Picture Perfect Family, page 12
“Oh, okay,” Nadia said. “Well, I’m sorry to interrupt while you’re thinking.”
“It’s fine. No problem,” Mandy said, standing. “I didn’t realize how quickly you’d get those photos sorted.”
“I divided them up into individual folders on the computer and named them by the person’s last name and then the date of the photos.”
Mandy’s eyes widened. “I’ve been meaning to do that but haven’t had the time.” Actually she had the time, if she’d have spent less time with Kaden over the past few months, but organizing the files on her computer hadn’t been her priority. Raising Kaden was. “Thanks, Nadia. That’s awesome.”
“You’re welcome,” she said shyly. “I spend a lot of time on the computer at home and even help Dad with some of his files and things, organizing them and making spreadsheets, things like that.” Her father, Anthony, was a plumber and probably had plenty of customer files to organize. The fact that Nadia was already familiar with such things was a big plus to her abilities assisting Mandy in the afternoons.
“And to think, I thought I was mainly hiring you to answer the phone and tend to customers when I’m gone on photo shoots. Little did I know, you’re going to run the place better than I could.”
Nadia’s smile went full bloom now, and Mandy realized she was even prettier with that big bright smile.
“Thank you, Miss Carter,” she said.
“You’re welcome. And you can call me Mandy.” She was only eight years older than Nadia and wasn’t all that comfortable with the formal use of her name.
“Okay, I will,” Nadia said. “So what do you want me to do next?”
“If you’ve got those files separated, you can start emailing the past week’s photography customers with links to their photo proofs and with information on how they can place their order on my website. There’s a standard email that I use,” Mandy said.
Nadia nodded. “I saw it on the desktop. Where do I find the customer emails?”
Mandy told her and then beamed as Nadia headed back to the front of the gallery to continue working. She couldn’t imagine why she hadn’t hired an assistant before. Nadia was a fast learner and observant. She would be a huge help to Mandy, enabling her to do more shoots away from the studio. And Mandy could attend more T-ball games with Kaden. She blushed. And with Daniel.
Mandy turned her attention back to the photos she’d added to her portfolio for the Alabama State Photography Contest. Winning the contest would put her in some of the best galleries in the southeast so she wanted to make certain this portfolio shined. The bell on the gallery door sounded, and Mandy left the photos and started toward the front of the store to see if Nadia needed help. She had faith that the teen could answer customer questions, but since this was her first day on the job, Mandy wanted to make sure she was comfortable in that part of her position.
Mandy entered the gallery to find a boy in a maroon-and-gray Claremont High baseball uniform standing across from Nadia at the front desk. From Mandy’s vantage he was turned to the side, but she noticed long light brown hair ruffled out from his cap, broad shoulders filled out his uniform and a strong jaw line showcased a ruggedly handsome face. A Cutter for sure.
“I didn’t know you were working here,” he said to Nadia, who glanced up through long black lashes at the tall teen.
“Today’s my first day,” she said softly.
“I told my brother I’d come by here today,” he said, “make an appointment for senior pictures. So I wanted to come before I have to be at the field.”
“I can make an appointment for you,” Nadia said shyly. She moved her fingers across the computer keys, and Mandy noticed that her hands were trembling slightly. The boy, undoubtedly Casey Cutter, didn’t seem to notice. He seemed too intent on holding his chest out and beaming at Nadia anytime she’d look up.
“Hello,” Mandy said, strangely feeling like an eavesdropper in her own gallery. “Can I help you?”
He cleared his throat, tore his attention from Nadia and grinned at Mandy. Deep dimples bracketed both sides of his smile, just like his older brother.
“I’m Casey Cutter. My brother John said he talked to you about maybe coming out to our farm and taking some pictures.”
“He did,” Mandy said.
“The thing is,” Casey said, “I have baseball practice or games every day during the week and most Saturdays. Would there be any way you could come to the farm Sunday afternoon? That’s what John wanted me to check on.”
