Merrillee Whren - Montana Match

“That’s true.” Brittany nodded. “But she’s going to try, aren’t you, Jasmine?”

“I am.”

Rose tapped Brittany on the arm, then picked up the spinner. “I won, so I get to go first.”

“That’s right. You do.” Brittany picked up her marker. “Let’s get started.”

Parker glanced over at Brittany. What did she think of his competitive daughters? Maybe he was too worried about normal sibling rivalry, but hadn’t there been a lot more of it lately? That was another reason he needed to find a nanny. Isolated as they were, it was hard to gauge what was normal behavior. He needed another perspective.

Finally, the second game ended with Brittany as the winner. Parker reached over and put an arm around Jasmine’s shoulders. “Well, Jas, looks like you and I weren’t meant to be winners tonight.”

“Let’s play a different game.” Jasmine glanced around the room. “Can we play cards like Heather?”

Before he could formulate a response, Brittany picked up a deck of cards from the nearby end table. “Do you girls know how to play Crazy Eights?”

The little girls shook their heads.

“Then I’ll teach you. It’s easy. We’ll play a practice hand to help you learn.” As Brittany explained the rules of the game, she dealt out the cards, then with the cards exposed she showed them the strategies involved.

While Brittany helped Rose and Jasmine through the practice hand, Parker couldn’t help noticing how well Brittany related to his girls. She’d welcomed their attention and had been patient with their bursts of temper.

When they finished practicing, Jasmine placed the cards in front of Parker. “Daddy, since you won the practice game, you can deal.”

“Okay.” Parker shuffled the cards.

He tried to soak up his daughters’ joy while he dealt each person seven cards. But his thoughts didn’t linger on the happy interaction humming through the room. For some reason, being around Brittany made Parker think of the twins’ mother, Sydney. He didn’t know why. Brittany didn’t resemble Sydney in the least. Maybe it was the age. If Sydney were alive, she would be about the same age as Brittany. He’d tried to help Sydney, but he’d failed. All these years later, the failure still caused an ache deep in his soul.

While they played several games, Parker’s thoughts kept coming back to the idea of asking Brittany about the nanny position. She fit seamlessly into his family circle. He had to talk to Heather about it.

“I’ve won two games in a row.” Jasmine picked up the cards and started a clumsy attempt to shuffle them. “Daddy, you’re not doing so good now that we’re not playing a practice game. You need to pay better attention.”

“Okay, I’ll try.” Parker chuckled, knowing that his mind had been preoccupied with Brittany, rather than Crazy Eights.

Rose turned her attention to Brittany. “How come you got those brown spots all over your face?”

A blush colored Brittany’s cheeks, and Parker wanted to somehow take back his daughter’s question. He didn’t have a clue how to react to Rose’s blunt observation. Should he apologize for Rose or try to make light of it? He hadn’t thought about the fact that his girls had never been around anyone with freckles.

Brittany’s laughter rescued him from his embarrassment. “The brown spots are called freckles.”

“How come we don’t have them?” Jasmine looked first at Rose then at him.

Again Brittany saved him from having to come up with an answer. “You don’t have freckles because your skin has more melanin in it than mine.”

Jasmine knit her eyebrows. “What’s mela…nin?”

“It’s a chemical that protects the skin from the sun.” Brittany went on to elaborate about why she had freckles.

“I wish I had freckles like you.” Rose gazed at Brittany with adoration.

Shaking her head, Brittany smiled. “You’re the first person I know who wants to have freckles like me.”

“I want freckles like you, too.” Jasmine vied for Brittany’s attention.

Laughing, Brittany gathered Rose and Jasmine in a hug. “You girls are wonderful. We all need to learn to be happy with the way God made us and not wish to be like anyone else.”

The girls giggled, and Parker took in their joy. What did they think about the way Brittany talked about God with ease? Had he been wrong not to talk about God with them? He’d left that kind of talk to Delia and Jenny because he’d never resolved his own anger with God over what had happened with his job and Sydney.

As Brittany looked his way, he hated to admit that he was drawn to Brittany’s cute freckled face, too. “Okay, girls, we’re done playing games. Time for bed.”

“No,” the girls wailed in unison.

Parker stood. “Yes, you can play more tomorrow.”

“Your dad’s right. I’ll even teach you some new games, okay?” Brittany gave the girls another quick hug, then glanced in his direction, seeking his confirmation.

“Sounds like a good idea to me.” As Parker started to usher the girls toward the bedroom, he turned to Brittany. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. I had fun.” Brittany waved.

While Parker led Rose and Jasmine up the stairs, he couldn’t help thinking that he was looking forward to tomorrow, too.

With Rose and Jasmine tucked into bed for the night, Parker sneaked away to the pine-paneled room that was listed in the rental brochure as the owner’s retreat. A small stone fireplace and a wall of bookcases filled with books of every description made for a cozy refuge. A dim glow emanated from a single floor lamp in the corner. The room offered Parker what he needed—a sanctuary and solitude. He liked the quiet because he was out of the habit of interacting with people.

As he settled on the recliner, a knock sounded on the door. Tempted not to respond, he sat there a moment and willed the intruder to go away, but another knock followed.

“Uncle Parker, it’s Heather. May I come in?”

He couldn’t help smiling. Heather knew him too well. She wasn’t going to let him hide from his own guests. “Yeah.”

Heather peeked around the door. “Do you have a few minutes to talk?”

Parker motioned for her to come in. “Sure. What’s on your mind?”

“A couple of things.”

Parker pointed toward the lounge chair on the other side of the rectangular dark pine table. “Make yourself comfortable.”

“I heard you telling Dad at supper that Mark and Jenny left the ranch right after Christmas.”

Sighing, Parker nodded. “Mark had an opportunity to run a bigger ranching operation in Colorado.”

“Are you going to take over the ranch?”

“No, Derek is.”

“What are you going to do about someone to watch Rose and Jasmine during the day?”

“I’m looking, without much success.” Parker wanted to ask Heather about Brittany, but he hadn’t had time to think the whole thing through. “I thought you were here to talk to me about something that’s bothering you, not about my problems.”

“They’re sort of related.”

“How?”

“I’ve been offered a research job in a small town near Boston, but I’m not sure about moving to the East Coast—so far away from anyone I know.”

“I didn’t know you had applied for a new job.”

“I wasn’t looking, but the company needs a nurse to work with a doc who is doing clinical trials. It’s just what I want to do.” Heather eyed Parker. “They want a decision by this coming Wednesday.”

“You must want this position if you’re thinking about accepting it without even seeing the place.”

“When I was in middle school, we went to Boston on vacation.”

Shaking his head, Parker chuckled. “I hardly think that counts, especially since the job isn’t in Boston itself. But it seems to me that you want this, so I say go for it.”