A Deliberate Father

Mrs. Trembley shuffled out with Rodney following like a faithful dog. Lacey skipped after them, her raincoat draped over her head. Nell stopped at the door, a crease forming between her eyebrows as she frowned up at him.

“I’m sorry you got pulled into this dinner thing. If you want to bail, I’ll tell the crew you had a former engagement. I can scrounge together enough food for everyone. It’s not a problem.”

His tough little caretaker was trying to protect him from his tenants. Unbelievable. Or, he narrowed his eyes, she didn’t want him talking to them for some reason. She’d said it herself, Aunt Beulah hadn’t paid attention to anything unless it directly affected her. God knows what Nell had been up to the past two years; charging for repairs that hadn’t been done. Or for building materials never used, then refunded. There were a number of ways for her to skim extra money off the top. Miss Nellie had been running things her way for too long. She was about to discover what it was like to have someone else in charge.

“As I said, it’ll give me a chance to get to know everyone better. Unless, of course, it’s too much work for you. You didn’t plan on having so many people for supper.” He smiled, waiting to see if she would take the bait and wiggle out of the invitation.

“I can handle it if you can.” She gave him a quick two-finger salute and scooted out the door.

She’d passed with flying colors. He didn’t know whether to be reassured or not as he flipped up his collar against the rain and ran for his car. Dinner at Dunstan Lane. Not what he’d call a hot Saturday-night date, but it was a necessary one. He needed to find out if Miss Nellie was as sweet as she seemed or if she’d been lining her pockets with the monthly operating budget. If there even was a monthly budget. What if Beulah had left Nell a pot of money to use at her discretion? Could she have been that batty?

He climbed into his car and with an unfamiliar weariness, wiped the rain from his face. He also needed to know more about his tenants so he wouldn’t be blindsided by any unsavory details, like an illegal prostitution ring or…at this point, the imagination was the limit.

As a business consultant he was used to not only assessing tangible assets but personalities, as well. He’d have the tenants of Dunstan Lane categorized, lined up and flying straight before the week was over. Buying dinner was a good place to start.

SWEAT TRICKLED DOWN THE MIDDLE of Nell’s back as she whipped around her small kitchen. She’d planned to have a long, hot soak in the bath tonight while Jacob and Lacey watched the movie she’d rented for them, not prepare and serve a meal for six—or seven if Melody showed up. And especially not for Jordan Tanner. She grabbed a stack of plates out of the cupboard and placed them on the small table along with the cutlery and napkins. Water, tea or coffee would have to suffice. She could barely afford to buy juice for the kids let alone wine or beer for guests. She placed the coffeepot under the tap and turned on the water.

For the life of her, she couldn’t understand why she was so stressed about having everyone over for dinner. Mrs. T. had a habit of popping up close to supper time once or twice a week, and Rodney… Nell sighed. Taking on two small children should have been enough for anyone. Melody liked to tease her that she’d taken the role of caretaker to heart. She had to learn how to say no more often.

And now she had Tanner to deal with. Not that he needed her help, but he was a man who had a certain presence. A man who would take up way too much space in her already crowded life.

And wasn’t that a shame?

Three years ago, it might have been a different story. Yeah, right. Who was she kidding? She’d never circulated with the yuppie crowd. She’d always had her hands stuck in the soil or had been cramming in as many lectures as she could after work on landscape design or plant propagation.

Not that she didn’t still have aspirations. She lingered over the word for a minute; it had such a hopeful sound. But Jacob and Lacey’s welfare came first now, which meant her dreams would have to wait. Anyone with half a brain could see Tanner was going places, expensive places. Dunstan Lane was a means to an end for him. For Nell, Dunstan Lane was familiar and secure, a home for her and the kids.

“I think you’ve got enough water, Nell,” Jacob commented from his station by the kitchen doorway.

Startled, Nell pulled the coffeepot from under the stream of water. “Did you make your bed?”

“Yeah. I don’t know why I can’t have a lock on my door. Mrs. T. always snoops around.”

She dumped coffee grinds into the machine and turned it on, the muscles in her neck cranking tighter. “We’ve been over this, Jacob. I need to know I can get into your room in case you hurt yourself.”

“If we bought a lock with two keys, you could have one and go into my room when you want.”

