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Olive woke suddenly, seeming to come up from a deep, dark place and wondering immediately where in the world she was.

She blinked at her unfamiliar surroundings, trying to remember what country she was in. And what year it was.

It looked like the sun was going down, like maybe it was late afternoon, but where?

Then, as she lay there, things started to come back to her, and immediately she thrust the blankets off and jumped out of bed.

She felt a little dizzy for a second and put a hand out on the nightstand to steady herself before she hurried to the door.

She was at Doyle’s house. He was watching her baby. She was supposed to be his housekeeper, but she went to bed right after they got home from Bible study this morning and... She pulled out her phone which was still in her pocket and looked at the time.

Yeah, almost four. Had she really slept that long? And hadn’t heard a thing.

What about Livvy?

With that thought, she pulled the door open and hurried out into the hall.

The living room came into view almost immediately, and her steps slowed. Doyle sat on the couch, Livvy cradled in one arm. With the other hand, he fed her, while one of her hands touched the bottle and one of them gripped his finger.

He had a phone pressed between his ear and his shoulder, and he was talking softly on it.

It looked like he had everything under complete control.

She put a hand up to her chest where her heart beat hard. It was okay; she could calm down. Although, this was just one more thing that she owed Doyle for. Being kind to her baby, taking care of her when she needed a break.

She felt like every second she stayed here, she owed him more and more. But he didn’t act like she owed him. He acted like he was just doing what was normal.

Something smelled really good, and she heard some pots clanging in the kitchen. Maybe she’d lost her job after all. Maybe he was going to kick her out. Of course, she wasn’t leaving without her baby. But something told her that Doyle wasn’t going to do that. He came to her defense rather quickly when Cassie had tried to shove her aside earlier, and he made sure he encouraged her to get the rest she needed. Like he really did want her to recover and not overdo it.

In fact, she really couldn’t think of a single thing that he’d done that hadn’t been with her in mind.

In the meantime, she felt like she’d done nothing but mooch off of him. She hadn’t even done the cooking that she had been hired to do.

“Are you finally awake?” he said, and she realized she’d gone to the opening of the living room and just stood there, and in the meantime, he’d gotten off the phone.

“I can’t believe I slept so long. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to leave you with Livvy for such a long time.”

“We’ve been fine. You didn’t have to rush out of bed to come check the second you woke up.”

How did he—she put a hand up to her hair. Yeah. She probably looked ridiculous with her hair sticking up all over the place and her clothes all rumpled.

“You can go back, take care of yourself, take your time. You can see we’re good.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“And you’re going to sit down beside me and eat. I have a feeling you didn’t eat any of the two meals that you cooked for me.”

He was right. She hadn’t eaten. “We didn’t really talk about that, and I didn’t want to steal food.”

“You’re not stealing food. Your meals are included with your employment. And I will consider it a breach of contract if you don’t eat.”

She didn’t think he was actually serious about the breach of contract thing, but the idea that he was going to make sure that she ate was a relief.

“I’m starving.” She still felt a little dizzy, and that was most likely because he was right. She really hadn’t eaten other than a couple bits of fruit at Bible study.

“Good. You get yourself ready, and as soon as Livvy is done with her bottle, I’ll walk into the kitchen and see what’s going on for supper.”

“You don’t have to eat early because of me.”

“Maybe I’ll get some leftovers from lunch. We’ll figure something out, just take care of yourself, okay?”

She nodded, wishing that she was able to have the strength that she wanted in order to take care of him. That was the way it was supposed to be, not him taking care of her.

But she supposed sometimes God gave people trials to go through so that other people could learn to take care of them. At least she’d heard that from somewhere. Maybe while she was sick in Ecuador, she heard a missionary saying that. That sometimes people were laid up just so the people around them could learn to be servants.

She didn’t really want to be the reason that someone else learned to serve, but it seemed to be a necessary part of God’s plan.

She walked slowly back to her room, feeling better after her rest but knowing that some food in her belly would make her feel even better and very, very grateful that Doyle was insisting on it.

After washing her face, brushing her hair and her teeth, and taking care of other necessities, as well as changing her clothes, she felt almost decent again, though still a little weak and wobbly. She was very thirsty, but at least she wasn’t exhausted anymore.

When she walked back out to the living room, Doyle was no longer there, so she went straight through and found him in the kitchen.

“I was just getting some things ready,” Doyle said.

“Smells like Cassie has made something delicious,” Olive said, wanting to give credit where it was due, even if it did eventually get her fired.

“Cassie is a really good cook,” Doyle said, his brows furrowed as though he were looking her over and trying to make sure that she was okay. “How about you go and sit down at the table? I’m almost done putting this together.”

“It would have been better if we let it cook a little bit longer. But I started these poor carrots earlier than I should have, and they happen to be ready.”

“I love carrots. That sounds delicious.” She really wanted to be friends with Cassie. If they could. She just didn’t want Cassie to be able to push her around.

“Go on. Go sit.” Doyle wasn’t commanding her, necessarily, although he did take the hand that wasn’t holding the baby and make a shooing motion with it.

“I know when I’m not wanted,” she said as she left, joking mostly, although there was something about seeing him in the kitchen with Cassie that...didn’t sit right with her. She had no reason for it not to. Doyle was not hers; she had rejected him when he had wanted them to be more. She had no leg to stand on.

