the references that Man Maid sent me. If they check out, I will
call the company back and see if he might be able to start today, then I’ll call you
back and let you know,” she finally agreed. “If he can’t, then I promise next time
we’ll work something out so that you can go.”
“Thanks, Mom!” Addie said excitedly.
“Don’t thank me yet, I may not get ahold of his references or he may not be able to
start right now,” Kayla replied.
Hanging up with Addie, Kayla opened the email with the man’s references. After the
third phone call she’d begun to imagine a sweet old man with graying hair and a nice
smile. One older woman—probably a friend of his, but still—had gone on at length about
how he had completely revamped her landscaping and then refused to let her pay him
for it. Another older lady talked about his “ornery” smile and what a good person
he was and how much her sons adored him. When Kayla finished checking his references,
she called Man Maid.
“Mr. Hawkins? This is Kayla Clark calling you back. Is there any chance your employee
could start
today?
”
“I can call him and ask…but he doesn’t have a key to your home and you haven’t told
me what type of work you’d like to have done,” he said after a brief pause.
“My daughter has a cheerleading thing after school. If he could pick her up from her
friend’s house and drive her back to our home that’s all I would need for today.”
“I’ll ask him. Would it be okay to give him your number so you can work out the details?”
he asked.
“Sure, that would be fine. Thanks. I hope I didn’t give you the wrong impression with
my hesitation earlier. It’s just that my daughter is young and impressionable, and
I want her to be safe. I can’t help but think that if someone heard I was letting
a strange
man
I haven’t even met in person drive my teenage daughter around they might seriously
question my judgment,” she said.
“Did you get the background information on him that I emailed to you?” he asked.
“Yes, I got it. His service record is stellar, and so were his references—” she started.
“Look, I get it. Really, I do,” he said. “How about I have him call you and put your
mind at ease.”
She hung up, thinking that maybe talking to the man would help her not to worry. She
checked a few more emails, and had just started looking over the notes from the morning’s
meeting when her cell phone rang again.
“Hello,” she said.
“Mrs. Clark, this is Ronnie Brown. I was told to call you about a cleaning job?” His
deep voice resonated over the line.
“Yes. I talked to your boss and I was wondering if it would be possible for you to
start
today?
My daughter needs to be picked up from her friend’s house around five o’clock this
evening, and I don’t usually get home until seven o’clock. If you could pick her up
and then just drop her off at our house that would be all I should need today. I could
put together a list of some things I need to have done at the house and you could
work on that anytime this week when you are available,” she said.
“Does your daughter have a key to get into your home?” he asked.
Oh, no! She felt her heart skip a beat—she hadn’t locked the front door this morning!
Even now some robber could be making off with her sofa and accent tables along with
all the other items in her home. Or worse, someone could be waiting there for them
to get home.
“Are you still there?” He asked.
“Oh, God!” she managed to choke out.
“Are you okay, Mrs. Clark?” the deep voice asked again.
“It’s just Kayla…call me Kayla.… I didn’t lock my house this morning! I… We…were running
late and I just left my house unlocked! Oh, my God!” she breathed into the phone.
“What if someone is there right now? Addie would have been the first person home!
I have to go, Ronnie. I’m sorry.”
“No. Wait! Just stay at work. Give me your address and I will run over there and check
things out. I will call you when I get there, after I look for signs of intruders.
Then after I make sure no burglars are lurking in the shadows, if you have an extra
key, I will lock the place up. I also need the address for this friend of your daughter’s
and at least a vague description of her so I pick up the right kid,” he said.
“Her name is Addison—Addie. She’s the shortest one of the girls…you can’t miss her.
She has brown hair and freckles. I don’t really know you, though,” she added hesitantly.
“You leave your house unlocked for the entire neighborhood to go on in and make themselves
at home but you’re worried about me? At least you’ve checked me out and we have spoken
on the phone. I can’t say the same for the potential robber that might be there right
now. Can you?”
“No, but my daughter…”
“I resent the implication. Being male doesn’t automatically make me a sicko. I am
a soldier,
former
soldier, and I take my honor very seriously. I would never hurt a kid in
any
way. I personally think we should use people who hurt kids as target practice in
our military training. So don’t even go there,” he said angrily.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. If you had kids, you would understand,” she
said.
“I may not have kids of my own but I do have younger and older siblings, all
girls
…so I do get it,” he said, his voice a little less angry and offended and with what
sounded like a slight southern drawl.
Her choices were limited. If she left to go home and lock up, she’d just have to come
back here after and get to bed even later than normal. Ronnie would be working in
her home unattended starting this week or the next and he would still essentially
be a stranger. Trust had to be earned, but a person still needed to be given the chance
to
start
earning it. If he was really going to clean for her, he’d have to start at some point…both
with housework
and
picking up Addie.
“Fine,” she said as she sighed.
After giving him her address and then Kaitlyn’s address, she disconnected the call.
