The Bachelor's Sweetheart Read online

  He tossed his shades onto the passenger-side seat and glanced in the rearview mirror, running his hand over his hair. He and Tessa didn’t need all the formality she was insisting on. She couldn’t think he’d bail on a less-formal agreement. She was his best friend, probably his only real friend, except for his brothers. There were the people he hung out with at work, the singles group at church and the vets at the American Legion in Ticonderoga, but they were more acquaintances. He hadn’t connected with any of them like he had with Tessa. As for his high school friends still in the area, they were better avoided.

  A motion in the mirror caught his eye. Tessa waved from the sidewalk in front of the law office. He unfolded himself from the truck and strode over, battling the uncertainty that he couldn’t seem to shake about the wisdom of this deal.

  “Hi,” Tessa said, “right on time.”

  “Would you expect anything less?” He opened the door to the building and motioned her to go in first.

  “Not with you and a business deal.”

  He let the door snap shut behind him. Ambition was a good quality. He bristled. It kept food on the table.

  The attorney met them in the reception area. He was probably anxious to get to his lunch. At the thought of food, Josh’s stomach rumbled. He hadn’t had lunch, thinking he and Tessa could grab something together quick before he had to be at the school.

  “Ms. Hamilton, Mr. Donnelly, come right back to my office. I have the agreement all ready.”

  Josh and Tessa took the two seats in front of the desk.

  “How’s that little sister of yours?” the attorney asked.

  “She’s doing well with Jared and Becca. Fits right in with Becca’s two kids.” Tessa’s attorney was the same one Jared had used to get custody of their orphaned half sister, Hope, last year. “I’m going over to the school to talk to her class about my job for career day when we finish here.”

  “Let’s get going then.” The attorney gave each of them a copy of the contract. “Take your time. Read it thoroughly and ask me any questions you have.”

  Tessa skimmed over the two pages and placed them on the desk in front of her, while Josh read every word. He went back to the clause about paying him 20 percent of the Majestic profits until his time was paid for at the rate he and Tessa had agreed to verbally.

  “What would happen if the profits aren’t enough to pay me my percentage and cover Tessa and her grandmother’s living expenses?”

  Tessa bristled. “Don’t worry, Josh. You’ll get paid.”

  He shook his head slowly. Maybe she didn’t know him as well as he thought she did. He was ambitious, not callous. “My concern is for you being obligated to pay me money you might not have.”

  She pressed a fist to her lips and dropped it to her lap. “Then why did you agree to do the work?” The hurt in her eyes spoke her unsaid words. You don’t think I’ll succeed.

  Now he’d insulted her. But he did have doubts about the project’s viability and didn’t want to put Tessa and her grandmother in financial straits again.

  “Do you two need a moment to discuss things?” the attorney asked, glancing at the clock.

  From what Josh figured Tessa had told the attorney, the man had probably thought this was a ten-minute slam-dunk done deal.

  “I want to do the work.” Josh looked from the attorney to Tessa. “Can we add a profit threshold where payments to me would kick in? It could be based on the average monthly cost of living for a two-person household in Essex County.”

  “I could do that,” the attorney said. “Let me check that figure. Or do you need to think about it, Ms. Hamilton?” He typed into his computer while he waited for her answer.

  “I can come back later, after I’m done at the school,” Josh said.

  “It’s fine,” Tessa said in a tone that didn’t support her words.

  “I’ve got that figure.” The attorney wrote the numbers on a pad and turned it toward them.

  “The amount looks reasonable to me,” Tessa said.

  Josh thought it looked low, compared to what he brought in as a senior drafter at GreenSpaces and what he knew Tessa must have earned as a civil engineer for the state. He pressed his lips together to prevent any of the brain-mouth disconnect he’d suffered with Tessa last Saturday. “Okay, Tessa will be obligated to pay my cut only after the safety-net amount has been reached. And, as it already reads, if I can’t finish the work for any reason, she’ll owe no royalties and I’ll reimburse her fair rental for any time I’ve been in the apartment.”

  Tessa hadn’t liked that clause, but he had to protect her, both of them, if he received a promotion offer from one of the other GreenSpaces offices.

  “Correct,” the attorney confirmed. “If you have ten minutes, I can type the change in and print out a new agreement for you to sign, unless you have any other questions or problems.”

  “No, I’m good, and I don’t have to be at the school until one.”

  “I can stay, too,” Tessa said. She pulled out her cell phone and tapped on the screen while the attorney made the changes. The room was quiet, except for the click of the computer keyboard, followed by the whirr of the laser printer on the other side of the room.

  “I’ll get those.” Josh was out of his seat before the attorney could even push his chair away from the computer.

  Taking his copy from the top, he handed the other one to Tessa, sat and reread the revised clause. When he’d finished, Tessa already had a pen in hand, ready to sign.

  “Looks okay to me,” he said, picking up the other pen the attorney had laid out on the desk.

  “Hold off on signing until I get someone to witness your signatures.” The attorney left them alone in the office.

  “You are all right with my change?” Josh asked, breaking the silence.

  “I guess I have to be. No one else will do the work as cheaply as you will.”

