Kids Is A 4-Letter Word Page 12

  Her stomach pivoted, and she tightened her grip on the phone. “What did he say?”

  “He said yes, on one condition.”

  Jo tried to ignore her pang of disappointment. “What?”

  “That we go on a double date—me and him, you and Alan. Won’t that be a blast?”

  7

  JO STOOD motionless and listened to a sound she’d never heard before in John Sterling’s house: complete silence.

  No whining, no crying, no tattling, no pushing, no hairpulling, no jumping, no running, no falling.

  And no laughing.

  Jo frowned and set her new lizard briefcase on the cluttered snack bar, her finely tuned day-care design presentation on a diskette locked safely inside. From another case, she retrieved her laptop computer, then scooted a hardened glob of orange modeling clay out of harm’s way, and created a small work area. While the machine booted up, she looked around the kitchen. One glance at the stove revealed that Claire had cooked breakfast again, except this time the secret weapon appeared to be scrambled eggs instead of oatmeal.

  She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed, feeling nervous and restless. She hoped a morning of “drawing numbers,” as Hattie often called the tedious preliminary work, would both relax and distract her from the afternoon’s presentation. But on top of worrying about filing for bankruptcy if she didn’t pull off this charade, she now had another tiny problem: she was dangerously close to falling in love with John Sterling.

  Jo leaned against the counter and smacked her palm repeatedly against her forehead, hoping if she cracked her head open, a bit of good sense might fall inside. She had every reason to avoid the man, so why couldn’t she?

  A hysterical laugh escaped her lips. Alan assumed she would marry him someday, the Pattersons thought she was married to John, and John thought she was “maternal”—the biggest joke of all.

  With a sigh, Jo withdrew her rolling measuring stick and began to record dimensions of every flat surface in the kitchen: walls, floor, countertops, windows. She then entered the figures into a program on the laptop and the structure of the room emerged on the screen, plane by plane. Stepping around toys, she moved through the house and repeated the process, saving each room in a separate file which would serve as input to the sophisticated design software at her office. Nearly two hours had passed when she nervously made her way toward John’s bedroom suite, the rooms she’d saved for last.

  The door creaked loudly when she swung it open. Slowly she stepped inside, allowing John’s essence to envelope her. He was in every corner of the room: stray clothing, loose papers, his earthy scent. Desire stabbed Jo, warming her midsection, shocking her with its intensity. The rumpled bed beckoned her, and she imagined John’s body stretched out on top of the covers, smiling at her, inviting her to join him. Her fantasy continued to unfold, then took a left turn as she visualized Claire, Jamie and Billy running past her and leaping onto their father’s bed. John wrestled and tickled them until they were all laughing, then they settled around him to watch TV. She imagined John suddenly remembering her, and patting a tiny spot beyond the children where she could sit.

  Her desire disintegrated. John Sterling was looking for a mother for his children, and who could blame him? Jo mentally shook herself. She had no business lusting after him. The children aside—a huge aside—she had a loving boyfriend.

  She willed herself to get back to work. The measurements were more tricky in the master bedroom because of the bay windows and trey ceiling. Jo extended the handle of the ruler as far as possible, then stood on a solitary straight-back chair to reach every nook and cranny. She nearly fell when the ring of the telephone on the nightstand broke the silence. Jo hesitated, then decided to answer in case John or Hattie was calling for her.

  “Sterling residence.”

  “Mrs. Sterling?” a worried female voice asked.

  Jo’s tongue felt thick. “Um, this is Jo Montgomery.”

  “Oh, good. This is Carolyn Hook at KidScape, and we have a little problem.”

  Alarm bolted through her. “Are the children okay?”

  “Uh, yes. But Jamie started a little fire—”

  Jo gripped the phone. “What?” she screamed.

  “No one was hurt.” The woman’s voice sounded soothing, with only a little panic around the edges. “Actually, there wasn’t a flame, only a little smoke, but the sprinklers went off and we need to close early to clean up.”

  Jo’s heart pounded. “Does Mr. Sterling know?”

  “I called his office first since it’s the number listed for emergencies, but when I reached his voice mail, I said I’d try his wife at home.”

