A Matter of Honesty (6 page)

They shared one last hug before she walked Hannah down to the bus. Lauryn

waved as it pulled off. Steve would be up shortly and she would have to focus on

serving him his breakfast. Pancakes, eggs, and sausage seemed like it would be

sufficient. But for future reference she would have to find out what his preferences

were

She went about cleaning up Hannah‘s playroom until she heard Steve moving

around. Heading into the kitchen, she saw he was sitting at the table reading his

paper and drinking his first cup of coffee.

“Good morning.”

He looked at her, one of his heart-stopping grins in place. “Good morning. Did

you get Hannah off alright?”

She nodded as she went to the microwave and pressed the button that would

heat up his breakfast. “Much better than yesterday.”

“Good.”

“Are you ready for breakfast?”

He nodded then turned the page on his paper. “Yes, I am.”

She smiled when he made exaggerated sniffing sounds.

“What are you heating up?”

She jumped when his voice sounded next to her ear, realizing he was right

behind her. How that had happened she had no idea. She hadn‘t heard him move. Or

had she just been so deep in thought? She moved away, putting space between them,

trying not to be obvious about it. “Your breakfast. I went ahead and made enough for

you when I cooked for Hannah and I.”

Seeming satisfied with the answer he returned to his seat, which she was glad

about because the last thing she wanted to do was ruin his breakfast by overheating

it. With him standing so close that was very likely to happen. Her concentration

seemed to be lacking anytime he came near. “What kind of flowers do you like?”

Lauryn looked over at Steve in surprise. So much for her concentration. “What?”

He chuckled. “What kind of flowers do you like?”

Lauryn shrugged. She‘d never really thought about it. Living at home with her

father she‘d always tried to bring home a bunch of flowers on a weekly basis, because

she thought it brightened up the place. It had never been anything fancy. Just daisies

here and carnations there. “I don‘t know. Why?”

“Just asking. I once heard that the type of flower a person likes says a lot about

them.”

She frowned. She had never heard that before. “Um…okay. Sterling roses.”

“Sterling roses?”

“Yes.”

Sterling roses were nice. She had only bought them one time because they were

expensive. The lavender-colored roses had caught her eye when she‘d gone into the

florist one day. She‘d set the roses in the middle of the table and sat there staring at

them for a long time. Enjoying their beauty.

“What do you like about them?”

She shrugged her shoulders again, at the back of her mind hoping it wouldn‘t

become a bad habit. It wasn‘t often that she shrugged her shoulders but she seemed to

be doing it a lot of it lately.

“They‘re pretty. I love purple.”

He smiled when she placed his plate in front of him. The blueberry pancakes

did look very appetizing, even though she had already had her share. She cleaned up

quickly before leaving the kitchen. It was hard not to run out of the kitchen, yet she

knew if she stayed any longer she would do something she shouldn‘t. Something she

really wanted to.

The doorbell rang. Lauryn‘s surprise cleared when she saw who was standing

there: Johanna, Ariel and Octavia. Hannah came running down the hall and the girls

squealed in delight when they saw one other before running off down the hallway

together, giggling all the way to the playroom. Lauryn shook her head. She could only

imagine what it was going to look like once the girls were through playing.

Lauryn had been so wrapped up in her new romance novel she‘d almost

forgotten about Johanna coming over today. The girls were supposed to have a play

date. Two months had passed since she‘d signed on as Hannah‘s babysitter. She

pretty much had the routine down.

“Sorry to drop by a little early, but we were out and the girls asked about

Hannah so I figured we‘d stop by.”

“Oh, it‘s no problem, Johanna. Hannah and I were just sitting here being lazy.”

Johanna rolled her eyes. “There‘s no such thing as being lazy with Hannah.

You‘re working even when you think you aren‘t. But if you‘re ready, how about we go

ahead and take the girls to Fun ‗n‘ Games? They can run wild while we can chat over

pizza. Plus, I‘ve been craving pizza since I woke up.”