Nadia looked up from the computer. “Oh, Sundays aren’t on the schedule here.” She looked at Mandy. “Do you work on Sundays, between church times?”
Mandy swallowed. The girl assumed Mandy went to church somewhere and that she prayed often. Little did she realize, Mandy had done neither since Mia died. Instead of explaining, she smiled and said, “Yes, Sunday afternoon would be great.” She’d let Daniel take Kaden to church Sunday morning the way he wanted, and then Daniel could spend Sunday afternoon with him, too, while she took Casey’s photos. She might as well get used to sharing Kaden. “This Sunday okay for you, Casey?”
“Yes, that’s fine,” he said.
Mandy nodded, looked to Nadia. “Can you add that to the schedule on the computer, and you can add Sunday afternoons from now on, okay?”
“Okay,” Nadia said, smiling at Mandy then blushing at Casey. “I’ll put you down for Sunday,” she said to him, but her eyes had returned to the computer.
“Sounds good,” he said, then stood there a moment before clearing his throat and asking, “So, um, how do you get to work here after school? Did you get a car?”
“No, that’s what I’m working for. I want to save for a down payment. Dad said if I get the down payment saved, then he’ll help me get a nice used car at the end of the summer.”
Casey nodded, and Mandy busied herself with the stack of mail, flipping through the bills while he continued to talk to Nadia.
“So someone drops you off here and picks you up?”
“Oh, yes,” Nadia said, apparently embarrassed that she didn’t answer the question. “My mom or dad brings me and picks me up.”
Another nod of his baseball cap, then he said, “Well, you know, I have baseball practice or a game right after school every day, but maybe if you needed a ride home from work I could, like, pick you up and take you home if that would help your folks out and all.”
Nadia’s dark eyes lifted. “Okay, that’d be nice.”
He controlled his smile, but Mandy could tell he was thrilled. “So I guess I will check with you and see if you need a ride home sometime?”
“Okay,” she said, her hands now completely still on the computer keys.
He released more of that dimpled grin, and then glanced at Mandy. “What time would you want to take the photos Sunday?”
“You know, why don’t we wait until later in the day, around seven o’clock, so we can take advantage of twilight and sunset?” Mandy asked.
“I’ll be ready,” he said, then to Nadia, “And I’ll check with you next week about taking you home.”
“Okay.”
Casey Cutter turned and strutted—that was the only way to describe the confident swagger—out of the gallery. And Mandy waited until she saw his pickup drive away before she beamed at Nadia.
“I think you may have an admirer,” Mandy said.
Nadia’s head shook slightly, but the corners of her mouth curled. “Casey?”
“Yes, Casey.”
Still shaking her head, Nadia said, “I don’t know. I mean, he talks to me some, and he asked if he can take me home from a ballgame sometime, and now take me home from work, but…”
“But what?”
Nadia put a hand to her mouth to cover her grin, so her words were even softer than normal. “But he’s so cute. And popular. All the girls think so.”
“Looks to me like he’s got his eye on one girl,” Mandy said. “I’m just saying…”
Nadia dropped her hand and laughed. “My mother thinks so, too, but I didn’t, well, I didn’t want to get my hopes up. You see…he didn’t used to go to church at all—and it’s important to me that whoever I end up dating is a believer. But Casey has started coming back to church and he’s started acting, you know, like he’s a Christian. I mean, he still tries to act all tough and everything around the guys, but when he’s at church or when it’s just me, he really seems like he’s different.”
“Different in a good way, I take it?” Mandy asked, and was suddenly back when she was sixteen and swooning over Daniel Brantley every time he’d come home from college. The feeling wasn’t all that different than the way she felt every time she was around him now.
“Yes,” Nadia said. “I mean, I always thought he was the cutest boy at school, but when I figured out, you know, that he’s good, too, that his tough-guy thing is kind of an act or whatever, well then that made him even cuter.” She sighed. “I tried to explain it to my mom, and she said that she got it, but it sounds weird, huh?”
