“I
got a job!” Mary Jo’s excited voice burst over Mack’s cell phone.
He turned away from the other men in the break room at the fire station and concentrated on his phone. He hadn’t expected a call from Mary Jo and it jolted him, since they almost always communicated by texting. “That’s great.” He mentally reviewed their past messages and he couldn’t recall her mentioning another job interview.
“I probably shouldn’t have phoned you at work, but I’m so thrilled I can hardly sit still. A job changes everything.“
He assumed the job was in Seattle, and his heart sank. The interview with Will Jefferson hadn’t led to employment; the owner of the Harbor Street Art Gallery had only been able to offer a part-time position. Will couldn’t tell her when the job would become full-time—“eventually” was the most he could promise—so Mary Jo felt she had to pass. Mack didn’t blame her, although he’d been disappointed.
Meeting Will Jefferson had given her confidence, and she’d decided to start applying elsewhere, presumably in Seattle; she hadn’t referred to any particular places.
“Tell me about your job,” he said, trying to hide his own lack of enthusiasm. Ever since he’d talked to Mary Jo about moving, he’d created the ideal scenario in his mind. He pictured Mary Jo and Noelle living next door to him and imagined the three of them spending time together. A
lot
of time…
“I’ll be working in an attorney’s office,” Mary Jo was saying, “which I thought would be perfect, because, well…you know?”
This seemed to indicate that she’d have a built-in resource should David Rhodes try to interfere with her and Noelle.
“The money isn’t as much as I could make in Seattle, but the cost of living in Cedar Cove is quite a bit less, right?”
It was 4:00 p.m., and the shift change was taking place as they spoke. Mack waved to his friends, cell phone to his ear, and started out of the station house. “Wait!” Not until he was close to his car did it hit him. “Are you saying you have a job
here
—in town? In Cedar Cove?”
“Yes.” She sounded surprised by his question, as if he should know. “I’ll be working for Allan Harris.”
“Where are you now?”
“Mocha Mama’s,” she told him. “I’m celebrating with a latte.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Five, if he could manage it.
Mack snapped his phone shut and trotted the last few steps to his car. He’d had plans but they could wait; seeing Mary Jo was more important. His next shift at the fire station wasn’t until Friday, which gave him two full days to finish painting both units. Once that was accomplished, he’d be all set to rent out the other half of the
duplex. He’d already moved in, but for the moment was more or less living in chaos.
He knew exactly who he wanted as a tenant. Mary Jo would need a place to live—and what better place than right next door to him? He’d mentioned it once but in a vague way, not identifying himself as the owner. He didn’t feel completely comfortable with the deception, but wasn’t sure how she’d react if she knew. Mary Jo was cautious and uncertain about men, all men. Given her history, Mack could understand it. He’d like to meet David Rhodes in a back alley someday, but that wasn’t likely to happen; for one thing, the guy was obviously avoiding Cedar Cove.
Mack drove down the hill to Mocha Mama’s and parked nearby. As he hurried inside, through yet another light rain, he saw Mary Jo sitting by the window, sipping her latte. She smiled when he walked in.
“Hi,” he said, brushing the moisture from his coat and hair.
“Hi!” she returned, grinning widely, her happiness unmistakable—an uncomplicated joy he hadn’t seen since the night Noelle was born.
He suddenly realized Noelle was nowhere in sight. “Where’s the baby?”
“A friend of mine is watching her this afternoon. This is the first time I’ve been away from Noelle, and I feel like part of me is missing. Jenna said I have to stop phoning, because whenever I do I wake the baby.“
Mack glanced over his shoulder. “I’ll get an espresso and join you in a minute.”
The young man he recognized as Shaw was behind the counter. They exchanged greetings, then Shaw brewed Mack his double shot. Back at Mary Jo’s table, Mack sat
across from her, draping his coat on the empty chair beside him.
“So,” he said, leaning toward her. “Tell me how you came to hear about the job with the attorney.”
“Kelly Jordan told me Mr. Harris was looking for an assistant and—”
“Sorry, who’s Kelly Jordan?”
“Grace Harding’s daughter. Don’t you remember, Grace was the one who suggested Kelly as a possible day-care provider? It was the day we met at the library.” She smiled. “Kelly’s little girl, Emma Grace, is starting to walk now.”