  “What?” Jo screamed again.

  “That was all right, wasn’t it?” Ms. Hook sounded confused.

  Jo forced herself to remain calm. “Y-yes, that’s fine. I’ll be there to pick up the children immediately.”

  After banging down the phone, Jo squeezed her hands into tight fists. Relax, breathe. She retrieved the spare car seat and jogged to her car, then dialed John’s office from her mobile phone as she pulled out of the driveway. Susan answered on the second ring.

  “Wilson Brothers, this is John Sterling’s office.”

  “Susan, this is Jo Montgomery.”

  “Oh, hello. Mr. Sterling’s not in.”

  “When will he be back?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  Jo sighed in exasperation. “I need you to page him.”

  “Is this an emergency?”

  “Haven’t you checked his voice mail?”

  “No, he checks it You see, if I’m on the phone when someone calls—”

  “Never mind,” Jo cut in impatiently. “Just page him and tell him I’m picking up the kids from the day care, but I’ve got a very important appointment this afternoon, so he needs to come home as soon as possible.”

  “Haven’t we had this conversation before?” Susan asked dryly.

  “Thanks, Susan,” Jo said, then hung up. Her next call was to the Pattersons’ office, where she was immediately connected to Melissa.

  “Jo,” the woman said warmly. “How are you?”

  Jo frowned at the phone. She’d expected her reception to be a little frosty, considering the boy Mrs. Patterson thought was her stepson had nearly set fire to one of her day-care centers. “I’m fine, Mrs. Patterson. Have you talked to Carolyn Hook?”

  “Yes, she called me immediately.” The woman’s voice sounded almost singsongy. “My husband and I both apologize for the workers leaving your stepson alone for even a minute—I mean…” She laughed. “Well, you know what I mean. They’re so…rambunctious at that age. I’m sure you and your husband both understand that accidents can happen.”

  Realization dawned on Jo that Mrs. Patterson feared a lawsuit. Being a business owner herself, she understood the apprehension of liability. But she felt sure John wouldn’t hold the Pattersons responsible for Jamie’s behavior.

  “John and I are reasonable people,” Jo said slowly. “I’m on my way to pick up the children now. What happened exactly?”

  “According to Carolyn, Jamie was showing the other children how to start a campfire from scratch.”

  “Oh my.” Jo swallowed, suddenly grateful he wasn’t her child to deal with. “Mrs. Patterson, I may need to reschedule my demonstration this afternoon. I haven’t been able to reach John yet and I don’t want to leave the children alone.”

  “I understand,” Mrs. Patterson said soothingly. “But can we make it later this evening? Monroe is leaving the country tomorrow for several weeks and we wanted to make a decision soon. Yours is the only proposal we haven’t seen, so we’ll be able to make a decision rather quickly.”

  With a jolt, Jo wondered what effect today’s events would have on the Pattersons’ choice—would they favor her in an attempt to lessen the possibility of a lawsuit over today’s accident? Guilt barbed through her, but the ominous letter from the bank flashed before her eyes.

  “Late
r this evening would be better—can I call you?”

  “Of course,” the woman said sweetly, and Jo once again felt a flash of remorse. “I hope your children aren’t too upset by what happened today.”

  Jo hung up, her foot pressing harder on the gas pedal. She shook her head when she thought of Jamie trying to start a fire with a rapt audience of preschoolers. Her heart shivered when she thought of all the horrible things that could have happened.

  A moment later, she slid into the parking lot at KidScape, squealing tires, then jumped out of the car and hit the ground at a full run. Carolyn Hook, drenched and completely unraveled, opened the door and ushered her in. The Sterling children, apparently the last ones to be collected, were huddled together in a damp playroom. “Here’s your mommy,” Carolyn announced to them.

  Jo started to react to the woman’s remark, but tears sprang to her eyes when she saw Jamie’s clothes were dingy from smoke. A sooty streak zigzagged his cheek.

  “Jo!” he yelled, jumping to his feet. “I knew you’d come!”

  She knelt to pull him into a fierce hug, then held him at arm’s length, her arms shaking. “Jamie Sterling—” her voice was louder than she intended “—what on earth were you thinking, trying to start a fire?”

