Chapter 13
CHAPTER 13
CARLIE
I talk Chad Harrell into giving me time to shower and change before coming over to his house. Even though I suspect I have this job in the bag if I want it, I still choose my favorite work pants. I love dresses, but working with four-year-olds makes pants a better choice. These ones are flares and look fancy on the outside, but they’re stretchy and easy to move around in. Plus, they’re lightweight. It’s already hot in Texas, but that’s nothing new for me. My whole professional wardrobe is built for Arizona heat. I choose a sleeveless, lightweight top with floral design and lace details at the sleeves and neckline. And dressy sandals, of course.
Mr. Harrell and Law live in a gated community in the River Oaks part of Houston, but Mr. Harrell has already texted over his guest code for the gate. When I pull down his long driveway, I park on the empty pad of a four-car garage with two double doors. I text Jenna that I’m heading into the interview. Law has vouched for Mr. Harrell, of course, but I’m still going into the house of a man I’ve never met before. She reminds me to send her one of the grinning face emojis if I get into trouble. It’s our code word whenever I’m out with guys or something, and I once accidentally sent it during a date. Jenna called me in a panic, and she already had Devin’s phone on hand, ready to dial 911. It took a lot to convince her it was an accident, that I really was fine, and that I wasn’t saying any of it under duress. It’s possible I’ve talked about a few too many true crime stories in front of my sister involving women getting murdered on dates.
I push open the door of my tiny four-door car, which looks comical in the huge driveway, and head to the front door. The man who answers is tall and good-looking, with dark hair that has a few strands of gray just showing up. He wears black scrubs and his feet are bare, making me feel overdressed.
He smiles at me. “You must be Carlie.”
“Good to meet you, Mr. Harrell.” I take his outstretched hand and shake it before following him inside.
“Please, call me Chad.” He leads me to a sitting room just off the front door.
Chad and I take our seats—Chad in a gray chair and me in a matching loveseat situated perpendicular to it.
“Thanks for coming right over,” Chad says. He sits on the front of the chair, one leg bouncing before he notices my attention and stops. “Law has probably told you how impatient I am to have someone to help with the girls.”
“I’m glad I’m in the position to help out.” I sit back against the sofa I’m on but keep a straight posture. I’m hoping Chad can relax with me. With everything going on, it’s no surprise he has a nervous, agitated aura around him. I’m sure that’s not helping his girls adjust to the absence of their mother.
“Your references are great,” he goes on. “I hope you’ll forgive me jumping the gun and checking those out right away.”
“No problem.” I clear my throat. If Chad has checked me out, it means he knows about Xavier. I need to broach it just in case, so it doesn’t surprise him later if he doesn’t know. It’s easier to assume the worst when someone keeps information from you on purpose. “Do you mind if I ask if you googled me?”
He smiles, which is reassuring. “I did. I know about your ex, and I have a friend in law enforcement that did me a favor and checked out what I couldn’t find out from the news. He assures me you’re innocent as far as anything they could find. Is that true?”
I nod. “I had no idea. I just didn’t want you finding out later and thinking I was hiding things.”
He claps his hands together, obviously ready to move on. “How about I run through a few things I’d need from you, and if you think you can do the job, I introduce you to the girls?”
This is the easiest job interview I’ve ever had, but I guess since Chad did so much legwork up front, that’s kind of expected.
“I’m a trauma surgery consultant, and my hours can sometimes be really erratic. I’m on call basically all the time. I’d need you available at pretty much all hours.” He grimaces, and I force myself not to react. Law did tell me that Chad’s schedule was demanding, but I guess I just expected late hours a few times a week.
“Isn’t that illegal for a doctor or …”
“Trauma surgery consultant,” he corrects. “Not a doctor. I advise doctors on what hardware to use and the best surgical practices for that hardware. With the company I work for, me and three other guys cover about five hospitals in Houston. Someone always has to be available to consult on the surgeries, and we don’t have the same rules as doctors about how much we can work.” He shrugs at me. “It’s very lucrative but time-consuming.”
“I see.” I keep my reaction minimal. No wonder he needs a nanny ASAP. And the very lucrative part explains why he’s living in such a nice house with a pro football player next door.