  “You got other bids?”

  “No,” she shot back. “But I thought you had more faith in me.”

  “I have plenty of faith in you. It’s the tourist trade I’m not so sure of.”

  The attorney returned with Josh’s former girlfriend. “This is Lexi Zarinski. She’s filling in for the next few days while our receptionist is on vacation.”

  “I know Josh and Tessa from church. Hi.”

  “Hi.” Josh and Tessa signed and dated the agreement. The attorney took both agreements and placed the second sheet with the witness signature line on top.

  Lexi signed them both with a flourish. “I’m taking my lunch break now. Do you guys want to join me at the diner?” Although Lexi had included Tessa in her invitation, her gaze rested on Josh. He rearranged the pages of the agreement on the desk in front of him.

  “Sorry, I’ve got to get over to the school. I’m telling Hope’s class about my job for career day.”

  “And I told Grandma I’d go with her to her doctor’s appointment in Ticonderoga.”

  “Okay, maybe another time.” Lexi made her exit.

  The attorney rose and shook their hands. “Nice seeing both of you again.”

  “Thanks,” Tessa said.

  Josh nodded. He looked around for Lexi lurking as they walked across the reception area to the door. “I was going to ask you if you wanted to get some lunch, but I don’t have time now.”

  “I would have taken you up on the offer. Maybe even treated to make up for my outburst about you getting paid.” She stopped when they reached the sidewalk and looked up at him. “You know, I could just hug you for what you’re doing for Grandma and me.”

  After the way Tessa’s glamorous appearance at the wedding had affected him, he was glad she didn’t.

  * * *

  Josh grabbed his laptop from behind the driver’s seat before he headed into the buildi
ng that housed the Schroon Lake Central School, grades kindergarten through twelve, his alma mater. He signed in at the main office with Thelma Woods, who’d been the office manager for as long as he could remember.

  “The third grade room is the same as it’s always been,” Mrs. Woods said.

  “Okay, and I’ll be taking Hope home after school.”

  She leafed through a small pile of papers clipped together. “Yes, I have the note from Becca right here. You’ll need to sign out before you leave.”

  “Will do.”

  “Josh.” Hope called to him as he left the office.

  He waved at his sister.

  A middle-aged woman was leading a group of kids including Hope down the hall past the office. She stopped. “Mr. Donnelly?”

  “Josh.” He offered his hand.

  “I’m Merilee Bradshaw, Hope’s teacher. We’re on our way back from lunch. You can walk with us.”

  He stepped in line with Hope.

  “Is that your daddy?” the little boy in front of her asked.

  “No,” Hope huffed. “Like I told everybody, Josh is my brother. I have three big brothers. Jared, who I live with. He talked to our class last year. Mrs. Bradshaw said we had to have different people this year. Connor. He’s the pastor at my church and on his honeymoon with Natalie, so he couldn’t come today. And Josh.”

  Josh shook off the pang of hurt that he was apparently Hope’s third choice. “Who’s your friend?” He nodded at the little boy.

  “Owen Maddox, and he’s not a friend. He’s a boy.”

  “Can’t boys be friends? Tessa is my friend, and she’s a girl.”

  “You’re a grown-up, and she’s your girlfriend. That’s different.”

  “No, she’s just a friend who’s a girl.”

  Hope looked skeptical. Gram at the wedding, now Hope. What was so hard for everyone to get about Tessa and him being friends, not a couple?

  “Our room is the next one,” Hope said.

  “I know. It was my third grade room, and Jared and Connor’s, too.”

  Mrs. Bradshaw stood at the classroom doorway, counting heads as the kids filed in. She closed the door behind her last student. “Everyone put your lunch boxes in your cubbies, so we can hear Mr. Donnelly’s talk.”

  Josh waited for his sister and, when she finished, she led him to the middle of the room. “This is my desk, and this is my friend Ava.”

  “Hi,” the little girl at the desk beside Hope’s said. She eyed his laptop. “Are you going to show us racing videos like Hope’s other brother did last year? They were really cool.”

  Yeah. Josh was sure they were. Jared was cool. “No, we’re going to design a solar-powered go-cart.”

  “But you didn’t bring any wood or stuff.”

  “On the computer. You’ll see everything we do on the screen up front.” Josh had thought the kids would like brainstorming ideas for a go-cart and using the computer-aided design program to draw plans. His talk was hands-on. He planned to let the kids come up and use the program to add their details. And he’d gotten permission from his boss to print out copies of the plans at work for Hope to bring in and hand out to everyone on Friday.

  “Oh,” Ava said.

  “Mr. Donnelly, we’re ready.”

  Despite the lack of enthusiasm from Hope’s friend Ava, the talk went as well or better than Josh had hoped. The kids had some great and outlandish ideas. And Josh seemed to have made a friend in Hope’s non-friend, Owen. The little boy latched on to him to the point of asking if he wanted to sit next to him at his desk for the second job presentation of the afternoon. With Hope’s permission, he did.

  “Class, let’s thank Ms. Foster and Mr. Donnelly for talking to us today,” the teacher said when the other speaker had finished her presentation.

