Loe raamatut: «Her Wickham Falls Seal»

Chapter One

Taryn Robinson checked her reflection in the full-length mirror attached to the closet door. She’d selected a black wool gabardine pantsuit, white silk blouse and black suede booties to meet her prospective employer, who had informed her that she had passed his background check.

It had been ages since she’d had to interview for a job; the last time was years ago when she’d walked into a school building in downtown Brooklyn. At that time, she was a twenty-two-year-old with an undergraduate degree in early elementary education, a graduate degree in reading and a teacher certification. She had sought a position in a school where she could not only teach but also make a difference.

Her idealism had come from her social worker mother, who went above and beyond for her disadvantaged clients, and it was no different for Taryn, because she saw firsthand how some children had fallen through the cracks when she was a student-teacher in a less than desirable Washington, DC, neighborhood. However, she was realistic enough to know she couldn’t change the world but only begin with one child at a time. Fast-forward nearly ten years, and she’d just resigned her position at that same school to leave all that was familiar to put down roots in a new state.

This was her third trip to Wickham Falls, the town with a population boasting less than forty-eight hundred residents and two traffic lights. The first time she’d come was to visit her former Howard University roommate, earlier that summer, and the second was to stand in as Jessica Calhoun’s maid of honor when she married Sawyer Middleton.

Now she had returned to the house to dog-sit for the newlyweds honeymooning in the Caribbean, and interview for the position as a live-in teacher to homeschool single father Aiden Gibson’s preschool daughters. Her backup plan, if Aiden decided not to hire her, was to apply for a position as a reading specialist or a permanent substitute teacher with the Johnson County school district where Jessica taught fifth grade. Taryn still could not believe that she was willing to trade the nonstop energy of New York City for the slow and easygoing pace of a small town in West Virginia.

It had taken a while for her to weigh her options on whether or not to relocate because she was at a crossroads in her life. She was thirty-two years old, soon to be a thirty-three-year-old, elementary schoolteacher living with her parents and grandmother, and the ninety-minute commute each way between Long Island and downtown Brooklyn had become emotionally and physically exhausting. There had been a time when her total daily commute was less than twenty minutes, but that all changed after she sold her condo to move in with her then boyfriend, who’d subsequently slept with her coworker and best friend.

Her mother had been devastated when Taryn revealed her boyfriend’s betrayal, while her brother went ballistic, threatening to inflict bodily harm on the man who’d cheated on his sister. Taryn had to talk both off the proverbial ledge when she made arrangements for James not to be in the apartment when she went there to pack up her clothes and personal items.

She also wanted a clean break from the school in which she taught because every day she had to be around the colleague who’d deceived her. And instead of confronting the scheming woman, she ignored her as if nothing had occurred. There was no way she was going to lower her standards and fight with a woman over a man. Her mantra was “Men are like trains. There is always one leaving the station.” It had been almost eighteen months since her last relationship ended and she was in no hurry to begin another one.

Although she would miss her parents, grandmother, brother, his wife and their children, she would not miss the traffic jams that added to her commuting woes. Sitting in her car for an interminable length of time on the Long Island Expressway, dubbed the world’s longest parking lot, would become a thing of the past.

She’d spoken to Aiden the day before and he’d given her the directions to get to his house. Taryn wasn’t certain why he wanted to homeschool his four-and five-year-old daughters, but she would find out soon enough.

She checked her hair and makeup for the last time, and then turned on her heel. Jessica’s black-and-white bichon frise–poodle mix sniffed her shoes. “I can’t play with you now, Bootsy, but Auntie Taryn promises to take you on a long walk around the neighborhood when I come back.” Aiden had set up the interview for eight that morning because he was scheduled to be at his restaurant at nine.

Walking Bootsy had become therapeutic for Taryn because it gave her time to question whether she had made the right decision to give up all she had in New York to come to a place she never knew existed before Jessica moved there. Her initial reaction to Wickham Falls was that it was too quiet, too small and much too remote. There were no malls, fast-food restaurants, bigbox stores or drugstore chains, and railroad tracks ran through the center of town. Moving to what locals called “The Falls” was akin to culture shock for Taryn, but she was willing to risk it because she needed to start over.

