The Outsider Series: The Complete Omnibus Collection

Chapter 2-1

Chapter Two

The morning hadn’t gone as planned. Emily’s faced glowed as she reached down to pick up the morning paper. It hadn’t quite made it to the curb, forcing her to step out into the street, close to where the Hansons were out digging up their yard. She’d apologized yesterday, and even though they’d been gracious in their response; Emily still felt responsible for Bob’s childish behavior. And it was Mr. Hanson, not Mrs. Hanson, who’d questioned Emily on what had upset Bob. This left Emily feeling cornered; so she’d confessed she’d asked Bob to leave. This left them frowning, and speechless, which wasn’t a good thing.

“Hello,” was all she could say this morning, before darting back into the house. She didn’t make eye contact because she didn’t want to explain more. Mr. Hanson could talk her ear off, and, by now, he’d most likely have a few choice words of advice to share with her.

Emily leaned against the closed door. In her chest, a nightmarish pressure began building and pressing, stronger and harder—until the simple art of breathing became a gigantic struggle. It was her head, her mind, creating the problems. She’d fall flat on her face. She couldn’t make it alone. How would she look after Katy? What if she couldn’t get a job? Instead of focusing on the present, her thoughts jumped from the past to the future with what ifs, could haves, and should haves. “Stop it!” She kicked a pink, fluffy stuffed animal across the room, and stubbed her little toe on the corner of the table. “Ah, crap.” She hopped on one foot, exhaling sharply. After a minute she hobbled to the kitchen counter.

She should have started looking for a job yesterday, right after she’d asked Bob to leave. But she didn’t because of a whole pile of excuses. Katy had been cranky all day after waking up so early after Bob’s tantrum. Then she had to feed, bathe and put Katy to bed, all before Bob, still moody, dragged his sorry ass through the door; telling her he’d found a furnished apartment in Olympia during his lunch hour. He’d move out over the weekend. She'd almost shouted, “Hallelujah!”

But now, this morning, Emily felt the after-effects of an adrenaline rush; maybe that’s why she was in such a crappy mood. She muttered a curse as she opened the damp newspaper to the classified section. The Help Wanted ads were sparse today: the feed store, the market. The one that stood out was the one in bold at the bottom of the page:

Wanted: Caregiver and Cook

Duties include day-to-day care of a young child.

“I can do that.” She slapped the paper and glanced up at Katy, who was watching Dora on TV as she snuggled with her blanket on the sofa. Emily reached behind her and snatched up the cordless telephone. She paused, pressing the top of the telephone to her forehead, as a sinking fear that she’d fail tried to insinuate its way into her; draining away all her newfound courage. “Knock it off, just call.” Emily ran her finger over the ad and dialed the number. Her heart was pounding so hard that it hurt her chest. Her hand shook as adrenaline soared through her veins. To release the rapidly building tension, she paced through the kitchen and living room.

“Hello.” An older woman’s voice chimed on the other end.

“Hi, I’m calling about the ad in the paper—for a caregiver and cook.”

“Oh, yes, that would be Brad you’d want to talk to. Just hang on a second and let me get him.” Unfortunately, the wait for Brad to come on the line allowed the irritable voice in Emily’s head to creep in and fill her with doubts. What do you think you’re doing? You’re not qualified. Sweating, she was tempted to hang up when she heard the man’s deep baritone voice.

“Hello.”

Along with being tongue-tied, Emily’s dry throat threatened to close up. She swallowed the hard lump and licked her lips. “Hi, my name’s Emily Nelson; I’m calling about your ad in the paper for a caregiver and cook for a child.” She winced when her voice squeaked.

“It’s for my son Trevor, he’s three. I run a ranch and need someone to look after him and to also do the cooking.”

“Are you still interviewing for the position?”

“I am, but I need someone right away. I have a ranch to run. If you’re interested, could you come out to the Ranch?”

He was abrupt. Straight to the point, and that made it easier for Emily.

“I’m interested, but I should tell you that I have a two-year-old who’ll be with me at work.” He said nothing. In that nanosecond, Emily felt the impending rejection. And that awful voice in Emily’s head chimed in: No, I don’t think it’ll work. I need someone without kids.

But instead, Brad said: “Could you be here at nine tomorrow morning?” This she didn’t expect.

“Nine, no problem I’ll be there.” Emily had committed to a time she knew darn well wouldn’t work; Katy had a checkup scheduled with her pediatrician tomorrow at nine. How was she going to do both? How stupid and desperate was that? Say something. But she didn’t. She swallowed, and continued scribbling down the address, along with rough directions to the ranch, on the back of her overdue electric bill. It was not far from town, maybe a twenty-minute drive.

Emily held the disconnected phone, and then tapped her head with it again. “Stupid, you forgot to ask what he’s paying, and about the hours, come on, Emily.” She dropped the phone back in its charger, realizing he, too, hadn’t asked many questions. What about her qualifications, experience and references?

Emily dug out a pen and paper and started a list. She needed to be prepared for tomorrow, so she scribbled down a list of questions. More importantly, she needed someone to take Katy to the doctor.