The child drove her nuts with his logic. In the beginning, she’d tried reasoning with him when they disagreed. But she’d soon learned Jacob could outreason anyone, and much to her chagrin, she resorted more often than not to the dreaded because-I-said-so refrain.

“That’s a good point. I’ll think about it.” Another empty phrase that didn’t fool either of them. From the corner of her eye, she watched Jacob drum his fist against the doorjamb.

“Are you upset people are coming for dinner?”

“No.” Rap, rap.

“Do you like Mr. Tanner?”

He rounded one shoulder. “I guess. Do you?”

Nell blew out her breath and leaned against the counter. “I haven’t made up my mind yet.” Truth was there was way too much to like about him. Other than trying to bribe Jacob, he’d been unfailingly kind and courteous. When everyone else had heard the mention of food, they’d lined up at the trough. Tanner, on the other hand, had offered to help by paying for the meal. A meal she wouldn’t have to prepare other than dumping it into serving dishes. Imagine having someone like that to lean on once in a while.

She straightened her spine. No need to get carried away. Tanner was taking advantage of the opportunity to check them out. How long would it take for Mrs. T. to insult him or Rodney to let slip that he’d been staying in the bedsit rent-free? Now that he’d moved in, she’d have to be on guard all the time, and the only way to get rid of him was if the house sold. Lord, she wasn’t ready for any of this. “We probably won’t see too much of him,” she said to Jacob. “He’s a busy man.”

“Yeah.” Jacob started to leave the room but turned back. “Nell?”

Finally they were going to get down to what was bothering her little man. “What is it, sweetie?”

“Dad called. You said to tell you if he did.”

Nell stopped short of slamming the cupboard door shut. The closer Tony got to his parole hearing the more often he phoned. She tried to intercept his calls, but he was their father and her lawyer had cautioned her to treat him with kid gloves until the adoption went through. Especially now, because of the complaints he’d lodged with Child Welfare.

Nell had never understood what her sister had seen in him. Tony had the uncanny ability to know within minutes of meeting someone exactly how to hurt that person the most. But he was careful whom he chose to abuse.

Jacob and Lacey were often sullen and withdrawn after talking to him, and no wonder. The man was poison. The day her sister died, she promised herself she would do whatever was necessary to keep her niece and nephew in her custody. That promise was turning out to be a lot harder to keep than she’d anticipated.

Nell threaded her fingers together as she prepared to pick through the minefield that existed between Jacob and Tony. “How is he?”

Her question was met with a shrug. “He said he wants to see Lacey and me.”

Why? She bit back the word before it popped out. “What did you say?”

“That I’d ask you.” His eyes grew red.

“Oh, honey.” She moved to hug him, but he jerked out of reach. Having been on the receiving end of Tony’s vindictive tirades many times, she knew how deep his words could cut. It hurt that there was nothing she could say to ease Jacob’s pain.

A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. Later, after everyone was gone, she’d try to get Jacob to talk about his father. She grabbed him, gave him a quick hug and a whispered “I love you,” then let him escape into his room while she answered the door.

JORDAN DELIVERED THE CARTONS of food to the kitchen and retreated to the living room when Melody elbowed him out of the way. Guess the smell of food had reached all the way down to her apartment. Whatever her “client” had needed, it hadn’t taken long to satisfy. Jacob had disappeared somewhere, smart fellow, and Lacey was serving Mrs. Trembley watered-down tea in teacups the size of his thumb.

He sat on the opposite end of the couch from Rodney and accepted a thimbleful of tea from Lacey. He’d anticipated this dinner to be more like a meeting, but everything felt way too cozy for his comfort. How was he supposed to calculate assets and ulterior motives when a little girl was serving him tea, for Pete’s sake?

Although Nell’s apparent fatigue had prompted him to offer to buy takeout, he’d realized on the way to the restaurant, it would also earn him brownie points with Nell and get supper over more quickly. He needed to see the books, ask her what the profit margin was, what kind of budget she worked with, and what shape the old house was in.

