Chapter 2 Trading Favors #3
“He needs to be there.” Owen nodded. “I was about to say so, but you beat me to it. Fair warning,” he made a comical face, “my boys will be there, too, but only because I have the week off from work. If you have anything to say to me that’s not for young ears to hear, I’m sure Halle can whisk them somewhere else after breakfast.”
“Nope.” Jensen’s voice was matter-of-fact. “Kenny and I don’t have any secrets. What you see is what you get with us.”
Owen could live with that.
They made a few more trips to the truck to carry in the footboard and the queen-sized mattress.
Halle stuck around to help them connect the side supports and lay the wooden slats across them.
As soon as Jensen laid his end of the mattress over them, he took off for the chicken yard, leaving her alone with Owen.
“I can’t thank you enough for everything you’re doing.” She stood, nervously shifting from one foot to the other. “You didn’t have to help me like this, but I’m grateful that you did. Offering me a job feels like a stay of execution.”
He faced her, wishing she’d quit acting so uptight around him.
“Believe me, I’m just as grateful that you agreed to stay.
I was half-afraid you’d turn down my offer.
” He wished he could snap his fingers and fix the mess they were in, but it was going to take more time.
Despite the trouble swirling around them, the rambling old farmhouse was already working its magic on him.
He’d only been there a few hours, and it was already starting to feel like home. It looked like it, too.
His sons had a few toys strewn across the cream-colored area rug he and Jensen had hauled into the living room.
It was a perfect fit. He couldn’t wait to shower and collapse into his favorite brown leather recliner that they’d positioned near the fireplace.
Come wintertime, it was going to be the coziest spot in the house.
Nothing was hanging on the walls yet, but Owen would get a few paintings and other stuff hung by the end of the week.
Halle studied him with an expression that was difficult to read. “When you get to know me better, you’ll realize just how slim the odds were that I would turn down the chance to come home.” Her face turned red, and she rushed to add, “Sorry! I guess I shouldn’t call it that anymore.”
He grimaced at her. “It’s complicated, isn’t it?”
“Very,” she sighed. “Thank you again, though. Really.”
“My pleasure.” He held up a finger. “I’ll be right back.” He left the room and returned with a basket of linens that Jen had been using in the guest room at his last house. “This is for the bed. They might be a bit wrinkled, but they’re clean.”
“Perfect. Thanks!” She eagerly reached for the box, and their fingers brushed during the handoff.
Their startled gazes clashed.
She recovered first. “I’ll get the bed made, then head to the kitchen to help y’all figure out dinner.”
Normally, he would’ve lingered to help make the bed—at least with Jen he would’ve; but it felt a little too personal to do the same for Halle. “You don’t have to make dinner.” He cleared his throat, feeling awkward. “Meal prep isn’t in your job description.”
Her eyes widened. “I have a job description?”
It was his turn to flush, since they hadn’t yet hammered out the details concerning pay, work hours, and such. He rattled off a weekly pay rate he hoped she’d find acceptable. It was what he normally paid Jen, minus a little for the detective services he’d be providing Halle with.
She caught her breath. “I thought we were trading favors.”
“We are, but I’m not that mercenary.” He shook his head. “You’re still going to need money for gasoline, car insurance, and a cell phone, among other things.”
“True, but—”
“You’re getting the nanny discount on my detective services.” He backed toward the door. “I worked it into the calculation.”
“It still sounds like too much.” She looked worried. “This is Heart Lake, Owen, not Dallas or Houston.”
“For round-the-clock care for two ornery boys?” He snorted. “From where I stand, it’s not nearly enough, but it’s what I can afford.”
“Sold!” Amazement was stamped across her features as she leaned over the bed to put on the sheet.
“Then it’s settled.” He left the room and headed to the kitchen, pleased she was so happy with her wages.
One more hurdle had been crossed. He couldn’t wait to tell Jen.
He sort of dreaded it, too. She was going to give him an earful about not getting a say in his hiring decision.
It wasn’t that he didn’t value Jen’s input.
It was just that things had happened so quickly today.
He had no regrets, though, about hiring Halle. None at all.
He hadn’t yet stocked the fridge, so he ordered pizza for dinner. To keep it within his budget, he kept the order simple—one large cheese pizza and one large pepperoni pizza with a gallon of sweet tea on the side.
While he waited for dinner to be delivered, he did some unpacking in the master bedroom.