“So you can see why I think it would be best if you lived on site. I have a guesthouse, and you can park in the garage,” he goes on. “We—I’ve used the guesthouse as a rental unit until recently, so it’s ready for you to move in. If you need to get out of a lease agreement, let me know and I’ll take care of that.”
I shake my head. “No, I’m living with my sister right now.”
“I’m also willing to offer a salary that takes into account the erratic hours, along with some benefits.” He picks up a piece of paper from the side table between the furniture, handing it to me.
I keep my calm as I scan the numbers, but he’s offering a salary that blows my old salary out of the water, plus medical and dental benefits and retirement savings. Yeah, definitely lucrative if he can afford to pay me this.
“You’ll also see that I’ll pay overtime for anything over forty hours in a week and for holidays.” He leans forward again, his expression eager.
“This is very generous, thank you,” I say.
“Do you have any questions for me?” he asks. His leg starts bouncing again.
“Yeah, I guess.” I jotted down a few on my phone before I came over, and I pause a moment to remember them. “What kind of responsibilities would I have around the house? Like cleaning. Would you expect that?”
Chad shakes his head. “Nothing beyond basic stuff like having the girls pick up after themselves and straightening things up in the living areas and kitchen. I have a housekeeper who comes twice a week, so you’re mostly off the hook there. Your responsibilities will be only the girls.”
“Okay. What about backup care for the girls in case of an emergency with me? And how would sick days work, you know?”
He’s not surprised by the question. “I know my description makes it seem like I’m going to rely on you a lot, and I will, but I promise I’ll also have backups for those kinds of situations. My family has been helping a lot, and I think it would be a good idea for us to also find a backup childcare provider as well.”
I relax a little at that. He needs so much from a nanny, it was easy to think I was it . It’s fair that he’ll need a little more time to get everything back in order. “That’s all good to know. I know it will be tricky to work out, but what about regular time off and vacations?”
“You’ll have one full day a week off, and I’m open to a reasonable amount of vacation time. I’ll need plenty of notice, of course, to arrange things, but once we’re in a routine, I’m sure that will be easier. How much paid vacation did you have at your last job?”
“Two weeks.” It was so stressful to arrange subs that I never used all of it, but I make a mental note not to do that with whatever time Chad can give me. I’ll need the downtime if this gets intense.
“I’m good with that,” he says immediately. “I’ll need twenty-four hours’ notice or more for one day, and at least two weeks’ notice for anything over three days. Is that acceptable?” He has that apologetic look again, and it must be because of how stressful his job is.
“Totally understandable.” Everything else I can think of is information I’ll want once I’ve accepted. “I might have more questions if I accept the job.” I take a deep breath. Why in the world would I turn this down? Sure, the hours might turn out to be horrible, but it’s also the middle of the day and Chad is home. It might be a trade-off. “Do you mind if I step outside to consider some things?”
“Of course not.” Chad stands, and I follow suit. “I understand what I’m asking of someone. I never thought—” He shakes his head and cuts himself off. “There’s a garden area in the back if you’d like, and the guesthouse is unlocked. You’re welcome to take a walk in that direction and check it out.”
“Perfect.” I nod and follow him out into the entryway and then through a large kitchen and family room area to a back door. He gestures to the yard, and we step out onto a path.
“The house is just through those trees.” He points to some cypress trees. “Hopefully that will give you some privacy as well so you can have your own space.”
So basically my own apartment with free rent in a gorgeous neighborhood. There’s a lot of stuff to make up for the strange hours this will require.
My thoughts swirl as I head down the pathway in the direction Chad pointed out. I’m seriously considering this even though part of me says that’s crazy. But every time that part of me speaks up, another part shouts about the free rent, the great salary, and the benefits, for heaven’s sake!
As I approach the trees, I pull out my phone to call Jenna.
“How did it go? Are you already done? Hold on, G’s here. I’m going to put you on speaker,” Jenna says.
“G can’t be objective about this,” I tease. “She’ll lose her roommate if I take this job.”
Grandma gives a psh. “The same could be said for Jenna, losing you as her nanny,” she retorts.
We all laugh, and then someone on the other end yawns, probably Jenna. She didn’t get to sleep in like I did. Even though I offered to help with the kids after we got back, she shooed me home. The kids slept almost the entire flight, so I doubt they wanted to go back to bed this morning. Still not enough sleep, though, and I’m guessing they’re cranky—well, for Jenna’s kids.
