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He held out a hand with a wide smile. “I’m the intake specialist. Mostly paperwork. Very boring.”
“Oh,” she said, and then recovered quickly. Jack could tell she was surprised that Jose was staff and not a resident. “Nice to meet you.”
Jose turned back to Jack. “Well, if you change your mind, I’ve got a ten-year-old who’s nagging me to death for lessons.” He started for the cafeteria door.
“If I could save you from that, I would,” Jack answered a little wistfully. He would love to be spending all his time up on the mountain instead of behind a desk.
“Look, there’s the director.” Jack waved an arm and called, “Grant, would you like to meet our newest team members?”
The dark-haired director carried his little boy in his arms, his red tie wrapped firmly in the toddler’s fist. “Sabrina, I should have warned you about Jack and his ability to draw people into the team.” His voice was layered with good humor. “And these two young ladies seem to be the very players we needed. God sent you to us just in time.”
Kassey and Gabby smiled shyly. Jack caught Sabrina’s gaze and he winked. Between Gavin’s princesa comment and Grant’s directorial blessing, these two were going to pop with happiness. He loved this nonpaying job more than anything he’d ever done as a VP. In a world that seemed cold and ugly, all of this attention was just what the girls needed.
“Sabrina, tell me you fixed the old Hobart. I’m afraid to go in there. Marisol might eat me alive, so I’m bringing Gabriel for protection,” Grant said.
“Abuelita!” The little baby crowed the word and pointed to the kitchen. His blue eyes were fixed on the entrance as if Marisol would exit at any moment.
“See? He knows where he can find her. In a moment, buddy.” Grant’s smile faded and his heavy brows drew down. “Either the machine was too broken to fix or it was a simple cleanup job. Please tell me it was the latter.”
“I took off the front panel and cleaned out the pieces. All the slicers looked fine, but there was half a potato jammed into the main hopper. All it needed was a little industrial solvent, a bit of degreaser and—” she glanced at Jack “—a spotter. Seems to be running okay now.”
Relief filled Grant’s eyes. “Wonderful. You’re worth your weight in gold. And not just because those machines cost twenty thousand dollars.”
She snorted. “I think your gratitude has more to do with Marisol and it being two days before Easter.”
“How right you are.” Grant ducked his head as Gabriel ran a chubby hand through his dad’s hair. It stood up straight on one side and Kassey giggled at the sight.
“Your baby is fixing your hair,” she told Grant.
“He likes to do that. He’s trying to make me into a rock star.” Grant pretended to devour Gabriel’s hand and the little boy giggled.
“My aunt says mohawks are weird,” Kassey went on.
“No way,” Jack said, pretending to be astonished.
Gabby giggled and nudged her sister.
Jack raised an eyebrow at them. “You think I should try one?”
“No,” she said, her voice soft. “Not that. What you said, my aunt doesn’t let us say that. She says we use too much slang, like her friend Maya.”
“No way!” He opened his eyes wide. The girls responded with muffled laughter and delighted grins.
Sabrina’s face was pinker than before, if possible. “They’re making me sound like a tyrant.”
“Not at all. My grandmother hates slang, so I can understand those rules.”
“Gabriel, there you are.” Marisol came toward the group, arms outstretched. The little boy held out his hands in response and Grant passed him over to be covered in kisses. “There’s my boy. So big, so tall!”
Grant tilted his head at them and whispered loudly, “I never get any attention anymore. It’s Gabriel this and Gabriel that. Like I don’t even exist.”
“Mentiroso, I give you lots of attention. And you ignore me. I tell you to cut your hair last week and you don’t listen.” She turned a critical gaze on him and clucked her tongue. Gabriel giggled at the sound and held a small hand to her mouth.
“Calista likes it a bit long in the back,” Grant said, shrugging.
“And that’s what happens when you get married.” Jack ran a hand through his own dark hair, cut short on the side and just a bit longer in the front. As active as he was, he didn’t want to have to fuss with his hair all the time. “You don’t even get to choose your own haircut.”
“Is that why you date every girl in town?” Marisol’s tone was light but her eyes missed nothing. “Always dating, never married. One date and then the girl is just a friend. Why? You like your hair so much? When you are old and it all falls out, then you will have no wife and no hair, either.”
