Whitney in Charge (2 page)

“He’s a paramedic and single. He’s worked with Casey, but Jack’s not a firefighter. He’s not interested in meeting you.” Regan gave Whitney an apologetic shrug. “Sorry. It’s a shame because Jack’s a dead ringer for Chris Pine.”

Shannon raised her eyebrows. “What did Casey tell Jack about Whitney?”

“Not enough obviously,” Regan said, “But I’ll—”

“No.” Whitney put her hand on Regan’s arm. “Don’t say anything. I don’t want to go out with someone who feels pressured.” She grinned. “Although resembling Pine might change my mind.”

Regan stood. “I’m going to call Casey. Jack and Casey are working this afternoon on summer camp plans for the children who are recovering from burns.”

“Don’t call,” Whitney said. It’d be embarrassing for her brother-in-law to try again to get Jack to hook up with her.

With the receiver in her hand, Regan said, “Talking to Jack is no big deal. This way you can see if you have anything in common before meeting on an awkward first date.”

Whitney shook her head but Regan still went through with calling Jack.

Shannon said, “You know guys have to think about stuff first before making a move. I wouldn’t take it personally that Jack didn’t immediately want to ask you out.”

Her throat felt dry so she sipped her water. “That’s true. And it’s not like Jack met me on his own and wasn’t interested.”

Shannon grinned. “You should thank me that Tim’s nerdy friend isn’t going to call you. I told Tim no way when he wanted to give your number to him.”

Before she could reply to Shannon, Regan said, “Casey told Jack that you’re beautiful and intelligent. Oh yeah, you love children and might want to help with summer camp. I added that last part.”

“Thanks, I guess.” Whitney sighed. “Well, nothing like your sister using her influence on her hubby.”

Regan handed the phone to her. “He’s all yours.”

She covered the mouthpiece. “I’ll take it in the living room.” After leaving the kitchen, Whitney said hello to Jack.

“Hi, Whitney. I overheard what Regan said about you volunteering for camp.” He laughed. “Your sister’s sneaky but that’d be great if you decide to help.”

She liked his deep, sexy voice. “Actually I like her suggestion.”

“I’ve heard a lot of great things about you from Casey.”

“I hope he hasn’t bored you too much.”
Come on. Casey told Jack that you’re intelligent, think of something better to say.
“I should warn you that Regan probably pressured him to tell you about me. I have two wonderful sisters, but they seem to like to decide what’s best for me.”

“Hey, I know what you mean. My sister is like that.” He groaned. “She never stops and always has someone in mind for me to meet.”

She was tempted to ask Jack if he really resembled Chris Pine, but decided he might think she was only interested in him for his movie star looks. “Has she introduced you to anyone recently?”

“Yes, the last one was a divorced friend of hers. She complained continually about her ex…oh, man, I forgot you’re a widow. I’m so sorry. You’ve had a great loss.”

“It’s okay. And you’re right about divorced spouses.”
I can’t talk about Rob to Jack. Quick, think of something to ask Jack. Movies should be a safe topic.
“Have you seen any good movies lately?”

“No, but I like to watch movies.” He paused for a moment. “I’m glad Casey told me about you.”

“I see how it is. You paramedics stick together. I guess Casey must think you’re an okay guy.”

“Of course, I am,” he said and she heard the soft chuckle in his voice. “Could you hold on for a second? A call just came in for me.”

“I’ll let you go.”

“I’ve enjoyed talking to you. Is it okay if I call you sometime?”

“You take your call. And I hope it’s nothing too serious. We can talk more later about camp. I’m glad we had this chat. Bye, Jack.”

“Good-bye, Whitney.”

The line clicked dead, and Whitney turned off the handset. She stared at the silent phone, thinking how Jack had a wonderful voice. She walked back into the kitchen and put the phone back on the wall mount. “Jack seems nice.”

“That’s great!” Regan declared. “I can see you two dating soon.”

“I don’t know if I want to jump into a date after one brief phone call.”

“Speaking of jumping, let’s get back to the skydiving topic,” Shannon said. “You know I’m practical. We’ve paid for this, so humor us and try it.”

Whitney sipped her coffee, wondering how she could convince them their plan was not going to work. Jumping out of a plane was out of the question. Maybe pouring their energies into fussing over her life kept them from thinking how their mother was gone. Mom was never going to be part of their lives again, and making her risk her life wouldn’t change that.

Shannon and Regan had the right idea trying to get her involved in life again. Even though they drove her nuts sometimes, she needed her sisters more than ever. Without their meddling, she might completely lose her mind. Doing something adventuresome was a possibility. Just not skydiving. But they also needed a purpose to get closure to their mother’s death. All of them should focus on something new and fresh. Maybe working on a project together would be good for all of them, and a great thought occurred to her.

“Okay this is the deal. I might sometime go skydiving, but first I need you two to consider something I want
us
to do together. And I’m serious about it. I don’t want to hear any excuses.”

“It doesn’t sound like something you’re springing on us just because of the skydiving,” Regan said with a thoughtful look.

Shannon’s hazel eyes widened. “I can’t imagine what you want us to do.”

Pushing her plate away from her, Whitney rested her arms on the table. “I don’t want to go back to New York to be a producer again, you know that. I’m not the same person any more. It doesn’t interest me but…”

Regan glanced at Shannon. “This is where we come in to help our little sister.”

Whitney sighed. “That’s one way to look at it.”

“Spit it out,” Shannon urged.

Whitney grinned at the obvious interest in both their faces, even if Regan attempted to feign indifference. Enjoying her moment of having them on the spot, she stood and headed to the coffeepot. “Would either of you like more coffee?”

Both chimed in together, “No.”

Whitney refilled her cup and carried it to the table, sitting again before she finally said, “I think we should go into business together.”

