Janet Lee Nye - Boss On Notice

She turned her face away from Josh, curling forward to rest her cheek on the top of Ian’s head. There were bad thoughts piling up in her head and she knew—she knew—that she had to let that bad talk fall away. She couldn’t let that plow her under, that big mudslide of bad. “No. I’ll talk to him if it’s going to take much longer.”

Take care of the immediate problem. The one that’s right in front of you. Okay, great plan. How, exactly?

“I’m sure DeShawn would make room for all of us,” Josh said. “If it came to that.”

A small shuddering laugh escaped her lips. Oh, God. Not just alone with Josh. Alone with Josh and his buddy? No. Just, no. She hugged Ian against her. “We’ll be okay.”

This is where you are. On the street with a stranger offering to take you and your son to an even stranger stranger’s house. Giving in to the heavy weight of guilt and shame, her constant companions these days, her shoulders slumped. Looking at the ground beside her to make sure there were no fire-ant mounds there before running her hand across it, she gently lowered Ian to the grass and took a moment to make sure he was covered with the blanket because she could feel Josh’s gaze on her back. She shook out her aching arms. He’s getting so big.

“Can I ask you something?”

She bit back the profane remark that rose to the tip of her tongue. She was too tired for this. He’s a nice guy. Don’t take it out on him. “You can ask.”

“I saw you going to the Laundromat the other day,” he said, instantly horrifying her in fifty thousand different ways by this observation. Then he doubled down by adding, “Please use my washer and dryer. It’s right there. I barely use it. If you want, just let me know when you need it and I’ll leave the back door unlocked so you can come and go while I’m out working.”

The thing about it was...he looked so innocent and guileless when he said it. Just sitting there on the grass, like it wasn’t a thing, waiting for a response.

“What does it matter to you?” she said, brushing a loose strand of hair away from her eyes. She started playing with her whole mess of hair, wishing she’d grabbed a scrunchie on her way out the door. They were everywhere in her apartment: on the dresser, on the sink, on the floor, behind the sofa. Every time she cleaned, she’d find at least half a dozen and have no idea how they got where she found them.

He huffed out a burst of air in such obvious exasperation that she looked over at him. He was grinning at her. “You don’t know this,” he said, “but you are so like my boss, Sadie, that it isn’t even funny.”

She glared at him, glad for the spark of anger that burned out her feelings of failure. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

He held up a hand and began ticking off fingers, one by one. “Stubborn, mule-headed, prideful, wouldn’t ask for a glass of water if she was on fire. Should I continue?”

“Why not?” she said. “You still have a thumb to use.” But she turned away before he could finish, making sure to flounce her hair. She turned back to him and scrunched up her nose. “You act like those are bad things.”

“No, not bad,” he said. “Just unnecessary at times. Why are you dragging yourself and Ian to the Laundromat a couple of times a week, in this heat, spending the money when you can walk next door and do it for free?”

“Because nothing is for free, Josh. You know that.”

That made him shut up. After a few minutes, a firefighter made his way down to the small crowd. “Okay, everyone can return to their homes. The leak is secured. The gas is off until the repairs can be made but the property owners told me that only the heat is gas-powered so you shouldn’t be impacted at all.”

“Other than dragging us out into the street in the middle of the night,” Mickie grumbled. But she said it under her breath because it wasn’t this guy’s fault and that was one thing she always hated—the way people would attack the easy target, the person who just happened to be there, trying to help. She stood, lifting Ian as she did. Gosh, he was heavy.

“Let me carry him for you,” Josh said.

“I’ve got him.”

“Mickie.”

She stopped at the tone of his voice. She was feeling just a hitch past irritated and bordering on perturbed at this point. “What?”

“Let someone help you, for God’s sake. You don’t have to do everything alone.”

She stared at him. “Yes. I do,” she whispered.

He stepped closer. “No. You don’t.” He held out his hands. “Let me carry him back to your place.”

“You don’t even know how to hold a baby.”

“It’s easier when they aren’t screaming and blowing snot bubbles at me.” He stood, grinning at her with his hands still extended, conceding her point, but still not backing down. Still wanting to do what he could do. The grin faded. “Please, Mickie.”

“Why?”

“Because I was alone for a long time, too. I get it.”

Why are you being like this? Because you trusted a man once before, that’s why. But she was so tempted. A washer and dryer! Right next door. No more two-hour trips to the Laundromat twice a week? She drew in a breath. “Okay.”

His smile returned. “Okay?”

“I’ll use your stupid washer and dryer. But only because it means so much to you. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

“Of course you are. Now, give me the baby.”

She handed Ian over to him. He looked mildly afraid and awkwardly maneuvered the sleeping toddler in his arms. But he figured it out and looked over at her. “Dang. He’s heavier than I remember. How do you lug him around all day?”

“It’s called being a mother.”

CHAPTER FIVE

HIS PHONE WAS like a mosquito in a dark bedroom; the minute you thought it’d flown away, it buzzed again. He would have turned off the sound but he was waiting for a couple of calls he couldn’t miss. Josh tried to ignore it, tried to concentrate on the young man sitting across from him. His application had looked good and he had some experience. His father ran an industrial cleaning company. They went into office buildings at night and cleaned. Dean had helped out over the summers while he was in high school. He seemed like a bright guy and he knew Sadie would approve.

The phone jittered on the table. He glanced down. Sent it to voice mail.

“This all looks great. I’ll get you started on the testing now. After I get the results and talk to your references...”

“There’s a woman at the door,” Travis said, pointing over Josh’s shoulder.

Josh twisted to look. It was Mickie. And the baby sleeping in his stroller. She had a duffel bag hooked over a shoulder. He held back the grin. It had been almost a week since the night she’d let him carry Ian back to her front door. He’d been letting her have her space. Like a head-shy puppy, he knew she’d run if he even looked at her funny. As he stood, she began to shake her head and step back.

“Sorry,” she said as he slid the door open. “It’s a bad time. I’ll come back later.”

“No, come on in.”

“You sure?”

“If you don’t, I’ll wake the baby.”

That earned him a twist of her luscious lips and a raised eyebrow. “You wake the baby and I’ll leave him here with you.”

He pushed the door open wider. “See? Now you have to come in. For Ian’s own protection.” He turned away and motioned to Travis. “Come on, I’ll set up the testing programs for you.”

He had the testing room set up in the second bedroom. As he got Travis settled part of him was listening to Mickie humming slightly off-key as she started the washer.

“Your phone is buzzing,” she called out.

“What’s it say?”