Professor and the Nanny (Silhouette Romance) (5 page)

Instead she stopped but didn’t turn to look at him.

“I would be very grateful if you would take care of Danny as well as Nate tomorrow.” His voice was husky. “Thank you for offering. It will be an immense help.”

Although she had her back to him, she could hear his footsteps on the tile floor as he approached her. He stopped right behind her, took her shoulders in his hands and turned her to face him.

“Now, do I get a good-night kiss?” he asked hopefully.

Without a word she put her arms around his neck and their lips melded.

During the long weekend Ethan learned, much to his distress, that finding child care in Lexington, Kentucky, was impossible. The care centers, both public and private, were filled and had long waiting lists. Mothers who stayed at home and took care of their own children weren’t interested in taking in the kids of strangers, too. Students with summer holidays coming up were, in his judgment, either too immature to be trusted with such a young child or preferred to play around for the next three months before going off to college in the fall.

Surely somewhere in this city of more than 200,000 people there was one who fit his admittedly high standards as a nanny.

That thought sounded dumb even to him. Of course there was such a person and he’d known who it was since before he’d started this search. Brittany could satisfy all his needs.
The perfect nanny for Danny, nurse for Nate, and lover for him.

A shiver ran down his spine. What more could he want? He was almost certain she’d agree to be nanny and nurse. Being his lover might take a little persuasion, but she’d already told him she’d like to make love with him, so why did he hesitate?

Because he wasn’t that kind of man, dammit! He couldn’t take advantage of a young girl’s naiveté, and she was a girl no matter how much she protested that she was all grown-up. He might burn for her but that was his problem. It was up to him to protect her, even from himself if necessary, and he couldn’t do that if she was living right here in the same house with him.

My God, he wasn’t a saint!

Brittany’s phone rang late on Sunday evening. It was Ethan. She hadn’t heard from him since she left his house to come home Friday night, but she’d been thinking of him all weekend.

He sounded tired and discouraged. “Brittany, I have a big favor to ask of you. Is your offer to take care of Danny on a temporary basis still open?”

So he hadn’t had any luck finding child care yet. “Of course it is, Ethan,” she hurriedly assured him. “Nate and I are going to take a picnic lunch and go to the park tomorrow. We’ll find one that has a children’s playground. Danny will love that.”

“I’m sure he will, but can you keep track of them both at the same time?” She could hear the anxiety in his tone.

“Oh, sure,” she said. “Nate always stays close by me when we go out together, and Danny still needs hands-on help to play on the playground equipment. He and his grandpa will get along great together, and I’ll be right there every minute.”

“Well, if you’re certain…” Ethan said, but Brittany could hear the doubt in his tone. It was going to take a while for
him to feel comfortable about the responsibility of having full-time care of his toddler.

“Ethan, if you’re uneasy about this picnic I’ll cancel it,” she offered. “I don’t want you to worry all day about your family when you’re in the middle of giving tests—”

“No. No, that’s all right,” he insisted. “Don’t change your plans. Nate loves to get out on days when the weather is as beautiful as it’s been lately, and Danny screams with delight when he flies down the slide or goes around on the small carousel. I’m just and old worrywart—”

“You’re a caring father,” she said softly, “and I wouldn’t have you any other way. Why don’t you come and have lunch with us? I can bring extra food—”

“I wish I could,” he said regretfully, “but I’m scheduled right through the lunch period. School will be out soon, though, and then I’ll have a break before the summer classes start.”

Brittany was surprised. “Do you teach in the summer, too? Don’t you ever take a vacation?”

He laughed. “Now and then I grab a couple of days,” he joked, but then his tone turned serious. “It probably won’t pay for me to work during the summer after this year now that I have to hire caregivers for both Nate and Danny. Besides, I don’t want my son raised by strangers no matter how efficient they might be. I want to spend as much time with him as I possibly can.”

Brittany flinched. So that’s why he wouldn’t let her care for Danny. Not because he thought it was too much work for her, but because he still considered her a stranger and therefore not good enough to take charge of his child.

“I see,” she said, and there was a distinct chill in her tone. “Then I’ll see you in the morning.”

She put the phone in the cradle and broke the connection before he could say more.

The search for child care stretched out past the next day to the full week and culminated in Ethan agreeing to hire Brittany on a temporary full-time basis until he could find someone else to take over the position. She was given a substantial raise in pay, but Ethan kept their relationship on a strictly employer-employee bases.

There was no more touching, or hugging, or kissing, and he politely discouraged her from staying around when he got home in the afternoon.

