Second Chances (2 page)

Chapter 3

Mr. and Mrs. Mortimer went back in the house after deciding to hire Kenzi as their nanny.  Apparently Kenzi and Shawn had given each of them something to think about if Kenzi correctly to judged the looks they’d been giving each other.
Shawn came over and said, ”Hi, I’m Shawn Corwin. Mrs. Mortimer said your name was Kenzi Evans. How do you do?”
Kenzi shook his hand and took the palmed earpiece and tooth-microphone that he gave her. Kenzi smiled and surprised herself by saying, “I’m surprised Mrs. Mortimer, Patsy, even realized Molly and I were there. It looked like she lost something very important that you were helping her to find.”
Shawn’s face flushed but he just smiled and turned to meet Molly.
“Hi there. You must be Molly I’m Shawn. If you ever want us to put on the sprinklers so you can play, you let me know, okay?”
Molly nodded and reached out for Kenzi’s hand. Obviously, she was afraid of strange men, which more than likely meant a man had kidnapped her.
“I think Shawn is a nice guy, don’t you Molly? I’ll bet he could help you build a tree house. Couldn’t you, Shawn?” Kenzi asked trying to draw out more of a response in the child.
“I bet I could do that. All you have to do is ask and I’ll do anything I can for you. Okay, Molly?” Shawn asked as he crouched down to talk to her.
Molly nodded and smiled up at Shawn. He looked like a nice man and if Miss Kenzi could trust him, she would too.
“Why don’t we go get permission to explore the grounds a little bit, huh, Molly?” Kenzi asked pulling Molly to her feet.
Her ear was only in whisper range for a few seconds but Kenzi could hear Shawn say, “Get the earpiece and mike in ASAP.”
Kenzi nodded and walked off the patio with Molly, leaving Shawn to be directed to his quarters by the butler. She’d seen a horse stable about a half-mile from the house, and decided that she would ask if she could take Molly riding.
“Mrs. Mortimer would like that. They’ve been trying to get her on a horse for a long time but she just never seemed interested. You do know how to ride, don’t you?” asked Helen, the housekeeper.
“Yes, I was professionally trained. If Molly won’t ride her own mount, I’ll let her ride with me. Would you like that?” Kenzi asked looking down at Molly.
Molly nodded with enthusiasm and was almost jumping from one foot to another with excitement.
“That’s the most excitement I’ve seen out of her since I started working here,” nodded Helen.
“You haven’t been here long?” Kenzi asked appearing not to be paying attention but was actually listening to every word.
“Oh, heavens no. The Mortimer’s haven’t lived here more than a few months out of the year. The entire staff was hired 'bout six months ago when they decided to come back. The missus wants to be a writer, and Mr. Mortimer can work anywhere.”
Kenzi nodded and then asked, “Are you sure they won’t mind me taking her riding? I don’t wish to disturb them but I don’t want to take Molly riding without their permission.”
Mrs. Mortimer strolled in at that moment, “Our permission for what, Ms. Evans?”
“I wanted to take Molly riding. I’m professionally trained and I understand if you don’t wish her to ride but I thought if she rode with me instead of on her own mount, she wouldn’t be frightened,” Kenzi replied trying not to notice Mrs. Mortimer’s flushed skin.
“That would be wonderful. She, ah, had a bad fall about a year ago and hasn’t wanted to be near a horse since. Feel free to take her riding any time she wishes to go, except at night. I must draw the line somewhere,” Mrs. Mortimer said waving a hand at them dismissively.
Kenzi nodded and walked with Molly to the stables. Apparently, Mrs. Mortimer had called the stables to tell them to mount two horses. Kenzi walked around the horse that she was to ride with Molly and eyed it critically.
“Oh, Tempest is a fine horse, miss. She loves to stroll the grounds but watch her cuz she’ll take to a trot quickly if you’re not careful. Threw Mr. Mortimer a couple months ago cuz he didn’t heed my warning,” said the elderly groom.
“She looks like a fine horse. I haven’t seen such a fine saddle since I was in Scotland. I’m sorry I’m Kenzi, what is your name?”
The groom swept his hand through his hair and grinned broadly. “I’m Toby, ma’am. Pleased to meet you.”
After helping Molly onto the horse after Kenzi mounted, Toby returned to the barn. Molly held onto Kenzi tightly until she realized that they weren’t going at more than a slow gallop.
“Are you all right, Molly?” Kenzi asked leaning back slightly.
“Yes, Miss Kenzi, I’m okay. Where are we going?”
“Well, I thought you could tell me,” Kenzi suggested.
“I don’t know where anything is,” Molly said as she loosened her grip on Kenzi.
“Oh, well, then we’ll just let Tempest take us where she wishes. How about that?”
Molly nodded and moved her arms down around Kenzi’s waist. They rode for a while on a path through the woods.
They’d been riding for about a half hour before they reached a clearing on top of what appeared to be a cliff with about a fifteen foot drop to water so clear they could see the bottom was somewhere around fifty feet deep.
“Oh, isn’t that beautiful, Molly?” Kenzi asked gently and pointed to the water below them.
“Is it safe to swim in there?” Molly asked looking down.
“It looks safe. I don’t see any jagged rocks or logs in there that would hurt someone. Maybe we’ll come back some other time and find our way down there to swim,” Kenzi said as she clucked to the horse leading it away from the edge.
“Miss Kenzi?”
“Yes, Molly?”
“Can I tell you a secret?” Molly asked her eyes flashing with worry.
 

