Chapter Six

As soon as the door closed behind Rachael, Nick could no longer hold back the laughter. He leaned toward Noelle and told her, "You should have seen the look on your face. Oh Lord, what comes out of the mouths of kids. But she's right, you know," he sobered when Noelle failed to join in his amusement. "I do have all those rooms upstairs, and now that I know you're not a murderer, or a thief—"

"Thank you, Officer Stewart, but no... I mean... It wouldn't be proper, the two of us and the kids." Noelle stared at him, not believing he made the offer. Surely, they couldn't do that, could they?

"I'm Nick and it's up to you, of course, but I don't see where it would do any harm. Tell you what... You clean the house, do some cooking, and maybe even a bit of laundry – oh, and decorate for Christmas. In exchange, you and the kids will have a roof over your heads, at least through Christmas." Nick was amazed at the words coming from his own mouth, but couldn't seem to stop them. "Or you could park here nights and use the facilities in exchange for some cooking and cleaning. Sound like a fair trade?"

* * * * *

Do I dare accept his offer at face value? Is housekeeping going to be all he expects? A dozen questions ran through Noelle's mind as she all but wrung her hands and tried to decide what to do. She refused to admit to the little thrill running through her at the off chance this handsome man might find her attractive in some small way. "May I think about it? I... I have an appointment later and I could let you know after that. I'm sure you want to sleep a while after working such long hours last night. Here..." She laid a five-dollar bill on the table, knowing it wasn't enough to cover their food, but all she could spare. "Thank you for breakfast. I'd better go."

She turned toward the door, but his deep voice stopped her.

"Mrs. Welborn, Noelle... Please, think about it. If not for yourself, then think of me and the kids." His voice dropped, became softer, filled with concern. "I don't know if I can face another Christmas alone in this empty old house, and a car really is not a safe place for them to spend their nights."

He must have sensed she would turn him down and held up his hands in mock surrender as he hurried to say, "Okay, I won't push. But if you decide to accept, come back this evening before six. I leave just after then to be on duty at seven. You'd have the house to yourselves until morning. I have night shift for the next week."

Noelle met his eyes, holding his serious gaze for several seconds, then nodded and hurried out the door to join Kenny and Rachael in the car.

* * * * *

She and the children stayed warm at the library as they listened to a volunteer read during the Saturday Morning Story Hour. She then searched the statewide newspapers for a job while Rachael read a book and Kenny watched a cartoon video playing on the monitor in the media corner.

Close to noon, Noelle loaded them into the car and made her way through the Saturday town traffic to the diner. Charlotte rushed about taking care of the late breakfast/early lunch crowd and waved her on toward the kitchen. Another waitress stared curiously as Noelle went through the swinging door followed by Kenny and Rachael. Ed and a teenage boy were working at a large grill and a steam table, cooking short orders and dishing up food.

Noelle hid a groan as she spotted the dishes already piled up and congealing in the sink. It must have been a busy morning. She hung the kids' coats and her own by the rear door on the rack provided and settled them at a small table in an out of the way corner near the storeroom. Someone, probably Charlotte, had provided paper, coloring books and crayons, plus a deck of Go Fish cards.

As soon as Noelle would make headway with the mountain of dishes, more would take their place. Thankfully, she only had to scrape and rinse the plates, cups, glasses, and flatware before loading them into the dishwasher. But the restaurant-size pots and pans had to be scrubbed, rinsed, and dried by hand.

"Hi, I'm Mutt," the gangly teenager offered as he piled several more large pots on the counter near her.

"Noelle," she answered with a smile. "Is it always this busy?"

"Nah, just at the holidays, or when Ed cooks barbecue. People too busy shopping to cook much, I guess." He took a couple of the clean pots and went back to help Ed when his name was yelled.

The other waitress introduced herself as Vera when she brought a large tub of dishes to the sink. "Glad to meet cha," she said as she patted Noelle's shoulder. "Them's sure some cute young'uns you got there."

The next time Noelle took a short breather and looked up from her work, the kids were eating barbecue sandwiches covered over by French fries.

"Set a spell, gal. Them dishes ain't going nowhere. Mutt, take the lady a plate," Ed hollered across the kitchen.

Seemed the only volume the man knew was wide open. Noelle smiled as he yelled at the pass-through window for Charlotte. "Order up, Charlotte!"

"Thank you." She accepted the food from Mutt and sat in a chair near Kenny and Rachael. The barbecue tasted sweet with just a hint of spice and she ate every bite.

"Mom, this is neat. I've been watching them and they just go, go, go." Kenny laughed and made zigzagging motions with his hands.

Rachael spoke around a mouthful of fry, "Miss Charlotte was in here a few minutes ago. She said you were doing a real good job and she showed us pictures of her grandkids. She's extra nice, like Nick."

"That's 'cause she liked your picture of that stupid princess," Kenny sniped at his sister.

"Enough, Kenny," Noelle told him automatically. Her hands were a bit raw already and the dish mountain doubled in the brief time she'd been eating.

By the time five o'clock rolled around, the kids were tired of sitting still at the table and Noelle hoped she never saw another pot in her life. She was considering Nick's offer and decided to ask Charlotte about him first. She'd do that before they left. It would have to be better than sleeping in the car. He was right; it really wasn't safe for Kenny or Rachael. Though Pickens normally had a low crime rate, bad things did happen.

Charlotte took money from the cash register and paid Noelle. "You did good, Hon. You sure kept at it. Wish I could pay you more or offer you a full-time job. I did pack up some stuff for you to take with you, for your supper." She leaned closer and whispered, "Y'all going to be all right? Your girl said y'all slept in the car last night."

Noelle patted the elderly lady on the shoulder. "Thank you for this. It will help. We'll be fine, Charlotte. Tell me, do you know Nick Stewart?"

"Nicky? Yeah, he's been coming here for years. A real nice boy, a policeman, you know? Used to be with the Highway Patrol. Lives over on Deer Hill, in his parents' old house. He had a nice, fancy new one, but signed it over to his ex when they divorced."

Charlotte looked around, and then softly added, "She didn't want kids and got tired of him being out on the road for different shifts real fast. Had her affairs, right there in their fancy house, while he was out working. He said that's the reason he give it to her – couldn't stand the thoughts of staying there after that. Poor thing's been alone ever since, once his Pa died a few years ago." Charlotte leaned back and cocked a brow at her. "Why you wanting to know about Nicky? He give you a ticket?"

Noelle laughed. "Almost. I've run into him a couple of times and just wondered what kind of person he is." This time, Noelle leaned closer and kept her voice low. "Actually, he offered me a temporary housekeeping job in exchange for room and board. I wanted to make sure he's... Well..."

"You better take that job, girl. Get you and them kids inside for the night, and Nick won't bother you." She popped her gum and winked. "Less 'n you want to be bothered, that is." Charlotte went to wait on a table, cackling like a hen.