A Matter of Honesty (3 page)

take. “Wow. No wonder the motel ended up in the shape it did.”

“From the looks of things it did some skipping.”

Steve cleared his throat. His expression indicated he was going to tell her

something she might not find pleasant. She tried to brace herself.

“I spoke with Dillon while you were being examined to see if they found any of

your personal belongings. None have been located so far.”

Lauryn‘s heart sank at the news. Thankfully she didn‘t have any credit cards.

There was only five dollars in cash in her purse, so if someone did steal it they were

welcome to it. She would also have to get a new social security card and driver‘s

license.

Several moments later they pulled up in front of a lovely two-story house with a

nice front yard. She stared at the beautiful home that sat in front of her. “Your house is

lovely.”

Steve turned and smiled at her. “Don‘t say that yet. You haven‘t seen the inside,

and there are three little girls under the age of five in there. So you might have your

first cleanup task.”

He assisted her out of the car and helped her up the walkway. The front door

opened and an attractive dark haired woman stood on the other side of it. Judging

from the way that her stomach was starting to protrude, Lauryn was sure this was

Johanna. Steve stepped forward and kissed her on the cheek before whispering to her.

“Are the girls awake?”

She nodded. “That‘s why I was listening for you. I didn‘t want you to get them

riled up. They‘re eating breakfast now, but Hannah is very anxious to see you.”

“Did Dillon come by? When I spoke to him earlier he said he would.”

Johanna smiled and rubbed her stomach. “Yes, he stopped by to check on us

and entertain the girls for a while. He‘s just headed to the store to see if there was any

major damage.” She looked over at Lauryn.

Lauryn laughed when Steve hit his forehead with the palm of his hand.

“Johanna, I would like you to meet Lauryn. Lauryn, this is Johanna.”

Lauryn held out her hand. Johanna shook it briefly. Lauryn felt slightly self-conscious at the hospital scrubs she was wearing in lieu of her wet and muddy

pajamas, and how she towered over the attractive woman. Johanna was barely a few

inches over five feet. Johanna stepped back as they entered the house.

“Lauryn is going to be my housekeeper and Hannah‘s babysitter.”

There was obvious shock at the announcement; Johanna‘s next words

confirmed that.

“Lauryn, would you excuse us for a moment?”

Lauryn watched them walk away.

Johanna pulled Steve out of the front foyer and into another room. She whirled

and looked at him. “Are you out of your mind?”

Steve smiled and folded his arms over his chest. Johanna was a firecracker who

packed a punch for such a small woman, but they had been friends for years and he

knew how to handle her.

“Actually, I have never been more sane in my life.”

“You don‘t even know her.”

“I know enough.”

Johanna began to pace the floor. “This is absolutely crazy, Steve. How do you

know she isn‘t after your money?”

“Because she doesn‘t know about it.”

Johanna looked at with wide eyes. ” What? What do you mean she doesn‘t

know?”

Steve shrugged. “I didn‘t tell her how much money I have.”

Johanna bent over, groaning in pain, and for a moment he thought something

was wrong with the baby. As he went to step forward, she looked at him and shook

her head.

“This isn‘t good, Steve. You shouldn‘t do this. You have more than enough

money to find a babysitter for Hannah.”

So he did. He‘d also been conducting interviews over the past few months to

find a suitable candidate, but hadn‘t found any until he had met Lauryn. The funny

thing was she hadn‘t been looking for the job, but he knew that she was right for it.

“I know I do, and I just did. I promise you, Lauryn is the right person to take

care of Hannah.”

Johanna knew Steve well enough to know when he made up his mind there

was no changing it. She also knew he would never do anything that would hurt his

daughter. Hannah was his life. The reason he breathed.

She started to say something else but stopped. Steve looked at her, full of

assurance. “Trust me, Johanna. I know what I‘m doing. I would never put Hannah in

danger. I had Dillon run an instant background check on her. Nothing came back. I‘ll

run a more detailed one as well, but I know it isn‘t necessary. Lauryn is going to be

great with her. I have a feeling that Lauryn needs Hannah as much as Hannah needs

Lauryn.”