“
Of course you can, Molly.  My lips are sealed.”

“One you can’t tell nobody, especially…mommy,” Molly said.
“Why don’t you whisper it in this ear and I promise I won’t tell anyone,” Kenzi said gesturing to the ear that was closest to the microphone.
“I want to go home. I don’t like it here,” Molly whispered.
“You don’t like it on the island?” Kenzi asked trying to draw out a confession that Molly wasn’t a Mortimer.
“I want my mommy and daddy. She’s nice and all but I don’t like her,” Molly whispered.
“You want to go back to the house to be with your mommy and daddy?” Kenzi asked gently brushing Molly’s dark hair away from her eyes.
“No, that’s not my house. I want to go to my real mommy and daddy. I’m not Molly I’m Janey! I hate Molly but that’s what they call me,” Molly said as tears formed in her eyes.
“I have to call you Molly even if that’s not your real name, okay? I won’t tell anyone your secret, okay?” Kenzi asked hugging Molly’s little body to her.
Shawn heard everything Molly had told Kenzi. They had a problem, Kenzi couldn’t get away with Molly after the first day and neither could he.
Kenzi knew as well as he did that they would have to wait for the right moment. The poor child was obviously traumatized but she would have to wait until Kenzi and Shawn had built up some trust with the Mortimers and could safely get her out of there.
He could feel Mrs. Mortimer watching him from her window as he wound the garden hose into a tight coil. Luckily, she couldn’t see his face because it was like stone and carved with fury.
Kenzi had a way with children but sometimes she couldn’t do anything to help them. Janey Wilson was lucky Kenzi would protect her with everything she had or die trying.
 

