finished your call. I didn’t think you’d mind. We’ve been skipping rocks for the last half hour or so.”
“Sorry you were dragged into it. I should have kept better track of the time. Lizzie told me she had an appointment, but I was wrapped up in the meeting and it completely slipped my mind. Thanks for helping.”
“I’m glad it worked out.” She nodded toward Milo, who was paying them no attention. “I do think he’s getting a little hungry. I would have fixed him a sandwich or something, but I couldn’t figure out how to get in, and I thought you might worry if I took him all the way to my mom’s place.”
Her words weren’t necessarily barbed, but he felt the implicit criticism in them. What kind of ass locks his kid brother out of the house and then forgets him for hours on end?
Yeah. Bowie Callahan. That’s who.
“I didn’t even think about the door being locked. Sorry. Since Milo came to live with me, I’ve had to buy automatic locks and beef up security. He has a tendency to wander.”
That was only one of a million ways his life had completely changed in the last three weeks. He was still trying to process all the changes—and apparently wasn’t doing a very good job of it.
“Probably smart. You live on a lake. Anything could happen if he managed to get out.”
She didn’t have to tell him that. He had the nightmares to prove it.
“I’ve tried to explain to him that he can’t just take off, but I’m not sure how much he internalizes.”
As if sensing they were talking about him, Milo wandered over to them, apparently done with throwing rocks.
He barely acknowledged Bo but handed Katrina a rock from the lakeshore with as close to a smile as he ever managed.
She looked confused for a moment, then closed her fingers over it. “Oh, that’s a pretty one. Are you giving it to me to keep?”
Milo nodded, though he still didn’t smile.
“Thanks. I’ll be sure to find a great place for it.”
Milo nodded and pantomimed putting something in his mouth.
“You want me to put it in my mouth? I don’t think it would taste very good.”
That was one particular entry in the Dictionary of Milo that Bowie had figured out. “You hungry, buddy?” he asked.
Milo nodded and Bo felt a rather ridiculous sense of accomplishment.
“Want me to make you a sandwich?” he asked.
This time Milo shook his head vigorously and pointed to Katrina.
“Want me to make Katrina a sandwich?” Bowie tried.
Again Milo shook his head. Okay, so he wasn’t completely fluent in Milo-ese yet. He was working on it.
Katrina watched this encounter with an expression he couldn’t read on her lovely features. “I think he wants me to make him a sandwich.”
At this, Milo nodded his head vigorously. The little manipulator.
“Too bad. Guess he’ll have to make do with his boring brother. I’m sure you’ve got other things to do.”
“I don’t mind. I can make him a sandwich. In fact, if you have more work to do, I’m happy to stick around a little longer.”
He blinked in surprise. Now he was quite certain he hadn’t mistaken the color on her cheeks. She was blushing. He just couldn’t quite figure out why. What was he missing here?
“That’s very kind of you,” he said. “But you made it quite clear yesterday that you weren’t looking for a nanny job.”
“Um. About that.” She fidgeted. “I was actually glad Milo and Lizzie stopped by while I was at McKenzie’s house. I wanted to come over later, anyway, to talk to you.”
Bowie felt a tiny flicker of hope. Was it possible? Had she changed her mind? “Oh? Talk to me about what?”
She cleared her throat and looked out at the lake for a second before shifting her gaze back to his. “Um, I was wondering if you were still looking for someone to help you out with Milo for a few weeks.”
That flicker grew into a steady flame. He was almost afraid to let himself hope. He had three major projects at critical points in development at Caine Tech, each important to the viability of the new facility in Haven Point. He couldn’t continue to split his attention between work and his brother, since he wasn’t doing a good job of meeting his responsibilities at either end.
If she could help him over this rough patch until Debra Peters could arrive and start working with Milo, he might have half a chance of making this work.
“Yeah. Desperately. Lizzie is great to help me out in a pinch, but she appears to have a busier social schedule than a Kardashian. Are you really reconsidering?”
She shifted. “Maybe.”
Relief flowed through him. “What happened? The last time we spoke, you made it clear you weren’t interested in helping me out with Milo.”
“Circumstances can change, and so can minds.” She shrugged, still looking uncomfortable. “I can’t help you longer than a few weeks. You’re clear on that, right?”
“Yes. No problem. It will be perfect. The autism specialist I’ve hired will be here to start around then. If you can fill in the gap until she arrives, you’ll be saving my neck.”
“I mean it. My time in Haven Point is limited, and then I have...obligations in Colombia.”
What sort of obligations? She said she was teaching English down there, but he had somehow gained the impression it was a temporary gig. Maybe she had something more permanent lined up. Or maybe she had a man waiting for her there.
That particular idea didn’t sit well with him, for reasons he didn’t want to examine too closely. “Not a problem,” he answered.
“Good,” she said briskly. “Also, I might have errands to run while I help take care of the final touches on the wedding. As long as you don’t mind, I probably can take Milo with me on most of them.”
Based on his own experience shopping with Milo, he would rather have every single eyebrow hair plucked out one by one than take his brother into a store for any length of time if he didn’t have to. The grocery store meltdown the day before had been on the mild end of the scale.
But he would leave her to figure that out for herself. “That should be fine. Do you need a vehicle to drive? I’ve got several in the garage. You’re welcome to use any of them.”
“No. I left my car here when I went to South America last year, but it sat over the winter and needs some work. My uncle, er, stepfather has some loaners at his lot and says I can use one of those if I need it.”
“Take what you need from the garage. Milo likes the SUV, for what it’s worth, since it has a TV in the back. Now, about the salary...”
She blushed again, which he found utterly fascinating. “I’m fine with the amount you mentioned yesterday. More than fine. It’s completely ridiculous and entirely too much money for a few weeks’ work. But you’re desperate and I need the money, so I guess it’s a win-win all the way around.”
“Absolutely. I can even pay you in advance, if you want.”
Surprise flickered in blue eyes he suddenly noticed were the same shade of blue as Lake Haven in afternoon sunlight. “I don’t need the money right now, but I will before I go back to Colombia.”
Again that curiosity raced through him, along with a little uneasiness. She needed cash and she was going to Colombia. It wasn’t hard for his mind to jump to some obvious conclusions. Call him suspicious, but that didn’t sound like a great combination.
He