Johanna took a deep breath. “Okay, Steve. I know when your mind‘s made up.

Plus I‘ve never known you to make an awful decision. Irrational on occasion, but

never bad. If you trust her, so do I.”

Steve smiled. “Thank you.”

Lauryn was still standing in the foyer, hugging herself and looking completely

lost. Where most people would have been looking around, she was staring at her feet.

Steve knew then he was right. Lauryn couldn‘t hurt a flea. The background check

Dillon ran also reaffirmed it for him. She didn‘t even have a speeding ticket. Lauryn

was the right woman for this job.

Johanna smiled warmly as she walked over to Lauryn.

“Please excuse my earlier rudeness, Lauryn. It isn‘t anything personal. I

promise. I‘ve been looking after Steve and Hannah for so long sometimes I‘m a little

overprotective. But if Steve trusts you, I do as well. Now, I‘m sure you want to get

cleaned up so I‘ll go back and tend to the girls.”

Lauryn watched Johanna leave before turning to look at Steve, a wary look in

her eyes.

“Maybe I should leave?”

Steve stood and studied her a moment before responding. “And go where?”

Lauryn shrugged, and Steve stepped closer to her. “Don‘t pay Johanna any

attention. She meant what she said. I promise you she won‘t give you a hard time.

Now, let‘s get you upstairs so you can freshen up.”

She followed him through the foyer into what looked to be the living room

before following him up the stairs.

“You can have your pick of these three rooms. I‘m down the far end. Hannah‘s

room is across from mine and connects to that bathroom. If you choose this room it

connects to Hannah‘s bathroom.” He pointed to two rooms on the same side as his.

“These two rooms connect to the last bathroom. It has an oversize bath tub.”

“I‘d like that one.”

“Okay. Let me go grab a few clothes I think may fit you.”

He returned a short time later with a few T-shirts and sweat pants. “Your

bathroom should have towels, a spare toothbrush, soap, and shampoo. Go ahead and

freshen up. I‘ll meet you downstairs shortly.”

She closed the bedroom door behind Steve, walked into the bathroom and

looked around. Once she‘d located everything she would need, she hopped in the

shower. She hadn‘t realized how unclean she felt until the warm spray hit her body.

Taking longer than she normally did in the shower, she bathed several times

until she felt squeaky clean and her skin began to prune. She stepped out of the

shower stall and stopped in front of the mirror. It was hard not to gasp at her

reflection. But she had just survived a tornado. What was she supposed to look like: a

beauty queen?

Heading downstairs, she heard the giggles of a little girl and followed the

laughter into what appeared to be Hannah‘s playroom. Steve‘s massive frame lay on

the floor and he was holding a little girl above him. She giggled again as Steve made

the airplane motion and sound. Lauryn‘s heart tightened.

Lauryn could tell in that instant Steve was a good father, one who would do

anything for his little girl. Steve‘s trust in her with Hannah made her vow to do her

best. Steve looked over and noticed her. Bringing Hannah down to his chest, he sat

up, turning Hannah so she could see Lauryn as he spoke.

“Hannah, I have someone I want you to meet. This is Lauryn. She is going to be

our live-in housekeeper, and your babysitter. Can you say hi to Lauryn?”

Lauryn was a little shocked at how honest he was with his daughter, but that

was a good thing. She believed in being honest, even if it led to undesirable results.

Hannah nodded. “Hi, Lauryn.”

Lauryn went farther into the room, eased her long frame down on the floor, and

held out her hand to Hannah. Her heart melted as Hannah shyly stuck her hand out,

placing it into hers.

“Hi, Hannah. It‘s nice to meet you. I‘ve heard some wonderful things about you

from your dad.”

