Ben was up early with Taylor the next day. He was in the kitchen feeding her breakfast when Anna came by in her workout clothes on the way to the gym. Taylor got excited when she saw her and Anna stopped over to drop kisses on her head and chat with her for a few minutes.

“Enjoy your workout,” he called after her as she stepped outside. She looked so cute in her leggings and tank top. She didn’t need to lose any weight, but he liked that she wanted to stay in shape. And he liked that she enjoyed food as much as he did. So many of the women he’d dated, especially the actresses and models, had strange diets. Pizza and ice cream were rarely allowed.

An hour later, Anna returned, glistening with sweat and in Ben’s eyes, looking better than Sierra had the night before in her silk dress and high heels. She’d picked at her food at the fancy restaurant they went to and didn’t seem to enjoy it at all. Though she’d enjoyed her wine well enough. And she hadn’t been happy at all when he said he had to get home because of Taylor.

She’d pouted, and he’d been relieved when he dropped her off at her cabin at River’s End Ranch. She tried to set another date, but he’d put his foot down this time and simply said he was busy and had company coming to visit. He didn’t dare mention that it was Adiel or she would have insisted on all of them getting together. When she got out of the car and shut the door behind her, he felt nothing but relief and an eagerness to get home.

Anna came back into the kitchen a half hour later, freshly showered and with her hair blown dry and piled up in a French twist. She was wearing a pretty pink sweater and a long, cream-colored skirt and her caramel-colored cowboy boots.

“You look nice. Where are you off to?”

“Sunday service at the little church at River’s End Ranch. It’s a nice, intimate service and always puts me in a good mood to start the week off fresh.” She smiled and Ben was tempted to join her, to bundle Taylor up and head to church, too. But, he knew that was too optimistic. Taylor was still teething and unpredictable. He didn’t want to be a disruption.

“Maybe we’ll join you sometime, when Taylor’s teething settles down.”

Anna smiled. “I’d like that.”

After Anna left and Taylor went down for a nap, Ben was feeling restless. He had plenty of work he could do, but he felt like trying to cook. One thing he’d always loved when he lived at home was Sunday roast dinners after church. He wasn’t much of a cook, but he thought he could manage cooking a chicken. He’d seen one in the fridge earlier. After googling instructions online, he heated the oven, stuck the chicken on a half sheet cooking pan, stuffed a cut lemon in its cavity and sprinkled some rosemary and thyme over the top and a smear of butter. A dash of salt and pepper and it was ready to go in the oven. He added a few big baking potatoes, too, and then slid the tray into the oven. He set the timer for a little over an hour and then went into his office for a bit. The timer was essential because it was too easy for him to lose track of time.

As it turned out, Taylor got his attention just before the timer went off. He put her in her high chair with some cut up pieces of fruit and then took the chicken out of the oven. The whole house smelled pretty amazing, if he said so himself. When the chicken cooled enough, he cut a little up for Taylor and she gave it the thumb’s up. When she was just about done, Anna walked through the door and stopped short and sniffed.

“Was Betty here?”

He laughed. “I think that’s a compliment. No, I cooked a roast chicken. Smells like it came out okay. Want to try some? I was just about to fix a plate.”

“Sure.”

Anna gave his cooking the thumb’s up, too, and after they ate, she insisted on cleaning up while he changed Taylor’s diaper. When she was all fresh and clean, he brought her into the living room to let her crawl around and play with some of her toys. Anna was sprawled out on the sofa, reading a magazine.

A few minutes later, his cell phone rang, but he’d left it in his office.

“I’ll be right back.” He ran to his office and as he suspected, it was Adiel, letting him know that he’d just landed and would be there in a little over an hour. He ended the call and as he was walking back to the living room, Anna called for him to hurry up.

“Ben, get in here!” There was something about her tone that made him move faster and when he reached the living room, he understood why.

“I think she’s about to walk!” Anna said.

They both watched in wonder. Taylor swayed back and forth as she held onto the side of the coffee table, then took a step away, let go, walked two steps and fell down.

“Taylor, that was amazing!”

He turned to Anna. “I can’t believe she just walked!”

Anna looked thrilled, too. “I know.”

They spent the rest of the afternoon encouraging Taylor to do it again and again and she laughed as she tried to walk and then fell. She thought it was the funniest thing ever. And then she blew Ben’s mind when she fell into Anna who was sitting cross-legged on the floor. She laughed delightedly and then pulled on Anna’s hair and said, “Mama!” The only other world she’d mastered thus far was “No,” which she did enjoy using. Her calling Anna ‘Mama’ both amused him and made him feel something else entirely. Something confusing that he couldn’t quite figure out.

Taylor started to rub her eyes, a sign that she was about ready for a nap and Ben suspected she might be down for a while after her walking lessons. He put her down and tucked her in and headed back to the living room. Anna was in the kitchen getting a glass of water.

“That was really something special,” she said softly.

Ben nodded. “It was. Walking and another word in the same afternoon.”

“Felt kind of weird and nice, to be called ‘Mama’,” Anna said with a smile. She was leaning against the island and Ben felt drawn to her. She was looking at him in a way that he hadn’t seen before. There was something in her eyes—interest, maybe an invitation? He wasn’t sure, but he didn’t stop to think about it. He pulled her close to him and he kissed her, softly at first, but then she leaned into him and he pulled his arms more tightly around her. They kissed like that, for a long time and then, finally, he leaned back and smiled.

“I kind of got caught up in the moment. I hope you don’t mind?”