Taryn gathered her tote with the large envelope filled with the documents she promised to give to Aiden, left the house, locked the door behind her and got into her recently purchased late-model black Nissan Pathfinder. She’d put so many miles on her old car driving between Suffolk County in Long Island and Brooklyn that she feared breaking down when she least expected. She started the engine, programmed Aiden’s address into the GPS and backed out of the driveway and onto Porterfield Lane. Lights, wreathes and Christmas decorations adorned many of the homes along the street. Most were tastefully decorated, unlike a few of the homes in her Long Island neighborhood where homeowners competed to outdo one another with lights, music and inflatables.

It took less than four minutes for her to arrive at the address Aiden had given her. She parked in front of a large three-story white farmhouse with a wraparound porch, black shutters and matching front door. American and US Navy flags were suspended from porch columns. Taryn smiled. Aiden and her brother had something in common. Lieutenant Langdon Robinson was currently active navy.

She alighted from the SUV at the same time that the front door opened and a tall blond man sporting a military haircut walked onto the porch and waved to her. Now she had a face to go with the deep drawling voice with a distinctive Southern cadence.

* * *

Aiden’s expression did not reveal his surprise when he approached the woman with whom he’d had several conversations about possibly homeschooling his daughters. His eyes met Taryn’s large, slightly slanting light-brown eyes flecked with gold as she gave him a direct stare. If her intent was to make a good first impression, then she had made her point. Everything about her demeanor radiated confidence. And she was beautiful. Aiden found himself mesmerized by her round face and delicate features in a toffee-brown complexion.

He extended his right hand. “Aiden Gibson.”

Taryn stared at his hand for several seconds before she took it. “Taryn Robinson.”

He had lost count of the number of people he had interviewed to work for his family-owned sports bar, but suddenly Aiden felt like a gauche teenage boy meeting the girl on whom he had a crush. But then he had to remind himself that Taryn wasn’t looking for a position as a server, busser, dishwasher or cook. She had come to interview for a position where she would share a house with him and his daughters.

Aiden released her hand. “Please come inside where it’s warm.” He led her up to the porch and into the house. “Have you had breakfast?” He knew he’d surprised Taryn when she gave him a questioning look.

“No. Why?”

“I thought we’d talk over breakfast. I know I asked you to meet me at eight because I was scheduled to be at the restaurant at nine, but my brother just called and offered to take the lunch shift at the Wolf Den. That’s the name of our family’s restaurant.”

“Who watches your daughters when you’re working?”

“It’s been a merry-go-round with my mother, my sister, Esther, and occasionally my sister-in-law. My mother came up from Florida to stay with me for almost six months but went back because my stepfather was complaining that he missed her. Right now my sister babysits them whenever I work the night shift.”

Taryn followed Aiden through the parlor, living and dining rooms with furnishings she thought of as classic farmhouse with oak-topped bleached pine tables. Area rugs with geometric designs covered polished plank floors. Off-white sofas and plush love seats and chairs covered in prints and plaids in varying hues of pink and red flowers immediately caught her practiced eye. She had minored in art in college, and Taryn was always conscious of colors and symmetry.

“How often do you work nights?”

“I’m two weeks on and two weeks off.” Aiden wanted to tell Taryn it wasn’t easy being a single father, yet he was willing to make sacrifices to afford his girls a stable environment. He pointed to the trio of stools at the breakfast bar. “Please sit down and relax.”

Taryn sat and placed the tote on the floor. The kitchen was a chef’s dream with stainless-steel appliances, white bleached pine cabinets, a built-in refrigerator/freezer, eye-level oven, microwave, twin dishwashers, a breakfast bar and nook with bench seats, and an industrial stovetop and grill.

“Are your daughters here now?”

Aiden shook his head. “No. They’re in Orlando with their grandparents.” He washed his hands in the smaller of two stainless-steel sinks and then slipped on a pair of disposable gloves. “What would you like for breakfast?”

“Oh, I get to choose?”

“Of course,” he countered, smiling.