His king-sized bed was put together, but it still needed to be made up.
After putting sheets and a comforter over the mattress, he decided it was time to check on his sister.
The longer he waited, the tougher their next conversation would be.
She picked up on the second ring. “How are my favorite nephews?” she demanded.
“Missing you.” The tremor in her voice filled him with concern. “We all are.”
“You can always distract them with ice cream.” Her chuckle held a sad note. “How’s the move going?”
“It’s going.” His voice was dry. “No issues with the drive here or the unloading part. As for everything else, it’s a long story. It might be best if you share an update on Belinda first.”
A snuffling sound met his ear that was suspiciously like a sob. “Not so great, I’m afraid.”
“The surgery?” he prodded.
“She made it through.” Jen drew a deep breath.
“But they didn’t get all of the tumor. They couldn’t.
Not without causing irreparable harm to her eyesight and goodness knows what else.
She’ll have to undergo another surgery, followed by some radiation treatments.
It’s going to be a long haul. That’s all I know right now. ”
He could hear the question she’d left unspoken about her extended absence from him and the boys, so he rushed to offer some assurance. “I’m glad you can be there for her and Logan. I know it means a lot to them.”
Jen, Belinda, and Logan weren’t casual friends.
They’d been a tight-knit trio since they were children.
During their high school years, both Jen and Belinda had fallen madly in love with Logan, but they hadn’t let it come between them while Belinda dated Logan and eventually married him.
It was a tough position for Jen to be in and probably had something to do with why she was still single. It was Owen’s best guess, at any rate.
“If you need me to, I can be there by the time you start work on Monday,” Jen offered in a piteous voice. “Just please understand I’ll need to remain on standby for Jen’s next procedure.”
That she was willing to do so much for him and the boys touched Owen deeply. “Nah, just stay where you are, sis. No need to run yourself ragged. As it turns out, I’ve found a temporary nanny.”
“What?” She half-laughed and half-gasped out the question. “You’ve been there all of one day without me. I never expected you to replace me so soon!”
“Nobody can replace you, and you know it,” he shot back. “That’s why I called it temporary.”
“Whatever,” she sputtered. “How did you find someone so quickly?”
He caught her up to speed with the complications surrounding the sale of Garrett Farm. “I don’t usually make snap decisions, but it felt right to offer Halle Garrett a job.” It still did.
When he finished telling his tale, his sister sighed, “Man, Owen! If anyone ever deserved to be behind bars, it sounds like the thug she was engaged to does. Now that you’re on the case, though, his remaining days as a free man are numbered.”
“Let’s hope so.” He appreciated her vote of confidence. The ring of the doorbell made his head swivel toward the door. “Sounds like our pizza just arrived. Gotta run!”
“Tell the boys I love ‘em and miss ‘em like crazy,” she begged.
“Consider it done.” He missed her, too. “Keep me posted about Belinda, will you?”
“I will.” She blew him a kiss and disconnected their call.
Owen paid the pizza delivery guy and carried the pizza and tea to the kitchen. His conversation with Jen had gone better than expected, which was a good thing. It was time to focus on being a dad again.
He said grace over the food and ate standing up at the bar. Across from him, Halle and his sons perched on the barstools. Naturally, the boys didn’t stay quiet for long. They were soon telling chicken jokes.
“What’s a chicken’s favorite vegetable?” Ryder could barely get the question out between giggle snorts.
Owen had no idea. “Corn on the cob?” As best as he could recall from various conversations with Jensen, chickens enjoyed eating corn, seeds, grass, and bugs.
“No,” his son chortled. “They like eggplant, Dad. Eggplant. Do you get it? ‘Cause it has the word egg in it.”
“Yeah, I get it, kiddo.” Owen reached over to ruffle his hair. Ryder tried to duck away, but he wasn’t fast enough.
“My turn,” Cooper announced grandly. “How do chickens make their cakes?”
Owen made a comical face that drew a round of laughter from his sons. “I wasn’t aware chickens baked cakes.”
“Yes, they do. From scratch, Dad! Because chickens like to scratch around. Kenny said so.” Cooper howled the loudest at his own joke.
Owen shook his head at the twins. “Where’d you hear these jokes?” They sounded rehearsed to him, as if they’d just finished memorizing them.
His sons snuck peeks at their new nanny. “It’s a secret,” Cooper informed him loftily.