“Oh, yeah.” He had a dim memory of the conversation; he’d been too occupied with Noelle to pay much attention. “So you found someone to do day care before you had a job? That was smart.”
“Well, yes. I had to be okay with whoever was going to be taking care of Noelle before I could even think about employment.”
He nodded.
“Men just don’t consider things like that,” she went on. “I know Linc didn’t, but then my big brother can be pretty dense.”
“Oh, yes, your big brother. How’s Linc doing these days?” Mary Jo’s brother was overprotective to the point of obtrusiveness, and she resented his domineering attitude. Mack sympathized with her, but he also understood Linc’s point of view.
Mary Jo stirred her latte. “As you might’ve guessed, Linc’s not very happy with me at the moment.”
“Why not?” But of course he
had
guessed…With a job in Cedar Cove, she’d presumably be moving away from her brother’s house—and his control.
“He doesn’t think it’s a good idea for me to leave Seattle,” she said wryly. “According to him, family should stick together.“
“I believe that, too,” Mack told her, “but it doesn’t mean everyone has to live in the same house.“
She sighed. “Linc doesn’t understand why I feel he’s suffocating me. He seems to assume that the minute I’m out of his sight, some terrible fate will befall me.“
Mack didn’t bother to remind Mary Jo that she’d met David Rhodes while living with her three brothers. He wondered where Linc had been
then.
He suspected she hadn’t told her brothers about David until she was already pregnant.
“Anyway, I don’t want to talk about Linc,” Mary Jo said. “Not when there’s so much else to discuss.“
“Fine with me.” Mack struck a relaxed pose, leaning back in the chair and stretching out his legs.
“Did I tell you the attorney is Allan Harris?“
“You did.” He frowned as he tried to remember where he’d heard the name. “Of course! His assistant’s the one who was arrested just before Christmas.“
“What?” Mary Jo’s hand flew to her throat. “Mr. Harris didn’t say anything about that.“
“He wouldn’t. His legal assistant stole jewelry from one of Harris’s clients. Apparently, Geoff—that was his name, Geoff Duncan—tried to frame Pastor Flemming for the theft.“
“Oh!” Mary Jo looked thoughtful. “That explains a lot.“
“In what way?” he asked.
“I almost didn’t apply for the job because I don’t have any paralegal background. But Mr. Harris said he wanted to hire someone who was willing to do on-the-job training. I think this is how he plans to keep a close eye on his
employee. I’m just grateful he’s willing to give me a chance. He said he’d interviewed quite a few candidates and felt I’d work out the best.” There was a sparkle of excitement in her eyes. “I interrupted your story,” she said. “Sorry.”
Mesmerized as he was by her, Mack couldn’t recall what he’d been talking about.
“Mr. Harris’s assistant,” Mary Jo said.
“Oh, yeah. Geoff Duncan. Fortunately, Sheriff Davis saw through his ploy. According to my dad, Allan Harris was pretty shocked. He didn’t have a clue Geoff would do anything like this. The crime was bad enough. Implicating an innocent man makes it that much worse.”
“But why would his assistant do something so stupid? He was bound to get caught sooner or later, don’t you think?”
Mack shrugged. “I can’t say for sure. The gossip is that he was trying to impress his fiancée.”
“How would stealing stuff impress her?”
“Well, Lori Bellamy’s from a wealthy family. The Bellamys own quite a bit of property on the Kitsap Peninsula. Geoff must’ve got in a credit crunch and didn’t want to tell Lori he couldn’t afford the things she wanted and then panicked. I guess he wanted to act as if he had the same kind of money she did. Maybe he was afraid that if he couldn’t keep her in the lifestyle she was used to, she’d leave him. I heard that he pawned the jewelry for cash—and now he’s behind bars.” Mack had discussed the case with his older sister, Gloria, who worked for the sheriff’s office. He’d only learned of Gloria’s existence a few years ago and had been making an effort to develop a relationship with her. Since he and Gloria both lived in town now, they managed to have dinner or drinks at least
once a month. Despite that, he still felt a reserve in her. A hesitation that was difficult to explain. He hadn’t said anything to his parents but couldn’t help wondering if they’d noticed it, too.
“So when do you start work?” he asked Mary Jo.
“Monday.”
That gave her less than a week to get all her arrangements in order. “Not a lot of time,” he murmured.