Lately, there hadn’t been much for Aiden to smile about because it was as if his life was in limbo. The restaurant was down one cook and he’d had to put in more hours, which took time away from Allison and Livia. He also felt guilty that his mother, who should’ve been enjoying her retirement, was looking after his children. However, he never regretted divorcing his wife and being awarded full custody of their daughters.

Taryn rested an elbow on the granite countertop and cupped her chin on her fist. “Do you have a menu?”

His smile grew wider. So, he thought, the pretty teacher definitely has jokes. “Not available, but I’m certain I can whip up whatever you want.”

A pair of light brown eyes met and fused with his bluish-green pair. “If that’s the case, then I’d like a bagel with lox.”

“Sorry, but I happen to be out of bagels.”

Taryn scrunched up her pert nose. “Then I’d like a Southern breakfast: grits, fluffy scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, buttered toast and coffee.”

I like her! Aiden mused, as he turned on the eye-level oven. It appeared she had a sense of humor, something that had been lacking with his ex-wife. Denise had claimed she had nothing to laugh or smile about because the townsfolks hated her and her family.

“That’s one order I can fill. Do you want cheese in your grits?”

“Yes, please.”

Aiden walked over to the built-in refrigerator/freezer to select the items he needed to prepare breakfast. Of all of the rooms in the house, he felt most comfortable in the kitchen. He’d grown up watching his father cook for his family, and once he entered adolescence he had been invited to join his father and uncles in the Wolf Den’s kitchen.

“Do you cook?” he asked Taryn as he returned to the cooking island with eggs, bacon, a loaf of bread and a plastic bag of shredded cheddar cheese. Aiden placed strips of slab bacon on a baking sheet and sprinkled them with a shaker filled with brown sugar before setting the pan on a shelf in the oven.

“I do. But I prefer baking.”

“That’s where we differ. I love to cook, but I don’t bake.”

Taryn slipped off the stool, took off her suit jacket and draped it over the back of her stool. “Do you work weekends?”

“Right now I do, because we’re down one cook. I’d like for you to clear up one thing for me.”

“What’s that?” Taryn asked.

“Why do you want to homeschool my daughters?”

* * *

Taryn leaned forward. “Why do you need someone to homeschool your daughters?”

Aiden went completely still and gave her a direct stare. “I asked you first.”

“I can’t answer your question until you answer mine. After all, Aiden, you’re the one who put out the word that you were looking for someone to provide instruction to your children.” They engaged in what Taryn thought of as a stare-down until Aiden nodded.

“You’re right. I don’t know if Sawyer told you about how folks in The Falls view my ex-wife’s family.”

“He’s never said anything to me,” Taryn admitted truthfully. She knew Jessica’s husband had grown up in Wickham Falls.

“The Wilkinsons are considered the town’s black sheep, and because my daughters share that bloodline they are looked down upon. Many of the parents in this neighborhood won’t allow their children to play with Livia and Allison because they claim they’re bad seeds. Rather than confront some of these narrow-minded adults, I prefer to have my daughters homeschooled until they’re ready for middle school. By that time, they’ll need to socialize with other kids their age and hopefully will be confident enough to hold their own against some of the bullies.”

Taryn stared at Aiden as if he’d taken leave of his senses. She did not want to believe feuds like the Hatfields and McCoys were still happening. “Have the parents openly bullied your daughters?”

“Not to my knowledge. It’s their kids who repeat what they hear their parents say.”

“So they don’t have any friends at all?”

“They play with their cousins.”

Taryn was still attempting to wrap her head around the fact that Aiden’s daughters were pariahs because of their mother. “I believe you made the right decision to keep them home at this age. However, I’m going to socialize your daughters and teach them what they should know.”

Aiden’s features softened in a smile. “Now that we’re on the same page, I’d like to know why you prefer homeschooling to teaching in a traditional classroom.”

Taryn tucked her shoulder-length, chemically straightened hair behind her ears. “Although I like teaching in a traditional classroom setting, it was the commute that wore me down. I drove, on average, three and a half hours each day, five days a week and most times when I got home, all I wanted to do was grab something to eat and go straight to bed. The next day, I was on the road at dawn to make it to work before eight. I hardly ever hung out after work with coworkers or friends because I had a fifty-five mile drive back to Long Island.”

“What about the weekends?”

