had the chance to get away?
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Chapter 7
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E veryone slept in on Saturday. Jill got up around seven, showered and put on jeans and a sweatshirt. She had to admit that this job was really easy to dress for. She sure didn't miss having to put on a suit and panty hose every day.
She made a detour on her way to the kitchen and peeked out the window. Craig's car was parked in front of the house. It was strange to never know if he was home or not. Worse, once she realized he was in the house – sleeping upstairs – her stomach gave a little flutter. She wondered what he slept in… She pressed her palm to her belly and willed herself to stay calm. It didn't matter if he was home. It didn't matter if he wasn't. She wasn't interested. He was her employer, nothing else. She wasn't going to get involved.
And pigs landed regularly at the airport just outside town.
She turned around and headed for the kitchen, trying to justify her attraction to Craig. He was a handsome man. She hadn't been with a man in a couple of years. The last few months of her marriage had been during the custody trial for the girls and she and Aaron hadn't been intimate much. She hadn't dated at all since then, so she was simply reacting to the proximity of an available male. It would have been the same with anyone. This wasn't specifically about Craig.
As she collected the ingredients to make pancakes, she thought it was pretty stupid to lie to herself. After all, she knew the truth. She might not like it, but she knew it.
In the two weeks she'd been a member of the Haynes household, she'd had several late-night or early-morning talks with her employer. If he wasn't home for dinner, she left something out for him. Usually she heard him in the kitchen and came out to see how he was. At first she'd been a little self-conscious, but then she reminded herself that he'd already seen her in a skimpy robe that first day he showed up at Kim's house. So seeing her in a terry-cloth one that brushed the floor was hardly exciting.
In the silent hours of night, he talked about his work, and she brought him up-to-date on the children. They talked about who was angry with whom, who was doing homework and who had broken what. In the time since her divorce, she'd forgotten how volatile childish tempers could be. One minute there were screams of hatred and the next they were playing together. She figured as long as everyone got along in the end, she didn't mind.
She hadn't heard Craig come in the previous night. Idly, she wondered if he was home for the weekend. He hadn't had a day off since she arrived two weeks ago.
The boys told her that he usually worked regular hours, but this special assignment demanded more. They weren't sure what he was doing, but they knew it was something they could be proud of.
They worried about their dad, and he worried about them. She poured milk into the pancake batter and stirred it vigorously. Aaron had always been concerned with how things looked, while Craig worried about how things really were. Too bad she hadn't seen her ex was a jerk before she married him.
When the batter was finished, she rinsed off the first strawberries of the season, cut them up and put them in a bowl. Then she started coffee. When the pot was dripping steadily, she went upstairs to wake the boys.
C.J. was already sitting up and reading. He gave her a smile and said he would be right down.
Danny stirred sleepily. "What's for breakfast, Jill?" he asked.
She bent over and brushed his hair from his eyes. "Pancakes."
He smiled. "Good. I love pancakes. I can eat a hundred."
She bent over and kissed his cheek. "Then that's how many I'm going to make for you."
She stood up and moved into Ben's room. When she opened the door, he opened his eyes and glanced at her, then at the clock.
"It's late."
"I know. Breakfast is ready."
Dark eyes met hers. "What about our walk?"
"Everyone gets to take a day off. Instead of walking, you can play outside with
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