Delighted, she rose immediately from her chair. “Of course I did. I’m so glad you could make the time to stop by.” She had called him to tell him his sisters were there and to see if he could join them for a brief visit. “It’s so nice to have all my kids home at one time for a change.”
Grinning at his sisters, Mitch dropped into an empty chair at the table. “When you said there was cake, I knew I’d better get here fast or these vultures would gobble it all up. I just happened to have a couple free hours this afternoon, though I have to get back to the hospital by five.”
“Then we’ll enjoy you while we have you,” his adoring mother replied, setting a cup of coffee and a huge slice of german chocolate cake in front of him.
“What’s up with you two?” Mitch asked his sisters, pushing his perpetually-shaggy dark blond hair out of his face as he picked up his fork.
“Meagan’s got a new boyfriend,” Madison replied immediately with a mischievous smirk. “He’s a single dad, so she could end up a stepmom.”
“Madison!”
Mitch eyed Meagan’s annoyed expression. “A single dad? Thought that was against your rules, sis.”
“Rules go out the window when ‘twue wuv’ comes in,” Madison teased.
Exhaling heavily, Meagan rose to refill her coffee cup. “Honestly, Mom, you spoiled your baby terribly. She’s never going to grow up.”
“Not if I can help it,” Madison agreed with a laugh. “But I won’t tease you any more about Seth today. Mom’s getting that you’re-going-into-time-out-young-lady look.”
“And you are, too, if you don’t stop harassing your sister,” their mother replied with an exaggerated sternness that didn’t fool any of them.
Enjoying the rare interlude with her family, despite her younger sister’s teasing, Meagan returned to the table and firmly changed the subject. Still, thoughts of her upcoming date with Seth hovered at the back of her mind. She knew she would ask herself later, when she was alone, if she had made a mistake in agreeing to go out with her intriguing neighbor despite her long-standing dating rules.
Chapter Four
On the following Tuesday afternoon, Seth entered his kitchen from the garage, setting down his car keys and sniffing the air appreciatively. “Smells delicious. Spaghetti sauce?”
“The sauce is simmering and the garlic bread’s wrapped in foil in the warming oven. Salad’s in the fridge. All you have to do is boil the pasta,” Nina assured him with a smile as she emerged from the open doorway of the laundry room attached to the kitchen, her arms filled with fluffy towels folded straight from the dryer.
The housekeeper’s gray hair was in the usual loose bun at the back of her head, and her chubby figure was encased in dark stretch pants with a loose, floral polyester shirt. Seth had rarely seen her wear any other style. She was in her late sixties, but she looked and acted younger. Though a few pounds overweight and on medication for high blood pressure, she was in pretty good shape overall, bustling around the house with almost endless energy during the hours she worked for him, keeping his household running like a well-oiled machine.
“That sounds delicious. Thanks.”
“You’re home early.”
Because Alice was old enough to be on her own for an hour or so, Nina was usually either already gone or on her way out when Seth arrived home unless they’d arranged for her to stay with Alice when he had plans that kept him out late. Occasionally she ate dinner with him and Alice, but Nina had a busy calendar. Most of her evenings were filled with activities, from bingo to church activities to her bowling league. His sixty-something widowed housekeeper had a much more active social life than he did, Seth thought wryly.
“I had an appointment canceled at the last minute, so I sneaked out while I had the chance. Where’s Alice?”
“She’s out in the backyard with that hound of hers, trying to teach it tricks. I wish her luck. That mutt’s got a head harder than a concrete wall.”
Seth chuckled. “He does at that.”
Still, even after just one obedience class, he thought he was seeing a little improvement in Waldo’s behavior. Or was he being too much of an optimist?
“I’m just going to run these towels upstairs and then I’m done for the day. Unless you want me to cook the pasta for you before I leave? Won’t take me but a few minutes.”
“No, thanks. I’m perfectly capable of boiling pasta. I know this is your bingo night.”
Smiling, Nina left the kitchen, humming some old gospel song under her breath, as she was prone to do. He really was fond of Nina, Seth thought, setting his briefcase on the kitchen table. She was a treasured member of his small family.
He shrugged out of his suit coat, slung it over the back of a chair and opened the fridge. He was thirsty. He’d have a quick sip of the fresh-brewed iced tea Nina always
kept on hand, then head upstairs to change before cooking the pasta.
“Hi, Dad.” A radiant smile beaming from amidst her wind-tossed curls, Alice burst through the back door into the kitchen. “I’ve been walking Waldo on the leash. He’s doing a lot better. He sits almost every time I tell him to.”
“Just keep working with him, he’ll get there.”