  “I’m Peter,” he mumbled, his eyes welling up with tears.

  “No,” she said sternly. “You are not Peter Pan. You’re Jamie Sterling and you did a very, very dangerous thing. You could have been hurt, or someone else could have been hurt—do you understand?”

  He bit his lower lip and nodded, the tears spilling down his cheeks as he dived into her arms. “Don’t tell Daddy, Jo,” he pleaded. “Don’t tell Daddy.”

  Jamie clung to her, and Jo’s heart nearly exploded at the feel of his little body against hers. The sound of more crying reached her ears and she looked over her shoulder to see Claire and Billy holding on to each other. She waved them to her and they ran to join her group hug. “Jo-mommy,” Billy whimpered over and over. With three wet, sticky bodies clinging to hers, Jo said a resigned goodbye to the cream-colored crepe pantsuit she wore. And she now fully understood why she’d never wanted to have children—because the responsibility and commitment were more than she could bear. What if these were her children? And what if something had happened to one of them? Worse, what if something happened to one of them while they were in her care?

  When she could no longer endure the feeling crowding her chest, Jo cleared her throat and pulled back from the children, looking at each one of them in turn, then smiling sadly at Jamie. “Your daddy has to know about this,” she said softly. “But we’ll tell him together, okay?”

  “Okay,” he said, sniffling.

  “Okay,” Jo said as she straightened. “Let’s go home.” The words slipped out, sending shock waves through her already sensitized nerves. Her legs felt quite shaky as she swung Billy into her arms.

  “Jo-mommy,” he declared.

  “Not Jo-mommy,” she said, glancing around for Carolyn Hook. “Just plain Jo.”

  “Just Plain Jo,” he whispered loudly in her ear, then added, “Poopy diaper.”

  Jamie claimed Jo’s free hand, then Claire chained on to his, and the four of them traipsed outside together.

  “JO MONTGOMERY to the rescue,” John whispered as he read Susan’s message on his text pager, already moving toward his car. At the last minute, he turned and yelled an explanation to the inspector he was abandoning at the site of the new strip mall, then sprang into his car and peeled away.

  He tapped the steering wheel impatiently as he dialed KidScape on his car phone.

  Carolyn Hook answered. “Oh, yes, Mr. Sterling, the children are fine. Your wife just left.”

  “My wife?” he asked, puzzled.

  “Yes, I was able to reach Jo at your home and she came right over to get the kids.”

  John started to correct the woman, then it occurred to him that even though the day-care director had incorrectly assumed Jo was his wife—a thought that pleased him immensely—she might be nervous if she knew she’d turned over the children to a nonrelative. He thanked her, then hung up and continued toward his house.

  Concern for his children assuaged, John’s thoughts turned to the woman who had so quickly become an important person to him and to his children. Jo had wanted him to kiss her the other night at her office—he would have bet his house on it. And she had responded to him enthusiastically before the humiliating coffee incident had given her time to reconsider. He frowned. If he could just get this boyfriend of hers out of the picture, he might stand a better chance of winning her over. Which, he acknowledged with only a slight jab of guilt, was the reason he’d accepted Pamela Kaminski’s dinner invitation on the conditional double date. He was looking forward to meeting the man of Jo’s dreams on Friday night.

  When he pulled into his driveway beside Jo’s familiar car, he decided he could get used to this routine—coming home to her and his children, to a peaceful, orderly, happy home.

  He stepped into the foyer, closing the door behind him quietly. Claire and Jamie stood in the den, staring at each other belligerently, arms crossed. “I’m not cleaning up your messy building blocks,” Claire declared, raising her chin.

  “Then I’m not picking up your books,” Jamie retorted, dropping the armload he’d collected.

  “Hey!” Claire shouted, giving him a shove. “Those are my books!”

  He shoved her back. “Then pick them up yourself!”

  John started to speak, when Jo appeared from the direction of the bathroom. Her light-colored pantsuit looked a little worse for wear. She carried a diapered Billy almost horizontally under one arm and held a whistle between her teeth which she blew heartily to get the attention of the older two. “Time-out,” she said. “Claire, you pick up the books, and Jamie, you pick up the building blocks. No more arguing and no more pushing, understand?”

