There’s the tiniest hint of judgment in her tone, but I choose to ignore it. “A few times a week,” I admit.
A wrinkle appears across her forehead as she digests that information. “What could possibly be more—” Ember presses her lips together. “Ya know what? Never mind. What exactly is it that you want from me?”
“I think that’s pretty clear.”
“Parker, with you, nothing is clear.” She leans back and crosses her arms over her chest. The off-the-shoulder sweater she’s wearing drops a little lower, and my mouth waters at the sight of a tattoo that wasn’t there years ago. “I need you to spell it out for me.”
Taking a deep breath, I rest my elbows on the table. “Mom has good days and bad, which I’m learning is normal at this stage of the disease. But her Alzheimer’s is progressing, and the bad days are becoming more frequent. I need a nurse who can live with her full-time, manage her medications, help her with any and all tasks that require assistance, and I need someone who knows how to handle situations as they arise.”
“Situations?”
“Em, all of her nurses have quit because my mom has been…difficult.”
“In other words, she’s a fairly typical Alzheimer’s patient.”
“If you say so.”
Ember sighs, and her shoulders slump. “I can’t imagine how hard this is for you.”
The unexpected sympathy sets my teeth on edge. I don’t want her sympathy. In fact, I’ve let this little meeting go on way too long as it is. I came here resolved not to follow through with hiring Ember, yet I still sit here talking to her like I will.
“I should go,” I say, sliding out of the booth and getting to my feet. “I’ll find someone to take care of my mom, but it can’t be you.”
With those parting words, I stride out of the café, tossing my coffee into the trash as I pass it. Every part of me wants to look back at the woman I thought I’d share my life with, but I don’t. It would only end badly.
CHAPTER 6
EMBER
That is the question, isn’t it?
The rumbleof Parker’s Harley as he fires it up pulls me from my stupor. One minute, we’re talking, and it feels like we’re getting somewhere, and the next, he shuts down. I thought I knew Parker, but apparently, I knew the boy and not the man.
He is definitely all man.
I remain in my seat, replaying the conversation with him in my head. As much as I want to let it go, forget we ever spoke again, I can’t. His mom needs help, and I can give that to her.
Yes, that’s it. If I take the job, it’s for Mrs. West, not Parker.
I dig through my purse for my cell, determined to see this through. When my fingers curl around the device, I pull it out and open my texting app to send a message to him.
Me: I’ll take the job. But I have conditions. I’ll be at the coffee shop for another half hour. Come back and we’ll talk. Or don’t. Up to you.
While I wait to see what he’ll do, I return to the counter and order another coffee and blueberry muffin. Might as well eat.Twenty minutes pass, then another five, and I’m about to leave when Parker slips back into the booth across from me.
“I wasn’t sure you’d come back,” I admit.
“Neither was I.” He tilts his head. “What are your conditions?”
“Um…” I lick my lips. “Well, I can’t do twenty-four-seven. Even live-in nurses need a break.”
“That won’t work. I told you, she ne?—”
“Full-time care,” I snap, holding a hand up. “Yeah, I know. But I bet you can be at the house at least one day a week. Surely, the club can spare you for that long.”
His eye twitches at the corner, a tell that he’s annoyed. “How’d you know about the club?”
Either he’s lost some brain cells over the years or he’s as distracted by me as I am him.
