Small-Town Nanny (7 page)

“Sure. You go ahead and put stuff away wherever you want. I've got some reading to do.” Half-guiltily, she fled the kitchen and made her way to her apartment via the front door, the better to avoid Sam and Mindy and Ralph.

Helen was right. Susan
wasn't
the kind of woman Sam and Mindy needed. But why that truth felt so hurtful, she didn't have a clue.

Chapter Five

S
am pulled into his driveway the next Friday afternoon, right after lunchtime. It would be good to get out of this monkey suit and work the rest of the rainy afternoon at home. He had a little planning to do on the summer picnic he put on for his employees, but it was all fairly low-key; Mindy could interrupt without bothering him.

And he had to admit to himself that seeing Susan was part of what had drawn him home. Not really seeing her, he told himself, but rather, seeing how she was interacting with Mindy.

He'd been so busy the past week, catching up on all the work he'd put off during the no-nanny period, that he hadn't spent a lot of time at home. Mindy seemed happy and Susan had said things were going well. He knew they'd visited the library and gone to the park with a couple of other kids. One day, Mindy had had her friend Mercedes over to play.

Sam was feeling pleased with the solution he'd come up with for Mindy's summer. She seemed to be thriving under the supervision of an active and engaged nanny.

Susan herself seemed guarded, but he had to assume she'd get more comfortable as the summer went on. That Sunday dinner with Ralph and Helen had been awkward, but that was because they hadn't understood that Susan was only a temporary fixture in the home. Next time would surely be better.

When he got inside, the sound of a busy, humming household met his ears, confirming his satisfaction with the arrangements he'd made for Mindy. He stopped in the kitchen to look at the mail, and the sound of voices drifted his way.

He heard his nephew, Xavier, explaining the finer points of Chutes and Ladders to Mindy. That meant Xavier's little sister, Baby Emmie, must be here, too, but he didn't hear baby fussing or cooing; apparently she was sleeping or content.

The low, steady murmur of women's voices let him know that his sister-in-law and Susan were both in the room with the kids.

“I know I can talk them into it,” Susan was saying doubtfully. “The payment will just be a week late, maybe ten days. It's tips versus wages, that's all. I expected to have a little more money by now.”

“Troy and I could probably loan you the—”

“No! Thanks, but I'll be fine.”

Angelica made some sound as if she was comforting a baby, which she probably was. “What's your mom going to do with your brother away?”

“Enjoy her freedom. And I'm hoping I can send her a plane ticket later in the summer.”

“That's so nice she's coming to visit you!”

“Oh, she's not visiting me,” Susan said, sounding alarmed. “I want her to be able to go to New York to see some shows, or to a nice spa. Coming to see me would be nothing but stress.”

“I doubt that. You're her daughter! Or...are things bad between you?”

Sam took a step closer and leaned on the counter, eavesdropping unabashedly. Mindy and Xavier argued a little in the background. Sam could smell the remains of a mac-and-cheese lunch. He saw the tell-tale blue-and-white boxes in the trash and shook his head, a grin crossing his face. Susan hadn't claimed to be a cook.

“I'm...a bit of a disappointment to her.”

“I'm sure—”

“Don't feel bad, it doesn't bother me anymore. I know she's really just upset about her own life. She had a vision for me to do a better job than she did, to be a perfect wife who made her husband happy, but I'm not falling into line.”

“Well, considering that you don't have a husband at all—”

“Exactly.” They both laughed.

There was a little more murmuring and the sound of a baby fussing, then some quiet shuffling.

Sam felt bad about eavesdropping, knew he should say hello to let them know he was here, but if Angelica was feeding the baby, he didn't want to intrude. Quietly, he grabbed a fork and the pan of leftover mac and cheese and picked at it, thinking about what Susan had said.

Wages versus tips. Of course, she'd been expecting to make speedy cash as a waitress. He needed to bump her paycheck forward rather than waiting the customary two weeks to pay her.

“You should just ask Sam to advance you the money,” Angelica advised as if she was channeling his thoughts.

“No way! That wouldn't be right. This is a job, and you don't ask for special favors in a job.”

Sam got himself a glass of water, making some noise about it, to warn everyone of his presence.

“Daddy!” Mindy called, and ran to him.

“Hey, sugar sprite. Having fun?” He swung her up into his arms, feeling that odd mixture of joy and concern that was fatherhood for him.

“Yeah! Xavier is here!”

“Go back and play with him,” he said, putting her down. “I'm going to change my clothes, and then I'll want to talk to Susan a couple of minutes.”

He'd move her payday up, no matter whether she protested or not. And as he trotted up the stairs, an idea came to him: he'd send her mother a go-anywhere ticket. It was a benefit of his airline program and frequent flyer miles; it wouldn't even cost him anything. And it would help out proud, independent Susan.

Which, for whatever reason, was something he very much wanted to do.

* * *

“No!” she said twenty minutes later. “I'm sorry you overheard that, but I don't need any special favors.”

“It's not a favor, it's just a change in pay date.” He for sure wasn't going to tell her about the ticket he'd just told his assistant to send to her mother. That would go over about as well as rat poison.

“Why are you doing this?”

“To help you out,” he said patiently.

“I don't need your help!” She banged open the dishwasher and started loading dishes in. Thankfully, they were plastic ones; the china wouldn't have survived her violent treatment.

He cocked his head to one side. “I thought someone was hassling you about a late payment. If that's not the case...”

“Oh, it's true, but I can talk some sense into them. Probably.”

“What's the problem? The car?” Maybe now was the time to offer her the services of his car dealer.

“No!” She scanned the now-empty counter and slammed the dishwasher shut. “My car is paid for. It's...it's my brother.”

