Chad nearly shot out of his chair. “Why didn’t you call me? What on earth were you thinking, not to inform me of such a huge problem?”
“Well, we did tell Uncle Walter. And we told him everything we’d done to take care of it, and he said we’d done the right things and he didn’t see that anything more could be done until you got back and not to disturb you.”
“Did he lend you money to get by on? Who’s been paying the bills? What have you been using this last month for incidentals and such?”
“Oh, Chad, that’s where you’ll be so proud of me.” Honor’s adoring smile spread a charm all its own, Spring thought, a loveliness already showing the promise of womanhood.
“See, Spring and I reached a bargain. She lives here in exchange for being my adult companion and friend. No money exchanged. We share actual expenses. Isn’t that a wow deal? Daddy would say my Alexander blood is showing up.”
Chad remained quiet for a long moment, his gaze slowly returning to Spring’s. “No money exchanged? Okay, then. What have you been living on for a month?”
“Well, our cupboards have become a little bare,” Spring confessed with a quick smile. In truth, they had a need to do a major restocking. “But we have another sitting job lined up for tomorrow night.”
“You’ve been living on baby-sitting pay?” he asked incredulously.
“Not totally,” Spring replied.
“Then what have you been living on?”
“Well, I’ve paid into our mutual kitty a bit,” she admitted.
His suspicious gaze went as icy as an Alaskan glacier. “All right. What do I owe you? I’m sure there’s a payback for you. What is it you want?”
Spring sighed. Could this man be any more exasperating?
Chapter Three
“You don’t owe me anything, Mr. Alexander.” Spring gave him a straight-on serious look to let him know she hadn’t tried to take advantage of anyone, neither Honor nor him, in his recent absence. Though, she could understand his concern; she was yet a stranger. She certainly realized how difficult it had become these days to accept someone at simple face value.
“Honor and I made a fair exchange in our bargain,” she continued, hoping he’d see the advantage to their arrangement right away. “And Mr. Peebles made sure all the necessary bills were paid, the utilities and things like that. Honor and I are bubbling along very well on our own. We merely earn extra spending money when we can.”
“And how have you done that?”
His tone was so frosty, Spring thought he’d ice up the remaining tea in her cup. That reminded her to pour him another of the still hot brew, but she only got a downward twist of his mouth for her trouble.
Oddly, she liked the way his mouth moved. Wide and sensual, she thought it very expressive. Right now Chad wasn’t in a good mood. Understandably, he was tired and confused, and angry over matters that were beyond his control. But on a normal day, with a regular routine, when he felt comfortable and relaxed, his face would lighten a lot, wouldn’t it? What would bring a smile to his mouth then? And what would that smile be like?
“Baby-sitting,” Honor answered with pride. “But never alone and only in our apartment complex or for church families. And once, a mother paid us to run her little girl’s birthday party. That was fun. We often get dinner, too, when we sit in the evenings, so we—”
“You what!”
His outrage stung. Honor fell silent, while Spring reassessed his temper. Maybe she’d underestimated his mood just a tad. She pushed the jam jar forward a bit, thinking he could use a little sweetening, and pointed out, “It’s an honored profession, Mr. Alexander.”
“Well, it may be,” he said, pulling his mouth into a straight line. “But I don’t want Honor to do it anymore. She doesn’t have to work, and she’s too young, just a kid. Whatever possessed you? I don’t want her out on the streets, or out…out at night.”
“That’s right, Chad, I’m a kid and kids baby-sit to earn money all the time.” Honor’s chin came out while her eyes flashed stubbornness. “There’s nothing wrong in baby-sitting or having a job.”
“But to depend on getting dinner when you sit?”
“It’s an accepted practice, Mr. Alexander,” Spring added in a placating tone. “Even teens from wealthy families baby-sit, and often have supper with the children. And there’s safety in being a team. I promise you, it isn’t robbing Honor of study time, and we make a strict rule of being home by ten on a school night.”
“That’s not the only thing that concerns me,” he muttered. “If my associates get wind of this, they could misconstrue the entire situation.”
“Well, we needed the money,” Honor said with a finalizing note. “And Daddy would have said I’m not too young to learn about balancing my finances.”
“Baby-sitting money?” Chad shook his head. “How could you need that piddling amount? Surely, the matter isn’t that bad, or Walter Peebles would’ve notified me. Or Jonathan.”
“Who’s Jonathan?” Spring queried, to which Chad gave a disbelieving glance.
“Jonathan Feathers? The senior partner in my law firm.”
“Oh, Mr. Feathers doesn’t know anything about it,” Honor said. “And we begged Uncle Walter not to contact you. You couldn’t have done anything without coming home, and we didn’t feel we should interrupt your trip. Besides, Spring and I wanted to take care of ourselves. And we have.”
Chad’s features settled into angry, stubborn lines. His stare caught Spring’s in a glacier mass. She wondered if he thought she was responsible for the entire series of events. Or, that she’d taken advantage of them for her own gain?
“Well, I’m home now,” he said on a hard note, “and I’ll take care of the finances and Honor’s allowance. No more outside jobs, d’you hear? You won’t need the money any longer. Or, at least, Honor won’t.”
“But, Chad, I like baby-sitting,” Honor protested, her fist on a hip. “I’m good at it. And Spring and I are gaining a reputation by sitting as a team. The kids like us, and the parents like us even more. We’ve even sat for Mr. and Mrs. Peebles.”
Chad groaned and closed his eyes. “Oh, great! I really needed to hear that…”
Spring added hastily, “We weren’t unsafe, if that’s what worries you. They sent us home in a cab, although it wasn’t late. Lester was kind enough to wait up to see that we got into the building safely.”
Eyes flashing like roman candles, Chad opened his mouth as though he wanted to swear roundly, but with one look at Honor’s gaze, both pleading and puzzled, clamped it tightly closed and drummed his fingers on the table.
“All right,” he muttered through his teeth. “I’ll talk to Walter first thing in the morning and get a few things straightened out. Go to bed, now, pet. I want to talk to Spring alone.”
“I don’t think that’s fair, Chad.” Honor tossed her long dark braid behind her shoulder. “Spring’s my friend and I—”
“Whether it’s fair or not, go to bed!”
“It’s all right, Honor.” Spring laid a consoling hand on the girl’s arm. “Perhaps you should go on to bed. You have that math final first thing tomorrow and need to sleep. Nothing drastic is going to happen tonight. We’ll smooth things out.”
“Chad?” Honor’s gaze implored his compliance.
“Okay, okay. I promise I won’t clobber your friend here, or eat her alive.”
Honor visibly relaxed