She wished he’d just ask her to stay for dinner some evening or go to a movie with him, but he never indicated in any way that he wanted to date her. Brittany hated it, but knew it was the only possible way they could work together without compromising their moral values. She’d never be any man’s mistress, not even Ethan’s, and it wasn’t hard to stay true to that resolution since he had never asked her to be.

Also, she was well aware of the fact that he’d never brought the word
marriage
into the conversation.

She’d sure lost no time breaking one of the most fundamental rules of nursing.
Don’t get personally involved with your patient!
Yeah. Sure. She adored Nate and it hadn’t taken long to figure out that she was also passionately in love with his son.

Some nurse she turned out to be!

The school year was winding down, and reluctantly Ethan asked Brittany if it would be possible for her to baby-sit Danny and Nate on the nights when he, as a member of the faculty, was expected to attend various functions at the university.

“I wouldn’t ask you if I could find anyone else to do it,” he apologized, “but they’ve called a special faculty meeting at school tonight and I really have to be there. Unfortunately, the elderly woman who usually comes over to play cards with Nate when I have to got out after dinner has recently moved
to Frankfort to live with her daughter. Besides, she’d never be able to handle Danny. I will, of course, pay you overtime.”

“I’d be happy to stay with them,” Brittany told him. “What time do you want me to come back?”

It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him he didn’t need to pay her at all, much less overtime, but she resisted. He’d made it plain in the weeks she’d been here that their relationship was to be strictly professional. She wasn’t going to make the mistake again of baring her true feelings for him.

He looked at his watch. “It’s five-thirty now and the meeting starts at seven-thirty. That hardly leaves you time to go home and come back again.”

He hesitated. “Why don’t you stay here and have dinner with us? We’ll make it a family affair. I fixed spaghetti sauce last night so I’ll cook the pasta, you can toss a salad and Nate can warm up the French bread.”

Brittany’s heart was pounding with excitement.
We’ll make it a family affair
. She wondered if he understood what he’d said and how deeply it had affected her.

At last he was making friendly gestures toward her. He’d not only invited her to dinner, but he was even going to let her take part in preparing the meal instead of treating her like a guest.

“I’d love to,” she told him, trying to control her elation. “I make a mean salad.”

Brittany watched unobtrusively as Nate wrapped the French bread in aluminum foil and stuck it in the oven, then put Danny in his high chair and spooned baby food into his eager little mouth. The child pounded on the tray with his hands and squealed with delight while Nate teased him by offering then withdrawing the small spoon.

Ever since she’d been taking care of Danny, Brittany had been amazed at the dexterity with which Nate handled the little one. He seemed to know exactly how to cater to Danny without
spoiling him, and play with him without losing his own bearings.

Nate must have been a wonderful father to Ethan and Peter. Brittany envied the twins. Ethan seemed so sure that she was confusing her feelings for him with those of a girl looking for a father, but she knew without doubt that was not true. She loved Ethan like a woman loves a lover. A husband.

But he’d gotten one thing right. She loved Nate as deeply as she’d loved her grandfather, who died when she was ten years old. She’d give anything if Nate could be her grandpa.

They’d eaten in the formal dining room at the front of the house, and Brittany leaned back in her chair and sighed. “That was a delicious meal. You guys are really good cooks.”

“We didn’t have much choice,” Nate said sadly. “After my wife died it was either cook or starve. I bought a cookbook and learned first then taught the boys. Ethan and I are fairly proficient as long as we keep to simple, old-fashioned recipes, but once Pete moved to New Orleans and got a taste of that Cajun style, he branched out and now could hold his own as a chef.”

Brittany was still surprised that Nate’s long-term memory was so good. It was the short-term one that gave him trouble.

“Any chance I could get you to teach me?” she asked to fill up the silence that seemed to be stretching out too long. “My parents were high powered professionals and we ate out a lot. Even when she did cook, mom wouldn’t let me in the kitchen. She said I was clumsy and got in her way….”

This conversation was getting maudlin and she certainly didn’t want that. Before she could change the subject, Ethan looked at his watch and pushed back his chair. “Sorry, I hate to break up the party, but it’s getting late and I’m going to have to leave.”

He started stacking the dirty dishes as she jumped up to help. “You go ahead and get ready, Ethan. Nate and I will do
the dishes. After all, you cooked, it’s only fair that we clean up.”

“You cooked, too,” he reminded her. “Nate can load the dishwater, can’t you Dad.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Sure,” Nate said with a grin. “I’ll do that while Brittany chases Danny down and gives him his bath. Her pretty legs are a lot more limber than mine.”

