Margaret Daley - A Mother for Cindy

“They’re probably all in Nate’s room by now trying to coax the dog out from under the bed. That’s where he goes to hide from Fred and Ethel.”

“Not a bad idea. Smart dog.”

“I’ve got everything under control.”

Nick’s brows shot upward.

“The dinner, I mean.”

“Are you sure?” He gestured toward the stove.

Jesse whirled about, the scent of burning cookies mocking her words. If she hadn’t been so preoccupied with her new neighbor, her senses totally focused on him, she might have remembered she’d had them in the oven or at least smelled something was wrong before it was too late. He had a way of dominating her thoughts. Scary. She was definitely glad he was only going to be here a few months.

Rushing forward, she yanked open the door, smoke billowing out into the kitchen. She coughed, the blast of heat hitting her. Grabbing the hot pads, she pulled out the baking sheet with fifteen toasty, dark-brown chocolate chip cookies on it.

She dumped them in the kitchen sink along with the baking sheet, then turned to find Nick not two feet behind her. Heat scored her cheeks, and she attributed it to the oven temperature bathing her face not seconds before, not to the fact he was so near that she actually could smell his clean, fresh scent with a hint of lime. It vied with the scent of scorched cookies and definitely was a much more pleasant aroma.

“Thankfully that’s only one batch of the cookies. Dessert isn’t completely ruined.” She fought a strong urge to fan herself and instead flipped on the exhaust fan over the stove.

He scanned the kitchen which was neat and clean with little evidence of any meal preparation having taken place. “What are we having tonight?”

“Aren’t cookies enough? Granted, I don’t have as many as I wanted, but I think each person will have at least three of them.”

“A virtual feast. You’ll get no protest from Cindy.”

“And you?”

He shifted and leaned against the counter, taking his weight off his right leg. “I may need a bit more nourishment.”

“Well, in that case, I have a potato salad, hamburgers and baked beans. I thought that would suit the children better. Now that the cookies are done, I’ll put the beans in the oven and start the grill.” She moved toward the refrigerator and took a casserole dish out.

“Grill them? Out back?”

Jesse peered at him as she placed the beans on the rack in the oven. “Yes.”

“With those mon—geese?”

“The grill is on the deck. I thought we would eat out there, too. The evening is lovely. Fred and Ethel won’t bother us.”

“Weren’t they just out on the deck chasing Bingo?”

“No, they always stop short of coming up the steps.”

“You couldn’t tell from the racket they were making.”

“When night comes, they settle down.”

“Night isn’t for a few more hours.”

She straightened, looking him directly in the eyes. “Trust me. You’ll be fine.”

“I’m not worried about myself, but Cindy was very upset yesterday morning.”

“I know, but I want her to feel comfortable over here. Fred and Ethel will stay by the lake and their nest. I promise.” She sensed the little girl needed a woman’s influence right now in her life. She could never turn her back on a child in need. She intended to befriend Cindy while she was here. “If you want to help, you can bring the tray in the refrigerator out onto the deck while I check to make sure Tara and Clint are all right.”

Nick pushed away from the counter. “I haven’t heard any sounds from the living room in the past five minutes.”

“No, and that has me worried. They were engaged and Clint called it off the other day, just weeks before they were to be married. Claimed he wasn’t ready for marriage.”

“Smart guy.”

Jesse halted at the entrance into the dining room. She remembered Cindy’s words about wishing she had a mother. “You don’t believe in marriage?”

“It’s fine for some people, but I’m not one of them.”

The bitterness in his voice caused her heart to ache for the pain he must have endured. What had made him so against marriage? His late wife? Her death? She recalled her own anger after her husband had died. But she was definitely over that. She had been lucky to have one good marriage. The Lord had been good to her and she wanted to share the bounty. She wanted others to have what she’d had.

She escaped into the dining room, warily approaching the living room. She didn’t hear any voices. Had they done bodily harm to each other? Clint had been furious that Tara was at one of her little dinner parties. When Jesse stepped into the room, she stopped at the doorway. Clint’s arms were wrapped around Tara, his lips locked to hers, their bodies pressed together. The couple didn’t even hear her come in nor sense her, so absorbed were they in each other. She was happy for her friend, but now, who was she going to find for Nick? The man needed a good woman to ease the pain in his heart. And Cindy needed a mother.

Deciding she had to rethink her strategy, Jesse started to back out of the living room when Clint and Tara came up for air. Her friend peered over at her and smiled.

“Clint ask me to run off and get married and I said yes.” Tara’s eyes were bright with happiness. “We’re leaving tonight. Not a word to anyone until tomorrow, Jesse.”

She held up her hands. “Not a peep out of me. Promise.”

Clint threw her a perturbed look. “I should be really mad at you, Jesse, but I guess this dinner you planned knocked some sense into me, so for that reason you’ll be welcome in our home.” He drew Tara against him. “We need to get moving before Susan gets here.”

Tara hurried to Jesse and hugged her. “You know just the right thing to do. What a matchmaker you are! I owe you.”

The couple was gone before Jesse could blink. Okay, this was a success. Not quite the one she had planned for the evening, but a match had been made. She would end this evening early and start over tomorrow. There had to be someone for Nick Blackburn, someone special who could change his mind about marriage and give Cindy what she wanted.

His leg ached. Sinking onto a chair on the deck, Nick rubbed it. The two geese were keeping a wary eye on him and he was keeping a wary eye on them out in the yard under a giant maple with a tree house in it and a large sign posted that read, No Girls Alowed. He chuckled at the sign on the ladder leading up to the tree house. What a cool place to escape to and play in. As a boy he would have liked it. But his childhood had been very different from Jesse’s son’s.

He couldn’t believe he was even here this evening. He was doing it for his daughter who had taken a liking to Jesse. She needed a woman’s influence in her life and most likely wasn’t going to have one when they returned to Chicago in a few months.

Just this morning Cindy asked him about makeup. Six years old! His baby! He had told her she was years—and years—away from wearing any. She had wanted to know where her mother’s was. That had stopped him cold. He had hated to tell her he’d thrown it out. The look on his daughter’s face made him regret doing it in a fit of anger after he’d come home from the hospital that first time.

The throbbing in his leg reinforced his determination to wipe his wife from his memory. The only good thing that had come of their marriage was Cindy, but what was he supposed to do with a little girl? He felt out of his element. He was at home in a boardroom, not playing dolls with his daughter.

He was determined to bond with Cindy one way or another these next couple of months. He owed her that after the past year with him in and out of the hospital having several surgeries on his leg or with him working long hours at his company because of all the time he had been injured. Now at least, he had a good team in place who could run the business while he kept in touch long distance. The only thing he needed to figure out was how he was going to accomplish bonding with his only child.