Part-Time Wife

“I’ll get a service in,” he said.

“I’ll arrange it first thing Monday morning,” she said, nudging a soccer ball out of her way so she could step farther into the room. “You don’t want a nanny, Craig, you want a part-time slave. Anybody around here know what a vacuum looks like?”

“I do!” Danny said brightly. “But I’ve never used it.”

“That seems to be a family trait.”

Craig set the suitcase down. “I’m sorry, Jill. I should have noticed what had happened to this place. We haven’t talked about salary yet and I—”

She held up her hand to stop him. “No. I can’t be bribed. I agreed to do this for Kim and I will. For exactly what you were going to pay her. Just tell me one thing. Is it worse upstairs?”

“Sure is,” C.J. said proudly and grinned. “Wanna see?”

“Not just yet.”

Just then something moved on the sofa. Craig saw Ben stretching toward the remote control to change the channel. As always, the sight of his oldest brought on a wave of regret and frustration. He knew he was doing something wrong, but he didn’t know what. He tried to encourage the boy to be more active. He practiced sports with him when he could. They’d talked about Ben needing to eat less. Nothing had helped. He could see his oldest was in a lot of pain, but he didn’t know how to help.

“Ben, this is Jill Bradford.”

Ben didn’t bother turning his attention from the television. “I thought her name was Kim.”

“I told you yesterday. Kim eloped. Jill is taking her place. Say hello.”

“You’re leaving us with someone you don’t even know? A woman you’ve just met? Thanks, Dad.”

The censure in the twelve-year-old’s tone made Craig’s hands tighten into fists, but he didn’t move. He knew Ben was trying to get to him, but he wasn’t going to let it happen. “Ms. Bradford isn’t just some woman I found. I’ve interviewed her and checked on her. She’s very—”

The sight of someone on the sofa had startled Jill enough that she was able to focus on something other than the disaster that had once been a very attractive family room. Craig’s comment captured her attention. “You checked me out? Behind my back?”

“Yes.” He frowned. “I don’t know you. I can’t trust my children with just anyone.”

“I know but it’s so yucky. Sneaking around behind my back.”

“I did not sneak.”

His brown eyes darkened with a combination of concern and temper. She understood both. She shouldn’t have questioned him, at least not in front of the boys. C.J. and Danny were staring at her, while Ben hadn’t taken his attention from the television. The house looked as if it had been overrun by a fraternity, and she was about to be put in charge of three children. She who had sworn she would never get involved with someone else’s kids again. She was in over her head and sinking fast. Yet she couldn’t walk away. From the look of things, she was needed. Aaron, her ex-husband, had needed a wife and surrogate mother. Any woman would have done. These boys needed a nanny and there was no one else around. She’d always been a sucker for being needed. Only this time she was going to be smart. She was going to keep from getting personally involved. She wasn’t the boys’ part-time mother, and she wasn’t Craig’s part-time wife. She was only the hired help. Assuming she survived the first week, when spring break arrived she would be out of here. It was just a job.

Craig glanced at his watch again. He was obviously late. In his well-fitting black uniform, he looked competent and dangerous. An interesting combination. Her body continued to react to this close encounter with a good-looking man. She ignored the sweaty palms and slightly elevated pulse. He would be gone soon. From the looks of the house, he was gone a lot.

“I’ll be fine,” she said, stepping farther into the room. “You go to work. The boys and I will handle the introductions.”

“Are you sure? I hate to leave you but I was due at the station a half hour ago.”

“We have lots to do,” she said, and smiled brightly. C.J. grinned in return. Danny gave her a shy half smile. Ben ignored everything but the television.

“Okay, boys, be good for Jill. If there’s a problem, the station’s number is by the phone in the kitchen. See ya.” He gave a quick wave and disappeared out the door to the garage.

It was one of those moments when the television went perfectly silent. The sound of the closing door was unnaturally loud in the suddenly still room. Two pairs of eyes focused on her. Jill found herself fighting the urge to run out and tell Craig she’d changed her mind. Instead she glanced around the room, sure it couldn’t be as bad as her first impression.

Nope. It was worse. It would take two days to get it picked up enough for the cleaning service to find the dirt. Dear Lord, what had she gotten into?

She thought briefly of Kim’s now-empty house and where she was going to go when her roommate returned from her honeymoon. The last couple of nights alone had given her too much time to brood. She was beginning to see that she was coasting through life without any direction. It was time to get moving again. Maybe this challenge was just the jump start she needed.

“Okay, boys,” she said. “Let’s have a meeting and get to know each other. I want to hear how you do things, and I want to tell you what I expect in return.”

Danny and C.J. were standing in front of the entrance to the kitchen. It was up two steps from the family room. The boys moved toward her. Jill stared at the kitchen and thought she might faint.

There wasn’t a square inch of free counter space. Dishes, open boxes of cereal, empty containers of milk, cookies and bags of chips were everywhere. Cupboards were open; most of the shelves were bare. She thought of C.J.’s claim that upstairs was worse. She didn’t want to know.

“Where are we going to have our meeting?” Danny asked.

She looked down at him. His light brown eyes were bright with questions and welcome. His shy smile was hard to resist. She glanced around to find a relatively clean spot. Through the kitchen she saw a formal dining room. The table didn’t look too overrun with schoolbooks and sports equipment.

“In there,” she said, pointing. “Come on, Ben.”

The boy ignored her.

She walked over to stand in front of the TV. She was blocking the screen, but he continued to stare as if he could see the program.

“Don’t you want to talk?” she asked.

“No. You’re not going to stay, so why should I bother?”

“Because it’s polite. The world is a nicer place when everyone tries to get along.”

“You read that on a bumper sticker?” he asked rudely, still not looking at her.

“Oh, a smartmouth,” she said. “Very nice. Very impressive. You think if you intimidate me, you get your way?”

He shrugged.

Ben had his father’s dark hair. She suspected he had his eyes, too, but he wouldn’t look at her so she couldn’t tell. He was a good-looking kid, although about twenty pounds overweight.

From the corner of her eye, she saw C.J. and Danny watching. She hated being tested her first five minutes on the job and she hated it more that the other two brothers were here to witness the event. If she didn’t get Ben’s attention, the next five weeks were going to be miserable. She and Craig had given each other an out by agreeing to a one-week trial. If she really hated it here, she wouldn’t mind leaving after that time, but she didn’t want to be run off by a twelve-year-old with an attitude problem. She had her pride.

More than that, Ben reminded her of a growling but lonely dog. The animal desperately wants petting, but it’s afraid to let anyone close enough. So instead, it scares the world away, then whimpers because it’s alone.

Of course, she could be reading the situation completely wrong. After all, she’d had stepdaughters for nearly five years and had assumed they cared about her. She’d been proven wrong.

She spun around, then turned off the television. “Please come into the dining room, Ben.”

She took a step away. Ben leaned forward and pressed a button on the remote control. The television popped back on. Defiance this soon wasn’t good. Jill drew in a deep breath, not sure what to do. She and Craig hadn’t discussed discipline. Of course, there hadn’t been time to discuss anything.

She thought about physically threatening Ben. There were two problems with that. First, it wasn’t really her style. Second, she had a feeling he was taller than her. If only she knew what Craig did in situations like this. Then she looked around at the messy house and the three boys with emotionally hungry eyes. Maybe there wasn’t a house rule. Maybe no one had the time or cared enough to lay down the law.

The problem with her trying to do it was that she didn’t have a power base.

She could feel C.J. and Danny still watching her, waiting to see what she would do. This showdown with Ben was going to set the tone for her five weeks…or her one week, if she blew it.