Ethan smiled but Brittany thought she saw a touch of envy in his eyes. “Okay, have fun, you two,” he said as he walked toward the door.

The following day when Ethan got back to his classroom after lunch he found a memorandum on his desk advising him that a meeting had been called of the instructors in his department for seven-thirty.

He stared at it in disbelief. What in hell was going on! He thought they’d gotten all business regarding graduation taken care of at the meeting the night before. Now they were calling all those in the English department back again.

He balled the note and threw it in the wastebasket. Well, tough luck! They’d have to meet without him. No way was he going to ask Brittany to baby-sit after her regular hours again! Besides, he couldn’t afford it. Paying her to take care of both Nate and Danny was rapidly draining his resources.

He sat down in his chair behind the desk and rubbed his hands over his face. Not that she’d asked for the amount he was giving her. In fact, she’d insisted it was too much, but after the research he’d done while trying to find a permanent caregiver he knew that, on the contrary, she was being underpaid.

Reaching for the phone, he punched the number he wanted, but the conversation was short and sweet. He initiated it by telling Grady Ellison, head of the English department, that he couldn’t possibly come to the meeting that evening.

“Did someone in the family die?” Grady asked crisply.

“No,” Ethan said, “but I—”

“Is your little boy in pediatric ICU at the hospital?” Grady asked again.

“No, dammit, Grady—”

“Has you house burned down since I saw you last night?” The other man’s tone was sharp and caustic.

“For God’s sake, Grady—” Ethan had had about enough of this. “If you’ll just shut up and let me tell you—”

“No,
you
shut up and let me tell you,” Grady snarled. “Those are the only excuses I’ll accept for not attending. Since none of them has happened to you I don’t want to hear any more about it. This is a situation that has come up since last night, and I need every one of you there.”

Grady’s phone slammed down in Ethan’s ear. The conversation was obviously over!

E
than cursed under his breath as he slung books and papers around on his usually neat desk, hunting for the small phone number book he carried with him.

Where was the damn thing now when he needed it? And how was he going to scare up a baby-sitter who was agreeable to taking care of a baby and a sick old man on six hours’ notice?

No, wait, that wasn’t fair. Danny wasn’t exactly a baby. More of a toddler. And Nate was certainly not sick and old. He was an elderly gentleman who had a few health problems, but even so Ethan had been through all the names in his book in his search for permanent help, some several times, and none of them were either able or willing to take on that responsibility.

Then he remembered. A couple of weeks ago he’d bought a box of cookies from a student in his American Lit class. Her name was Anna something and she was selling them for her little sister who was a Girl Scout. She’d seemed like a really nice, intelligent young woman, and he remembered asking her
at the time if she’d be interested in applying for the job of baby-sitting his son during the summer session, but she said she was leaving as soon as school was out to spend the summer with her grandparents in Wisconsin.

Maybe she’d be free tonight!

Ordinarily he’d never approach a female student on campus to ask for a favor or offer employment. He had run a Help Wanted ad in the school paper but hadn’t had any responses.

This time, though, he was desperate. He had a good reputation as an instructor and never dated or got personal with any of the students, not even the older ones who were returning to get their degrees after dropping out of school for one reason or another. Surely no one would misconstrue a simple cry for help by baby-sitting his little son for a couple of hours.

It took a while but Ethan finally located Anna Whiteside in one of the math classes and explained his problem to her. “I know this is putting you on the spot,” he concluded, “and believe me I’d never do it if the situation weren’t crucial.”

“Gee, Mr. Thorpe. I’d like to help you out, I really would,” she said, and sounded sincere, “but I’ve already promised Mom and Dad I’d baby-sit my little brother and sister tonight so they can go to the Stones concert.”

Ethan wrinkled his brow. “The what?”

Anna laughed. “The Rolling Stones. I guess you weren’t part of the subculture of the late sixties and early seventies. Neither was I, obviously, since I wasn’t born until 1980, but Mom and Dad really flipped when they found out the Rolling Stones were coming back.”

Ethan cleared his throat. “Oh, yes, I remember reading something about that. I was never into rock and roll.”

Ethan felt like a fool. Apparently, he was even further behind the times than he’d thought. He remembered his middle and high school years and the racket Peter and his friends had called music, but Ethan had preferred classical and jazz when
he bothered to listen at all. He’d always been an avid reader and spent most of his leisure time with his nose in a book.

