Thankful for Love (3 page)

His divergence to his other problem had taken his mind out of the interview. His inattention was apparently obvious. Anne was looking oddly at him, and Quanna seemed to be waiting for him to say something.

“I'm sorry. I've been distracted all morning with a problem in the fields.” He leaned forward and picked up the papers she had placed on the coffee table. Rifling through them, he said, “I've talked to your references, which were even more glowing on the phone than they were in writing. You're obviously qualified. So, why don't you ask me—or Anne—what you want to know about the job?”

Quanna asked about hours, the probability of weekend work, how late she'd be expected to stay on school days, what the arrangements were for school holidays and vacations. She asked about his sons' eating habits and if she'd be expected to provide transportation to and from afterschool activities.

She asked so many questions, they hadn't gotten in a tour of the house when the front door flew open and two boys, all legs, arms, and energy, ran into the entryway. Both looked like carbon copies of Jack with sandy-colored hair and brown eyes. Both looked curiously at the woman sitting on the edge of her seat in the living room.

“Hey, guys,” Jack said. “Shoes off. Books on the bench. Then come meet someone.” When they had done as he asked, he introduced them. “Quanna, this is Daniel and his younger brother, Lucas. Daniel's ten, and Lucas is eight. Boys, this is Quanna Morales. She's applied for the job of keeping you two from living on junk food and wrecking the house.” He nodded at them, and as he'd taught them, they shook hands with her.

“Hello,” Daniel said, his expression guarded, as it always was when he was introduced to new people or situations.

“Hi,” Lucas said. He cocked his head to one side. “You have a funny name.”

“Don't be rude,” Jack said at the same time Anne said, “Lucas!”

“It's okay. I get that all the time,” Quanna said. “Yes, it's unusual, isn't it? It's Indian. My mother is Umatilla and is an admirer of Quanah Parker, who was a famous Indian leader. She changed the spelling of his name a little, but that's who I'm named for. His parents were white and Indian. I'm mixed culturally, too. My dad was born in Central America.”

“My teacher grew up on the reservation,” Lucas said.

“I did, too. Maybe I know her.”

“Her name's Ms. Eagleman.”

“Mary? I know her and her family.” Quanna said. “So, what's your favorite thing she teaches?”

In a rather theatrical fashion, using his body as he talked, Lucas explained his struggle with math and science and his love for words and the arts. When Quanna asked Daniel the same question, he answered less dramatically, saying that he did well in most subjects but, unlike his brother, liked science best.

“Good, then maybe you can help me with my homework when I'm having trouble,” Quanna said.

“Grown-ups don't have homework,” Lucas said.

“This one does,” she answered. “I take classes sometimes at Blue Mountain, and I've been taking a lot of science classes lately.”

Jack watched the interchange between Quanna and his sons with growing pleasure. She wasn't condescending or uptight. She talked to them with genuine interest and respect. She listened to what they said before she responded. Lucas appeared to be warming to her already, although Daniel, as he would have expected, looked like he was reserving judgment.

Her references had obviously not been an exaggeration. Her qualifications were perfect, even if her experience was working with adults, not kids. If the conversation she was having right now was any indication, she didn't have any trouble connecting with children.

She was clearly the most qualified applicant he'd had, although that didn't say much. It had puzzled him when so few people had called him for information about the job. Of course, after this interview, he realized Quanna was more than just the most qualified in a group of mostly marginal applicants—she would have been outstanding in any field of job seekers.

But what really sealed the deal was Aunt Joan's recommendation. He didn't know if Quanna appreciated it, but having his aunt vouch for her was pure gold.

Aunt Joan had saved his mental, if not physical, life when he'd had to take over running the ranch after his parents died. She helped him deal with the guilt he'd felt because his father had been piloting his plane over the Cascade Mountains so they could visit Jack at Oregon State when they crashed. She gave him guidance on how to cope with his teenaged brother, as well as manage the family's wheat operation to keep it from slowly sinking into debt. She even referred him to the outfit looking for land on which to put their wind turbines. The company had saved them. He hated how their giant white monsters broke up the landscape but loved what they did to his bottom line.

After his aunt's phone call, he'd been almost ready to hire Quanna Morales as soon as she walked in. Now, with her earnest explanation of why she wanted the job, some of which he'd actually heard, her careful prep for the interview, complete with relevant questions and menus, for God's sake, and her immediate interest in Daniel and Lucas, he was sure.

“Sorry to interrupt, boys, but Quanna and I still have some things to discuss. Your grandmother left a snack in the kitchen for you. Then you better get to your homework. And don't forget your chores in the barn before dinner.”

The two children politely said goodbye and disappeared into the kitchen. When they were gone, Jack said, “Quanna, before we talk more, maybe it would be a good idea for Anne to show you around the house and give you a chance to ask her questions about how she's been handling things. I'll get the boys settled in the dining room and meet you back here in, what, fifteen minutes?” He looked at Anne for confirmation. She nodded. “See you then.”

• • •

It was the most beautiful house Quanna had ever been in. The kitchen was well laid out with new-ish, stainless steel appliances, including twin ovens and an oversized refrigerator. There was a decent-sized eating island in the middle of the room. Off the back of the kitchen, a hall led to a mudroom, a small shower and powder room, and the door out to the barn complex.

Upstairs were four bedrooms, a small home office, and a laundry room. Each boy had a room with bunk beds. They shared a bath with each other and with the guest room. The master bedroom had an en suite bath with a large shower. Pendleton blankets were everywhere.

Anne answered all her questions, pointed out the oddities of each room, showed her where the boys hid things when they were supposed to have cleaned up their rooms. She asked a few questions of her own, too, seeming to be skeptical both about Quanna's ability to manage two active boys and her interest in staying with the job over time. From the encouraging way the interview had gone downstairs, Quanna had thought she had a good shot at getting the job. Now she wondered if she had been too optimistic. If this woman had anything to say about it, her chances weren't good.