“Well, what do you think?” Jenna yawns again after this sentence.
“He hasn’t asked me anything,” I confess. “So I get the feeling he’s already done all the research he needs to on me.”
“Plus he’s desperate,” Grandma adds with a chuckle.
“There’s that. He’s a trauma surgery consultant, basically on call around the clock. So essentially, I’d be an on-call nanny.” I lay out the biggest con on my mental list.
“Ooof,” Jenna says the same time Grandma gives a soft hmm.
“Yeah, but he’s offering me a house to live in, separate from his but on his property. A very high salary, and even benefits, all to make up for it.” I give them the numbers from the paper Chad showed me.
“Wow.” Jenna draws out the answer. “So, do you think it’s worth it?”
I sigh. “It’s so hard to say. Like right now, it’s the middle of the day and he’s home, so there will definitely be times when I have great hours. But there’s also definitely going to be some truly terrible hours.”
“True. But also sometimes when you’re ‘working,’ so to speak, the girls will be in bed,” Jenna says. It doesn’t surprise me that Grandma’s contributions to the conversation have mostly been sounds of agreement or consideration. She’s always listened more than given advice. Jenna, on the other hand, is a true older sister.
I nod to myself, mulling. “You think it’s going to balance out?”
“Maybe,” Jenna says, sounding confident that she means yes.
“I don’t know anything about him,” I admit. “Law has only known him a couple weeks. He could be a serial killer.”
“Or a drug dealer,” Jenna says dryly, and we all laugh. “I googled him since I knew you didn’t really have time.” I hold back a snort of laughter at how well my sister knows me. “And I’ve been stalking everything I can on social media. From what I can see, he’s everything he says he is.”
“Sometimes we just have to have a little bit of faith, be careful, and do the best we can,” Grandma says gently. “You can’t know everything about everyone.”
I feel like that’s easy for her to say. She comes from a different time. But maybe people weren’t any more trustworthy. Maybe they just hid it better. “I know, G,” I say.
“Have you met the girls yet?” Grandma asks, and I smile.
“No. I’m looking at the guesthouse, and then I’ll ask him. I’m thinking seriously about saying yes.” My voice rises at the end. I want them to answer for me. Even if I don’t know everything, Grandma is right on a certain level. I’ll have to get to know Chad, just like it will take time to get to know Law. But is that a good idea?
They both pause, and I can picture them sharing a look. “I’m sure you’re just what the doctor ordered,” Grandma says, chuckling. I burst into laughter the same time Jenna does.
“I think that’s a good choice,” Jenna says. “It’s going to be crazy, but so was your old job. This is just a different kind of crazy. Plus, think of how much of that ridiculous salary you’ll save with free rent. And if it doesn’t work out, you can walk away.”
With all her housing worries right now, it’s not surprising that’s where Jenna’s mind went. “True.”
We say our goodbyes, and I hurry ahead toward the beautiful modern farmhouse-style cottage in front of me. It’s separated from the park behind Chad’s by more trees and a fence, making it feel like its own little yard. It has a covered porch with some outdoor furniture arranged on one side, which makes me fall a little bit in love right away. Without my permission, my brain pictures cuddling with Law on this furniture. I glance to both sides of the yard. I’m not sure where Law lives. The front doors of the guesthouse are two French doors, adding to the charm of the small home. I step up one step to the porch and cross to the doors, pushing open one.
The front portion of the house is an open living room and kitchen area, with a loft above the living room on the right and vaulted ceilings, making the room seem a lot larger than it is. The kitchen is modern, white with stainless steel appliances and navy-blue accents. A small, circular café table is in one corner in front of a large window. The living room is cozy with a loveseat and a chair, both in light gray with the same navy accents. The floor is a dark gray barnwood. Up in the loft is a bed, maybe a full or a queen, sitting low on a pallet frame, and a small dresser next to it.
I head down the hall to inspect the rooms behind the two doors on each side of the hall. The one on the left is a bathroom. It’s all white, like the kitchen, with a small, clawfoot tub and shower, and a pedestal sink next to the toilet. I walk inside, turning on the faucet, flushing the toilet, and turning on the tub and shower, like I’d know if anything was wrong with this.