“Sounds good. I‘m sure the girls will love it, but we need to try to make it back

here by five. That way I can have dinner ready by the time Steve gets home.”

Johanna smiled. “We will be. I promise.”

They rounded up the girls and headed out. Once inside Fun ‗n‘ Games, the party

began.

Johanna set her half-eaten slice of pizza back on her plate and wiped her hands

with a napkin. She took a sip of soda before speaking.

“So, how is Hannah behaving?”

Lauryn smiled. “Very well. I haven‘t had any problems with her.”

Johanna nodded her approval. “I‘m glad. Steve has done a good job raising her

by himself. He‘s had a little help from us but he‘s done all the hard work.”

She laughed. “I‘ll never forget the first time he changed a diaper that wasn‘t just

wet.”

Lauryn could only imagine Steve‘s surprise, but it seemed he‘d hung in there,

and he was doing a fine job of raising Hannah. She was sure it was hard raising

Hannah by himself because she‘d watched her own father struggle to raise her. Even

though she hadn‘t been a difficult child, there‘d been several times where her father

had thrown his hands up in despair and given up completely.

“So, tell me something about yourself, Lauryn.”

Lauryn picked up her slice of pizza and took a bite, feeling a little panicky.

Something told her to prepare herself to be grilled. “What would you like to know?”

“Where you‘re from, your family, things like that.”

“Well, I was born and raised here in Norman. My mother had me late in life and

passed away in a fatal shooting accident when I was twelve. She was an innocent

bystander hit by a stray bullet. My dad raised me from that point on. I have family on

both sides I‘ve never met, because of my father. I don‘t even know where to begin to

find them.”

Johanna gave her a look of compassion. “Do you intend to?”

“I‘m not sure yet. I‘m only now in a position where I can actually think about

myself first. My main goal right now is to figure out what I want to do with my life.

I‘m still young and have yet to experience a lot in life. I can actually go to college now.

I‘ve always wanted go but my father got sick and I had to take care of him. There was

no one else who could, so I didn‘t have much of a choice.”

Johanna reached across the table and took Lauryn‘s hand in hers. There was

true sincerity in her eyes when she spoke. “Just don‘t give up. If this is something that

you really want to do, go for it.”

They sat there in silence before Johanna finally spoke again. “Dillon, Steve, and I

have known each other a long time. We all met our freshman year in college at

orientation and we‘ve been inseparable ever since.”

Lauryn‘s jaw dropped. “I didn‘t realize you guys had known each other for that

long.”

Johanna smiled and nodded. “Going on twelve years.”

“Were you all born and raised here?”

Johanna reached for her soda. “I was, but Dillon was born and raised in

Oklahoma City and Steve in Stillwater. Most of his family is still there. They have a

family ranch where they breed and train horses.”

Lauryn looked at the other woman in amazement. She hadn‘t even thought to

ask Steve these questions. Truthfully, she didn‘t feel they were appropriate questions

she should ask her employer. But since the information was being volunteered by a

third party it was okay. “How much family does Steve still have in Stillwater?”

“Everyone from grandparents to cousins. Only Steve and two of his cousins

have moved away from Stillwater but they‘re all still close enough to get back quickly

if they need to.”

Lauryn smiled, trying not to let her envy show. “So he has a large family?”

Johanna shook her head. “Not really. His maternal and paternal grandparents,

his parents, one sister, an aunt and uncle and three cousins.”

“Well, that‘s large to me. It‘s more than I have right now.”

Johanna was silent for a moment as she studied Lauryn. When she leaned

forward Lauryn unconsciously moved back. Johanna might be small in stature, but

she had a dominating persona. “Why all the interest in Steve?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why are you asking me questions you should be asking him?”

“Well, you were asking me questions about myself, then you started talking

about your relationship with Steve, so I just assumed I could ask questions about him.

