Free Fringe Benefits by Sandy James Page B

to her kitchen. After setting down her own mug, she grabbed another from the cabinet and filled it. She slid it in front of Jackie, who’d taken a seat on one of the barstools that pulled up to the kitchen island.
    Dani put the ceramic container with sweetener closer to her guest. “Would you rather have sugar?”
    “No, the pink stuff’s great.” Tearing two packets open, Jackie let the white powder sluice into her mug. “Do you have any half-and-half?”
    “Can’t drink coffee without it.” Dani retrieved the carton from the refrigerator and set it next to the sweeteners. She also fetched a clean spoon. “Can I get you some breakfast? I have cereal. There’s oatmeal or—”
    Jackie waved the question away. “Thanks, but no. Patrick and I stopped on the drive over. The coffee’s great, though.”
    Silence reigned between them until Jackie had taken a few sips of her drink. Cradling her cup much the same way Dani did, Jackie let her gaze bore through Dani. “So you’re Nate’s boss?”
    “I’m his department head. You were a teacher, right?”
    Jackie nodded. “I have to admit, I’m a little… concerned.”
    Cocking her head, Dani set her nearly empty mug aside. “Concerned? Why?”
    “This is Nate’s first job.”
    “And?”
    “I don’t want him living with you if you’re going to be thinking about him as an employee while he’s here.”
    Unsure of what Jackie was implying, Dani had to ask, “Are you telling me Nate is different in his personal life than at school? Should I be worried about noisy parties or—”
    Another wave of Jackie’s hand dismissed the thought. “No. No. Nothing like that. I just know how hard that first year of teaching can be. I want him to have a place he can relax and not worry about keeping on that ‘teacher mask.’ Make sense?”
    This, Dani understood. “Yep. Sure does. He can be himself here. No worries.”
    “If he has to see you every single time he comes home…” The thought was left hanging in the air.
    Part of Dani wanted to reply with typical sarcasm.
He can’t see me if I’m upstairs. Or doing laundry. Or out in the yard. Or plain not home.
But it probably wasn’t a good thing to piss off Nate’s mom when they’d just met. “I’m sure we’ll learn to give each other space. Nate didn’t seem to mind that there isn’t a kitchen in the basement.”
    Jackie’s eyes flew wide. “Wait… what?”
    “The suite doesn’t have a full kitchen, but—”
    “He won’t have a kitchen?” Jackie hopped off the barstool and hurried away, leaving her barely touched cup of coffee behind. “Please excuse me, but I need to talk to Nate.”
    She was out the door before Dani could explain.
    Great
.
It only took two short minutes to make Jackie Brennan hate me.
    *   *   *
    “Uh-oh. Here comes trouble.”
    Nate was trying to hold on to the dresser and had absolutely no idea what had made Patrick stop and issue that warning. While he stood on the driveway, Patrick was supposed to be lifting the other end down off the truck. As it was, it seemed like Nate was bearing all the weight. “C’mon, Pat. I don’t have time for teasing. This sucker’s heavy. Let’s get it out of the truck.”
    “Nathaniel, may I have a word with you?” From the volume of his mother’s question, she had to be standing right behind him.
    Not that he could see her. His cheek was pressed against the dresser as he held up his end. “A little busy, Mom.”
    “There’s no kitchen?”
    “Mom… kinda busy here.” At least she held the door open for him. When he and Patrick reached the basement door, Nate said, “Need a breather, Pat. Put it down for a second.”
    “Sure thing.”
    Once Nate had a moment to rest his arms and gather his thoughts, he finally turned to his mother. “There’s a kitchenette. It’ll be fine.”
    Patrick snorted. “Like Mom would know whether it’s a good kitchen or not. We all know she can’t cook to save her life. Have you forgotten the