Taryn wanted to tell Aiden that she’d had a very active social life when she lived in Brooklyn, even before she moved in with her ex. There was always somewhere to go, new restaurants to explore and Manhattan was only a subway stop away. “If I went anywhere, it was usually on Long Island, because I didn’t want to drive or take the train into the city.”

Aiden filled a pot with water and set it on the cooktop. “Are you saying you’re through with the big city?”

“You can say that.” Reaching down into the tote, she removed the envelope. “I’m giving you copies of my teacher certification, certification in CPR and first aid, and several letters of recommendations that I’d sent to you. I’ve already resigned from my former school, so if you choose not to hire me, then I plan to apply for several vacant positions at Jessica’s school.”

“Did I say I wouldn’t hire you?” Aiden questioned.

“You haven’t said you would,” she countered.

Aiden flashed a sheepish grin. “I must admit, I would’ve hired you sight unseen after the background check, plus Jessica told me you’re a dynamic teacher. And being one of Johnson County’s more popular teachers, I have to believe her.”

“You don’t think she said that because we’re homegirls?”

“No. I don’t know Jessica like that. I met her for the first time this past summer when she came into the Wolf Den with Sawyer. That’s when I asked if he knew anyone looking for a job as a live-in nanny.”

Taryn recalled her conversation with Jessica during her first visit to West Virginia. “When Jessica first told me you wanted someone to homeschool your girls, I wasn’t ready to move down here because, initially, I thought Wickham Falls was too quiet.”

Opening the oven door to check on the bacon, Aiden asked, “What made you change your mind?”

“I was still on the fence until my second trip. I spent most of the time relaxing on Jessica’s patio, clearing my head and weighing my options. That’s when Jessica reminded me that if I was tired of commuting, then I could always get a teaching position here because there were a number of vacancies at her school district. Then I thought about how much I enjoyed working for a couple with young kids when I was a student at Howard University. I babysat and tutored, and seeing them excel was very rewarding. That’s when I asked her for the phone number to your restaurant.”

“So it was commuting that made you give up the bright lights of the big city for a life in rural West Virginia.”

Taryn wasn’t about to tell Aiden about having to work alongside the woman who made her question true friendship. She was also embarrassed that as a thirty-two-year-old professional woman she still lived with her parents. After she’d sold her condo, she had invested the proceeds with the intent of using it as a down payment on a house if or when she and James decided to marry. And she was certain she and her boyfriend would’ve eventually exchanged vows if not for interference from a third party.

“It definitely tops the list as to why I want to relocate,” she half lied after a pregnant pause. It didn’t top the list but rated higher than some of the other reasons.

Aiden walked over to the opposite end of the countertop and opened a drawer. “And because I don’t want you to apply for a position with the local school district, I’m officially hiring you to homeschool my daughters.” He removed a large envelope and a pen, and he handed them to Taryn. “You’d mentioned you wanted a contract, so I had my attorney draw up one for you. We didn’t discuss salary, but this is what I’m prepared to offer you. If you agree to the terms, I’d like you to sign all three copies. I’ll countersign them and give them to the attorney for execution.”

Taryn removed the contract from the envelope and perused it. When she glanced up, she noticed a hint of a smile tilting the corners of Aiden’s mouth. He wasn’t what she thought of as handsome, but rather ruggedly attractive. His face claimed too many sharp angles, and the bump on the bridge of his nose indicated it may have been broken at one time. However, it was the color of his eyes, a rich blue-green that reminded her of the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea that she found hypnotic. It was as if fire burned behind the brilliant orbs.

“How did you know?” she asked, once she recovered her breath. Aiden was offering her the same salary she’d earned from the New York City Department of Education.

“The investigator who conducted your background check told me,” Aiden admitted. “I was afraid if I offered you less, you wouldn’t take the position.”

When Aiden had informed her he was going to have someone conduct a background check on her, Taryn had given him the information he needed to complete the investigation. She wasn’t concerned that anything negative would surface when it came to her profession, but she was less than confident as to her personal life. She still could not believe she’d been so trusting, so naive when there had been obvious signs that her love life was in trouble.