She nodded. “The next thing I need to do is find somewhere to live.”
Mack wondered if she remembered the suggestion he’d made that February afternoon at the library, and suspected she didn’t.
“I can always commute from Seattle with Noelle if I have to,” she was saying, “but that would make for a very long day.”
Mary Jo had just handed him the perfect intro. His one fear was that if she knew he owned the duplex she might be leery of renting from him. A landlord-tenant relationship could complicate things.
He decided to gauge the situation with a comment. “I, uh, might have mentioned it, but I recently moved into a duplex and the second half is empty.”
“Really?”
He forged ahead. “The rent’s reasonable, too.”
“How…reasonable?”
He named a figure that was about half the going rate, which was what he speculated she’d be able to afford.
“
How
much?” Mary Jo sat up straight. “There must be something wrong with the place.”
“Not really. Oh, it could use a bit of paint and cleaning, but basically that’s about it.” Then, pressing his luck, he added, “The owner’s a nice guy. He’s currently
…out of town, but you can meet him later if you like. I’m acting as his manager.” That was an inspired idea, he thought, and not a lie. He
was
the manager. And this conveniently “out-of-town” owner would appear sometime in the future. Mack had no intention of misleading her for long; his objective was to get her moved to Cedar Cove. Once she’d made the transition he’d find a good opportunity to tell her about the “owner.” In the meantime, he’d have her write the rent checks to his accountant, Zachary Cox.
Nibbling on her lower lip, Mary Jo mulled this over. “Would it be a problem…you know, having me and Noelle next door?”
“A problem?” he repeated. “Not for me. What about you?”
She shook her head. “I think it’d be great. But I wouldn’t want to be a bother.”
“I can’t see that happening.” In fact, he had to work at not showing how thrilled he’d be to have Mary Jo and Noelle as his next-door neighbors.
Mary Jo continued to look speculative as if her instincts were telling her this wasn’t a wise decision.
“Would you like to see the duplex?” he asked, hoping to distract her.
“Oh…sure.”
“I was painting before my shift at the fire station, so it’s pretty messy.”
“Why were you painting?” she asked. “Isn’t that the landlord’s responsibility?”
“Normally it would be,” Mack said, trying to sound nonchalant. “I offered to do it in exchange for a reduction in rent. He, uh, wants first and last months’ upfront.”
“I have that in savings, so I’m not concerned.”
They finished their drinks and Mack drove Mary Jo past the Senior Center to 1022 Evergreen Place.
Mary Jo’s eyes darted up and down the street. “This is a nice neighborhood,” she said appreciatively.
Mack had thought so, too, which was one reason he’d made an offer. This was a good place to raise a family.
“Now I
really
don’t understand why the rent’s so low,” Mary Jo said, frowning.
“Like you said earlier,” he rushed to explain, “the cost of living is less on this side of Puget Sound.”
“I had no idea it would be this much less.”
Mack was beginning to think he might have overdone it. “You can always check out other rentals.”
“I could,” she agreed, “but I like this one.”
Mack relaxed. “I understand there’s an eligible bachelor in close proximity, too.” The instant the words were out of his mouth, Mack regretted them. Mary Jo was emotionally fragile, and he didn’t want to frighten her off by appearing to pursue anything but friendship. He ignored the reproach that nagged at him—that he was being manipulative.
In any case, his joke didn’t elicit a response. Instead, Mary Jo stared out the window. After a moment, she said, “I’m not going to be dating anyone for a long while.”
It was a veiled warning, a signal. He considered offering reassurances, but that would have led to more lies, or half-truths, anyway. So he asked, “Would you like to take a look inside?”
“Please.”
He wanted to give her an opportunity to get to know him—and trust him. Living side by side as neighbors and friends was the way to do that. Her brothers weren’t going to appreciate his efforts, but that was their problem.
Mack helped her down from the truck. “I have the key,” he told her. “You’d be in Unit B.” He opened the door and gestured her inside. A sheet lay across the living room floor with a bucket of paint, a roller and brushes resting next to it. The fresh, clean smell of recently painted walls greeted them. On his mother’s advice, he’d chosen a pale, buttery yellow, which worked with the small rooms yet had a subtle warmth.
“I only have a few pieces of furniture,” Mary Jo said as she moved from one room to the next. The kitchen was compact but adequate. The two bedrooms were across the hall from each other.