Surprised laughter burst from Sabrina and she tried to cover it with a cough.
“I just haven’t found the right one, Mari. I admit, I’m picky.” That, and he was never sure if they liked him for who he was, or the fact he was the vice president of Colorado Supplements. “But I can never have too many friends, right?”
“Friends, friends.” Marisol’s dark eyes rolled heavenward. “There are better things than friends. Look at this baby. I’m sure your parents are waiting for grandchildren.”
“Well, Evie and Gavin can help them out there.” He tried not to look concerned. And he wasn’t, really. His parents had never really seemed excited about grandchildren. He glanced at Sabrina and saw her smile had slipped a bit. Marisol was making him out to be some sort of playboy who was determined never to have a family of his own.
Grant lifted a finger as if to halt the back-and-forth. “Marisol, is Easter brunch on schedule? Or should we put it back a week? We can still have the Easter egg hunt after the service, of course.”
“No, everything is going to be fine. I am so happy all the kids will have Easter. Sweet little ones. Such joy.” Her tanned face creased with a peaceful smile.
“Watching Sabrina work was absolutely impressive,” Jack said. “We should get rid of that old statue out front and put up a monument to Sabrina the mechanic. It would be much more inspiring.”
He felt his grin falter as he caught sight of Sabrina’s face. The look she was giving him was a few levels short of overwhelming gratitude. Did she think he was being sarcastic? He was teasing about the statue, but he’d meant his original compliment to be taken seriously. She locked eyes with him and one slim eyebrow arched.
Not knowing what else to say, Jack tried to look as innocent as possible. Those beautiful brown eyes narrowed. He wasn’t making it better. He didn’t quite understand the emotions that crossed her face, but he wanted to, more than he had wanted anything in a long time. Something about this dark-eyed woman with the soft accent tugged at him. The noise in the gym seemed to fade away as their gazes held.
He cleared his throat and looked away. No matter how intriguing she was, he didn’t have the freedom to do anything about it. His life was a complicated mess. With his dad recovering from his heart attack, Jack needed to focus on the family company. Plus, he was having a little professional crisis of his own. A woman like Sabrina wouldn’t give a minute of her time to a man who didn’t even know whether he wanted to quit his own job or not. Maybe after he was sure the company was on track, his dad was back at the helm and he’d solved his own personal problems, he could ask her to dinner. But not now, not yet.
* * *
She couldn’t figure this guy out. On the outside he was just like all the rich, privileged kids she’d known in high school. He had the confidence that came with knowing whatever he tried would be a success. Guys like Jack were born halfway to the finish line and no one questioned that they would do well in life. Girls like Sabrina were born already late for the race.
But what she saw in Jack’s eyes was something totally different. When he’d said she was impressive, she was sure he’d been making fun of her. Not that she cared. She was used to the snide comments and wisecracks over being a woman mechanic. She’d started to give him the death stare...and realized he’d been paying her a compliment. All her anger slid into a mass of confusion. This guy, who looked like so many guys she’d known and avoided like the plague, might just be different. In the space of one hour, he had found out more about her than anyone else she’d met in the past few years. She spent her time trying to keep her private life out of the way, out of sight. He certainly cared enough to talk to her like a human being. Was she becoming one of those people who made snap judgments, just on appearance? Sabrina hated being pigeonholed just because she was Hispanic and a woman, but maybe she was just as guilty as everyone else.
“I’m glad Easter brunch will happen.” It wasn’t quite a thank-you for the compliment, but it would have to do. As she spoke, her heart felt as though it was lifting, expanding.
“You saved Easter, mija,” Marisol said.
“I’m telling you, the girl needs her own mural. At the very least, a plaque,” Jack said. That teasing grin appeared again and suddenly Sabrina couldn’t help wishing, just for a moment, that she was the kind of girl he might be interested in asking out on a date. In the next moment, she forced herself back to reality. It was ridiculous to spend a second dreaming about Jack. Even if they weren’t from the opposite ends of the cultural spectrum, she couldn’t be anybody’s girlfriend right now. Kassey and Gabby came first. Full stop.