Between Anne's questions and Quanna's, it was more like twenty-five minutes before they made it back to the living room.

“Well,” Jack began. “What do you think?”

“Your home is beautiful,” she answered.

“I appreciate the compliment, but I meant do you think you can manage the job?”

“Oh, yes. I'm sure I can.” She fought back the urge to ask if he'd please, please hire her.

As if he'd heard her plea, he said, “Then you're hired.”

After her conversation upstairs with Anne Salazar, the offer of the job came with a feeling of relief. It also came with an urge to throw her arms around her new boss's neck so she could hug him—an impulse wildly unsuitable at a job interview but somehow enticing. “Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me, to my family. When do you want me to start?”

“You'll want to give notice at Golden Years, I imagine. And Anne's not scheduled for surgery for two weeks. How 'bout you start in a week? You'll have a week to overlap with her to get used to the house before we leave you to wrangle my kids all by yourself. That work for you?”

She barely remembered saying yes, shaking hands with Anne and Mr. Richardson—ah, Jack—saying good-bye to Daniel and Lucas, and climbing into her car. She was out on the main highway before the reality of what had happened fully hit. She fist-pumped and screamed for at least a couple miles before pulling over to the side of the road and breaking into tears.

Finally,
finally
, something had gone right. Once she started at the Richardson Ranch, she'd be fully employed. She wouldn't have to give up her apartment, would have money to help her mother, money for a class every semester. Plus, she was working in a beautiful setting for an employer who seemed as perfect as his home.

Life couldn't get much better.

• • •

“Are you sure about what you just did, Jack?” Anne asked.

“Even without considering the other applicants, she seems perfect,” he replied.

“She's certainly not who I had in mind for taking care of the boys. She's young, for one thing.”

“The others I interviewed were younger. You weren't here for the high-school-aged girls who interviewed with me earlier in the week. You only got to see Quanna and one other person.”

“All right. I'll give you that. But this one has never taken care of kids before. And I doubt she's ever taken care of a place as nice as this one.”

“From where I was sitting, she did just fine with Daniel and Lucas. And I'm not worried about her ability to do a little cleaning and cooking. Her references are impeccable. Look, Anne, I know you're protective of the boys, and I know you want only the best for them. But it's my call. And I think she's perfect. So does my Aunt Joan, if this morning's phone call is any indication.”

“I guess that's about as good a recommendation as any. Still...”

He put his arm around her shoulder and hugged her. “I appreciate your concern, and I know how much you'll miss being with the boys every day. Really I do. But I'm confident she'll be fine. Stop worrying.”

“Who'll be fine, Dad? What's Gramma worried about?” Daniel, who had apparently overheard the last part of the conversation, seemed concerned.

His son was a worrier. Jack knew he had to nip this in the bud. “She's not worried about anything, buddy. We're talking about how we're going to make the switch from her being here to Quanna taking over.”

“Why can't we have Aunt Barbara or someone we know babysit us?” Daniel sought the solace of a hug from his grandmother who happily gave it to him.

“We've been over this already. Aunt Barbara has other responsibilities, and Gramma will be having surgery soon and will be out of commission. Aunt Joan says Quanna is perfect for this job, and I trust her judgment.”

“But, Dad...”

“No buts, Daniel. It's done. Starting in a week, Quanna will be working here. And I expect you to treat her with the same respect you give your grandmother.”

Daniel didn't look convinced. But, then, neither did Anne.

Quanna's parents hadn't been able to afford the Barbie Dream House she'd wanted when she was a kid. But working at the Richardson Ranch was more than making up for her childhood disappointment. Barbie would eat her heart out if she saw this house. The kitchen was a pleasure to cook in, and the light housekeeping chores were hardly chores at all when they were done in such a pleasant setting.

Her daily tasks mainly consisted of keeping the kitchen clean, the boys' rooms and living areas tidied, and the laundry washed and put away. Apparently Jack and the boys did the rest of the cleaning on the weekends. Someone did—the place was always neat, and there was never any dust or dirt to be seen. Quanna did a few extra things to help, like wiping up the dirt tracked in by someone who forgot to remove his shoes, but mostly, she stuck to taking care of the kids and their belongings unless she was asked to do something else.

It had been awkward working with Anne Salazar for a week. She seemed distant, cool even. It was obvious she couldn't do many of the things that needed to be done, but it was also clear she wasn't crazy about the idea of handing it all over to someone else. Quanna wrote it off to the pain she was experiencing from her bad hip. At least, that's what she hoped it was and not something like being unhappy that Quanna was taking her job.

It was a relief when she was finally in charge of the job by herself. Trying to help the boys become comfortable with her, she changed little at first. There would be plenty of time later for new foods and routines. She figured out who ate which cereal and what their favorite lunch treats were and made sure to include what they liked in their meals. She asked them to help her set up a routine for doing homework and chores. Her own daily tasks were done while they were in school. Before she left each day, she prepared their evening meal and had the table set. The boys did the cleanup so well there was never a trace of a dirty dish or pan the next morning when she arrived.

But, although the boys did all their chores and homework as asked, nothing seemed to fully open up the lines of communication with her. They were never rude or mean. She assumed they'd been told to treat her politely and with respect because they did as she asked and never talked back. But they kept their distance, especially Daniel who only seemed to talk to her when she addressed him directly. Lucas was a bit more open, and she tried to cultivate him in hopes he would influence his brother.

She knew from overhearing some of their conversations they weren't crazy about having a stranger in place of their beloved grandmother, but she wasn't sure how to make it better. It was like being in charge of ghost kids, they were around her so infrequently, and when they were, they were quiet.