Besides, I wouldn‘t feel right asking him about personal stuff.”

“Why not?”

Lauryn looked at Johanna as if she had lost her mind. “As far as I know, you

don‘t ask your employer personal questions that could be taken out of context.”

Johanna shrugged. “It‘s been a while since I worked nine to five, but these are

questions I would ask my employer if I were living in his home.” She smiled. “Besides,

you should ask if you‘re interested in your employer; therefore your questions couldn‘t

be taken out of context.”

Lauryn‘s jaw dropped. How had Johanna found out? She thought she had been

discreet. Trying to recover, she cleared her throat, trying to speak. Her voice came out

on a croak and she cleared her throat again. “I‘m not interested in Steve in that way.”

Johanna laughed. “You want to try that again?”

Lauryn shook her head and dropped her face into her hands, groaning. She

should have just kept her mouth shut, instead of stepping in it like she just had.

“Well, let‘s say you aren‘t interested in Steve. Then why are you here?”

Lauryn eyes widened. “You invited me out to lunch.”

Johanna laughed. “That isn‘t what I mean.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why did you agree to take the job that Steve offered you?”

“Because I needed the job. I had nowhere to go. My money was pretty much

nonexistent. This was an opportunity I couldn‘t pass up.”

Johanna nodded, accepting the explanation. “Do you like Steve?”

Lauryn nodded. “Of course. He‘s a wonderful guy and a great father.”

Johanna sighed and shook her head. “No. Are you attracted to him?”

“I just met Steve! I‘m not really sure how I feel about him.”

“Oh, please. I‘m a woman. I know how our minds work. You know whether you

want Steve or not. You knew it when you first met him.”

The funny thing was Johanna was right. Lauryn had been fighting her

attraction since she had first laid eyes on Steve. She hesitated slightly before

answering. This was the woman who had pretty much shunned her the first time she

met her. Now she was pumping her for information. This could all be a setup. Yet as

she studied Johanna across the table, she saw nothing but sincerity there.

“It isn‘t whether I know what I want or not, but more will it cause trouble.”

Johanna frowned. “Do you think he‘s attractive?”

“Yes, I do.”

Johanna tilted her head to the side. “Nice?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think he‘d make a good boyfriend?”

“I think he would.”

“Then ask him out.”

Lauryn looked at Johanna as if she‘d gone crazy. Maybe she‘d just misheard.

” What? ” A few heads turned their way.

“Ask him out.”

“I hardly even know him!”

“You knew him well enough to accept a job from him and move into his house.”

Lauryn shook her head. “That‘s different. It‘s also the other reason why I

shouldn‘t ask him out. He‘s my employer. Besides, he isn‘t interested in me.”

“How do you know?”

“Because we‘ve been in the same house for two months and he hasn‘t shown

he‘s interested in me.”

“Then take the chance and show him. I have a feeling you‘ve been playing it safe

for a long time, and now‘s your chance to cut loose. Give into temptation for once in

your life. You said yourself you haven‘t lived life to its fullest.”

Lauryn sighed in frustration. “I don‘t even know him.”

“You know him well enough.”

Lauryn shook her head. “I don‘t know about this.”

Lauryn sat back and thought about the ramifications this decision could bring

about. Not only would this affect her and Steve, but Hannah as well, and she never

wanted to do anything to hurt Hannah. She‘d never experienced her father dating

another woman. According to her father, his reason was he had loved her mother so

much, another woman had never crossed his mind. Even though she‘d been young,

she‘d known her mother and father shared a love like no other. In the end, she realized

it had been a major reason why her father had gone downhill even more after her

mother‘s death. Her mother really had balanced her father out.

Johanna laughed and Lauryn looked over at her. “I mean no offense, Johanna,

but you could hardly stand me when you first met me. Now you‘re convinced I should

ask Steve out. What gives?”

“Nothing gives. I‘ve had time to get to know you, and I know you‘re attracted to