‘‘It’s always bad at this time of day. I used to drive to work, but switched to walking and public transportation. It was easier.”
And a lot less stressful, but she didn’t think she should mention that at this particular moment.
When he looked at his watch again and frowned, she had to ask, “Are we under some kind of time deadline?”
“You got it in one, sister. If I don’t get my kid out of the day care by six, she’s history.”
“You mentioned that before. I can’t believe the facility would be so inflexible as to enforce such a ruling. Surely parents are a few minutes late from time to time.”
He shot her a glance and grinned. “Probably. And they were good about it the first dozen times. But it’s chronic with us.”
She cleared her throat. “Can't your wife pick up your child?”
“Nope, been dead for more than a year.”
She opened her mouth to ask another question, but he raised his hand. “And before you start on another line of inquiry, I’ll tell you so far I haven’t been able to keep a housekeeper any longer than I can keep a secretary.”
Michelle darted him a dark glance. Somehow she wasn’t surprised to hear that. He about drove her crazy and she’d met him less than an hour ago.
“About my father,” she said, changing the subject.
“Can’t do it. Try the police,” he said.
Disappointed, she considered her other options. At least he wasn’t trying to charge enough money to pay off the national debt.
“I don’t think the police will help. I just want someone to locate him.”
“And do what?”
She blinked. She hadn’t even thought that far ahead which she acknowledged. “Just locate him and tell me where he is. We’ll take it from there.”
“Who’s we?” he asked.
“My sisters and me. We just found out a couple of months ago that he didn’t abandon us as we were always told. Now we want to try to find him.”
“After twenty-three years? That might not be so easy. What have you got for me to go on?”
“His name and if I get his age from my birth certificate, I can give you that. I do know he worked as an oil wildcatter twenty-three years ago. The company he worked for might still be around.”
“Did you try asking them?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know which company he worked for.”
“Great.”
He pulled off the jammed street onto a quiet one, winding his way through the modest neighborhood. He slammed to a stop by a colorful building which held the pre-school. A little girl dressed in denim overalls, white shirt, with a small baseball cap on her brown hair sat forlornly on the front steps. In her arms were papers and paintings and one ragged teddy bear. Beside her stood an older woman.
Michelle knew by the tight-lipped expression on the woman’s face that Joshua had missed his deadline.
He checked his watch.
“Ten minutes late! You'd think they’d give me ten lousy minutes.”
He thrust open the car door and strode over to the little girl.
Michelle watched as the child popped up from her step and raced to her father. Rolling down the window, letting out the lingering air-conditioned coolness and feeling the rush of sticky humid air, Michelle strained to hear what she was saying.
“I haff to take all my stuff,” she said, offering her father the stack of papers, but retaining hold on the teddy bear.
The older woman walked down the sidewalk. “Mr. O’Malley. I’m sorry, but the center just can’t allow this. We have been more then lenient with you. More so than any other parent in our group. But it is unfair to continue to expect us to bend the rules for you. I’m afraid you’ll have to find other arrangements for Penny.”
She handed him a large manila envelope.
“This contains her records. Good luck.”
She gave Penny a quick hug and said something to the little girl. Michelle was relieved to find the woman could smile. At least she didn’t leave the little girl thinking she was mad at her.
When she looked at Joshua, however, her heart skipped a beat. For such a large man, he looked curiously vulnerable. He squatted down near the little girl. Even so he still seemed huge. Reaching out an arm, he scooped her up and began walking slowly back to the car.
When Penny caught sight of Michelle, she ducked her head close to her father.
“Who’s that?” she asked, studying Michelle warily.
“That’s Michelle.”
“Is she my new baby-sitter?”
“No, she’s—” Joshua looked at her and shrugged. “She’s just Michelle.”
He made sure the little girl was buckled in the car seat in the backseat before he climbed behind the wheel.
Leaning back against the seat, he stared out the window.
“Let’s go, Daddy, I’m hungry,” Penny said.
“We have to drop Michelle back at the office so she can get her car,” he said.
“I can find my own way back,” she said.
It’d probably be safer than a return trip with Joshua’s wild driving.
He'd made his position clear on her request, so there was really no need to continue this farce of a meeting. Tomorrow she’d have to go through the phone book again and see if there were any other agencies she could try. She was not giving up!
“We’ll take you back.” He started the engine.
Joshua hated having to fight his way through the traffic again to return to the office. But he still had to get to that side of town to go home. Maybe while there, he could find something for Penny to snack on. If he picked up some files to take home, he’d be that much farther ahead in the morning. With no baby-sitter and no day care for tomorrow, he’d be stuck at home with Penny while he looked for someone to take care of her.
“There are other day care facilities,” Michelle said softly.
“I know, we’ve been in most of them.”
He wondered if the first one would give them another chance. It had been almost a year.
‘‘What you need is a housekeeper who’d
