felt
irritation slithering through him, ready to settle permanently. God,
he hoped she would make it fast. “What kind of deal?”
“If Samantha—”
“Mother, I don’t want to
talk about this.” He pulled out a saucepan and turned on the
stove.
Marie swallowed hard. “Just hear
me out.”
He tried to hide his temper, by busying
himself with making dinner. “We went over this two nights ago.”
“Yes, we did. However, we never
settled anything.”
He looked up swiftly. “She’ll
never be your nurse,” he said undiplomatically. “There,
it’s settled.”
“That’s not fair.”
He wasn’t in the mood to be fair.
“Maybe not, but it’s settled.”
“James Anthony Taylor, I raised
you—”
James sighed heavily. “Let’s
not start this.”
Marie’s hand found its way to her
chest, where she tapped in lightly over her heart, and then looked
heavenward. “Lord, I don’t know where I went wrong—”
“Please, let’s not start
with the Lord stuff.” He cast an uneasy look at his dramatic
mom and then said, “Okay, I’ll hear you out. What’s
the deal?”
Marie smiled kindly as she leaned back
in her chair. “Thank you.”
“Oh, no, thank you,” he
said sarcastically.
“If Samantha can’t take
care of me, I’ll pick one of the other nurses. It’s as
simple as that.”
As James took out place settings he
contemplated the deal. This could be the answer to his prayers. What
were the chances of Samantha accepting this job? She hadn’t
spoken to him in a year; she would never agree to move in with him
and take care of his mom.
“Well?”
“If Samantha declines, you will
pick one of the other nurses without a single word of complaint?”
He wanted to make sure they completely understood each other, because
once it was settled he didn’t want to hear another word about
it ever again.
She placed a hand over her chest in
mock contempt. “I never complain.”
He could only roll his eyes at the
proclamation. “No more of this nonsense about how you want a
nurse who will enjoy your roses and also keep you entertained. We
will hire the most qualified nurse. Is that what you’re telling
me?”
“By the way, it’s not
nonsense.” Her mood turned serious.
“All that nonsense happens to be
documented in some very prestigious medical journals.”
He looked up at her.
“Yes, that’s the deal,”
she said swiftly.
“Despite her age or her floral
preference?”
“That’s what I’m
saying,” she agreed. “Should I have my lawyer call your
lawyer?”
“Just for the record, you’re
not funny.”
Her smile never faded. “Then what
else do I have to agree to? Do you want me to sign something in
blood?”
God, how he loved easy deals. Why
couldn’t all his deals be this easy? “That won’t be
necessary. You have a deal.”
She leaned forward and said, “Seal
it with a kiss.”
And he did.
* * * * *
An hour later James had cleaned the
dishes and, even though she refused, he had helped his mom to her
room to get settled for the night before heading back downstairs to
his office.
Now, he sat in the deep leather chair
in his office, his elbows rested on the arms, his chin supported by
his hands, his gaze on the phone. He had tried to concentrate on his
paperwork, but all he’d managed to do was waste forty-five
minutes staring at the phone. He was dreading the call he knew he was
going to have to make.
The thought crossed his mind, several
times, to lie to his mom and tell her he had called Samantha, and
she’d turned down the job. He would be avoiding a very awkward
moment, not to mention opening old wounds. He thought about another
half dozen lies before he quickly plucked up the receiver and dialed
the first six digits of Samantha’s number. He held the phone to
his ear before punching the last number. It took forever for the
phone to ring.
“Hello.”
James suddenly couldn’t speak.
His words caught in his throat like a dry cotton ball. He swallowed
hard