A Family For The Soldier. Carolyne Aarsen

“And now we’ll leave the two of you alone.”

      “Thanks so much.”

      “We’ll talk more later.” Amelia walked toward the entrance, but Lucy stopped by the table where Carson stood. Chloe guessed she would be asking him if he had heard about more thefts or people receiving anonymous gifts.

      “You know we have little Cody at our house,” Mamie said as she sat down in the chair Lucy had vacated. “My niece Eva used to be his nanny, but she’s married now. I have a cook but Martha Rose went to go help her mother who broke her leg, which means I can’t spend as much time with Cody as I’d like. And Grady was supposed to be doing physical therapy with you and he isn’t.”

      She stopped there and Chloe waited, not sure where Mamie was going with all of this.

      Mamie gave her a tight smile. “I’m sorry, but I overheard Dr. Schuster talking to you about your job, or lack of one...”

      “How did you know about that?”

      Mamie paused, her hands folded, fingers tapping against each other as she gave Chloe an apologetic look. “I didn’t mean to listen in. I was in the room behind you when I heard him say that.”

      Chloe’s cheeks warmed. A witness to her firing. But Mamie seemed genuinely sorry and Chloe guessed it wasn’t her fault. Dr. Schuster should have been more discreet.

      “Again, I’m sorry,” Mamie continued. “But what I was wondering, given that we have Cody to take care of and Grady who won’t go to therapy, would you be willing to work for me? I thought if you were actually at the house, Grady would be more amenable to participate in his recovery. And, truthfully, I need someone to help us with the little boy.”

      “I thought Vanessa was staying with you?” Chloe asked.

      Mamie shot a look around the café, as if checking to see if anyone was listening, then leaned closer, concern etched on her features. “I know she’s your stepsister, but truthfully, she doesn’t seem to want to spend the time with Cody that he needs. It would help us out a lot if you would be willing to work for me.”

      Chloe wasn’t sure she wanted to stay in the same house as Vanessa. It was too easy to recall the stinging comments her stepsister had steadily lobbed her way when they’d lived together and how Vanessa had often put her down in front of her friends.

      But the cold facts of her life made her shelve her pride. Truth was she needed a job.

      “So how long would you need me for?”

      “Not sure.” Mamie sighed. “As long as Ben is in a coma and Grady is handicapped by his injury...” Her voice trailed off and as she pressed her lips together Chloe felt a flash of sympathy for the poor woman. It must have been so difficult to see her grandsons both dealing with difficulties as well as deal with the extra strain of taking care of an unexpected great-grandbaby.

      And then there was Vanessa.

      “All right. I’ll do it. When do you want me to start?”

      “Whenever you’re done at the hospital.”

      “Yesterday was my last day.”

      “Can you come now?”

      The weariness in her voice, plus the light touch of Mamie’s hand on Chloe’s, made her stifle her objections and give in. “I’ll come today.”

      “Excellent. Thank you so much.” Mamie sank back in her chair, the relief on her face palpable. “I’ll go directly to the ranch and get your room ready.”

      “My room?”

      Mamie looked taken aback. “Yes. I thought you knew. I’m sorry if I didn’t make that clear. I was hoping you would be staying at the ranch overnight. To help with Cody.”

      Chloe sucked in a breath at the thought of having to face Grady, Vanessa and Cody all together day and night. It was a small comfort to know that Grady was not Cody’s father, but that still left Vanessa and her flirtatious ways.

      But a job was a job, she reminded herself. Something she needed until she could figure out her next move.

      “Okay. I’ll pack my things and meet you at the ranch.”

      “Why don’t I go with you and we can drive back with each other? You remember where the ranch is, right?”

      Too clearly, Chloe thought, remembering a trip she had made with Vanessa to the Stillwater ranch. The day she’d first seen her stepsister kissing the boy she had cared for so deeply.

      * * *

      “Hush now, Cody. Please go to sleep.” Grady stood by the crib rubbing one large hand over the baby’s back in a vain effort to get him to settle down. Vanessa was still gone and his grandmother had left on some mysterious trip to town.

      Cody had been crying for an hour now. Grady felt more out of his league than he had that time he and his fellow soldiers had been pinned down by crossfire. At least then he had training to fall back on.

      He had no training to deal with a kid who wouldn’t settle down.

      He should call Eva. Or her husband. They would know. He was just about to do that when he heard voices. And with relief he grabbed his crutch and stumped over to the door to listen. Was Vanessa back?

      He heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and a figure rounded the corner. She was slim with long wavy brown hair spilling over one shoulder of a plaid shirt tucked into snug blue jeans. Beautiful and sweet looking.

      Grady blinked. Chloe? What was she doing here?

      His grandmother materialized behind her, a grin taking over her face. “Isn’t this wonderful?” Mamie said. “Chloe has agreed to come help us out.”

      “And from the sounds of things, I better get to work,” she said, giving him a vague smile. “Is he hungry?”

      “No. He just had a bottle.”

      Chloe gave him a tight nod and hurried past him into Cody’s room.

      Grady looked from her to his grandmother, who stood in front of him looking mighty pleased with herself.

      “What is going on?” he whispered, moving her away from the door so Chloe wouldn’t overhear them.

      The cries from the nursery stilled and he heard Chloe’s gentle murmur as she settled the baby.

      “We said we needed to do something about Cody. Chloe lost her job at the hospital. And you need therapy and you won’t go. Martha Rose is gone. So I thought this was a perfect solution for all of us. Chloe can help us with Cody and she can work with you, leaving me free to help with the cooking and where I’m needed. Win, win.”

      Grady could only stare at his grandmother, trying to absorb what she had just told him.

      “Chloe? Do physical therapy with me? Here?”

      “One question at a time,” his grandmother said, wagging her finger at him, a definitely mischievous smile on her face. “Chloe. Yes. And yes, I do want her to do physical therapy here. You know that is what you need to do. I can see by the grimace on your face and by the way you walk. It’s only getting worse and, I fear, will continue to get worse. You have to take care of yourself.”

      Grady clenched his jaw, knowing his grandmother was right but not sure he wanted Chloe seeing his helplessness.

      “You are the only man I have around,” his grandmother said, playing a last, devastating card. “I need you to help me as much as possible.”

      Surely there had to be another way?

      “I agree that we need help with Cody,” he conceded. “As for the rest, well, we’ll see.”

      And that was all he was giving her.

      “That’s fine,” his grandmother said with a bright smile. “One step at a time.”