Sun-Kissed Baby

Carlee was satisfied that the facilities were as nice as she’d expected. She also liked Becky. She was neatly dressed in Bermuda shorts, a crisp white blouse and a blue smock appliquéd with dancing bunnies. She was friendly, cheerful and seemed very mature and capable.

As if she could tell Carlee was sizing her up, Becky volunteered, “I’m a licensed practical nurse, and I studied child development at Florida State for a few years before deciding to go into nursing. Only, I found once I had my license, I missed being around children. I was lucky enough to get this job, and I can assure you that you don’t have to worry about leaving Scotty with me.”

“No, no, of course not.” Carlee didn’t want her thinking she was overprotective. She was just worried that being left with a stranger was going to upset Scotty. Other than Fran Bremmer, she and Alicia were the only ones who had ever looked after him, and now he was clinging to her tightly and staring at Becky with fearful eyes.

“Come on,” Becky said. “I’ll show you around.”

Carlee decided that perhaps Scotty would calm down if she didn’t leave right away.

At Becky’s suggestion, she put him in a playpen with some toys, which instantly caught his attention.

“Is there anything I need to know?” Becky asked. “Is he allergic to anything?”

“Not that I know of.” Carlee showed her the bottles of formula in his diaper bag. “He’s really a good baby. You shouldn’t have any trouble, but if you do, I guess you’ll know where to find me.”

“Sure. I can call the office, and they’ll send for you, but don’t worry. He’s going to be just fine, and after you leave I’ll see if he wants to play with the other toddlers.”

Carlee told her he would probably be better off in the playpen. “He hasn’t started walking yet. I think it’s because he’s so chubby.” She felt a stab of sorrow to remember Alicia saying that the day she died. “He can’t even stand alone for more than a few seconds.”

“Well, don’t be concerned about it. One of these days you’ll come in from work and find him running all over the place.”

Carlee remembered Alicia saying she wanted to be there when Scotty took his first steps, and now Carlee knew how she felt.

“Come on. Let’s take the tour. It won’t take long.” She led the way through the kitchen with its gleaming countertops and the very latest in appliances. The two private nurseries were cozy and clean, as were the bathrooms.

Becky motioned Carlee to follow her out a side door where the other toddlers were playing. “As you can see, we have every imaginable kind of play equipment. Mr. Starke insists on the best.”

Thinking she might be able to find out more about Nick from Becky, Carlee asked, “How long have you been here?”

“Almost a year.”

“And you like everything about it? Including Mr. Starke?”

“Oh, yes. The pay is good, and the working conditions are great. And Mr. Starke is wonderful. Nice-looking, too, isn’t he?” Her eyes twinkled. “Too bad I’m married, but then, I’ve heard he doesn’t date much. Now and then he might take someone to a charity benefit dance in Orlando. The family has always been involved in things like that, but he’s a workaholic. With him, it’s all about the groves.”

“Strange. You’d think with his money and position in the community he’d be having parties all the time.”

“Well, I think when he was married his wife threw a lot of parties. At least that’s what I’ve heard.” Becky flashed a teasing grin. “Why do you ask? Aren’t you married?” Her gaze lowered to Carlee’s ring finger.

Carlee glanced about the yard, suddenly self-conscious. “No, I’m not, and I was only curious about Mr. Starke since I’ll be working for him. I’m certainly not interested in him. He’s not my type.”

“Oh. Well, you probably won’t see much of him. Mike Thurston is the foreman, and he’s real nice. I met him at the end-of-season picnic a couple of months ago.” She turned and headed back inside. “I’d better get back to the kids.”

“And I’d better get to work and leave you to yours.” Carlee went to the playpen and leaned down to kiss the top of Scotty’s head. Engrossed in his toy, he paid her no mind. “So much for him crying when I leave,” she said, laughing.

Becky picked up his arm as Carlee walked away. “Wave to Mommy, honey. Tell her bye-bye.”