She also didn’t have the strength to argue. So she walked slowly into the dining room and sat down, making sure she didn’t use the chair that Doyle had been in earlier that day, just in case that was his chair.

The house was nice, if in need of a few updates. There was some paint peeling on the walls and a few spots on the ceiling. The carpet was old and ragged, and if it was her, she would yank it up and put tile or hardwood down. Something warmer yet easy to clean. Something a little more modern but not so modern that it made the house feel out of place.

She didn’t have long to wait, and what felt like just a few seconds later, Doyle came in carrying a plate he piled high with mashed potatoes and gravy and chicken, and some carrots on the side.

“I thought she said she wasn’t planning on having a meal this early and it wasn’t ready?”

“We figured it out. I thought it was important for you to eat.”

He started to pull out a chair, one that was catty-corner from her, so he was sitting at the end of the table and she was sitting beside him on his left.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“I just ate lunch not that long ago. But I was going to sit with you while you did, if that’s okay.” He carefully sat down, holding the baby with confidence but also moving a little more gingerly than he normally might. He always had a grace about him, but he seemed to be extra cautious while Livvy was in his arms.

“I hope she didn’t give you any trouble,” Olive said after she had said a silent prayer to herself. Thanking God for the food and for the place of refuge, because that’s what this felt like. A place where she could lay her burdens down and where she was among friends.

“Not a second of trouble. She fussed a little when she woke up. I checked her diaper and fed her. And that made her happy. And then she wasn’t hungry until the last bottle that you saw me giving her, so that’s two while you were sleeping, in case you need to keep track.”

He looked a little uncertain, and it made her want to smile. But it was cute, and she didn’t want to make him feel like he hadn’t done a good job.

“I don’t need to keep track, but I appreciate you thinking that I might and doing it for me. It sounds to me like you’ve done an excellent job. Are you sure you don’t have any experience with babies?” she asked, putting a bite of mashed potatoes in her mouth and almost closing her eyes with how good it felt to be eating again.

“I have a couple hours of experience under my belt now. I suppose I could be a nanny. Do you know anyone who’s hiring?” he asked, and there was no mistaking the humor lurking in his eyes.

That made her a little bit jealous. Maybe he and Cassie had been out here having a good time while she was sleeping and that was why he was in such a good mood.

But her brain tried to shut that down right away. He had been sitting on the couch, feeding the baby, and talking on the phone when she got up. Cassie had been nowhere in sight. It wasn’t like they were having a free-for-all out here. And if they were, it was none of her business.

“I don’t, but I’ll definitely keep your name in my Rolodex in case I come upon someone who is in the market for an exceptionally good nanny.”

There, her teasing tone matched his, and there was none of the seriousness that she felt in her heart.

Lord, I don’t want to worry about tomorrow. You’ve taken care of today so beautifully, why would I think that You wouldn’t do the same for me tomorrow? Help me to trust in You, and please, help me not to be filled with regret over the past or jealousy over Doyle. Help me to love him the way You want me to and to be happy if he’s found happiness with someone else. That’s how I’m supposed to feel.

“You went quiet,” Doyle said as he shifted Livvy in his arms, holding her against his chest so that she could look out.

“I’m sorry. I guess I’m so used to being alone that I forgot that I’m supposed to be keeping up my end of the conversation. Where’s Cassie? Doesn’t she want to eat with us?”

“She’s on the clock. And she ate when I did.”

She jerked her head up and put a bite of the carrot in her mouth. She had to admit, Cassie really knew how to cook. And if they ate together, so what? He was sitting with her now.

“These are the best carrots I’ve ever eaten,” she said, meaning every word.

“They were okay,” Doyle said with a lift of his shoulder. Like it wasn’t that big of a deal.

But it was, because Cassie was the one who was supposed to be cleaning, and instead she was doing Olive’s job. Because Olive couldn’t. Because Olive was sleeping. She hadn’t even taken care of her baby.

“Should I plan on cleaning the house, if Cassie is going to do the cooking?”

“No. This was just for today, relax. You needed some extra sleep, you got it. Now you’re getting some nourishment, and tomorrow you’re going to feel a lot better. You can pick up where you left off tomorrow morning for breakfast. After all, Cassie is not getting up for breakfast.”

“Maybe I should do the cooking and cleaning before noon, and she should do the cooking and cleaning in the afternoon.”

She didn’t really mean that as a legitimate suggestion, she was just poking fun at her penchant for getting up early and Cassie’s tendency to want to sleep in.

“You know what, that sounds like a really good compromise. You could be off by twelve, and she could be off by six. If I eat at five, that would give her an hour to do the dishes afterward.” He nodded his head. “I’ll run it by her, but I’m pretty sure that’s what we’ll do. Unless she has a major problem with that.”

There might be a major problem. One of them might like to keep the sugar on the counter, while the other one wanted to keep it in the cupboard. She could see something along those lines being a potential for arguments, but as long as she just gave in and allowed Cassie to keep things wherever she wanted to, they would probably get along just fine.

That wasn’t her being a doormat, that was her giving up her way in order to foster harmony in the home. If it were a moral issue, it would be wrong for her to just give in or give up, but since it wasn’t, it was better for her to give up her way for the sake of getting along. That was dying to self for the sake of Jesus.

Hopefully that was all it was going to take for things to go smoothly, but somehow she doubted it.