All that reading had paid off in their college years. He’d sailed through his classes and also spent a lot of time tutoring Pete in the subjects in which he’d fallen behind. Fortunately his twin brother was a quick study and made excellent grades all through law school.

“I’m afraid I have to plead guilty to being unfamiliar with rock and roll bands,” Ethan admitted, “but I’m sure your parents have excellent taste and will enjoy the concert. Thanks, anyway.”

He turned and started to leave but she called to him. “Professor Thorpe, if you’d like to bring your little boy over to my house I can watch him there. My brother and sister are eight and ten, old enough to help entertain him.”

Ethan was elated. By a happy coincidence her family lived in the same general area of town as he did, and he’d already decided to take Nate to the meeting with him so he hadn’t even mentioned his dad to the girl. This would work out just great and he wouldn’t have to bother Brittany again!

Several hours later, at seven-fifteen, Ethan parked his car in his space in the parking lot, then assisted his dad into the building and the room where the meeting was taking place. It was a faculty lounge-conference room with a large rectangular table and numerous fold-up chairs in the center and two comfortable chairs with reading lamps in the corners at the back.

Ethan introduced his father to those in the assembled group who hadn’t already met him, then seated him in one of the chairs at the back.

“Are you comfortable now, Dad?” he asked as he handed Nate the book he’d brought along, then turned on the lamp. “Is there anything else you’d like?”

“I’m fine, son,” Nate assured him. “Now, don’t you worry about me. I’ll just sit here and read.”

“Okay. If you need anything just come and get me. I’ll be sitting right there at the table.” Ethan had no qualms about his father’s welfare, and he took his place at the table just as Grady Ellison banged his gavel.

The discussion concerned a number of last-minute changes in the summer curriculum. From time to time Ethan remembered Nate and glanced over to make sure he was all right. He was always reading and looked perfectly content.

As the discussion became more heated, the professors demanded that more attention be given to their diverse points of view, until one of them announced that it was almost eleven o’clock and she’d promised to get her baby-sitter home by now.

Everyone was dismayed to hear it was so late and started stuffing papers and pamphlets into their briefcases and rushing for the exit. It was almost an hour later than Ethan had estimated he’d be picking up Danny. He hoped Anna, and her parents if they were home yet, wouldn’t be concerned.

Ethan was one of the few left when he finished getting his things together and looked across the room at Nate.

Only he didn’t see his dad. All he saw was an empty chair bathed in the light from the lamp!

For a moment Ethan was too startled to react.
Hold on there
, he told himself,
don’t panic. He can’t be too far away
.

A cold shiver ran down his spine and he called out. “Dad. Dad, where are you? We’re going home now.”

There was no response, but the sound of his own voice in the empty room galvanized his legs into action and he ran. Fortunately he was familiar with the layout of the building and knew exactly where he was going as he raced up and down the twisted hallways opening doors and calling Nate’s name.

By this time everyone was gone except Quinn, the night janitor, who caught up with Ethan and offered his help as soon as he realized something was wrong. Quickly Ethan explained the situation and they each went in different directions shouting
and turning lights on in hopes that Nate would find his way to them even if he was having a panic attack and didn’t know who or where he was.

All the time Ethan searched, he berated himself for not paying closer attention to his father. He’d been so secure in the knowledge that Nate was right there in the room with him, would even have to pass beside the table where Ethan was seated in order to get to the door if he wanted to leave, that he’d let his guard down.

How could he have let Grady Ellison badger him into attending this meeting when he had family emergencies at home? They couldn’t fire Ethan, he had tenure, and they couldn’t force him to work more than a certain number of hours overtime. He’d put those in months ago and had hours to spare.

If anything happened to Nate…

Ethan couldn’t bear to think about that now.

When Quinn and Ethan caught up with each other again they agreed that Nate had possibly left the building and was wandering around outside somewhere. The idea was terrifying, but they couldn’t waste any time. Nate lost all sense of direction when he got confused.

Ethan put in a quick call to Anna to brief her on the situation and ask her to keep Danny overnight at her house if necessary. She agreed, and with that worry off his mind he suggested to Quinn that he stay in the building and continue to search there while he, Ethan, would walk around outside and, if necessary, take his car to explore a wider range. If only he knew how long his dad had been gone before Ethan missed him!

The police department didn’t consider a person officially missing until he or she had been gone for forty-eight hours, but they might make an exception in Nate’s case since he had a medical problem. As a last resort he’d call 911.

Quinn turned on the outside lights on the school building
and found a large flashlight for Ethan, but even so it was difficult to see in the dark shadows and nooks and crannies where the light didn’t reach. The first place he looked was his car, but no luck. He continued to call out Nate’s name and stood under streetlights as much as possible so his dad could see him, but the silence between his calls was deafening.

