“Nannies are cool. You know you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself, Eli. Raising babies is hard, at least I’m guessing so.” She shrugged. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I don’t know. I don’t even know why I’m telling you this. There are times when we’re out I’ll see a new family. A new baby. Like a couple of months ago, we went to the beach. There was this family a couple of feet away from us. Even over the chatter and noise of everyone, I could hear them encouraging their young kid as he took his first steps.” Eli smiled. “I never saw Katie’s first steps. I never heard her first word, or even heard her first giggle. I came home one day to the nanny tickling her, and it was the most beautiful sound in the world.”
“I bet it was. You shouldn’t feel guilty.”
“You’re just trying to make me not feel so bad.”
She rolled her eyes. “No, not at all. You shouldn’t feel guilty because look at what you’ve given Katie. You missed all of those firsts, but there will be other kids if you ever have a full relationship. Besides that, you get to be here for more firsts, and you’re going to be ready for it. Katie hasn’t turned out so bad, and it’s not like you’ve turned your back on her, or anything. You’re still here.” She took his hand, their food already finished. “If it helps, I know she loves you more than anything else in the world. You mean everything to her, and you always will.”
He locked their fingers together. “You think so?”
He wasn’t used to feeling vulnerable or weak. Not that he felt it now.
“I know so. You’re all she talks about. As well as dogs and ponies.”
“Weren’t you supposed to be getting a dog?” he asked.
She pulled her hand away from him. “Yeah, I was going to but something came up and I can’t do it now.” She shrugged. “Can I use the bathroom?”
“Are you allergic?”
“No, I just, I have to be ready and secure. I’ll get a dog when I am. No worries.” She took his bowl from him and he watched her go, knowing there was more to it than he realized.
Chapter Five
Ann hadn’t been wrong. Missing the bank interview had been a big mistake as they didn’t call her back, nor did they want to arrange a new time. They had told her in no uncertain terms they weren’t the kind of people to be made fools of. When you had an appointment for a job interview, you kept it.
The accounting firm loved her résumé and was keeping it on file, but again, nothing there. There were also no openings coming up either. She was, for all intents and purposes, on her own.
Still no placements at the diner either.
Glancing through the paper, she checked each job, wanting to find something. She didn’t have long. A part of her had wanted to ask Eli if he had any openings, but there was no way she would ever ask him that now.
She imagined he was used to people taking advantage of him. She refused to be one of them.
Rubbing above her eye, she groaned. This wasn’t good.
There was a position at the DIY store and she circled it. This was one place she could work. She worked odd jobs growing up.
She wasn’t the kind of woman to do a job by halves. Drinking her coffee, she checked for another one. A cleaner at a hairdresser. Again, none of these places would put her degree to good use but they were hard-working, good-paying jobs. She needed all the help she could get. After also finding dog walker openings, and even an opening at a pet grooming place, she grabbed her bag and headed out of the house.
There was no car next door, and this weekend Katie was staying with her father.
They had been able to see each other a couple of times throughout the week since he’d taken her virginity.
Tucking her hair behind her ear, she waved at a couple of passing neighbors. She saw one or two whispering as they looked her way, but she refused to care. There was nothing wrong with having a healthy sexual relationship.
Eli didn’t do anything by halves, and whenever he was around her and they were in private, he would kiss, touch, or say dirty things about what he wanted to do to her, and she loved every single second of it.
Just thinking about it now made her hot and ready.
Damn it. The man was a machine but in all the right parts.
No, she wasn’t going to go to potential job interviews thinking about sex or Eli. Right now, she had to focus on just earning a living, enough to pay for her mortgage and feed herself. That was all she needed.
For now, she was forgoing handing in a résumé and instead planned an attack approach. In person, showing them just how good she was. It was a risk, but one she was willing to take.
The first stop on her map of finding work, dog walking.
She went to the house where an elderly lady was waiting. It turned out she was fifteen minutes too late. She scrubbed the job off her list but the lady was kind enough to give her another address for another lady not too far from where they were.
Writing it down, she saw it would be best to come back to the lady as she had to head into town now.
The DIY shop was closed for lunch. If she wanted to make it to the other places, she was going to have to hurry.
The next stop was the groomer’s. Entering the scents of dog and cat, she smiled as she caught sight of a poodle, a Labrador, and a couple of cats.
Going up to the counter, she waited for the manager to come out. The woman was in her mid-forties with blonde hair and a sweet smile.
“I’m afraid I can’t hire, sweetie. I already have a full-time groomer. You’re a couple of days late. If you want, if there is another opening, I’ll keep your details on file, and we can give you a call.”
There was no way she was going to refuse work, and so she quickly wrote them down, hoping like hell this woman found her some work.
It was like some fate or something was against her making this work.
Next stop, hairdresser’s.
She sat down with the manager, and waited, and waited.
Checking the time, she saw it was already lunchtime and winced. By the time the manager came back, she clucked her tongue and said she didn’t have the right image. Not only was she looking for a cleaner to fit the image of her work, but also a part-time cutter as well.
Yep, she hadn’t taken any courses in beauty and so that job was also a bust.
She rushed to the DIY store and it was still open, but it appeared the manager was taking his lunch break at the diner.
Damn it.
Luck was not on her side today, and she wasn’t in the best of moods. He’d not been long gone.
After going to the diner, she ordered herself a burger and fries, and then spotted the man she needed to talk to.
Desperation called and rather than take a chance, she sat down at his table. There was no sign of anyone else sitting here.
“Mr. Graves,” she said.
“Do I know you?”
“Not officially. I’m Ann Adams. It’s a pleasure.” She held her hand out and he took it.
“Okay, darlin’, I don’t recognize you. You don’t look like a lawyer, so I want to know what a pretty little lady like you is doing crowding my lunch.”
She put the paper down. “I really need a job.”
“Are you an ex-addict?”