Tender Love Page 10

  “Can we have one of the puppies, please?” Kristin asked.

  Eddie didn’t say anything, but clutched the puppy tightly, looking at his father hopefully.

  “Oh, I don’t know, kids.” He looked at Alice. “What do you think? It will make extra work for you. You decide.”

  “Coward,” she accused him, laughing. “You can have one of the puppies,” she said to the children, “but you can’t take it today. We’ll have to make some arrangements to house the puppy, as well as lay down a few ground rules about who’s going to take care of him. It’ll be better for the puppy to stay with its mother for a few more days anyway. We’ll come back in a couple of weeks, after the four of us have talked it over. Is that okay?”

  Eddie rushed over to Alice, and still holding the pup, he threw his arms around her legs, as he often did, with such force that it staggered her. There wasn’t any doubt he was becoming stronger. The puppy squealed.

  “Thanks, Alice. Kristin and me’ll take care of it. It won’t make any more work for you.”

  “Famous last words,” Mark said wryly, “but I thank you, too. They should have a pet, but the time has never seemed right.”

  Without prompting, Kristin and Eddie thanked Margaret and Landon for the good visit. Mark shook hands with the Wilcoxes and the Taylors, and Alice walked down to the station wagon with them.

  “I’ll be home before too late,” she said to Mark, knowing that wherever Mark Tanner was would be home to her from now on.

  The kids waved gaily as Mark turned the station wagon into the roadway and headed toward Richmond.

  “Nice kids,” Harley said as Alice returned to the porch.

  Hoping to forestall what her mother might say, Alice said, “We’d better take care of the dishes, Aunt Margaret. That was surely a good meal.”

  Margaret knew her sister as well as Alice did, and perhaps that was the reason she kept the conversation on impersonal subjects. After the dishes were washed and dried, Alice went upstairs to assemble her luggage—she intended to leave in time to be back in Richmond before nightfall. When she came downstairs, she joined the rest of them on the front porch.

  “Nancy told me to tell you that she wants to take her kids to the beach house for a couple of weeks. She thought you could come, too, and Harley and I might be there some of the time.”

  “She’s welcome to go, of course, but ask her to let me know when she’s going. Although I haven’t cleared it with Mark, I intend to take the children and Gran to the beach for a week before school starts, but I won’t come the same time you’re there. Kristin and Eddie are so much younger than Nancy’s children that they wouldn’t be compatible.”

  “And is Mark going to the beach, too?” her mother queried.

  “I doubt he’ll be able to get away. He’s worked at the bank less than a year, so he doesn’t have any vacation time.”

  “I certainly liked Mark,” Landon said easily. “He’s a fine man and a great father.”

  “But why did he leave the ministry—that’s what I’d like to know?” Harley said. Everyone looked to Alice for an answer.

  “I’m not going to discuss Mark’s affairs with you—as a matter of fact, he hasn’t told me why he left the ministry. I’m only a nanny to his children, and as such, I have no right to meddle in his past.”

  “Just how long do you intend to stay with the Tanners?” Norma asked.

  “My contract says that either of us can rescind my employment with two weeks’ notice. But I went there because Betty St. Claire convinced me I was needed, and I intend to stay as long as I can be of help.”

  “Be of help!” Norma said indignantly. “It sounds to me as if you’re little more than a slave.”

  “I set my own workload, Mom, and I’m happier than I’ve been for a long time, so let’s leave it that way. Okay?”

  Norma didn’t answer, but rolled her eyes significantly.

  “Sister,” Margaret said to Norma, “I think you’re overreacting to the situation. Alice certainly knows what she wants to do. She isn’t a child.”

  “No,” Norma agreed, “it would be better if she were. Can’t the rest of you see that she’s in love with Mark Tanner, and that she’s become a mother to those children?” Turning to Alice, she said, “If you’re already so attached to them in two months, what’s going to happen if you stay there any longer? Or are you intending to marry him? It isn’t decent for you to live in the house with him. What must the neighbors think of the situation?”