  “Thank you, Ms. Foster and Mr. Donnelly,” the classed chimed.

  A bell rang.

  “That means the buses are here,” Hope said.

  “Everyone get your things together and line up,” Mrs. Bradshaw said.

  She led the queue of third graders to the main door while Jared and Hope headed to the office to sign out. Owen trailed behind them.

  Josh stopped. “Owen, don’t you need to get on your bus?”

  “No, I wait for my mom in the office. She’s a teacher’s aide. Can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure.” Josh hoped he wouldn’t regret his hasty agreement.

  “You know a lot about go-carts. Have you ever made a Pinewood Derby racer?”

  “No, I haven’t. I wasn’t a Boy Scout. But my nephew made one.”

  “I want to make one, but Mom doesn’t know anything about building things.” Owen stared at his feet. “And my dad’s at Dannemora. We moved here so it’s not so far to drive to visit him.”

  Josh swallowed the lump in his throat. The maximum security Clinton Correctional Facility. Although his father had never been in more than the county jail for a few days, Josh could certainly relate to an absent father.

  “With all the stuff you know, we could make a winner.”

  He squatted to Owen’s level. “I can’t make any promises, but who’s your Scout leader?”

  “Mr. Hazard.”

  “I know Mr. Hazard. I’ll talk with him and see what I can do, okay?”

  A smile lit Owen’s face. “Okay!”

  “I’ll have to have your mother’s permission to help you.”

  “You can wait with me now and talk to her today.”

  Josh stood. “No, I want to talk to Mr. Hazard first.”

  “All right.” Owen took a seat in the office, and Josh signed Hope and him out.

  “Bye,” Owen said as they left. “See you tomorrow, Hope.”

  “Bye, Owen.” Hope’s goodbye sounded friendly enough. If it hadn’t, he would have had to have a talk with her, which wouldn’t be in sync with the fun-brother persona he cultivated. Hope’s situation as the new kid last school year hadn’t been a lot different from Owen’s.

  “Can we build something, too?” she asked as he made sure she had the seat belt buckled across her booster seat correctly.

  “What do you want to build?” If he didn’t watch it, he’d have so many projects going he’d have to take a leave of absence from his real job to do them all.

  “A castle in the backyard at my house.”

  “I’ll need to talk with Jared and Becca about that one.”

  “All right, but I’m sure it will be okay.”

  Josh wasn’t as sure. “I missed lunch. What do you say to an ice cream sundae at the diner while I get a burger and fries?”

  “I say yes. Becca and Jared only let us get cones.”

  Score one for big brother Josh. Since he didn’t plan on having any kids of his own, didn’t have it in him to be a husband and father, he figured it was his place to spoil Hope and Jared and Becca’s family and any kids Connor and Natalie might have.

  Hope caught him up on everything third grade while he ate his late lunch.

  “Be sure to talk to Jared,” Hope said when he walked her into the house.

  “Talk to me about what?” Jared asked, walking in behind them.

  “Tell him, Josh.” Hope scampered off to the other room.

  “Hope asked me to build her a castle in your backyard. I assume she means a playhouse castle.”

  “Better check that. With Hope, you never know. She could mean a full-scale stone-wall moat-surrounded castle.”

  Josh laughed.

  “I don’t see a problem. I’ll talk with Becca, and you can work the details out with our little sister.”

  “I have something else I want to talk with you about.”

  “My loan to Tessa? It’s the same as the loans I’ve made to other lo
cal businesses. It has nothing to do with whatever you two have going on.”

  Jared, too? “Friends. We’re friends. And that’s not what I wanted to talk with you about. It’s her loan, her business. What I want to talk to you about is a little boy in Hope’s class, Owen. He sounds like a good candidate for your motocross school program. His mom’s a teacher’s aide at the school, and he said his dad is at Dannemora.”

  Jared whistled.

  “After my talk, the little guy asked me if I’d help him build a car for the Pinewood Derby.”

  “Are you going to?”

  “Probably, after I talk with Ted Hazard, his Cub Scout Leader, and Owen’s mother.”

  “Your job, Tessa’s renovation, Hope’s castle, this kid’s Scout project and your volunteer fire department commitment. Think you might be spreading yourself a little thin?”

  Josh stared at his older brother. “I can handle it.”

  Jared might have the money to throw around to help people, but he didn’t have an exclusive on giving.

  Chapter Three

  The apartment was in worse shape than Tessa had expected. It looked like she had a good couple of hours’ work clearing junk out before she even got to scrubbing off the years’ worth of grime on everything. At least the appliances were in good condition, or they should be. Her grandmother had bought them from Jared and Becca last fall when they’d remodeled their kitchen, with the thought she might rent out the apartment.

  She opened a box blocking the way from the kitchen to the living room. A combination of dust and mold tickled her nose. “Achoo!”

  “God bless you.”

  Tessa spun around. “Josh, what are you doing here?”

  “I had to pick up a few things at the grocery store, so I thought I’d swing by and see my new place.” He weaved his way around the boxes and crates into the living room and peered into the bedroom. “Not much room for my furniture.”