He wrinkled his nose and studied Rodney. The old man smelled musty, the same moth-eaten stink that was in Jordan’s room. As Jordan started to smile, Rodney smiled in return, giving him a glimpse of the man he used to be. That was why Nell refused to show him the room yesterday; Rodney had been living there. It also explained why he was staying with Mrs. Trembley. With his new insight, Jordan’s mind raced over everything that had happened in the past two days. He’d assumed these were normal people, but he should have known better; normal wasn’t Aunt Beulah’s style. He’d better check the basement and any outbuildings in case Miss Nellie had a whole colony of misfits squirreled away.

Nell peeked into the room. There were dark circles under her eyes, but she kept her tone upbeat. “Dinner is ready. It’s self-serve.”

Jordan’s appetite suddenly disappeared. Nell shouldn’t let people take advantage of her, bringing up two children alone was more than enough responsibility. He could help with that. Not the kids, but the taking advantage part. He was good at maneuvering people around to his point of view. Mrs. Trembley and Rodney wouldn’t know what hit them. As for Melody…

What was he thinking? He was the worst culprit of all. If Alex found a buyer tomorrow, Nell and the kids would have to go or start paying a much higher rent. He’d been working his butt off, hoping for a break since he was fifteen, and inheriting this house was as close as he was going to get.

Okay, maybe his mom’s life would have been better if someone had held out a helping hand. But no one had, at least not in time to save her, and he’d survived. Hell, he’d thrived. Nell and her children would, too. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to find a way around the whole mess.

He stood, rolled his head back and forth to ease his aching neck muscles. There was a solution to every problem. He just had to find it.

NELL WEARILY LIFTED HER HEAD from the couch when the door to the apartment creaked open. Tanner had left in his sparkly, expensive car two hours ago. Hopefully, he hadn’t returned already with more questions. She didn’t think he bought the story about Rodney staying with Mrs. T.

Melody slipped into the living room and beamed at her, her hands behind her back. “Guess what I have.”

Nell pulled herself upright. “A magic wand to make Tanner go away?”

“They do sell wands at work. And there’s this guy who comes into the store who’s into magic. I wonder if I—”

“Is that a cold beer?”

“Voilà.” Melody brandished a beer in her direction. “One for both of us. I thought you’d appreciate it after that excruciating supper. I was sitting on pins and needles waiting for Mrs. T. to start one of her tirades. And Jordan is so intense. Amazingly good-looking, but wow, the waves of energy he gives off.” She sat on a padded stool and opened her beer.

Nell took a long, appreciative swallow of hers. “Intense. That’s one way to describe him.”

“And hot,” Melody added.

“I wish he’d go be hot somewhere else.”

Melody wiggled her eyebrows. “He got to you, did he?”

“I’m tired, not dead. I think he even got Mrs. T. worked up. Did you see how much lipstick she layered on? How about you? Tanner do anything for you?” She held her breath, as if Melody’s answer were important. Which was silly, if Melody wanted to dally with Tanner, it wasn’t any of her business.

“He’s not my type.”

“Not mine, either.” Nell took another drink and put the bottle on the coffee table in front of her.

“Things are going to change, Nell. We knew that when Beulah died.”

“I know. I just didn’t expect…Tanner. He’s so take-charge. So focused.”

Melody smiled. “Kind of like the pot calling the kettle black, isn’t it?”

“You think I’m bossy?”

Melody’s smile disappeared. “I’ve watched you fight hard to keep everything on an even keel the past two years. Which is understandable, considering what you and the kids have been through. But you can’t control the entire world. Sometimes you have to go with the flow.”

Nell pleated the bottom edge of her cotton blouse. “You think I should give up without a fight?”

“I think you should give Jordan a chance. Who knows, maybe something good could come out of this.”

“You’re trying to set me up with him.” Nell laughed at the absurd idea.

“All I’m saying is, why does change always have to be a bad thing? Why can’t you have fun with it?”

Nell smiled. Melody was a good-time girl who reminded Nell to laugh when life turned weird. She did silly things like buy them secondhand cocktail dresses and insist they dress up and go out for a drink, if only for an hour. Or slip her delicious romance novels that Nell read late at night instead of how-to books. She discussed Harry Potter for hours with Jacob and bought Lacey’s pink ballet outfit. Over the past two years, she’d slowly filled the hole left from the death of Nell’s sister. She liked that Melody made her look at things differently. Not that she was right about Tanner. Nothing was going to happen there.