  “Believe me, we’re well chaperoned with two children and Gran in the house at all times. In a city, it isn’t unusual for a nanny to live in the home. Besides, I’m an employee—I get paid for the work I do.”

  Landon laughed. “This conversation sounds like something out of the Victorian era. Norma, your daughter is a widow, in her thirties, not a teenager that you need to advise. Are you sure your concern doesn’t stem from the fact that you think Alice is spending more time with the Tanner children than with Jason and Polly?”

  Norma’s face reddened. “Not necessarily, but I do think she should help Nancy and the children more.”

  “I do help them!” Alice protested. “I’ve bought most of their clothing for years.”

  “But you don’t take them anywhere,” Harley said.

  “No, and I don’t intend to until their behavior improves. They’ve always been willful children, and entering the teen years hasn’t changed that.”

  “You should have taken them on a cruise or to Europe this summer. It would have been a break for Nancy.”

  “Let’s change the subject,” Landon said, and he asked questions about the retirement village where the Taylors lived. They were enthusiastic about their home, and Alice’s situation was dropped for the moment.

  Alice left the farm in early afternoon—sooner than she had expected to, but she was reluctant to return to Richmond right away, so she drove northward and spent several hours visiting the Civil War battlefields of Chancellorsville and The Wilderness. Her mind was in such a turmoil after the scene with her parents that, when she got in the van and started toward Richmond, she didn’t remember one thing she’d read on the many placards explaining the battles. It was past nine o’clock when she arrived at the Tanner home.

  Mark came to the door to meet her.

  “I was getting worried about you. Have a nice visit with your family?” he asked.

  She laughed a little. “Not completely, but that isn’t new. Mom doesn’t always approve of what I do.”

  He walked down the hall with her. “I’ve already put the children in their beds, heard their prayers, which I might add included thanks for the puppy, and looked in on Gran, so you won’t need to do that. Want to sit on the patio for a while?”

  “Maybe I’d better not. You need to rest.”

  “What makes you think I can’t rest when you’re around?”

  He looked at the brochure she clutched in her hand, and she blushed. “I’m tired tonight, Mark. I didn’t stay at the farm long after you left, and I’ve been plodding around battlefields for the past few hours.”

  Mark opened the door to her room, but he leaned against the doorjamb preventing her entrance. “Something has happened since I left you,” he said. “Excuse me for prying, but what are you doing that your mother doesn’t approve?”

  “She thinks I should spend more time and money on my sister’s children, rather than taking care of Kristin and Eddie.” That was enough for him to know—she couldn’t worry him with her mother’s opinion of their relationship.

  “I am sorry if your work here has caused a problem with your parents,” Mark said.

  “Oh, this started when we were children. Since I was the oldest child, Mom thought I should always sacrifice for Nancy. If I had a toy Nancy wanted, I had to give it to her. That sort of thing.”

  “You don’t sound bitter about it.”

  She shook her head. “No, I’ve always loved Nancy, so I didn’t mind. And I like her children, but
helping them doesn’t give me the satisfaction I receive taking care of your kids. It irritates me sometimes that Mom doesn’t realize I have needs as well as Nancy.” She laughed lightly. “I shouldn’t be bothering you with my problems—you have enough of your own.”

  He touched her cheek. “I’ve unloaded my frustrations on you plenty of times, so I’m here to listen whenever you need to talk.”

  “Thanks, Mark. I’ll be all right in the morning.”

  “Good night then, Alice. The kids were so excited coming home, and they couldn’t wait to tell Gran all about it. Thanks.”

  She walked around him and entered her room quickly. He looked as if he wanted to kiss her, and she couldn’t allow that.

  The next evening, after dinner, Kristin and Eddie went into the backyard to play, and Mark tarried at the table after Gran went to her room. While Alice cleared the table and filled the dishwasher, Mark fiddled with his tea glass, and was unusually quiet, so Alice knew some problem was vexing him. When she turned on the dishwasher, Alice poured a cup of coffee and sat opposite Mark at the table.

