Nanny and the Professor (2 page)

"Three
New Jersey
, four
New Jersey
, five…"

She tossed her purse at the base of the tree. "Keep going and hold on tight!" Cassie cheered him on over her shoulder and then raced around the house, where she was relieved to find the garage door sitting wide open. The ladder hung on the wall in plain sight, and she lifted it off the hooks. Andy's counting reached her while she was still several yards from the tree.

"Thirty-seven
New Jersey–
"

"I'm here, Andy," she called, her voice sounding a bit breathless. "And thirty-seven seconds must be some kind of record. Don't you think? I sure do." She fumbled to open the ladder, a stream of yammering flowing in order to keep the boy's mind occupied. Her anxiety certainly had something to do with it as well. "I'll be up there before you can say 'Sally sells seashells by the seashore.'"

After checking to make sure the ladder was secure, she kicked off her leather heels, climbed the rungs and stepped onto the lowest tree branch.
"Or how about 'big brown boxes bursting with blue balloons?'"

Andy opened his eyes, his mouth cracking into the beginnings of a smile. She still couldn't reach him, so she hoisted herself onto the next highest limb. Her knee scraped against the rough bark and she winced.

"I know one more." She maneuvered to a higher branch. "Four fat frogs feasted on fluffy fried feathers."

Pulling up face-to-face with him, she returned his grin. He looked so relieved to see her. She noticed his breathing wasn't nearly as labored as it had been before.

"'Four fat frogs,'" he began, and then he relented to a wheezy chuckle.

The tree branch wobbled and Cassie's eyes darted toward the ground.

"No laughing, now. Let's save that for later."

Sliding her hands over his thin arms, she felt his fatigued muscles quaking and knew he couldn't hold on much longer.

"How in the world did you get up here?" she whispered. "I couldn't even reach the first branch."

Before he could answer, the kitten gave another pitiful cry.

"Tinker's scared," Andy said, worry biting into his brow.

"We'll get you and Tinker down as soon as we can."

"Can't go down," he informed her.
"
Gotta
go in."

"In?" She looked at the side of the house and saw an open window. "Oh, I see."

She shook her head and laughed, despite the situation. "Actually, it would probably be easier to get you in than get you down, don't you think?"

"All I know
is
I want to get somewhere."

"Okay," Cassie said, calculating the length of the branch between Andy and the window. "I want you to inch backward, a little at a time."

He craned his neck to judge the distance himself. "I
dunno
if I can..."

"Sure, you can. Have you ever seen an inchworm bunch up the back part of his body?" Cassie was pleased to see that she'd gotten his attention. "Then the front part moves forward."

"Yeah."

"Well, we're going to do that, only backward. Push your body back and then wiggle your legs toward the window.
Simple, right?"
Cassie only hoped the suggestion worked as well in practice as it sounded in theory.

Grasping his forearms securely, she said, "Let's try."

Getting Andy back into his bedroom was surprisingly easy once she started him moving. But once inside, he was upset that Tinker was still stranded in the tree.

"I'll get the little rascal." Cassie inched her way along the branch to the kitten, then back again, handing the furry creature through the window.

"Oh, no," Andy wheezed, his voice filled with dread. "It's Dad." He grabbed a small aspirator, inserted the nozzle into his mouth and sucked deeply on the medication.

Cassie looked through the branches and saw a tall, dark-haired man standing at the back corner of the house. He frowned as he searched the yard with his intimidating gaze.

"Please don't tell on me," Andy pleaded in a whisper, snatching the kitten to his chest. "Dad will be so mad. I'll get in big trouble. I'll be punished for… forever. I'm not allowed to climb the tree."

With that, Andy slid the window closed and pulled down the shade, leaving Cassie out on the limb, literally.

She stared at the closed window a moment and then peered down through the leaves. Evidently, Joshua Kingston had caught sight of the ladder under the tree because he was walking toward it. How on earth could she explain? The professor looked awfully displeased, like a man who had a bad rash in a very delicate area. The inappropriate thought made her nearly groan aloud. Oh, hell, not now. She wished her brain wouldn't shoot off in surprising directions like that, but when she was feeling stressed or overwhelmed, those tactless little zingers seemed to explode out of nowhere. She'd come to think of them as a physiological venting system of sorts meant to release the tension.

But she needed to keep her mind clear and sharp if she was going to come up with a plausible story. Andy's father didn't seem at all the type of man who would appreciate a half-baked explanation of any kind.

"Please let this be a bad dream," Cassie whispered softly, but as she carefully made her way toward the ground, she knew she was getting closer and closer to a dreadful reality.

Joshua stopped by the ladder. He didn't have time for these neighborhood kids' nonsense right now. He expected his aunt's friend to arrive at any moment and he was going to have to cram a lot of information into a small amount of time. He had a plane to catch and he was already running late.