“Doing what?” Shannon asked.

“I don’t know. But I thought we can discuss ideas that might interest us.”

“I’m not sure I can devote enough time to a full-time business.” Shannon frowned. “With the classes I teach during the week at the university, and all. Nights won’t work either because Tim has to leave after dinner a few times a week to go back to school. And I want to be home when Caitlyn and Brandon aren’t at school. I don’t want them to get into trouble.”

“They’re good kids,” Whitney said.

Shannon shrugged. “I know but they’re teenagers.”

Her sister’s feelings didn’t surprise her. Shannon had said before that parents assumed teenagers could fend for themselves but they were wrong. If she wasn’t home, Caitlyn’s boyfriend might decide to spend more time at their house, or they’d experiment with drugs and get into the wrong crowd.

Whitney leaned closer to Shannon, understanding her need to keep an eye on her kids. “We can put Caitlyn and Brandon to work. I know Brandon’s only thirteen, but I can see him contributing in some way to our business. And I know Caitlyn isn’t crazy about working in a fast food place like most teenagers.”

Shannon nodded. “That’s true. If she worked for us, I won’t have to drive her to a job. I want her to wait until she’s seventeen or maybe eighteen before she gets her driver’s license. It’s going to be hard though since so many in her class have their licenses already.”

Regan asked, “Do you want to put Lily to work too?”

“Not now. Maybe in about ten years
if
it all works out.” Whitney wiped her lips with a napkin. “Okay, I think we better start brainstorming some things we could do.”

“I’m all for us talking about doing a business together, but I should mention we’re thinking of having another baby,” Regan said.

Another niece or nephew for me to love would be wonderful.
“I think we can allow you maternity leave.”

Regan grinned. “Paid?”

“Hey, I want benefits too,” Shannon said.

“Here’s a benefit…skydiving lessons.” Whitney hid her smirk by walking to the sink and rinsed her plate before placing it in the dishwasher. As she turned back, she noticed Regan staring at something outside. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m enjoying the view. I don’t think Casey will want to buy this house if he sees what might be in the backyard for me to watch.”

Whitney and Shannon joined Regan at the door.

“I thought Nate was a hottie but this guy’s even better looking,” Regan said.

“Hey Regan, you think we can get a refund from the guy at the skydiving place?” Shannon asked while gazing at the new man outside. “Who needs to go looking with this gorgeous man just a short distance away?”

Regan turned slightly from the view. “When did he move in?”

Whitney knew better than to comment too much on her new neighbor. Her sisters might take it upon themselves to rush over and tell him that she was available. But crap, did he have to be shirtless and have broad shoulders? If he always worked in his yard like that, she’d have a hard time not staring at him.

“I think it was last week when I noticed the moving truck. Would you two married women stop drooling?” She took another glance and he waved. “Great. He sees us watching him.”

Regan raised her eyebrows. “Since you haven’t mentioned this good-looking guy to us, I guess you haven’t met him yet?”

“This is the first time I’ve seen him,” Whitney admitted.

A small, black-haired boy ran from behind the house. That answered the question whether he was a family man, or not.

“I wonder if his son is Lily’s age,” Regan said.

“Don’t forget little boys usually have mothers.” She better remind her sisters of this fact before they made wedding plans for Mr. Hottie and her.

Shannon moved away from the screen. “If there isn’t a wife, you’re wonderful with kids.”

“First Nate the Skydiver, then Jack the Paramedic…is my new neighbor now Bachelor number Three?” Just because the new neighbor was male and attractive didn’t mean she was interested in him as a prospective boyfriend.

“Let’s find out if there is a wife around.” Regan pulled on Whitney’s arm. “Come on. We better hurry. He’s pushing the lawn mower into the shed.”

“I’ll go. But you two have to quit acting like I’m a hopeless old spinster. I managed to get married once, and I don’t need help in getting dates again.”

Shannon rolled her eyes. “You haven’t gone on any, have you?”

“No, and the reason is because I’m not ready to date.”

Shannon opened her mouth to argue, but stopped mid-breath at the ringing of her cell phone. Whitney sighed in relief. She shouldn’t have to elaborate on why she wasn’t going to date. Not now and maybe she’d never date anyone. Losing Rob had been too painful.

Shannon glanced at her caller ID. “I’m sure you two can fill me in later about the new man. I better get this. It’s Caitlyn.”

Opening the screen door, Whitney said, “Let’s get this over with. At this rate, we’ll never go into business together.”

Regan and Whitney crossed the yard to the neighbor’s. As they approached, the boy stopped kicking his ball and said, “Hi.”

Whitney smiled at him. “Hi. You have a good kick.”

The boy looked at them carefully. “My daddy knocks people out. You two should be easy. The fat ones give him problems.”

Regan laughed. “Is he a boxer?”

She heard a chuckle and turned to see Mr. Hottie walking around the corner of the house. And he was probably the boy’s father. “Hello. We’re neighbors. I’m Whitney Benson. And this is my sister, Regan Dunn.” She grinned. “And please don’t knock us out.”

As he walked toward them, she noticed how thick his black hair looked and she liked his warm brown eyes. He had a great tan. She wondered if he worked outside in construction or something.

“Hi. I’m Ben Spencer,” he said as he took her extended hand in a firm grip, not shaking it but just holding it. “This is my son Adam. I guess I better work on teaching him to say anesthesiologist.” He turned to look at the boy. “Adam, I never said fat patients but said overweight ones are harder and more risks are involved for surgery.”

“That’s a relief. I’d hate to think you were a violent person living next door to my single sister,” Regan said.

Whitney was going to
throttle
her sister. How could Regan be so obvious? She hurried to speak, hoping to keep Regan from saying something even more embarrassing, like asking him if he was single. “I hope you like living here. It’s a nice neighborhood.”