“You’re one to talk,” Nell countered. “I have the kids. What’s your excuse for hanging around here instead of going out and having fun?”

“I’m still recovering from Peter What’s-his-name. Talk about a total lack of judgment. I’m not looking at another man until I know for certain he’s the one.”

Nell leaned her chin on her hand. “You think there’s The One for everyone?”

“There is for you.”

She let the comment pass. She didn’t want her fortune told tonight, or any other night. “I think Tanner plans to sell the house.”

“I was afraid of that. Has he said anything definite?”

“No, but he almost had a heart attack when I told him what I was paying for rent. I don’t know what I’m going to do if he raises it. Any other time, I’d suck it up and look for a cheaper apartment, but right now… Tony’s been phoning the kids again. I know he’s up to something. He’s not getting those kids. I don’t care if he is their father. He’s an abusive alcoholic, and Jacob and Lacey are not living with him. Ever.” She gulped back the fear in her throat.

Melody sat beside her and slipped her arm around Nell’s shoulders. “It’s going to be okay. There are far worse things than looking for new digs. And Tanner, sure he’s focused, but I think underneath that polished exterior lives a good man. Tell him about the adoption. A few weeks one way or the other, what difference does it make to him for selling the house? He’ll understand.” She smiled. “After the adoption, we’ll look for a new apartment together. No way am I staying here without you and the kids.”

Nell leaned against her friend for a second before pulling away. Melody was right. They’d survive moving, could maybe even afford a nicer place with Melody sharing the rent. But not until the children were legally hers. The social worker had emphasized over and over the need to provide a stable home atmosphere. Jacob and Lacey had been in this apartment for two years now, half of Lacey’s life. Moving was bound to stir up some of the anxieties they’d worked hard to leave behind. Jacob had already reverted to hiding in his tent, although he’d dismantled it before people came for dinner.

She picked up her bottle and drank the last of her beer. At the very least, she’d try to convince Tanner to delay the sale of the house. Maybe Melody was right. Maybe he’d understand.

CHAPTER THREE

A SCREECH JERKED JORDAN out of a deep sleep the next morning. He blinked at the alarm clock. Eight o’clock. It was the weekend, wasn’t it? Forty miles and a universe away, his condo would be quieter than a church.

Another screech ripped through his open window, followed by a full belly laugh. “You’re it.”

Jordan groaned as he burrowed into his pillow. That would be Jacob. The laugh, no doubt, was Nell’s.

“Am not. You didn’t touch me.” Lacey, his little kitty cat.

Jordan catapulted out of bed, pulled on a pair of jeans and stalked to the window. His kitty cat? Man, one day and the place was driving him nuts already.

A reluctant smile spread over his face as he watched Nell let Lacey tackle her to the ground. Jacob piled on top of them with a whoop. All he could see of Nell was one hand waving in the air, and her overalls-clad legs.

A memory of his mom playing tag with him in a park blindsided him. She’d take him to the park down the street early on Saturday mornings before whatever lout she’d hauled home the previous night woke up. He lived for those mornings with his mom. How could he have forgotten them? He snapped the blind closed. He hoped Nell changed her clothes after breakfast. He needed to talk to her this morning, and he didn’t want any distractions.

A giggle from outside followed him as he wandered over to the kitchen corner and dug his espresso machine out of a box. As soon as he talked to Nell, he was out of here. He didn’t know where he was going, just that he was. A solid twenty-four-hour stint at Dunstan Lane was more than enough; the walls were closing in on him. He already knew way more than he wanted to about his tenants, and yet he knew next to nothing about Nell. He’d hoped to talk to her last night, but after supper she’d explained she and the children had a winding-down-the-day routine that was important to adhere to. She didn’t have time for him. Well she’d better make time this morning or he’d have to let her know who was boss. He dumped water and coffee into the machine, turned it on and headed for the shower.

A lukewarm trickle of water dripped down on him. “Oh, come on.” He thumped on the side of the shower-head, regretting his action as the sound of cheap metal reverberated through his head. Hell. He peered at the taps. Yup, that was supposed to be hot water. He turned the tap off and tried the other one. An even smaller trickle of cold water eked out.