“No,” Mandy said. “I get it, too.” Daniel’s “good” factor always made him even more appealing in Mandy’s eyes, too, even if at times she was a little jealous that he found it so easy to put his faith in God and she simply couldn’t.
“I’m sorry,” Nadia said with a grin. “I’ll get back to work instead of talking.” She paused. “You know, if you’re taking the pictures later on Sunday, he’ll miss the evening church service. You both will.”
Mandy nodded, not knowing what to say. Then she cleared her throat and said, “I really think the photos will be better if we take them at twilight.”
“Yeah, it’s just sad you’re both gonna miss church, though. I didn’t think of it when he was here, or I’d have asked him if he wanted to wait until another time.” She lifted one shoulder in a mini shrug. “I told my mom, too, that I can’t think all that well when Casey is around. I mean to say lots of things, but nothing comes out.”
Mandy laughed. “Totally understand. And after he gets his portraits done, chances are he won’t be dropping in very often,” she said, walking back toward the studio, then she called over her shoulder, “except when he gives you a ride home.” She heard Nadia’s self-conscious laugh as she continued down the hall and was glad that she’d been able to get out of the church conversation fairly easily. When she reached the studio, her cell phone rang.
“Hello?” Mandy answered.
“Hey, it’s us,” Kaden said.
She smiled. “Hi, us, what’s up?”
He giggled. “Uncle Daniel said you would want me to tell you about how I did with practicing today.”
“He’s right,” Mandy said, again glad that Daniel was including her in his one-on-one time with Kaden. “So how did you do?”
“I got a, wait a minute, hold on. Hey, Uncle Daniel, what’s it called again?” Mandy heard Daniel’s deep voice answer and then Kaden continued, “A grand slam.”
“A grand slam! Wow!”
“Yeah, well, it wasn’t like a real one, since I hit the ball and there wasn’t real runners on the bases, but since we were pretending there were runners and since I hit it real hard and ran real fast, I got a home run and when the other guys are on all the bases and you get a home run, it’s a grand slam. And that’s the best you can do.”
“Well, that’s awesome!” Mandy said.
“Yep, it is. And Uncle Daniel said he needs to talk to you, too. He’s wanting to take you to practice how to—what? Oh, wait, he wants to tell you. Just a minute.”
Mandy heard the phone rustling as Kaden apparently handed it over to his uncle. Then Daniel’s voice filled the line.
“Hey.”
A single syllable, and yet it sent a frisson of anticipation through her senses. “Hey, yourself,” she said. “So what are you going to take me to practice?”
“Fishing,” he said. “If you’re going to get a handle on all of the little boy things, you’re going to have to learn how to fish. And I thought I’d teach you tomorrow when Kaden goes over to Chad and Jessica’s house to play with Nathan. That way when we all go together, you’ll already know the ropes.”
“You could just teach me when we take Kaden,” she said, hoping that he’d tell her what she really wanted to hear.
Daniel didn’t disappoint.
“Yeah, I could, but the truth is—” he lowered his voice “—that I really want to spend time alone with you.”
Her hand moved to her mouth, and she held her smile.
“Mandy, what do you say? Spend the afternoon with me tomorrow?”
She slid her hand away. “Fishing, right?”
“Fishing. And talking. And seeing where things stand.”
“With Kaden’s custody, you mean?” she asked.
“That, too, but primarily, seeing where things stand with you…and me. I’d like to get to know you better, Mandy.”
“I’d like that, too,” she finally answered. “I’d like that a lot.”
Chapter Eleven
“Looks like I’m the newest Little League coach in town,” Daniel said, driving toward James Bowers’s fishing hole with Mandy. He waited for her to respond. She’d been very quiet since they’d dropped Kaden off at Chad and Jessica’s house, and Daniel now wondered if she’d changed her mind about spending time alone with him and seeing exactly what was going on with their feelings. Then again, maybe he was the only one feeling anything. “Mandy, did you hear what I said?”