Finally, Ethan took his car and started driving around the campus, but there was no one on the streets, either walking or driving.

Suddenly a thought occurred to him. Brittany’s apartment was only two or three blocks from the campus. Ethan had never been there, but she’d told him about it. It was in a large old house and most of the tenants were students.

Could she have taken Nate there at some time, maybe to pick up something she needed, and he remembered? Was it possible he was trying to find her?

Immediately Ethan pulled over to the curb and reached for his cell phone.

Brittany was having trouble sleeping. She’d been tired when she went to bed, but since then she’d tossed and turned and couldn’t seem to rest. Something was bothering her but she didn’t know what it was. If she were prone to premonition she’d think that was it, but no one was more earthbound than she. She needed good solid proof before she believed anything she couldn’t see.

She pulled the sheet over her shoulders and had just started to relax when the shrill ring of the telephone cut through the silence of the room. Oh, for heaven’s sake, who would be calling her at this time of night? It had to be close to midnight.

She reached for the phone on the bedside table, but then realized it was her cell phone. Darn! If she got out of bed and headed across the room to get it out of her purse, then talked to the caller, even if it was just a wrong number, which she was sure it was, she’d be hours getting to sleep.

Maybe she’d just let it ring. Why not? There was no law saying you had to answer your telephone.

It rang again, and again, and again, each time escalating her curiosity and her guilt. Finally she could stand it no longer and got out of bed, only to have the ringing stop while she was searching for her purse.

“Damn!” she muttered as she finally spied it on the floor beside her reclining chair. Now she’d probably spend the rest of the night wondering who it was and what they’d wanted.

She took the cell phone out of her purse and carried it back to bed with her. She would put it on the nightstand so she wouldn’t have to get up again if whoever it had been called back.

She’d just climbed into bed when the thing went off in her hand, startling her so that she almost threw it. Quickly she punched it on and spoke petulantly into it. “Look, whoever you are, I’m trying to sleep. Can’t this wait till morning?”

“I’m sorry,” said a voice that she recognized instantly as Ethan’s, “but I need to know if you’ve seen or heard from Nate?”

“Ethan! What’s the matter?” Her heart was racing. “I thought you were a wrong number. What’s happened to Nate?”

“I can’t find him,” Ethan explained, and she could hear the fear in his voice. “I was hoping maybe he’d contacted you. Have you seen or heard from him in the last hour?”

How had Ethan’s dad gotten away from him? Especially at this time of night. “No. Why would I? Isn’t he home with you?”

“I’m not at home. I’m calling from my car phone at the corner of…” He hesitated, apparently checking the street signs under the light, then gave her the names.

What he was saying didn’t make sense. Why was he in that area of town at this time of night? “What are you doing on the campus?”

“I had to come back for another meeting tonight…” he began, and filled her in on all the events that had transpired since he’d been notified of the emergency meeting.

“But why didn’t you tell me you had to go out again?” she asked impatiently. “I would have stayed with Nate and Danny.”

“I know you would have, honey, but I didn’t want to inconvenience you—”

“I don’t ever want to hear those words from you again,” she scolded, “and I’ll have more to say on the subject later, but first we have to find Nate. I’ll take my car and scour my neighborhood. I’m familiar with it. You continue to search the campus, and we’ll keep in touch with our cell phones.”

Brittany broke the connection and, pulling on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, rushed outside to her car. She wasn’t too concerned yet about Nate’s physical condition. She’d seen to it that he had his medication, meals and snacks on time all day, and he carried his candy on him everywhere he went, so what really bothered her was the possibility that if he was disoriented and wandering around in the dark alone he might step out in the road and get hit by a car, or be mugged.

She drove slowly and turned her lights on bright as she steered the auto down the middle of the empty street. Every few yards she stopped and called his name out the open window, then waited before starting up again.

It seemed unlikely to her that he’d get this far away from the building where Ethan said the meeting had been held. He’d have to walk almost halfway across the dimly lit campus and then find his way through the thick stand of moss-covered trees that surrounded it. If he managed to do that he’d be even more lost than before because the houses on this side of the university where she lived all looked pretty much alike, big, two story, with numerous steps leading to the front door.

She’d been driving up one street and down another for about ten minutes with no luck when she thought she saw something
moving on the right side of the road. She couldn’t be sure because it was so dark, but she thought it was a figure weaving back and forth on the sidewalk.