He’d have to arrive by eleven. But maybe he’d find time today to look over the résumés he’d received in response to his newspaper ad. Maybe he’d even fit in an interview or two and find the perfect person to temporarily fill Cheryl’s position.
He couldn’t keep up this pace indefinitely. It had only been three days since Cheryl left, and he was already exhausted. He was no longer a twenty-year-old who could burn the candle at both ends with little consequence.
He showered and dressed, scored a fresh cup of coffee in the kitchen, and joined his sister on the sunny deck. Lexie was typing away on her laptop.
At the squeaky slide of the patio door she turned. “About time you got your lazy butt out of bed.”
“Would’ve slept longer if someone wasn’t thumping around the house.”
“Sorry. It seems the harder I try to be quiet, the more apt I am to drop things.” She returned to her laptop, her fingers clicking on the keys.
“Working on an assignment?”
“An eight-page paper.”
She was taking a full course load over the summer, living with their sister, Tara, and her family. Lexie served as built-in babysitter to repay them for room and board, an arrangement that worked well for all of them—unfortunately. Connor could really use her help at the Landing right now.
Her fingers stilled. “Thanks for letting me crash here last night. I haven’t had a full night’s sleep in over a week.”
“Lily still teething?”
She gave him a hopeless look. “I love my baby girl, but the child wails like a siren.” She shifted her laptop. “I did the dishes and picked up the kitchen a bit. You should really hire a housekeeper or something.”
“It’s not that bad.” Annie had always called him a clutter bug. But he suspected she secretly enjoyed picking up after him and fussing about it.
“Before I forget,” Lexie said. “There was a package on the porch. It’s from Tara. Too bad she didn’t know I was coming. I could’ve saved her the postage.”
“Right. She said she was sending some kind of oil for muscle aches.”
Lexie laughed. “You’re getting old, brother.”
He rolled his eyes, but couldn’t deny it when exhaustion left him feeling like he’d been hit over the head with a bat. He wished Tara had sent him something for that.
His sister was the nurturing sort, always sending him things in the mail. “You’d think she lived across the country instead of an hour away.”
“Let her mother. That’s what she does.”
“I already have a mother.”
“Well, she’s all the way in Florida.”
“Believe me, she does plenty of mothering from there.” His mom and dad, happily married and busy with their ministry, checked in with him at least once a week.
“Any luck finding a replacement for Cheryl?”
“I got a couple résumés over the weekend. I’m hoping one will pan out.”
“Maybe I can help out a few hours this weekend after I get this paper turned in.”
He gave her a wan smile. “I’m really hoping to find someone by then.”
“How long will Cheryl be out?”
He tipped his head back and closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sunshine. “Not sure. They really don’t know the severity of the stroke’s effects yet. It could be a month or longer. I have to be prepared for that.”
“It might be hard finding good temporary help, especially with things so up in the air.”
“I know.” He’d been praying fervently for the right person, though. Surely God would answer his SOS.