Starting the day without a shower was not acceptable. But it was his first morning, and obviously there were a few kinks that had to be worked out. He splashed cold water on his face and reached for a towel that wasn’t there. Okay, maybe he needed to unpack before heading out. He’d have a coffee, then corner Nell and find out what the problem was with the water. At least he’d had enough water for coffee.

But no milk. Jordan slammed the refrigerator door closed. He took a sip of black coffee and spit it out. He could throw back shots of Scotch, bourbon and tequila, but he could not drink his coffee without milk. Without thinking, he strode to the door and threw it open.

“Nell!” he bellowed.

The three of them froze midchase. Nell’s eyes were as round as saucers as she swiveled toward him. For God’s sake, the overalls were bad enough, did she have to wear another damned cropped shirt?

She rushed toward him. “Are you okay?”

And suddenly, just like that, he was.

NELL STOPPED A FEW FEET short of Jordan. Wowzers! Her lungs collapsed, devoid of oxygen. Of course she’d seen half-naked men before. But this…Jordan’s chest…. She bent over at the waist and tried to catch her breath. Hopefully, he’d think she was winded from playing with the kids, not overwhelmed by the sight of his magnificent torso. She slowly straightened and just as slowly, sucked in some air. His shoulders were wide, his chest broad with a sprinkling of dark hair that very nicely arrowed down over a flat tummy and disappeared into his low-riding jeans.

She peeled her tongue off the top of her mouth and managed to tear her gaze away from all that manly muscle and skin. She raised her eyebrows. “Problems?”

“You do know it’s the weekend, don’t you? Some people like to sleep in. It’s not even nine o’clock.”

Nell tried to hide her smile. It looked like someone had the grouchies. “Children don’t sleep in. Ever. But—” she held up her hand to halt his protest “—because this is your first day, we’ll be nice and move our games elsewhere. Okay?”

His scowl deepened. “I’m sorry for grumbling, but I got off to a bad start. There’s no water and I don’t have any milk for my coffee.”

She swallowed a curse. How many times had she asked Mrs. T. to wait to do her laundry until midafternoon when most of them were out of the house? Maybe she should send Tanner up there to chew her out.

“Jacob.” She twisted round and beckoned him over.

Jacob smiled shyly at their new landlord. “Hey, Mr. Tanner. Look, the sun’s out finally.”

Tanner looked around the side yard as if seeing it for the first time. “Yeah, nice day.” He turned to Nell. “Is this a double lot? Can you subdivide here?”

Unbelievable. The guy probably never switched off. “Jacob, would you run upstairs and get Mr. Tanner the milk? Lacey?” She curled her arm around the sweaty little girl when she ran to Nell’s side. “I have to go down to the basement to fix the pump. You can stay outside, but you have to play in the backyard. Okay?”

Lacey nodded, her eyes glued to Tanner’s chest. “Is he naked, Nell?”

Nell choked back a laugh as red stained Tanner’s cheeks. “No, sweetpea. Naked is when you’re not wearing anything. Like when you get out of the bath.” Or make love. She felt her own cheeks flush at the thought.

She ruffled Lacey’s hair. “Okay, backyard for you, little one, while I see what I can do about the water.”

“Hang on. Let me grab a shirt and some shoes. I wanted to look at the basement today, anyway.”

Nell fidgeted as she waited for Tanner to get dressed. She hoped he was more interested in looking around the basement than helping her, because it was a tight squeeze in the corner where the pump was. And a tight squeeze was exactly what she needed to avoid when it came to her landlord. She had a long list of reasons for keeping him at a distance, and right at the top were the children and not giving Tony any reason to interfere with the adoption. It would be just like the rat to send a couple of his friends to sniff around her life to see if they could find any weakness.

When Tony had first gone to jail he’d been so full of remorse for killing Mary, he’d signed over legal guardianship of the children to Nell. But with his first chance for parole coming up, he was looking for ways to get them back. Nell had no illusions as to why Tony wanted Jacob and Lacey. He thought he had a better chance for parole if he could say they were waiting for their daddy. Even though drinking with his buddies had always held more interest for him than spending time with his kids. To top it off, he was a mean drunk. Despite the warm morning air, Nell shivered. Rescuing Mary and the kids when Tony was on the rampage had increased in frequency the last year of her sister’s life.