No sooner had she laid her cell phone on her desk than it rang again.
“Yes, honey, Ronnie will pick you up from Kaitlyn’s house and take you home,” she
told Addie upon answering the phone. “You remember how to use the mace, right?”
A quiet squeal was followed by, “Thanks, Mom! Yes, I know about the mace…geesh. So
what does he look like? I’ll keep an eye out for him so he doesn’t have to wait.”
Damn!
She had no idea what he looked like. She had provided a description of Addie for
him but hadn’t even thought to get a description of him for Addie. Based on her earlier
investigative efforts she could probably come pretty close, though. With his lengthy
service record, the fact that two older women liked him and he seemed like he would
be good with kids…
“I imagine he’s an older man, maybe around Grandma’s age, with a buzz haircut. Now
you call me the minute you get home and after he’s left so I know you’re okay.”
“I will. Thanks again, Mom,” Addie said with a smile in her voice.
After taking a moment to enjoy the sound of Addie’s happiness, she scooped up her
cell phone and headed to the break room to grab a vending machine sandwich. She was
too wound up from realizing she’d left her house unlocked to focus on work, even though
she had a lot to do for her new account. And she still needed to put out more resumes.
She was simply stretched too thin.
She missed not being able to share the details of her hectic day, overburdening job
and stressful
life
with her mother. Lately, it was a good day when her mother even recognized her, let
alone held a meaningful conversation with her.
It had been so long since she’d had a girl’s night out or even called either one of
her two close friends from college, but it would hardly be fair to call them up out
of the blue and unload on them. And Kayla certainly wouldn’t burden Addie with her
problems.
She knew she needed a break. Hiring Man Maid and sending out more resumes were going
to get her there. But first she had to handle this new account. She had just started
to really focus on the work in front of her when her cell phone rang again.
“I’m here and alone…no robbers. I found the key under the mat and I’ll lock up when
I leave,” Ronnie said. “That’s not a real safe place to leave your spare key by the
way so I moved it under the rock in your flowerbed.”
“Thank you! I will work on a list for you. I really appreciate you starting this job
on such short notice,” she said.
“You’re welcome, Kayla,” he replied and disconnected the call.
Perhaps she needed to consider one of those online dating sites, because the way Ronnie
said her name just then reminded her she was lonely in other ways, too. Maybe he was
attractive for an older man. Or perhaps having some
help
, even from a stranger, was what was appealing to her.
With Addie covered, Kayla buckled down and lost herself in work for the next few hours,
stopping only briefly when Addie called to say she was home and that Ronnie had left.
“I’m leaving for the evening, Kayla,” James said a little while later, poking his
head in her office. “Make sure you set the alarm when you leave. Great job this morning
with the clients. I’d like to give them something as soon as possible, to whet their
appetite, so to speak.”
“I just need to get the Kessler brochure finished up and I will be able to devote
my full attention to the design ideas I have for them,” she replied.
He waved his hand and backed out of her doorway. The next time she looked up it was
already after six, so she scrambled to email the brochure to the printing company,
grab her sketches from the morning meeting and head out to visit her mother. She didn’t
stay long tonight because her mother was sleeping. Waking her would only make it hard
on the nurses.
Pulling into the driveway a little after seven o’clock, she sighed as the garage bay
opened and she realized she still hadn’t called someone to pick up the old sofa from
the garage.
There just wasn’t enough of her to go around.
The sofa would have to wait. She was starving and Addie still needed to be fed.
Grabbing her purse and the sketches off the front seat, she headed inside and closed
the garage on her way through the door.
“I’m in the kitchen, Mom,” Addie yelled.
Kayla dropped off her things in her office and headed to the kitchen. Upon entering,
she stopped and stared.
The kitchen was clean—
really clean
. Dishes done, counters and stove cleaned off, as was the breakfast table, which held
two table settings and what smelled and looked like dinner.
“Oh, my goodness, Addie! Did you do all this?” she asked.
“No, Ronnie did. Isn’t it great?” Addie smiled.
A real smile.
A clean kitchen, dinner and a happy teenager…Kayla would have to thank Ronnie when
she finally met him.
Chapter Two
Boy did he have his work cut out for him. These people were
majorly
disorganized. They even had a
couch
in the
garage
.
After entering the unlocked house and confirming that no one was hiding within waiting
for the owners to return home, Ronnie had taken a look around to see if anything appeared
to be missing.
Actually, after seeing the other large houses in the neighborhood, he was curious
as hell how the other half lived.
There had been seven people in the house when he was growing up and they hadn’t had
near
the space the Clarks did. His parents had five children. He was smack-dab in the
middle and the only boy. His father had worked in a steel mill and made a good wage;
his mother had been the first military experience he’d ever had. She was organized
and kept the whole family in line with a finesse worthy of the toughest drill sergeant.
The little farm in Georgia where his parents still lived hadn’t been updated in twenty
years, but it was always organized.