  “We should make a decision about when to get the puppy,” she said, “and perhaps agree on rules to discuss with the kids, such as—does the puppy live in the house, or does he have a home in the backyard?”

  “I’ve got a bigger problem on my mind tonight. I’ve decided to sell this house and move into a smaller, less expensive place. I talked to a loan officer at the bank today, and with the equity I’ve built up in this house, the payments on a smaller home would be in a range I could easily manage.”

  “Have you looked at smaller homes?”

  “Yes—there are several nice houses on the market that I can afford to buy, but they’re too small for us. Most of them are two or three bedrooms. It’s more important now than ever that the children have their own rooms. I suppose Eddie and I could room together for the time being until I’m financially stable.”

  To Mark’s credit, Alice knew he hadn’t once considered any plans that didn’t include Gran, who really wasn’t his responsibility.

  “We should never have bought this house. I know it now and I knew it at the time—we couldn’t afford the high payments, but we could have made it if Clarice and Eddie hadn’t gotten sick.”

  “You haven’t closed any deal yet, I suppose.”

  “No—I won’t make a decision until I talk it over with the children and try to explain to them why a move is necessary. I’m still hoping for a house with four bedrooms, even if the rooms are small.” Most of the time he’d been talking, Mark had looked down at the glass he was twirling on the tabletop, but now he looked directly at Alice. “What do you think about it?”

  She smiled at him. “There wouldn’t be any place for a live-in nanny in a smaller home, and perhaps that’s just as well.”

  Emotion darkened his eyes, and instead of being blue as the sky, they darkened to the shade of a tranquil lake. “I won’t buy any house that doesn’t have room for you.”

  Her pulse quickened at this declaration, but she said, “I can live in an apartment and come in during the day. In fact, after the remarks my mother made yesterday, I’m wondering if that isn’t a good idea anyway.”

  “Oh, so that’s what upset you! That’s the reason I haven’t told you before we’ll have to move. I was afraid that would be your reaction.”

  “If this move will ease your burden, you shouldn’t be concerned about me. I can come early in the morning, get the children off to school, and be here when they come home from school and stay until after dinner. We can manage all right.”

  He shook his head. “It may come to that, but it’s the last alternative I’ll consider.” He smiled slightly. “And what comments did your mother make?”

  “Mom has always had a tendency to disagree with my decisions, which I could understand if I was still a girl. She says it isn’t good for my reputation to be staying here. I told her that we’re always well chaperoned and have never been in the house by ourselves, but she was unconvinced. I’m not concerned about her attitude—I’ve lived with it all of my life—but I do wonder if others share that same opinion.”

  “Surely not! I wouldn’t have considered a live-in nanny if Gran hadn’t been here.”

  “I suppose it wouldn’t have bothered me, if I didn’t have some guilt about the way I feel about you. The thing is, Mark, I don’t want to be responsible for any hint of scandal about you. I pray daily that you’ll return to the ministry God called you to. I don’t believe you can be content until you take up the cross you promised to carry for Him. When that happens, I don’t want anyone to question the nature of our relationship.”

  He shook his head slowly, and rubbed his chin with his hand. “You’re right—I’ve been miserable since I accepted the position at the bank, which I thought would alleviate my financial problems, and not only have they gotten heavier, but my spiritual burden has, too. The only time I’m content is when I’m at home, and you know the reason for that.”

  Suppressing a desire to circle the table and clasp him in comforting arms, Alice stayed remained seated, and she said, “I try to shield you from as many problems as I can, and—” she smiled at him “—you know the reason for that.” She stood up and dumped the last of her coffee down the sink. “It’s time for us to talk about a less sensitive subject—what about the dog?”

  Mark shook his head stubbornly. “I’m not ready to talk about the dog yet.” She leaned back against the sink cabinet. “Right now, I have to put the welfare and security of Kristin and Eddie before my own happiness. You do understand that?”

  “Of course—you don’t have to say anything more.”