I cross the hallway to the other door. I’m already a little bit in love with this place. The other room is a bedroom, and it’s pretty tiny, but it has a big bed, a tall dresser, and a decent closet running along the wall closest to the hallway. The walls are white paneling, with some abstract art that follows the blue theme in the house. The linens are all white, and there’s a gray knit blanket folded across the end of the bed.
I’m more than happy with the house. With the loft, Caleb could still come stay with me—with Chad’s permission, of course. I go back down the hallway and sit on the couch for a moment to really mull. I think I’m going to say yes. I just need to meet the girls before I make a final decision on this.
When I return to the backyard, Chad steps out from the sliding glass door we came out of earlier, clearly waiting for me. “Well?” he asks, his smile hesitant and hopeful.
“It’s pretty and perfect,” I assure him. “Do you mind if I meet the girls before I give you a final answer? You can introduce me as a friend or whatever if you don’t want to get their hopes up.”
“Of course.” He nods. “Come inside and make yourself comfortable. I’ll go get them.”
I follow him inside and then take a seat on the large sectional in the family room. There’s a basket full of toys at the end of it, a few scattered on the floor, and that makes me smile. The kitchen is a little messy, with dishes littering the countertop and a few in the sink. This looks like the hectic, lived-in kitchen of a family. Other than the random clutter, it’s spotless.
Chad did tell me that his sister’s been helping him out the last couple months, but she has kids of her own and the evenings can be hectic. So yeah, he’s in desperate need of a nanny, and these girls are probably in desperate need of some routine. First their mother leaving, and then being shuffled from house to house every time their dad has to go to work.
Footsteps sound from the entryway, where the stairs are, and Chad comes into the family room holding the hands of two girls. Their eyes are on me the entire time they walk across the room until Chad stops a few feet from the couch.
“Girls, this is my friend Carlie. Carlie, this is Scarlett.” He shakes the hand of the older one. “And this is Zoey.” He wiggles the other girl’s hand gently. Despite an obvious age difference, the girls could be twins. Both have white-blond hair, very different from Chad’s dark brown hair, and bright blue eyes. I would guess they look like their mother, but I realize that I haven’t noticed any pictures of her around.
“Hi.” I wave at them. “It’s so good to meet you. How old are you?”
Zoey holds up three fingers the same time Scarlett says in a quiet voice. “I’m four, but I’ll be five in …” She looks up at her dad.
“Three months,” he finishes for her, giving her a proud smile. Chad loves these girls. That’s evident by the tender way he’s still holding their hands and the adoring expression he has every time he looks at either one.
“Are you in school?” I ask them. With them clinging to Chad, and him obviously staying right here with us, I won’t get a good idea of their behavior. Law didn’t seem to think they were too much trouble, even if he did mention acting out, and it sounds like he’s watched them a couple times for Chad. I love thinking about him hanging out here with the girls, and the way he’s talked about it, he’s totally comfortable doing it. It makes my insides fluttery. I think about the light in his eyes when he told me about the little boys who stopped him on the beach to talk. He was smitten, and it made me fall a little bit more for him.
“Not in the summer,” Scarlett answers, pulling my brain away from thoughts of Law.
I nod and gesture toward the Legos in a bin nearby. “Can you guys show me how to build some things?” I ask.
The girls look up at Chad, who nods, and they walk slowly toward me. Zoey sits closer, more trusting in her younger age, and Scarlett keeps her distance. I ask them quietly about the colors they’re choosing and the little house they help me build. They’re shy and don’t open up quickly, but Zoey’s clearly warming up. Scarlett’s hesitancy tugs at my heart. They’re making my decision easier and easier with every second.
After several minutes, I thank them for playing with me and look to Chad with a nod.
He crouches next to the girls. “Will you two go upstairs while I chat about a couple things with Carlie for a few minutes? Then we’ll have lunch.”
They nod, cast a few looks my direction, and then hurry out of the room. I hear their footsteps lightly tapping against the wood of the stairs.
Chad turns to me. “I don’t want to rush you. I know this is kind of a big decision, but you do understand that I need an answer soon. The sooner, the better.”
“Of course.” I stand up. “I’ll let you know by this evening at the latest.” The truth is, I’m going to say yes. I just want to sit on it for a few hours. And also google Chad and do some stalking myself.
“Thank you.” His answering smile is genuine relief. Perhaps he can tell I’ve already decided and it’s going to go his way. The truth is, I can’t say no. He and those girls need me.