Thanksgiving morning, she helped Chance with the twins, barely speaking. With four days off, Jason’s parents would expect her to visit on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And she would.
She would.
But they would be long, quiet days.
When she let that thought form, guilt overwhelmed her. She was the one who had survived. He’d taken the brunt of their fall, probably deliberately to save her. And she considered spending a few hours a week boring?
How ungrateful could a person get?
When the kids were fed, bathed and dressed, she walked back to her room, as if by rote. She grabbed the bag she’d packed the night before, slid into her old denim jacket and headed for the door.
Chance popped out of the nursery as she walked by. “Hey.”
She turned. “Yeah?”
He reached in, grabbed the doorknob and closed the nursery door. “I wanted to talk to you before you go.”
Desperate need exploded in her. If he asked her to stay, would she? Even without a whit of personal conversation between them, she loved being with him and the babies. Her parents’ house was so quiet. Her life there just a constant reminder that she was alone.
“Do you need something?”
Retrieving an envelope from his shirt pocket, he said, “Because you were hired by my mom, you were on her staff payroll. We straightened that out this week, and I’ll be paying you from now on. But I—” He cleared his throat. “Well, I appreciate everything you’re doing for me and I thought I’d just give you the money I should have been paying all along.” He handed the envelope to her. “So, here.”
She glanced at the envelope then at him. “I’m getting paid double?”
“Only for the six weeks you’ve been here. Think of it like a bonus.”
A bonus worth thousands of dollars! Money she could put toward schooling. “I don’t know what to say.”
He smiled. “Say thanks and go and enjoy your holiday.”
“Thanks.” She headed for the door again, but stopped, faced him. Their relationship had become a little better after the bike ride, but the air between them was always strained. She felt bad for that. Felt bad for drawing him into her troubles. But she also wasn’t so foolish that she didn’t realize how much she needed to be here. “I’m really grateful for this job, you know?”
“I know.” He glanced at the floor then caught her gaze again. “And I’m really grateful that we worked everything out so you can stay. My kids love you and I can see you love my kids. A man couldn’t ask for a better person to help raise his twins.”
Tears filled her eyes and she nodded, as longing flooded her. Dressed in a suit and tie, ready to take his adorable children to his mom’s for Thanksgiving, he looked like a proud papa. A sexy proud papa. But he was also a good guy. Chance didn’t know it, but he was giving her the only opportunity to be a mom that she might ever get. He was the kind of man any woman would long for a chance to love. She couldn’t believe a woman had broken his heart enough that he mistrusted, but she yearned to be the woman who could show him real love.
She swallowed, and turned to the door again. Chance wasn’t her mission. Jason was.
CHAPTER TEN
NOVEMBER TURNED INTO December. The weather changed. A day of soft snow flurries prepared Western Pennsylvania for a real storm that dumped eight inches of fat white flakes to the ground. The old car Tory’s mom had lent her refused to start two Saturdays in a row and Chance tinkered under the hood until the car purred like a kitten.
So on the third Saturday, after she’d returned early from her visit with Jason, when Chance growled about having to shop for gifts for two babies, she put him out of his misery and volunteered to help him.
“Really?”
“Sure. Even if your mother can’t watch the kids, Cook adores them. She’d probably be happy to have them for a few hours.”
“A few hours! You think it will take us a few hours?”
She laughed. “Hey, these are your kids. Once you start shopping you’ll see a million things you’ll want to get them. We’ll need time to sift through your choices.”
His face still scrunched in confusion. “Sift through choices? You’re sure?”
“Yes. I’m sure.” With a laugh, she walked to the house phone and dialed the number for the kitchen. “Are you busy tonight?”