Trust Me

didn’t know you had any brothers.”
    ‘“Yeah, well, I do. Their parents got divorced six months ago. Jason and Kyle are taking it kind of hard.”
    “Naturally.” Desdemona made a soft, sympathetic sound. “What other way would they take it?”
    “At any rate, Alison, that’s their mother, is pretty stressed out trying to deal with them and her own problems, too. Hudson is in Hawaii with his new girlfriend.”
    “Hudson? That would be…?”
    “My father.”
    “Oh. So you’ve got the boys for the whole summer?”
    “Looks like it. I just got off the phone with Alison. She’s more than willing to let them stay here in Seattle. She says the experience will be good for them. I think she’s convinced herself that it’s sort of like sending them off to summer camp.”
    “Camp Stark.”
    “Something like that. At least I’ve got a spare bedroom. Alison said she’d send some of their clothes to them.”
    “Fancy you as a camp counselor.”
    “I’m no counselor,” Stark said grimly. “I don’t know a damn thing about kids. Which brings me to the crux of my problem. Kyle’s twelve and Jason’s ten. They’re new in town. They don’t have any friends or scheduled activities to keep them busy during the day while I’m at work.”
    “Welcome to the wonderful world of latchkey kids.”
    “That’s just it. I don’t think they should be left alone all day long. They’re having some adjustment problems because of the divorce. They need companionship and supervision.”
    “And you want to know how to find what every working parent would sell his or her soul for – good, reliable day care,” Desdemona concluded.
    “They’re not little children. They don’t need day care. They just need someone to keep an eye on them when I’m not around. Someone who can take them places. Make sure they’re occupied. That kind of thing.” Stark gazed glumly out the window. “Hell, I don’t what they need. I must have been crazy to get talked into this.”
    “Fear not, you came to the right place.”
    “I did?”
    “You’re in luck.” The smile in Desdemona’s voice warmed the phone in Stark’s hand. “Cousin Macbeth just hit town. He’s here for the summer, and he’s looking for a day job. I was going to put him to work stuffing mushroom caps, but something tells me he’d rather babysit.”
    “Who is cousin Macbeth?”
    “Whoever or whatever you want him to be,” Desdemona said simply. “The man’s a good actor. One of the best in the family, as a matter of fact, and that’s saying something in this family.”
    “Now, look, Desdemona, no offense, but I don’t want some flaky actor looking after Kyle and Jason. I need someone trustworthy. Someone who can ride herd on two young boys who’re going through a rough patch.”
    “No problem. Macbeth is great with kids, and he’s completely reliable. I’ll send him over right away.”
    Stark frowned. “I don’t know about this. Kyle and Jason aren’t babies. They don’t need a babysitter.”
    “Think of Macbeth as a mentor of young men.”
    “Listen, maybe we should discuss this a little more.”
    “Sorry, can’t talk just now,” Desdemona said. “Got to get ready for a fundraiser luncheon today. Oh, I almost forgot. Want to come to my birthday party a week from Friday?”
    Stark was starting to feel disoriented. “Your birthday party?”
    “I’ll be twenty-nine, not that I’m counting.”
    “I see. All right. Yes. I’ll come to your birthday party.”
    “Terrific. Seven o’clock at the pasta joint around the corner from Right Touch.” Desdemona rattled off the name of the restaurant. “Know it?”
    “I’ll find it. But, Desdemona, about this Macbeth…”
    “Relax. Your problems are over.”
    Desdemona hung up the phone before Stark could think of anything else to say.

    “But we don’t need anyone to look after us during the day,” Kyle complained. “We’re used to being on our own when we get home from school. We’re not little kids anymore.”
    “This is summer.” Stark leaned back in his desk chair and regarded Kyle and Jason with determination. “You’re not in school. You’re going to have a lot of free time on your hands, and you don’t know your way around Seattle. I can’t be with you during the day. I’ve got a business to run.”
    “We can find our own way around town,” Jason said quickly. “We’re too old to have a babysitter.”
    Stark raised his brows. In the two hours since Alison