A.N. Hello! I wrote another chapter! I amaze myself sometimes, but college is boring, so what the hell. I also reread the story and realized that I was typing a bit faster than I allowed my brain to think, so I messed up some of the details. It would be a pain to try to fix the story at the moment because I don't have the original copies on me, so I'll try to sum up everything that's wrong. Roger's house is called Evergreen Hill, but it is a manor type house. For those of you who have visited my deviantart page (link will be in my profile) I got Roger and Anita's moms mixed up. Their personalities are right, but their names are backwards. I plan on leaving this in the story though so that I don't confuse anyone. Sorry! If I think of anything else, I'll make sure to add to this A.N.

Enjoy the story!

Chapter VI

Propositions

Anita gasped when they pulled into the drive. "It's so big."

Roger laughed. "That's all you've got to say? It's big?" He pulled up to the house and shut down the car. "Come on, then."

Anita unclasped her seat belt and pushed opened the door. "Does it have a name?" she asked, gesturing to the house.

"Sure. It's called 'Evergreen Hill'," he told her, casting a sideways glance at her. "Ironic, isn't it?"

The girl adjusted her skirt as she looked around the property. "There aren't even any trees, are there?"

He shook his head and offered her his arm as she neared him. Feeling a bit silly, Anita took his arm and beamed at him. "It's a lovely house, though."

He smiled back and led her up to the massive doors. Pushing one of them out of the way, they entered into the entrance hall. Anita immediately felt out of place here, where everything was shiny and expensive. She was already regretting her decision to work for them.

"I don't know how well this will work, Roger," she muttered softly, resisting the urge to turn and run. "I-I just don't know. "

He ignored her; Roger continued to pull her through the house. She kept a steady string of doubts and tried to look at everything all at once. They ended up in the gigantic kitchen, surrounded by staff.

"Roger!" called a portly man, pushing through his assistants. "What brings you to the kitchen? Especially with a fine young lady on your arm?"

"Hello, Chef. I'm looking for Gretchen, have you seen her today?" Roger asked with a smile. He was always so happy, and Anita loved how nice he was to everyone.

The man looked thoughtful, one hand on his hip, and the other stroking his grayed goatee. "She said she had to clean the study after lunch, I believe."

Roger nodded and said his thanks before dragging her off towards another corner of the massive house.

Roger couldn't help the excitement. He had spent three weeks fretting over Anita. He couldn't explain the sensation, but the girl made him feel real and alive, and gave him a freedom he couldn't achieve in the world of money and politics. She had let him back in fairly quickly, and after the morning of talking, he was trying very hard not to plan their whole future in his head.

During their discussion he felt incredibly close to her. They both wanted the same things out of life, a large, happy family, pets, and freedom. They both wanted out of the city, away from the hustle and bustle where they could be themselves, and they both wanted to do something with their lives.

Roger told her about his plans to go to a special school in Nevada this coming fall, and she had whispered that while she would love to go to college and become an animal specialist of some sort, she wouldn't be able to. Finding the perfect excuse to help her was easy, So he had suggested that Anita come and work at his place, cleaning up, and he could make sure she could go to college. Her bright blue eyes lit up, and her smile was radiant. Happy tears poured down her cheeks, but she quickly wiped them away. She was going to say no, Roger saw it flash across her face, so he made it a little more fun. They'd laughed and she relented, eventually.

Now as they moved through the house, he felt the warmth of her hand that had slipped from his arm and now tangled around his own. She was nervous, but excitement tingled under the surface.

Roger knew his parents weren't home yet, they had gone out shortly after returning to the house, but he breathed a sigh of relief when the study doors were wide open.

Gretchen, the house keeper, was on a small step stool dusting the nick-knacks that were lined on one shelf. His father wasn't the sentimental type, but those artifacts, the family portrait, his wedding picture, the picture of his parents among others, were incredibly special. Gretchen turned her head and spotted them as they entered the room.

The elderly lady stepped down and adjusted her clothing. "Hello dear! Who's this?"

"Gretchen, this is my girlfriend, Anita. I offered her a job with you," he said, smiling down at the girl in question.

The older lady beamed at her and pulled her into a one armed hug. "Ooh! Hi dearie! Aren't you a pretty little thing? "

Anita blushed furiously. "Why, thank you, Gretchen," she mumbled.

"Well, dearie, there's no reason for you to be here on a fine Saturday like today. You youngin's go have some fun, and you show up here bright and early Monday morning, Missy."

Anita smiled at the lady, and curtsied sweetly, "Yes ma'am."