Once she discovered her boyfriend had cheated on her, Taryn had not explained to her colleagues why she moved back to her parents’ home. Nonetheless, the truth was revealed when her best friend, Aisha, invited James to accompany her to their faculty Christmas party. There had been whispers and shocked looks all around once everyone realized Taryn and James were no longer a couple. Gossip reverberated throughout the school building for weeks, while those who were bold enough to approach her and ask what had happened were disappointed when Taryn rebuffed their queries.

“It appears as if your investigator was quite thorough.” Her voice did not reveal the inner turmoil she always felt whenever she recalled the shame and embarrassment of coming face-to-face with her ex-boyfriend and her best friend and colleague in the private dining room at a restaurant overlooking the East River. It had taken Herculean strength not to retrieve her coat and leave. She managed to stay until the end and then got into her car and drove home. Within minutes of walking into her bedroom, she went online and searched for vacation websites. It hadn’t mattered that it was two weeks before Christmas and many of the airline deals were blacked out. Throwing caution to the wind when it came to price, Taryn decided to rent a villa in Fiji where she spent six glorious days detoxing from bad karma. She returned to the States tanned, rested and ready to start over.

“That’s because I have to be able to trust you to be around my children. The contract is for a year, beginning January 1 with an option to renew or opt out thirty days before December 31. You’ll notice I’ve included a clause where I’m willing to pay for your medical insurance. Once you give me your tax information, I’ll have my accountant add you to our payroll. All employees get paid on the fifteenth and the last day of each month.”

Taryn glanced at the contract again. The language wasn’t filled with the legalese she would usually have to ask her attorney father to interpret. She picked up the pen and scrawled her name where indicated on all three copies, dated it and then gave them to Aiden to countersign. “It appears very straightforward.”

“That’s because down here most of us are plainspoken. After breakfast, I’ll give you a tour of the house and show you where you’ll have your private quarters.”

“Will I have space to set up a classroom?”

“Yes. The enclosed back porch and sunroom should give you more than enough space for what you’ll need. A cleaning service comes in every Friday morning, so I don’t want you to do any housework. And you don’t have to concern yourself with cooking, because I’ll prepare meals in advance for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

“When are your daughters coming home?”

“January 25. Why?”

“I’m going to need to order furniture and school supplies before I begin instruction. Once I return to New York, I’ll order what I need from a teacher store warehouse and have everything shipped down here.”

“There’s a warehouse in Beckley where you can get most of what you’ll need.”

“Do they have desks?” she asked.

“Yes,” Aiden said, as he added grits to the pot of boiling water and stirred the grains with a wooden spoon. “I looked them up online when I first decided to homeschool my girls.”

“What if I buy the supplies I need in New York and have them shipped to Jessica’s house, and then when I come back, you can take me to Beckley for the furniture.”

Aiden smiled and a network of lines fanned out around his large luminous eyes. “That’ll work. I’m off tomorrow and if you don’t have anything planned, I can drive you up to Beckley so you can select the furniture.”

Now that she’d signed the contract, Taryn was committed to Aiden’s children for the next year. “Okay. We’re on for tomorrow.”

Aiden lowered the flame under the pot of grits. “When do you plan to go back to New York?”

“December 30. I have to pack up my clothes and personal items and go to the teachers store and get the supplies I need for the classroom. If I get everything done in a couple of weeks, then I’ll call and let you know when to expect me.” Once she tied up all of her loose ends in New York, she planned to meet with a few of her former colleagues for a farewell dinner at one of her favorite Brooklyn restaurants before returning to West Virginia.

“You don’t want to use a store down here?”

Taryn shook her head. “I’d rather go to the one I know will have the supplies I want.”

“I’ll give you a check to cover whatever you need to buy.”

Taryn shook her head again. “That’s not necessary. It’s the middle of the school year and some items may be on sale, and coupled with my teacher discount, I may not have to spend too much.”

“Make certain you give me the receipts so I can reimburse you.”

She wanted to tell Aiden she wasn’t concerned about him reimbursing her. The fact that she would earn the same salary and live rent-free, while not having to gas up her SUV at least twice a week was like winning top prize in a contest. And having a classroom of two rather than twenty-two made her feel as if she had been redeemed. “Tell me about your daughters.”