Chapter 4
Kenzi and Molly were playing in the playroom one day when Mrs. Mortimer swept into the room. Kenzi smiled at her as Molly simply ignored her.
“Molly, how would you like to go on a picnic in the woods with Miss Kenzi, Mr. Shawn, daddy, and me?” she asked sweetly trying to get Molly to open up.
“Could me and Miss Kenzi and Mr. Shawn go swimming?” Molly asked with excitement in her eyes.
“Swimming?” Mrs. Mortimer asked looking at Kenzi.
“When we went riding after you hired me we found a path in the woods that led up to a cliff overlooking the ocean. It’s deep enough to swim in. I honestly forgot all about it,” Kenzi explained.
“Oh, well, as long as you can get to the water safely that shouldn’t be a problem,” replied Mrs. Mortimer as she got up and left the room.
Kenzi had made Molly promise not to say anything to her about going home or her real name again, at least while they were in or around the house. Molly looked at her and smiled happily.
Kenzi knew Shawn wouldn’t be happy and she shouldn’t be either because it was only an excuse for the Mortimer’s to ogle their bodies but she was glad to get Molly out of the house for a while.
Shawn didn’t appear upset when they saw him a half hour later but that didn’t mean he wasn’t. Kenzi had heard him in the mic cursing the swinging Mortimers.
Molly obviously didn’t understand the looks Mr. and Mrs. Mortimer were giving Kenzi and Shawn but Kenzi could feel her skin crawl every time Mr. Mortimer looked at her.
Kenzi made sure she wore a one-piece swimsuit and a t-shirt that covered everything along with cut-off jean shorts. She could feel eyes on her legs but soon realized they were not only Mr. Mortimer’s.  Shawn was eying her legs as well.
Kenzi could sense that Mrs. Mortimer was staring at Shawn and felt the sudden urge to scratch her eyes out. Shawn’s body had changed since they’d been together. His muscles bulged attractively with every movement and his thigh muscles bunched seductively as he guided the horse he rode with expert ease.
Kenzi quickly reached up to wipe at her mouth and make sure she wasn’t drooling. Molly was sitting in her lap since she had refused to go if she didn’t get to ride with Kenzi, and at Kenzi’s gesture looked up at her squinting her eyes against the sun.
“Why don’t we stop here and have our picnic?” asked Mr. Mortimer.
“Good idea,” replied Mrs. Mortimer sliding off her horse and landing assuredly on her feet.
Shawn swiped a hand over his face wiping at the sweat on his brow and whispered softly, “Don’t drink the wine they brought. They just seem kind of spooky and I don’t trust them.”
Shawn then got off his horse and Kenzi smiled at him to let him know she heard as he held up his arms for Molly to slide off Kenzi’s lap.
Kenzi leaned down to adjust her shoe and said in his ear, “What about the food?”
She slid her foot out of the stirrup and swung her left leg over the horse’s rump. Shawn was holding Molly’s hand and he pulled her towards the woods to show her the difference between the poisonous and non-poisonous plants.
The Mortimer’s were talking with Kenzi when she heard him reply, “The food’s fine. The microphone and earpiece are waterproof for when we go swimming.”
Shawn and Molly came back and she was asking him all sorts of questions about poison ivy and poison oak.
“Shall we eat?” Mr. Mortimer asked looking Kenzi up and down as if she were the entrée.
Shawn could see how Mortimer was looking at Kenzi and could hardly hide his revulsion. It was as bad as with him and Mrs. Mortimer. Who knows what could have been happening before they had arrived?
“I want chicken,” Molly said sitting down by Kenzi and across from Mrs. Mortimer.
“We don’t have chicken, dear. We brought beluga caviar and some shrimp salad. There’s lemonade for you and wine for the rest of us,” replied Mr. Mortimer.
“Maybe I should have told you but I’m allergic to shrimp and caviar, actually pretty much anything with large amounts of iodine in it,” Kenzi replied apologetically. “I did bring a few sandwiches with me just in case. Maybe Molly and I should have one of those instead.”
Mr. Mortimer looked quite upset and Shawn looked like he could laugh but then realized he was still stuck with eating the beluga and shrimp salad.
“You know, we really shouldn’t have any wine, either. If Kenzi and I are going to take Molly swimming you want us to be completely alert. I have enough water with me to share,” Shawn suggested.
Mrs. Mortimer was starting to look as upset as her husband but then smiled and shrugged her shoulders. He would make do with the shrimp and caviar, after all he was raised on the sea but he wasn’t going near the wine or lemonade.
Kenzi and Molly munched happily on their sandwiches and talked as Shawn tried to eat as little as possible of the shrimp and caviar.
“I don’t want lemonade! I want water, Miss Kenzi’s drinking water, and I want water,” Molly said stubbornly as Mrs. Mortimer tried to get her to drink a little of the lemonade.
Mr. and Mrs. Mortimer looked quite disgruntled by the time lunch was over. Apparently, their plans had not gone quite the way they had planned. Molly looked at Kenzi and ran to a little creek up ahead.
She splashed happily as Kenzi ran after her laughing. Shawn followed at a slower pace while Mr. and Mrs. Mortimer stayed sullenly on the blanket they’d spread out.
Kenzi and Molly were leaning over a rock formation when Molly’s little voice reached him saying, “Look at what we found Mr. Shawn. It’s diamonds.”
Shawn smiled and picked his way over towards Kenzi and Molly to see what they’d found.
“Actually, Molly, it’s called a geode. This one is very special look at how pretty the crystals are in it,” Kenzi said holding it up for Molly to see.
Shawn looked at the rock holding the geode. It was a dark purple color and the crystals were a light pink.
Mrs. Mortimer had heard the word diamonds and was instantly interested in the find. She picked her way over to the creek hesitantly due to her shoeless feet.
“Look…mommy…it’s a, a—what is it again, Miss Kenzi?” Molly asked looking up at her.
“It’s a geode. Would you like your mommy to have it?” Kenzi asked as Molly nodded.
Kenzi handed it to Mrs. Mortimer and the water play began again. Mrs. Mortimer sat for a while watching Shawn but then gave up and left to go back to the picnic site.
Molly flung water at Shawn and a water fight began. He gently flung water back at her while soaking Kenzi with water. Kenzi was laughing when Molly took off running towards the cliff.
Shawn instantly saw the expression on Kenzi’s face and took off at a sprint after Molly. She was running with all her might towards the edge of the cliff.
Kenzi was further behind Shawn and could see where Molly was heading.
“Molly, stop, please!” Kenzi yelled after her but kept her voice light so the Mortimer’s wouldn’t worry.
Molly ran even faster, eluding Shawn’s grasp by inches. He couldn’t dive after her for fear of hurting her if he did. Before he knew it she had reached the end of the cliff and jumped.
Kenzi watched in horror as Molly executed a perfect swan dive and then disappeared in the water below. Shawn jumped right after her.
Kenzi didn’t have enough room to stop. As if by magic, the ground disappeared from below her feet and her legs kept running as she flew through the air and landed with a splash in the water.