Her Lost and Found Baby (The Daycare Chronicles 1)

Johnny suggested dinner at the beach, followed by a walk on the sand. He wanted romance, but didn’t expect it. Wasn’t actually convinced it was a good idea. His time with Tabitha was coming to an end, and even though he fully intended to stay in touch with her, to answer if she ever called him. To be there if she ever needed him. He knew she’d been right when she said that once he returned home his life would consume him.

Just as hers would consume her if she got her son back.

He also knew he couldn’t delay his own life until that point. It could be years. Or never.

Still, he couldn’t pretend the night before had never happened. They’d had fantastic sex. Even if they weren’t going to do it again, that was worth acknowledging.

Taking heart from her ready agreement with his suggestion that they stay down at the beach for the evening, Johnny took her to a seafood place with balcony seating over the sand. Ordered them both a glass of wine. Over dinner he talked to her about his Angel’s Food Bowls franchise plan—including the use of the proceeds to fund a nonprofit that aided parents in the search for missing children.

“To give you an idea of how that could look,” he said, “parents could apply for money to fund a private investigator...”

Her smile was so personal, Johnny felt like he’d just closed the deal. Except that there wasn’t a deal on the table. Yet.

“That sounds wonderful, Johnny,” she said. And something occurred to him, right there on the spot.

“I was thinking you could hold a position on the board,” he said. “Of the nonprofit. Like maybe head it up.”

He wanted romance and he was offering her a job?

Her glow continued to warm him. “I would love that, Johnny. Seriously. I don’t know how much time it would take, but I’ll find the time. I think it’s a great idea.”

He honestly didn’t know how much time it would take, either. He was working on the fly here, which was so unheard of for him, he wasn’t sure what came next.

“You’ll get a salary,” he told her. Because he knew that much. Knew quite a bit, actually. He just hadn’t made any spreadsheets yet for this particular project. He had to have a budget, to estimate his profits per franchise per year, put out feelers to get an idea of how many franchises they could expect to sell in the first year, and at what fees. There’d be permits and licensing costs. The nonprofit would need startup and marketing budgets—

“You don’t have to pay me, Johnny. I’m happy to do whatever I can...” Tabitha interrupted his thoughts. And spawned new ones. If she was running the nonprofit, he could keep in touch with her. Even if just peripherally.

“Wait until you find out the workload before you say that,” he said. If the food truck franchising didn’t produce enough income, he could talk to his father; there were other monies they could donate to the nonprofit. This thing was going to roll. It had to. And Tabitha...she was enthusiastic about it. As he’d known she would be. Yeah, she had to run it.

And if he got to work immediately, the nonprofit could be ready to go before his sabbatical was over. Adrenaline pumped through him. He was going to make it happen.

She was smiling at him.

“What?” he asked.

“You’re full of energy all of a sudden...”

He was.

“I’m just not used to it. Usually you’re more laid-back... I guess I’m getting a glimpse of Johnny the corporate attorney.”

No, he was pretty laid-back all the time. Didn’t get wound up about much, which was part of what made him good at what he did—whatever he did. He didn’t clog anything up with emotional baggage.

And if Tabitha was going to be working for him, they really needed to clear up the sex thing.

>

Paying their bill, he suggested they take a walk. The ocean air would be balmy. Fresh air was a must at the moment.

He started right in as soon as they were on the sand. “We need to talk about last night.”

“I was kind of hoping we wouldn’t.”

“It’s there.”

“I know. I didn’t say I didn’t think we needed to. I said I was hoping we wouldn’t.”

“So...you agree? We need to address it.”