She looked so alive. Her eyes were bright, not hollows of searing light. Her skin was flushed. Her hair was shiny and loose. She smelled sweet, like an apple tree. Like springtime. Like life. She stepped down. He made a little room for her. They turned at the base of the stairs, still facing each other, only inches apart.
She reached up to touch his face. She left her hand there as she looked into his eyes. “Did you sleep well?”
“No.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Not your fault.”
“We might have both slept better had we been together.”
“Mm-hmm.” His left hand reached for her hand as his right hand captured her jaw and neck. He stroked her skin softly with his thumb. “Do you keep your promises, Remi?”
She nodded. “I try to. I’ve learned not to make ones I can’t keep.”
“I promised Sally I would keep her safe, but I didn’t. She haunts me now.”
“Is that who you’ve been seeing? She’s Sally?”
“I think so.”
“You think she’s still alive?”
“No.”
“Then let’s find out what happened to her, give her justice, at least.”
“It’s gonna get bloody,” he warned.
Remi gave a nervous laugh as she looked up at him with her dark green eyes. “Are you afraid, Greer?”
His gaze moved back and forth between her eyes. “Afraid of the bad guys? No. Afraid I’ll never know what happened to Sally? Yes. Afraid of ghosts? Hell yes.” He released her and started up the steps.
“Greer,” she said when he was halfway up the stairs, “I believe you’ll keep your promise to me.”
He studied her over his shoulder, then pivoted and headed back down the steps. Without a word, he caught her face in his hands and crushed his mouth to hers. Her hands moved up his arms to hook over his shoulders. She opened to him, held herself against him.
Her touch chased the shadows away. He pulled back to look at her. He’d said he wouldn’t rush her, but giving her the space she needed to make up her mind about them was a whole lot harder than he’d expected.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Mandy was in the living room with Ivy later that morning, waiting for the latest prospective teacher to arrive for an interview. Max phoned her.
“Wynn Ratcliff’s here. Eddie’s on her way with Tank. Let her check the teach out before she brings her inside.”
“Is that really necessary?” Mandy asked.
“It’s not optional. You want Rocco to come up?”
“No. Let us chat with her first. If she’s a good candidate, I’ll call him up to talk to her.”
“Copy that. Selena will be with you for the visit.”
“Thanks, Max.”
“Yep. Hope she’s the one.”
“Me too!”
The search for a live-in tutor/nanny had been more difficult than Mandy would have expected. Rocco was offering an amount considerably higher than the going salary for a public school teacher in rural Wyoming. They should have had an adequate pool of applicants to choose from. Over a hundred had applied, but only eight were worth interviewing. The first seven, while highly qualified on paper, had been absolute no-gos. The skill sets for a teacher and that of a nanny didn’t seem to exist in a single individual. Mandy had begun to think they might have to hire two people for the different roles she and Rocco wanted to fill.
The woman they were meeting today, Wynn Ratcliff, was the eighth candidate so far. Her application had come in after the initial batch, but she was highly qualified. She’d graduated a year earlier from the University of Wyoming with a degree in elementary education. Since then, she’d only been working as a substitute teacher—something concerning to Ivy. That might work in their favor; if they liked her, she would be available quickly.
Selena went to the door as Eden brought the teacher inside. Tank seemed absolutely uninterested in her, which was a good thing. Mandy and Ivy stood up.
“Ladies, Ms. Ratcliff is here for her interview,” Selena said as she brought the young woman into the living room.
“Wynn’s fine,” she said.
Mandy liked her instantly. She was tall—same height as Selena but with a zaftig build, soft and feminine. She had long brown hair, an oval face, blue-brown eyes that smiled when she smiled. Mandy hoped she sailed through the interview; she was certain Zavi would love her.
Mandy handled the introductions. Kathy brought in a tray of coffee, ice water, and cookies. They made small talk for a bit, then covered most of the interview questions she and Ivy had compiled.
“One last question, Wynn,” Ivy said. “Can you tell us why you’re subbing and not working a full-time position?”
“My grandmother had a stroke toward the end of my last semester. She was in intensive care when I graduated. She’s just recently been moved to a long-term care facility. She seems to be responding well to treatment and rehab. I did receive several great job offers, but they were all out of state. I just couldn’t bring myself to be very far from her. She raised me. We’re the only family we have. Also, subbing allows me adequate time to work on my masters in gifted education. That’s why your position here sounded so interesting.” She sipped her coffee. “Can you tell me about the students I’ll have?”
Mandy nodded. “Zavi is four. He’s a linguistic savant, like his father. His dad will handle teaching him languages. We’re looking for someone who can keep up with him, present him with intellectual challenges, keep him from getting bored. Ideally, we’d like someone who’s comfortable being both nanny and tutor.”
“I feel I’m equipped for that challenge. Is he the only student?” Wynn asked.
“There’s also my daughter, Casey, who’s twelve. She goes to the local public school. You won’t be tutoring her, unless she needs help with homework, and her dad and I aren’t around. For the most part, you’ll only be teaching Zavi, with some babysitting duties for both kids within your forty hours a week.”