  Claire’s lower lip protruded, but she nodded. Jamie gave Jo an adoring glance, then jumped to finish the task she’d given him. John laughed out loud, giving away his presence.

  “Daddy!” the children chorused, and ran to meet him.

  He hugged each of them in turn, then looked at Jamie with a grave face. “What’s this I hear about almost setting a fire, young man?”

  Jamie bit his bottom lip. “It worked just like it was s’posed to,” he said, a shadow of pride in his voice. “But Jo told me I could have hurt somebody. I’m sorry,” he finished bravely.

  Frowning sternly, John said, “Don’t ever try that again, and don’t ever play with matches, okay?”

  Jamie nodded solemnly, then leaned forward and whispered, “Daddy, Jo came and got us, just like a real mommy would!”

  John felt his heart stir, then raised his eyes to Jo standing in the background, out of earshot. A tiny smile curved her lips, and he stood to greet her. “Hi,” he said lamely as he walked toward her, he and his children moving forward as a unit.

  “Hi.”

  “Nice whistle.”

  She laughed and shrugged. “My dad’s a police officer, he makes me carry it for protection.”

  He looked into her eyes until she dropped her gaze and cleared her throat She was remembering their kiss, he knew it.

  “Kids,” he said, still watching her carefully, “why don’t you finish picking up your toys and let me talk to Jo alone for a few minutes, okay?”

  Jamie tugged on his pants leg. “Are you gonna kiss her, Daddy?”

  John sighed, exasperated. “I’ll yell for you if I do, okay, son?”

  The kids scampered away, giggling. He smiled at Jo apologetically. “I must thank you again—I know you have better things to do than to deal with the Sterling family crises.”

  She shrugged, then nodded slowly. “I did have to postpone an appointment with the Pattersons this afternoon, but since they were aware of the extenuating circumstances, they agreed to meet with me later.”

  “Do you think they’ll give you the account?” he asked. />
  “I’m not sure—there’s a lot of stiff competition.”

  “I hope your association with my notorious children doesn’t hurt your chances.”

  “I d-doubt that,” she said unconvincingly.

  He suddenly recalled his conversation with the day-care director. “Oh, and by the way—” he smiled sheepishly “—Carolyn Hook has the notion that you and I are married.”

  Jo’s eyes widened. “Did you correct her?”

  “No, I’m sorry, I should have, but I figured it was an honest mistake and that she might be alarmed at having signed out the children to a nonrelative.”

  “Th-that’s okay—no harm done.”

  “Were you able to get anything done around here this morning?”

  She nodded. “I’ll be ready for our meeting Wednesday.” She seemed nervous as she retrieved her briefcase and grabbed her purse, then reached for her laptop.

  “Let me,” John offered, covering her hand with his.

  She stared at their hands for a few seconds, then lifted her gaze. “Okay,” she relented, pulling her hand from beneath his.

  John followed her outside to her car. “I hear we have a date Friday night.”

  Jo’s shoulders straightened. “Yes,” she said with a smile. “My friend Pam seems quite taken with you.”

  “Seems like a nice woman,” he said smoothly.

  “Pam’s a lot of fun,” Jo said, offering a glimpse of her dimple.

  “I’m anxious to meet…uh, Adam, is it?”

  “Alan,” she corrected him, and blushed furiously. She lifted her chin slightly. “I think you’ll like each other.”

  “We should,” John agreed. “We have a lot in common.”

  Jo didn’t respond, only swung into her seat. “Bye.” She started to shut the door, but John caught the edge and held it open.

  “Good luck with the Pattersons,” he said. “I’ll see you Wednesday.”

  She nodded, then closed the door and backed out of the driveway.

  John stood watching her car until it disappeared.

  THE PATTERSONS had not yet arrived when Jo pulled into the parking lot of her office building. She stepped from the car and frowned at her wrinkled, stained pantsuit, then retrieved her laptop and briefcase. Her heart thumped with anticipation as she walked through the front door.