With little else to do, and several hours to spend it on, Roger grabbed up Anita and gave her a proper tour of the house. They paused a few times so that she could linger on the art work, or in the case of the library, the books. Roger found that just this, holding her hand and letting her into his world, fascinated him, and made him happy.

While she examined every inch of his home, he took the time to watch her, to pick up on her little quirky habits. She was naturally graceful, and he was quite sure she'd be an amazing dancer. Her blue eyes lit up whenever she came across something new and exciting. Roger had also noticed the first disappearance of her outer shell.

As they talked and spent more time together she grew increasingly bold, and while she continued to blush, she was asking him questions and volunteering information she didn't seem quite sure she should share, and he loved every minute of it.

With every breath he took, he was becoming more and more aware that something was growing between them, and the thought made him giddy.

After a whole day spent with Roger, Anita was positively beaming. Roger had driven her to the house, but she wouldn't allow him to walk her to the door. She pulled open the front door and stepped over the threshold.

Once she was inside with the door closed, she glanced around the room. The lights were on and the door was unlocked, so she expected her family to be somewhere nearby. And sure enough when the door snapped closed; Jimmy came bounding into the room.

Anita stooped down and picked him up in a big hug. He giggled and shrieked. When she set him on the floor a few moments later, she became aware of the new presence in the room.

"Hi Mama," she said, giving her a nervous smile. "I got a job today."

The older woman squinted her eyes and looked murderous. "What do you need a job for?"

"Well, I-I need to start saving for college, Mama. I only have one year of school left," she said, resisting the urge to drop her head in shame.

May tapped her foot impatiently. "I thought you were out with that Darling boy."

Anita swallowed; this was the real point of all of this. She nodded slowly. "Yes, Mama, Roger came by and took me to his house. He's giving me a job at his house, assisting the house keeper." Dread was settling deep in her stomach and she wished someone could distract them from this awful conversation.

A smug smile coated her mother's lips. "See? Anita he is using you! And now you're going to be cleaning his mansion!"

Anger flared in that pit of dread that was her stomach. "No, mother, he's not. I couldn't let him pay for me to go to college any more than I could ask Daddy. Roger is helping me!"

May opened her mouth to say something else, but Anita had already turned and was headed for the stairs. She climbed the steep steps quickly and threw open her bedroom door. Stephanie stood in front of the mirror trying on all of her new clothes she had gotten today.

"Ooh, Nita! How was your date? Did you go to a restaurant?" she asked excitedly.

She rolled her eyes and sat down on the bed, kicking her shoes off as she went. "Not now, Stephanie. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow."

Still the girl continued to bounce and ask questions. Anita simply blocked it out, and eventually drifted off into a fitful sleep.

When Roger returned home he was grinning from ear to ear, and he hadn't even stolen a kiss yet. It was very nearly dinner, so he had just enough time to change clothes before having to face his family. He wasn't sure if anything could dampen his mood.

Everything in the dining room was just the same as always. His parents were separated by the entire table, his brother on one side, his seat on the other. The kitchen staff had laid out the evening meal, a large roasted chicken and an assortment of sides. But the air of the room seemed lighter, his mother was laughing, and his father seemed to have the traces of a smile on his usually stoic face.

"Oh, Roger, dear, your father has tremendous news!" his mother said brightly when he walked into the room.

Intrigued Roger sat down and turned toward the older man. Roger Sr. cleared his throat and turned to his eldest son. "I have a proposition for you, son," he started. "I know you want to go to that horrible engineering school in Nevada, and, while I would rather you start working with me, I have decided to let you go if you will go on an expedition for me."

Roger didn't know whether to be overjoyed or wary. "What exactly would you have me do, Father?" he asked carefully.

"Nothing incredibly hard. There is a small band of wild horses just north of that school of yours and I was propositioned to start a line of model horses to support them. I need a scout to see whether it would really be worth the energy," he said. His tone implied he really didn't care either way. "You'll leave two weeks early, spend your time looking at the land, the little village, and taking pictures. Mail everything back here and I'll make the final decision, and you are free of the company for four more years, in which time Joseph will have the time to stake his claim."

Roger paused to consider this offer. It was everything he had ever dreamed of, and all it would cost him was two extra weeks in the middle of nowhere. He couldn't see anything wrong with the plan, but he did have one question. "Why do these horses need supported?"

The man scratched his chin. "Something about the city encroaching up on their land and they don't have enough food in the winter."

Roger nodded, thoughtful. "I'll need a few specialists to come with me. A vet, a photographer, you know. I'll supervise."

"Roger Sr. extended his hand, and their chocolate eyes locked. They shook on it, and the deal was sealed.