“Mind? No, I…” Anna was interrupted by a knock at the door. Ben realized it must be Adiel. He went to the door and let him in.

* * *

Anna stood there in shock. She couldn’t believe Ben had just kissed her and that she’d kissed him back, quite thoroughly. And now his friend was here, and they had to act as though everything was perfectly normal, like nothing had just happened. That her world hadn’t just been tilted on its axis. Adiel was going to be staying with them for a few days, so Anna knew it wasn’t likely that she and Ben would even have a chance to talk about the kiss, or what it meant until after he left.

“Anna, this is Adiel. He’s a good friend of mine.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Anna.” Adiel held out his hand and Anna shook it. She instantly liked him. As they chatted, she discovered a calm friendliness and curiosity about him that she found engaging. He was a handsome man, but he had a very different look. Adiel was a little shorter, maybe five foot ten or so and had unruly hair that was a little too long and a little too wavy, but it suited him. He had big, dark eyes and Anna got the sense that he was always taking note of everything, absorbing the conversations and images around him. He wore big, black glasses that gave him a studious, creative look. She knew that he was very good at what he did. Ben had told her that he’d created and written films and TV shows that she’d watched and enjoyed immensely.

She visited with him for a little bit before excusing herself to let the two of them catch up. She went to her room to lay down for a bit and read, but after a few pages, she fell asleep and to her surprise, dozed for a few hours. She checked the time when she woke and realized she had just enough time to freshen up before they were due to leave for dinner and the show. She splashed water on her face, added a touch of mascara and a bit of blush and fixed her hair. She added a silk floral scarf in tones of pink and blue to match her sweater and dress her outfit up a bit.

Ben smiled when she joined them in the living room. Betty was already with Taylor, and Ben and Adiel looked ready to go.

“You look nice,” Ben said. “Are you all set?”

“I’m ready.”

The performance was at four so they decided to see the show and then grab dinner after.

“Have you seen A Streetcar named Desire, Anna?” Adiel asked.

“No. I’ve always wanted to, though.”

He smiled. “You are in for a treat. It’s one of my all-time favorite plays. And Stella is a big part.”

“I have a good feeling about Rachel,” Ben said.

Anna didn’t think she knew who Rachel was but when the show started and she saw the woman playing the part of Stella, she recognized her as the waitress from the cafe. She hadn’t ever had a real conversation with her, though, and had no idea she was interested in acting. She quickly forgot that it was Rachel playing the part and got lost in the story. And when it ended, she was exhausted in a good way. It was an incredible story and there was something really special about Rachel.

Ben looked impressed, too. “So what did you think?” he asked them both as they walked into the main lobby.

“I loved it,” Anna said.

“It was good. Rachel was great. Good find, Ben.” Adiel looked pleased, as if he’d just discovered something that no one else knew about. Anna supposed that he had.

They waited in the lobby until the cast members came out and mingled in the crowd. When Rachel saw Ben, her eyes widened, and she walked over to them.

“You came!” She sounded pleased and surprised.

“I did. And I brought a few friends. Anna Kelley and Adiel Bozeman, this is Rachel.”

“Rachel McIntyre,” she said with a smile. “Thank you all so much for coming. I hope you enjoyed it.”

“We did,” Ben assured her. “We’ll keep our fingers crossed for the opportunity you mentioned.”

“Thank you! My agent hasn’t heard anything yet, but he said the new show runner should be coming soon and then auditions would start.”

“Good luck,” Anna said.

Adiel winked. “If I have any say in it, the job is yours.”

Rachel laughed. “Thank you.”

As they walked away, Anna asked. “How come you didn’t tell her who you are?”

“It’s a little premature,” Ben explained.

“Until I’m actually on board and have discussed budgets and actual casting needs with Steven, I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up," Adiel said. "But I’d say there’s an excellent chance that there will be a place for Rachel.”

They decided to go to Figs for dinner. It had an eclectic menu and was right in the middle of Main Street. There was also a great blues band playing in the back of the restaurant and from where they sat, they could hear the music but it wasn’t too loud and they could still hear each other talk, too.

Adiel was easy to talk to, and funny. He had them laughing with comical stories of things that happened on the set of his last TV show. They decided to just order a bunch of appetizers and stayed for several hours, drinking wine and sharing stories. Before she knew it, Anna had shared the whole sorry story of her evil stepmother, Elise, and the Amazon stock that was preventing her from getting financial aid.

“Do you know how many shares he had?” Adiel looked curious.

“Not that many, only about five hundred or so are left. I haven’t looked at the share price in a few years, but I know Elise said the price had dropped and he’d sold some. He had almost 1000 before that.”

Ben and Adiel exchanged glances.

“I only know this because I own some Amazon stock, too, but it’s gone way up in recent years. It always bounces around, but Anna, it’s over $1200 a share now. If your father held on to 500 shares that’s worth over $600,000.”

“More than enough money for law school,” Ben said. Anna could tell that he was furious on her behalf. She was stunned. And felt a bit foolish. It had never occurred to her to look up the price of that stock. She’d simply believed Elise when she’d said there wasn’t much money left. She felt gullible and disgusted at Elise.

“Anna, will you please let me talk to her? I have an idea that won’t cause a big fuss, but I think should straighten this out,” Ben said.

Anna nodded, feeling hopeful and nervous at the same time. She still had a lot at stake, if Elise told Ben the truth about what she'd done. But as long as he didn’t share that Anna was working for him as a nanny, it might not come up. She crossed her fingers.