“Huh?” She shook her head. “No, I guess I didn’t. I’m sorry. I was trying to remember whether I put in another set of shoes for Kaden. I wasn’t thinking about him wearing his cleats to sign-ups this morning when I got his things ready for this afternoon. And I meant to put his tennis shoes in his backpack, but I can’t remember putting them in.”
Daniel glanced at her, her pretty brows puckered as she apparently replayed getting Kaden’s things together. She was beautiful. And sweet. And a great mom. He had always been captivated with Mandy’s beauty, had actually thought it to be some sort of cruel joke that God would make Daniel so attracted to someone so obviously wrong for him.
But the joke was on him now, wasn’t it? Because Daniel didn’t want to do anything but be with Mandy now, listen to her thoughts, watch her laugh, make her smile. Today was a chance to get to know each other better, but to do that, he needed her to stop fretting about Kaden’s shoes.
“Why don’t you call Jessica and ask if the shoes are there? That’d make you feel better, wouldn’t it?”
She wasted no time reaching for her purse and pulling out her phone. “Yes, it would. Do you think that’d be okay?”
Bless her heart, trying so hard to do all the right things when it came to Kaden. “I think it’d be fine.”
She nodded, quickly dialed the number and began talking to Jessica. From what Daniel could tell on this end of the conversation, yes, Kaden had his shoes and yes, he was having a great time playing in the backyard with Nathan and Lainey. Daniel suspected that was really what Mandy wanted to know, that Kaden was doing fine.
She hung up the phone and looked relieved. “He has his shoes.”
“Awesome, so now I guess I’ll give my attempt at small talk—and a bit of bragging—another try.” He cleared his throat. “So, it looks like I’m the newest Little League coach in town.”
Mandy laughed. “And the most modest.”
She turned in the seat to look at him while her ponytail whipped behind her in the breeze of the open window. She wore a blue-and-white sleeveless gingham shirt, cuffed denim capris and tennis shoes. He’d been thankful she hadn’t chosen any of her fancy sandals, because they wouldn’t have stood a chance on the dirt-covered fishing bank. Mr. Bowers had a decent fishing hole, but it could get rather muddy at times sitting on that bank.
“A bit of bragging?” she continued.
“Hey, I didn’t say I was the best coach. I just said I was the newest.”
Her smirk slid into a grin. “I guess you are, aren’t you? Kaden sure was thrilled when Chad and Mitch asked if you wanted to coach a team. And even more when he found out that you were going to be the Rangers. I don’t think he stopped smiling after they announced the team’s name.” She paused, raised a brow. “You didn’t have anything to do with getting that particular team, did you? Or with him getting number ten?”
“I’ll say this—it didn’t hurt that I used to play ball with every member on the Little League board or that they want me to play on the Men’s League team.”
“Or that you were probably the best player Claremont High ever saw,” she added, then clamped her mouth shut as though she’d said too much. And she probably had, because knowing she thought so sent a big surge of male ego soaring, and undoubtedly produced a bigger-than-necessary smile on Daniel’s face.
“Hey, don’t get all conceited about that,” she warned.
“Wouldn’t think of it,” he said, but still couldn’t stop the grin.
“A big head isn’t a good quality for a youth minister,” she pointed out, nodding as though this was a well-known fact.
“Yeah, but according to Kaden, all of the Brantley boys have big heads.” He shrugged. “I can’t help it—it’s a family trait.”
“You’re terrible.”
“I’m thinking that you may not mean that in a bad way,” he said, pulling into the grassy field by Mr. Bowers’s fishing hole.
Mandy gazed out toward the oversize pond, bigger than Daniel remembered. Matured willow trees leaned out to create gorgeous shady areas over moss-covered banks. Between the patches of moss, thick lavender ground coverings stretched toward and away from the water. And within all of that, bright red, yellow and pink tulips sprouted in patches that made the scene look like something out of one of Gina Brown’s picturesque paintings.
