Montana Match

“Sounds like a good idea to me.” As Parker started to usher the girls toward the bedroom, he turned to Brittany. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. I had fun.” Brittany waved.

While Parker led Rose and Jasmine up the stairs, he couldn’t help thinking that he was looking forward to tomorrow, too.

With Rose and Jasmine tucked into bed for the night, Parker sneaked away to the pine-paneled room that was listed in the rental brochure as the owner’s retreat. A small stone fireplace and a wall of bookcases filled with books of every description made for a cozy refuge. A dim glow emanated from a single floor lamp in the corner. The room offered Parker what he needed—a sanctuary and solitude. He liked the quiet because he was out of the habit of interacting with people.

As he settled on the recliner, a knock sounded on the door. Tempted not to respond, he sat there a moment and willed the intruder to go away, but another knock followed.

“Uncle Parker, it’s Heather. May I come in?”

He couldn’t help smiling. Heather knew him too well. She wasn’t going to let him hide from his own guests. “Yeah.”

Heather peeked around the door. “Do you have a few minutes to talk?”

Parker motioned for her to come in. “Sure. What’s on your mind?”

“A couple of things.”

Parker pointed toward the lounge chair on the other side of the rectangular dark pine table. “Make yourself comfortable.”

“I heard you telling Dad at supper that Mark and Jenny left the ranch right after Christmas.”

Sighing, Parker nodded. “Mark had an opportunity to run a bigger ranching operation in Colorado.”

“Are you going to take over the ranch?”

“No, Derek is.”

“What are you going to do about someone to watch Rose and Jasmine during the day?”

“I’m looking, without much success.” Parker wanted to ask Heather about Brittany, but he hadn’t had time to think the whole thing through. “I thought you were here to talk to me about something that’s bothering you, not about my problems.”

“They’re sort of related.”

“How?”

“I’ve been offered a research job in a small town near Boston, but I’m not sure about moving to the East Coast—so far away from anyone I know.”

“I didn’t know you had applied for a new job.”

“I wasn’t looking, but the company needs a nurse to work with a doc who is doing clinical trials. It’s just what I want to do.” Heather eyed Parker. “They want a decision by this coming Wednesday.”

“You must want this position if you’re thinking about accepting it without even seeing the place.”

“When I was in middle school, we went to Boston on vacation.”

Shaking his head, Parker chuckled. “I hardly think that counts, especially since the job isn’t in Boston itself. But it seems to me that you want this, so I say go for it.”

“Then I need your help.”

“What does this have to do with me?”

Heather grimaced. “My decision affects Brittany, and that’s how this is connected to you.”

Brittany. After the things he’d been thinking about her tonight, uneasiness hit Parker’s gut. “What’s the connection?”

“I’m worried about her. She doesn’t have a permanent job, and I hate to leave her without a roommate. If I take the job, I plan to pay off my portion of the four months we have left on our lease. After that she’d have to pay all the rent by herself, and she can’t afford to do that. I’m not sure whether I should take the job, or how I’m going to tell Brittany if I do.”

“So what does this have to do with me?”

Heather looked down at the floor, not meeting his gaze. “I thought you could ask Brittany whether she’d like to have the nanny position.”

Disquiet crept into Parker’s mind, as he got up from the chair and walked to the window. He stared into the night. Light from the full moon shimmered across the snow. The moon was like a hole in the blackened sky and reminded him of the hole in his heart that nothing seemed to fill—even his little girls. How could he invite Brittany into his troubled life? But he’d already considered it. Heather was asking him to make a decision—one he wasn’t sure he was ready to make, despite the pressing need for a nanny.

Turning from the window, Parker stared at Heather. “She’s an accountant and a financial planner. Why would she consider being a nanny? That’s a big comedown.”

“The way I see it, you two need each other. You need a nanny, and she needs a regular job and a place to live. You can offer her both.”

“This afternoon she mentioned something about moving back to the Spokane area.” Parker shook his head. “Besides, do you think she’d want to live on an isolated ranch? And how could she come live on the ranch when she’s tied down with a lease?”

“I don’t think she’ll move back to Spokane unless she gets a job there.” Heather narrowed her gaze as she appeared to be thinking. “As for the lease, you could pay her portion as part of your job offer.”

Parker let out a harsh breath. “I could do that, but what would she think?”

“You won’t know unless you ask.” Heather shrugged. “Anyway, did you notice how Rose and Jasmine immediately took to Brittany?”

Parker didn’t want to admit that he’d noticed, and he didn’t want this to turn into another disastrous attempt to assist a young woman. Brittany would have to know about his past because he couldn’t offer her the job in good conscience unless he told her about it. He wasn’t sure he was prepared to do that. If he mentioned his reservations to Heather, she’d tell him to get over it, as she did every time she saw him. But somehow he couldn’t let it go. The unfairness constantly ate at him.

“I hope your silence means you’re considering my suggestion.” Heather’s statement interrupted his thoughts.

Hoping to avoid Heather’s scrutiny, Parker looked out the window again. “Have you mentioned the position to her?”

“No. I thought I should talk to you first.”

“Good.” Conflicting thoughts raced through his mind. He wanted to help Heather, and he needed a nanny. So the decision should be easy, but the attraction he had to Brittany complicated the whole thing. “How will she react to my past?”

“I’ve mentioned it.”

Parker’s heart sank. He feared hearing about Brittany’s reaction. “What did you tell her?”

Heather walked over and stood next to him. “She asked about Rose and Jasmine, so I told her about the rumors, about your losing your job and about Sydney’s death.”

“What did she say?”

Heather raised her eyebrows. “She said you were a very compassionate person and immediately believed you were innocent of any wrongdoing.”

“That’s good.” Parker wasn’t sure why he was so relieved.