  “I can never say all the things I want to say, but hear me out this once. I can’t plan very far into the future yet, but in a few months I hope my situation has improved until I can talk about us. When that time comes, will you listen?”

  “Yes, Mark, but until then I’m only the nanny, and we both have to remember that. There’s a scripture verse that you know better than I, but it’s the key to the way we must approach our relationship. ‘If our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.’ As long as we haven’t done anything wrong, I’ll try not to worry much about others. I just want our consciences clear.”

  A weary sigh escaped his lips. “I agree. Now what’s this about a dog?”

  “No matter where you live, we’ve promised the kids a dog.”

  “What do you want to do with it?”

  “Keep him in the utility room for a few weeks, and then take the dog to a house in the yard. Those pups are basset hounds, and hardy animals, so it isn’t necessary for him to stay inside.”

  “Suits me.”

  “And another thing, I have access to a beach house on a private strip of land north of Virginia Beach. Will you let me take the kids and Gran down there for a week before school starts? It wouldn’t cost you anything. It would be a great opportunity for them, but I worry about leaving you alone.”

  “Gran probably won’t go.”

  “I’m not so sure—she was very lonely while we were at the farm.”

  “I’d miss you, but I don’t want to prevent the children from having some fun. They’ve never had the opportunity to do these things—with Eddie and Clarice both being sick, we never had a family vacation.”

  “Do you have any vacation coming?”

  “My boss told me to take off a few days. I could probably come down for part of the time you’re at the beach.”

  “Oh, that would be great, Mark. The kids would love it.”

  He got up from the table and towering over her, he gave her a quick hug. Smiling, he said, “As if the two of us won’t also.”

  “Then I’ll make arrangements about our housing, and we should get the puppy before we leave. The children and I can pick out a dog house tomorrow, and go after the pup in a few days.”

  The next afternoo
n Erin invited Kristin and Eddie over to play. While waiting for the washer repairman, Alice had some free time. With some misgiving, Alice went into Mark’s home office. The desk wasn’t locked, and being careful not to leave any evidence of her searching, she found a file containing the record of what Mark owed on the house and where the loan was held. She jotted down this information and other facts she thought would be needed and replaced the file in the desk.

  The repairman finished an hour before she was to pick up Kristin and Eddie, so Alice drove to a booth in a shopping center and telephoned her accountant, Melvin Haycraft. He’d been John’s financial advisor for years, and Alice had an amiable working association with him. He’d often complimented Alice on her business decisions, but he was leery of her present proposal.

  “I want you to anonymously make some payments on Mark Tanner’s house. I have information that will help you look into it. I’ll need your advice on the best way to do it.”

  Alice read the information she’d taken from the file in Mark’s desk.

  “You know there’s a limit to the amount of money you can give away in a year.”

  “I know that, but I’m sure you can find a loophole if need be.”

  “Who is this Mark Tanner? A relative of yours?”

  “I told you I’d taken a nanny position. Mark Tanner is my employer—I take care of his children, and if he doesn’t get some help, he’s going to lose his house. I don’t expect to pay all of the debt, but I want to assume enough to give him the boost he needs. You find out how much that will amount to, and I’ll put my request in writing. Above all, I don’t want anyone to know where the money comes from, and it has to be done as soon as possible.”

  “Well, I’ll do it, but against my better judgment. And for goodness sakes, don’t give away any more money. You’ve given your sister and parents too much already. You have a secure investment, but you can’t keep it secure by giving away thousands of dollars on a whim.”

  “It isn’t exactly a whim. I’ll telephone you again in a few days. Don’t try to contact me.”

  Two days later, Alice took the children to the farm to choose the pup. She’d expected a quarrel as to which dog they’d take, but they both preferred the runt of the litter, an almost white male with long brown ears and a few soft brown spots on his soft hair. The mature dog would eventually have some black patches of hair. She’d brought a box from the house to transport the animal, and he did a lot of whining and clawing as they drove down the highway.