He didn't see anyone on the front lawn. Grasping a cool metal rung, he looked up into the tree. Instead of the branches and leaves one would expect, what met his gaze was a mile's worth of firm, feminine legs. There was no end to them. A flash of pink lacy panties caught his eye before his brain analyzed the sight and alerted him to the fact that he was looking up a woman's skirt. Joshua quickly looked out across the expanse of green grass.

"Excuse me," he called, his chin tucked pretty close to his chest.

"I'm sorry," the woman said.

He could hear her scramble through the branches and then felt the ladder wobble when she stepped onto it. It was purely the interest of safety alone that drew his gaze back to her and had him firming up his grip on the ladder's side rail.

She blustered, "I am
really
sorry."

Joshua watched her descent and was powerless against the muscle in his cheek that insisted on tugging one corner of his mouth into an appreciative grin as he admired the pair of shapely calves that were now at his eye level. He couldn't prevent his gaze from lingering on the faint creases on the backs of her cute knees before sliding to her well-defined thighs, all the way up to…

The soft, flowing fabric of her skirt swished to cover his view.

She hurried down the ladder and Joshua enjoyed the side-view of the scenery as her trim hips and shapely behind passed before his eyes, followed by her tiny waist, her firm, rounded breasts, and then her long, graceful neck. Then, when he was certain he would finally glimpse the face that belonged to this gorgeous body, she erroneously turned one rung short of the ground and lost her balance.

"Whoa, there!" he said, letting go of the ladder and clasping her upper arms in an effort to steady them both.

"Professor Kingston," she said in a rush, "I'm so very sorry."

Her voice was like a lively song. He couldn't wait to see the mouth that formed the sound of his name so liltingly.

The woman finally tipped up her chin, brushing heavy, dark tresses from her face, and looked at him. Long black lashes fanned out to frame the bluest eyes he'd ever seen. Like some rare, sought-after azure gem that caused men to covet, nations to clash. Her skin was as delicate as rose petals.
And her lips.
They reminded him of blushed wine, and their luscious fullness tempted a man to steal a small taste.
Exactly as he would have guessed.

Joshua straightened his spine and blinked hard, stunned by the extent to which he was admiring this woman. Not only that, but he'd gotten completely caught up in some wildly fantastical description. Covet?
Clash?
Rose petals? Blushed wine?
Exactly as he'd have guessed?
Damned strange for him to think such things.

Cassie stared up at the man who held her in his secure embrace, and aggravation at herself flared inside her. It was bad enough that she was going to have to explain, without betraying Andy, why she had been climbing in this man's tree, but then to clumsily topple toward him only made her look like an even bigger idiot.

She stood there with her palms pressed against the broadest, hardest chest she'd ever encountered. Get with it, Cassie, she told herself. What other man's chest have you felt up lately? Her fingers splayed just a little wider over his sinewy muscles and she clamped her lips together to stifle the giggle that welled up and threatened to embarrass the hell out of her. Knowing the thought wasn't
that
funny, she realized the extent of her anxiety.

"Who
are
you?" he
asked,
his gaze more than perplexed. "And exactly what is it you're doing in my tree?"

"This tree?"
Cassie automatically berated herself for the foolish query.

His eyebrow cocked jauntily. "You've been in another tree today?"

She prickled under his sarcasm. Her mouth went dry, making it impossible to moisten her lips. She swallowed with difficulty. "Well," she began slowly. "Believe it or not, there was this kitten." She swallowed again and looked up.
"On a branch."

"A cat?"

While he was busy searching the tree for signs of the animal, she let her gaze sweep over his face. He was a handsome man. No, he was more than that. His was a face that would leave a woman speechless; dark brows, prominent cheekbones, and a long, narrow nose. His russet-tinged,
five-o'clock
shadow enhanced his strong, tanned jaw line, and he had very sexy ears. His wavy hair was a deep, deep red and looked so shiny she was sure it would feel silky if she were to reach out and run her fingers through it.

This man was so hot he was on fire. And a three-alarm fire, at that. Stop, drop and roll wouldn't do a thing to snuff out his hotness.

The heat from his hands penetrated the thin material of her blouse and made her wonder why he hadn't let go of her. But the tweak of curiosity was small and so far off that it was easy to dismiss. The slight pressure he was exerting on her upper arms caused a warm flush to radiate over her skin and an involuntary shiver coursed through her body.

His eyes are gorgeous, she thought, absolutely engrossed in her observation. Rich brown irises flecked with gold. They were the kind of eyes that stole a woman's breath. Suddenly she realized it was because those eyes were leveled on her, and only mere inches away, that she could study them so closely, so intimately.

"Um, no... I, ah," she stammered, frantic to recall the last words of their conversation. "Not a cat.
A kitten.
But I think… no, no, I'm
sure
he got down on his own.
Somehow."
She shook her head and shrugged one shoulder. "You know how agile those little balls of fur can be. They always land on their paws. They don't say kitties have nine lives for nothing."

Would you
just
shut up
? The man was going to think she was an absolute twit.