Grabbing her toolbox, she brushed back her hair with a free hand. “It’s late and the girls need to get to bed. We’ll get these forms back to you. See you next Thursday.” She turned on her heel.
“Wait!” Jack’s voice made her pause midstep. “Aren’t you coming to Easter brunch? You fixed the Hobart. You should be here to enjoy the feast.”
Sabrina frowned. They must look like all the other mission residents, sort of scraggly and poor. She self-consciously touched her ponytail. It had been years since she’d had her hair professionally cut. She scoured the secondhand shops, trying to keep the girls looking tidy even if they didn’t have new clothes. Or maybe he thought they didn’t have anywhere else to go because they were a broken family. Sabrina glanced down into the hopeful eyes of her nieces and let out a breath. As much as she wanted to deny it, he was right. They didn’t have anywhere to go. Mrs. Guzman from upstairs was going to her daughter’s house for Easter and this little family would be all alone.
“Sure, we’ll be here,” she said. The girls gripped her arms and squealed with excitement. Sabrina rolled her eyes at their response but couldn’t help smiling a little. It was a homeless mission, but it was the friendliest place she’d been in a long time. It wouldn’t hurt to spend Easter here if it made them happy.
“Wonderful,” Grant said. “There’s always room for more at the table.”
Marisol beamed at Jack. “I forgive you for wanting to be everyone’s friend. You help bring us all together for Easter.”
“Glad to help.” Jack was speaking to Marisol, but his gaze was on Sabrina. He rocked back on his heels for a second, looking pleased with himself. It made him look about five years old and it was absolutely adorable.
Sabrina forced herself to turn away, calling a farewell over her shoulder. It was nice to think of spending Easter somewhere other than their apartment and even nicer not to have to worry about finding something special to cook on their nonexistent budget. They would go to the early service, have a great meal at the mission, say hi to Marisol and the girls could feel as if it had been a real Easter.
She wouldn’t have to worry about navigating around Jack and his heart-stopping smile because people like him didn’t celebrate Easter in a shelter. He would be surrounded by family—parents and siblings and grandparents. If only it could be that way for the two little girls who trailed behind her on the way out of the gym. Sabrina’s stomach twisted a little at the thought and she brushed off the jealousy.
But she’d had her fill of if-only moments and she was determined that Kassey and Gabby would be able to depend on her, not someone with her head in the clouds. She would show the judge that she was stable and loving enough to be their legal guardian, and they would be a permanent family. It wasn’t perfect—these sweet girls should have a mom and a dad—but Sabrina would have to do. She was all they had. She would do everything in her power to keep them all together, to raise them in faith and shower them with love.
Any gaps left over, God would have to step in. There wasn’t anybody else.
Chapter Three
“Hold on. I thought you were quitting as soon as Dad was well enough to come back full-time.” Evie sat up ramrod straight in the chair across from her twin and arched a brow. Jack knew that look and pretended he didn’t see it.
The morning sun was blazing through the window and the office seemed about ten degrees too warm. Jack pulled at his tie, wishing he was on Wolf Mountain at that very minute. It had snowed four inches that morning, and the boarding on Horseshoe Bowl would be phenomenal. But he was being good and was at work, like a responsible man.
“I am. Just not quite yet. I’m playing it by ear.” His mahogany desk was polished so brightly he could see his reflection. He shuffled a few papers.
“Not yet? You’ve been unhappily employed for five long years, planned the big exit, plotted out a new business venture and now it’s not yet?” She leaned forward. “Getting cold feet? I’ll be there. Gavin will be there. You won’t have to do this alone.”
“Thank you.” He meant it. Evie was closer to him than any other person, and he couldn’t think of making such a huge change without her input. “But I had a sort of revelation and think I should give it another try.”
There was a small pause. She looked as if she was choosing her words. “May I ask how this revelation came about?”
Jack snorted. Leave it to her to cut to the chase. Not the why, but the how. “Just talking to a friend yesterday and I realized that I had always treated this job like it was an option, not a necessity.”
She shook her head, dark hair the color of his own brushing her shoulders, blue eyes the same shade as his narrowed in thought. “We’ll get back to that idea, but first, which friend?”