Hannah turned to look at Steve, as if needing confirmation. Lauryn couldn‘t get

over how much Hannah resembled Steve. Her skin was darker, a sign of her mixed

heritage, but she had Steve‘s dark green eyes and light brown hair, giving her an

exotic look. How could a mother walk away from this lovely and gentle child? She

made a promise right then never to allow anything to happen to Hannah. “What do

you think about me being your babysitter?”

Hannah shrugged her shoulders. “It‘s okay, I guess.”

Lauryn laughed at her honest response. She was definitely her father‘s child.

“We‘re going to have a lot of fun. I promise.”

“Speaking of fun, we need to give you a tour of the house.”

Hannah tugged on the leg of his jeans. “Can I help, Daddy?”

“You sure can, pumpkin. As a matter of fact, you can be the head guide of the

tour.”

Hannah clapped her hands and did a little dance before running out of the

playroom. Steve called out after her, “Hannah, no running in the house.”

“Where‘s Johanna?”

“Ariel and Octavia were restless so she took them home.”

Lauryn wondered if that was the real reason.

Hannah came back in. “Come on you guys, hurry up.”

“Come on, Lauryn. You don‘t want to miss all the excitement, do you?”

Lauryn held back her laughter as she took the hand Steve held out to her and

let Steve and Hannah lead her on a tour of the house. When they reached the living

room, she paused. She hadn‘t noticed the room‘s decor when she first came in. The

room was decorated in rich, earthy colors, and full of warmth.

“Who decorated this room?”

Steve smiled. “My sister Sabrina. She‘s into interior design. Even went to school

for it. I gave her a little money to spruce up this room and she went wild.”

“She did a good job.”

“I‘ll be sure to tell her.”

Hannah led them through the living room and into the dining room. From the

look of the room it was only used on special occasions. The china inside the china

cabinet looked to be very nice, very expensive. She looked over at Steve. “Your house

is beautiful.”

“Thank you. I also want you to feel free to make any changes you need to make

things more accessible, as long as the changes aren‘t too dramatic.”

Lauryn nodded as she continued to look around.

“Are you ready to see the kitchen?” Hannah asked

Lauryn looked down and smiled. “Yes, I am.”

Hannah tugged her hand. “Then follow me.”

She followed her small tour guide into a large and roomy kitchen; a cook‘s

dream space, in her opinion. She was a pretty good cook herself. She could definitely

have some fun in this kitchen. Steve opened different cabinets, showed her where a

few important items were. Her eyebrows rose when she saw the amount of peanut

butter they had and she made a mental note of things she would need to buy at the

grocery store the first chance she got.

“Well, that‘s it.”

“Okay, so is there anything you need me to do right now?”

Steve shook his head. “You‘ve been through a lot this morning. Why don‘t you

just rest?”

Steve didn‘t have to say it twice. She was exhausted. She smiled at Hannah. “It

was nice to meet you. I‘ll see you in a little while.”

“See you later,” Hannah replied.

Lauryn walked out of the kitchen, pausing when she reached the other side of

the doorway. Steve stood studying her silently.

“Did you need something else?”

She shook her head. “No. I just wanted to tell you thanks again for everything.”

“You‘re welcome, Lauryn.”

She offered him a small smile then turned toward the stairs. Sleepiness was

tugging at her. As soon as she made it upstairs she was going to give in.

The sun peeked through the curtains, waking Lauryn slowly. It was then she

realized yesterday hadn‘t been a dream. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table;

eight-thirty. Throwing back the covers, she spotted the check and cash on the

dresser. Steve had left her the five–thousand-dollar bonus he‘d promised her. He‘d

written a four-thousand-dollar check, and left one thousand in cash in case she didn‘t

have a bank account, with instructions to set one up if she didn‘t.

She did have a bank account. She needed to stop at the bank first thing this

morning to alert them of her lost card and change of address. Steve‘s note said he had

Hannah with him, but he would drop her off at one o‘clock this afternoon. He wanted

her to spend the morning shopping so she could have everything she needed. The keys

to the spare car were on the coffee table. Yesterday afternoon Steve had driven her