Mommy. It still sounded strange whenever anyone called her that. But she would get used to it, just as she was becoming accustomed to having total care of Scotty. Sure, she had helped Alicia from the beginning, but that wasn’t the same as being the primary caregiver. It felt more natural though, with every passing day. And she liked it.

No, she loved it, loved Scotty, despite worrying about money and what the future held.

But she was starting to feel better about things. Before leaving home, she had called the school and was told she could pick up where she left off in the fall. Her old job would be waiting, and by the time she left Starke Groves, she hoped to have a good handle on her finances, especially if she was ultimately able to persuade Nick to help with child support. Regardless of how she felt about him personally, so far he didn’t seem to be mean-spirited. Perhaps he would listen to reason and be willing to help if she took Scotty and left without making a scene that would tarnish his family name.

She looked at her watch. It was almost six-thirty. Being late would not make a good first impression, but she would assure him it was not going to be a habit. Settling Scotty in on his first day was surely an acceptable reason.

No one was in the office. In fact, no one was anywhere around. The open tractor-trailers she had seen parked under nearby sheds the day before were gone. Elaine would not be in until probably nine o’clock, so she couldn’t ask where they were all working.

Standing in the middle of the road, she turned in every direction, but all she could see were the long rows of orange trees, stretching as far as the eye could see. She had no idea which way to go and was leery of taking off to search because she could get lost out there, the place was so darn big.

Hope surged when she heard the sound of a car approaching. She ran to the corner of the building to look around, then groaned to see it was Nick. He was the last person she wanted to encounter right then, even if it meant the day wasn’t lost, after all.

He eased the beach buggy to a stop beside her. “Good morning, sleepyhead. When I say we start at six, I mean six in the morning. Not the evening.”

The dimples were showing. He was smiling. So she knew he wasn’t angry. Just amused. But that didn’t make her feel any better. “I’m sorry. I’m afraid I took too much time looking around the day-care center.”

“I understand, but the trucks always leave promptly at six. Get in, and I’ll take you to where they’re working.”

As they drove, he explained that in the future she would probably know where picking was going on. “But if you miss the trucks it might be a heck of a long hike. I’ve got over two thousand acres of trees, and the Valencias are way in the back.”

She was impressed, having heard Starke was among the biggest but she’d had no idea just how big.

“Well, I don’t plan to be late again. Besides, I don’t like to think of losing pay wandering around looking for everybody.”

As they bumped along between the orange trees, he wanted to know how she liked the day-care center. “Or, more importantly, how did Scotty like it?”

“He seemed to settle right in.” Nick had a friendly way about him that made him easy to talk to, and she found herself chatting away despite her secret loathing for him. “The center is really nice, and I liked Becky, too. I don’t think I have to worry about leaving him with her.”

“No, you don’t. She was carefully screened, has terrific references, and I’ve never had a complaint about her.”

Carlee tried not to think about what a nice profile he had or the strength in his hands as he gripped the wheel to steer around a hole in the road. His every movement was effortless, and he exuded confidence.

Remembering it was her turn to speak, she murmured, “It’s commendable that you provide such good care for the children, Mr. Starke.”

“Oh, please.” He laughed and let go of the wheel to throw up a hand. “Call me Nick. I intend to call you Carlee—if that’s okay.”

“Sure. That’s fine with me.” The friendlier terms they were on, the easier it would be for her to get to know him.

“So you’ve picked oranges before?”

“That’s right. Down the coast a ways.” It was not a total lie. She had gone out into the orchard one day with Ben to handpick some really nice oranges for a gift basket a special customer had ordered.

“And you don’t mind climbing up and down ladders all day? I have to say I was surprised you wanted a job picking. Most women would rather work in processing and packing. I’ve got six women there for the Valencias. I could use another.”

“No,” she said firmly. “I’ll make more money out here.”

“It’s hard work,” he warned. “If you change your mind…”

“I won’t.” She took a deep breath to drink in the sweetness as they drove by trees in bloom. “I don’t think there’s a sweeter smell in the world than orange blossoms.”