“A new friend.”
“Girl?”
“Not a girlfriend.” He waved a hand as if to say that was silly to even ask, even though he had to admit the thought had crossed his mind. More than crossed it. The thought had walked in and set up camp in a corner.
“Tell me about this not-a-girlfriend girl.” She leaned back, arms over her chest. She managed to look completely uninterested, but he knew her better than that. She was going to get all the details, sooner or later. Probably sooner.
“The mission mechanic who was working on the chopper. Marisol asked me to help. We were just talking.” He shrugged, hoping that would end the interrogation.
“And in five minutes you scrapped the plans you’ve made so carefully, for another, what, ten years of this?”
He winced. Ten years. The very thought made him want to run from the office, out the door, down the stairs and into the sunshine. “It was more than five minutes.”
“I want to meet this girl mechanic.”
“It really doesn’t have anything to do with her.” Right? He stared at his hands, remembering the grease under her nails, the softness of her skin.
“Amazing. She must have really helped you understand this decision and be great at giving advice.” Evie’s voice was light, but she wasn’t smiling.
He sighed. “I didn’t tell her anything about my life. We talked about her job.” Now that it came down to it, he didn’t even know if he could explain. “It was more than that. She’s taking care of her little nieces. I got the feeling there wasn’t anybody else around to help. It made me realize that I don’t carry a lot of responsibility, but I sure whine like I do.”
Evie leaned across the desk and gripped his hand. “Just because someone else doesn’t have the choices you do, that doesn’t mean you have to suffer. I understand the guilt, I really do. But there are better ways to contribute to the world than by making yourself unhappy.”
“I know that. But I wonder how hard I’ve been trying.” He looked up, feeling the residual humility of seeing his choices in a new light. “Really trying, not just wasting time. I wanted to get some numbers on the production costs here locally and asked a few questions. Bob Barrows shot me down and I just...walked away, thinking of how soon I could get out of here.”
“You don’t have a lot of power, just a title. What else can you do?”
“I’m the vice president of the company. I can act like it for once.” Resolve had been building ever since that conversation with Sabrina in the kitchen and it stiffened his back. “I emailed Bob this morning for the numbers. I want to make sure our local packagers are keeping costs as low as possible. The numbers have gone up for the sixth month in a row. Something’s off and I want to know what.”
Evie leaned back in her chair. “I don’t understand how one conversation can make you rethink your plans. But whatever you decide, I’m behind you.” She paused, biting her lip. “Just make sure you’re not acting out of guilt. We can’t help which family we’re born into.”
“But I’ve sure spent a lot of time complaining, rather than using it to my advantage.”
Her eyes went a bit wider. “You’ve never wanted much to do with the family business. Now you’re ready to take on responsibility? Maybe Dad shouldn’t be trying to come back as president after all.”
“Come on, Evie.” He laughed but it sounded strained to his own ears. He wasn’t interested in being the president of the company, he was sure of it. But he’d like to be a better vice president.
“Will this girl be at the mission on Sunday?”
He blinked, trying to follow her train of thought, then nodded. “I think so. But if you and Grandma Lili pounce on her, she won’t have any idea why. What’s going on with me and this job has nothing to do with her.”
“I never pounce.” Evie rolled her eyes. “I just want to meet her. Usually you shrug off criticism. It’s odd to see you give so much weight to someone else’s opinion.”
“I’m telling you, we didn’t talk about me at all.”
“Then listening to her sad story gave you an early midlife crisis?” His sister was a kind person, but she didn’t have a lot of patience for whiners.
“I was already having a crisis. Maybe she just gave me some perspective.” He rubbed his temples. “And sure, she’s one of those people who has a sad story, but you have to pull it out of them. It wasn’t volunteered.”
Evie considered that for a moment. “Now I really want to meet her.”
He blew out a sigh. “Fine. But let’s keep our family business out of it.”
She grabbed her purse and stood up. “No comments, I promise. I’ve got to get back to the paper and hear what the lawyers have to say about our slave-labor series.”
“You’ve been chasing that story for years. I don’t see why the lawyers won’t let you run something already.”
Her blue eyes turned somber. “It makes me angry every time they catch another group. It’s always by accident, always just a few people kept against their will. And the workers say they were moved over and over, different buildings, lots of guards, rotating groups. We know it’s big and it’s here, right in our own city.”
“Isn’t there enough from the police reports to back up the series?”
She shook her head. “We can run a few small articles, and we have. But this series is different. It takes a lot of information from sources we can’t identify, mostly for their own safety. The lawyers are there to make sure we don’t get sued, but I sure hate having to take that advice.”
“Do you think they’ll give it the okay this time?”
“Not a chance.” Her tone was nonchalant, but her expression was dejected. “But I have to try. There are people in modern-day slavery, right here.”
“I’m proud to be your brother, you know that?”
Her face flashed surprise, then pleasure. “Thank you, and ditto.” She reached the door and turned. “Whatever you decide, I’m behind it. You know that.”
Nodding, he didn’t try to say anything. As the door closed, he swallowed hard. Theirs wasn’t a perfect family, by any stretch of the imagination. Their father was distant and consumed by running the business. Their mother was sweet but distracted by anything that offered a spot on a committee. It had always been that way, as long as he could remember.
Evie had been his cheerleader, his confidante, his voice of reason when he got a crazy new idea. When Evie had fallen in love with his best friend, he hadn’t been worried about losing either one. He’d been thrilled. Gavin was perfect for her.
He wanted what they had, someday. Sabrina’s face flashed through his mind, startling him. Evie had asked a lot of questions, and not the ones he’d been expecting. Certainly not the ones he could answer right now. He pushed the unsettling feelings away.
He stretched his arms over his head, feeling the muscles burn, not used to sitting at a desk for hours at a time. Starting today, he was going to put everything he had into his job. No more soul-searching over finding his purpose. The fact that he was born into this family, and given this job, should be good enough. Of course, he had some serious catching up to do. Proving his value at the company would be an uphill battle after the years of doing the absolute minimum required. And his first task was getting Bob Barrows to cough up those production numbers.
* * *
“But you said the rent change would go into effect on the first of next month.” Sabrina struggled to keep her voice level, but her hands were shaking.
Mr. Snyder shook his head and spoke slowly, as if to a child. “You misunderstood me. I was very clear that the rent would be raised immediately. English can be a tough language to learn.” He shifted his feet, shiny shoes squeaking on the polished tile of the apartment building foyer.
She was momentarily speechless. Sure, English was her second language, but she’d learned it almost twenty years ago when she entered kindergarten. The only thing she had misunderstood was Mr. Snyder’s determination to evict her.
“So, if the rent hike went into effect right away, what do I owe?” Again, she kept her voice calm, as if she really had anything left to give him. Last month it had been a change in the electric bill that meant two hundred dollars for “upgrades.” Then a few weeks later it was a maintenance fee for the small patch of scrub that passed for the lawn. Every resident was now paying fifty dollars a month for upkeep of the “courtyard.”
“Two hundred and fifty dollars.” He watched her face intently, his watery blue eyes barely visible behind the dirty lenses of his glasses.
“Okay.” Sabrina felt despair rise in her throat. Their savings would take a real hit. “When do you need it?”
“Now.” He paused, as if reconsidering. His long fingers fiddled with the zipper on his windbreaker. “But the biggest change is going to be next month. The building is being signed over to a new company and they want a deposit.”
“But I paid a deposit when I moved in! I have the receipt. Seven hundred dollars for a cleaning deposit and first and last month’s rent. You can’t charge me another deposit.” She tried to breathe past the lump of pure panic in her throat.
“Don’t yell at me. I can tell you to get out at any time.” His expression was a combination of annoyance and triumph. “I’m trying to do the right thing and give you fair warning.”
Fair warning...Sabrina put a hand to her eyes and fought to stay calm. All she wanted was to give her nieces a good home, somewhere safe and near a good school, but more than all of that was the need to appear stable. She couldn’t be moving before the custody hearing. Tears burned at the back of her eyes and she gulped in a breath. But unless money fell from the sky, she was going to have to find another place. Maybe they could move quickly, so that they’d be settled by the time the court date came around.