“What's wrong?”

“His camp. The last installment for this special camp I want to send him to, it's due Monday. It's why I'm working this summer. He'll just love it, and he needs the extra stimulation. And my mom needs the break.” She let out an unconscious sigh, and Sam felt the strangest urge to put an arm around her.

She was a little thing to be bearing the burden for an entire family, but she didn't complain; she just accepted the responsibility. Exactly what he would have done in the same situation. Admiration rose in him, along with a strange little click of connection. Maybe he and Susan weren't as different as he'd initially thought.

“Will your first paycheck cover the payment?” he asked her.

“Just about exactly.”

“Then give me the number and I'll have the money wired today.”

Relief warred with resistance in her dark eyes. “But it's not fair—”

“Look,” he said, “it's nothing I haven't done for other people who work for me. I take care of my employees. Go get the information.”

She drew in a breath and let it out in a sigh. “All right. Thank you, Sam.”

The wheels were turning in his brain now. “In fact...” he said slowly.

“What?” she asked warily.

“Do you want to earn some extra money this summer?”

She laughed, a short sound without humor. “Always. I need to send some money to my mom. And I'd love to pay for an extra course toward my master's.”

“And maybe buy a new car?” he needled.

“Sam!” She put her hands on her hips. “I know my car isn't pretty, but it runs fine.”

“It runs loud. And smoky.”

“It's fine.” She turned away. “If you're through insulting my stuff, I'd better go help Angelica with the kids.”

“She's fine. Wait a minute. Listen to my proposal.”

The corner of her mouth quirked upward as she spun back around. “What proposal is that?”

Their eyes met, and held, and something electric zinged between them.

The breeze through the window lifted a strand of her hair, but even as she brushed it back, she still stared at him. He could see the pulse in her neck.

His own pulse was hammering, too.

Wow.

They both looked away at the same time. “So what are you thinking of?” she asked in a businesslike voice, grabbing a sponge to wipe down the already-clean counter.

He cleared his throat and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the kitchen island. “I'm having my annual summer picnic for my employees, and the woman who usually plans it for me is out on maternity leave. How are you at party planning?”

She laughed. “I'm a whiz with the elementary set, but I've never planned an adult party in my life.”

He should definitely get someone else, then. “You could get Daisy to help,” he heard himself saying. “And it's a family picnic, so we always try to make it fun for the kids. I'd pay you what I normally pay Trixi, the one on maternity leave. She gets overtime for the extra work.”

“Really?” She frowned, bit her lip.

“Of course,” he said, watching her, “you'd have to work pretty closely with me.”

There was a beat of silence. Then: “I'm already working way too closely with you.”

“What?”

She clapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh, wow, did I say that out loud?”

“Susan.” He sat down on one of the bar stools to be more at her level. She was so petite. “I hope I'm not making you uncomfortable in some way. That's the last thing I intend.”

“No!” She was blushing furiously. “No, it's not that, it's just... I don't know.” She turned away, staring out the window.

He came over to stand behind her, a safe couple of feet away. “I know this is pretty close quarters for two strangers. But I want you to know that I'm very pleased with your work, Susan. I think we can stop thinking of the nanny job as a trial run. I'd like for you to stay all summer.”

She gripped the counter without looking at him.

“I haven't seen Mindy so happy since...well, since she was a baby and her mom was healthy.”

She half looked back over her shoulder. “Really?”

The plaintive sound of her voice was so at odds with her feisty personality that he felt a strange compulsion to touch her shoulder, to run a hand over that silky hair, offering comfort.

The super-independent, super-confident teacher evidently had some vulnerabilities of her own. It almost seemed as if she hadn't received much praise, although he couldn't imagine why, when she seemed to be so good at everything she did.

Well, everything except cooking.

And why was his hand still moving toward her hair?

Just in time, he pulled it back. That wouldn't do at all.

He was getting a little too interested in Susan. She was too young, too independent, totally wrong for him in the long term, even though she was turning out to be an amazing summer nanny. He needed to get on with his program of finding Mindy a real, permanent mom. And he needed to do it soon.

He'd make sure to get back on the dating circuit right away. There were a couple of women he'd seen once and then left hanging. He'd give them a call. His secretary, who was of necessity a little too involved in his life, had a niece she wanted to fix him up with, and Mindy's Sunday school teacher had handed him her phone number along with Mindy's half-completed craft last week.

He just needed to get himself motivated to do it. He'd been too busy. But now that Susan was in place—Susan, who was completely inappropriate for him—he'd jump back into pursuing that all-important goal.

He forced himself to take a step backward. “If you're interested in the extra job, I'd appreciate having you do it. It would be easy, because you're here in the house anyway. But if you're not comfortable with it, by all means back off and I'll find someone else.”

She studied him, quizzical eyes on his face, head cocked to one side. “I can give it a try,” she said slowly.

And Sam tried to ignore the sudden happiness surging through him.

* * *

“When will we get to the lake, Daddy?”

Sam glanced back at Mindy, bouncing in her car seat, and smiled as he steered into the parking lot by Keystone Lake. “Hang on a minute or two, and we'll be here and out of the car.”

As Mindy squealed her excitement, Sam felt tension relax out of his shoulders. Now things were falling into place.

He pulled into his old parking spot, surveying the soothing, tree-surrounded lawn with satisfaction. He'd grown up with Saturday trips to the lake, and he and Marie had brought Mindy here most summer weekends when she was small. He'd meant to continue the tradition, but it had fallen by the wayside...until now.

They'd play on the blanket, and have a nice picnic, and spend family time together. The only thing missing was the woman beside him. But Susan had agreed to work today in exchange for a weekday off next week. She'd fill the role temporarily, until he could get on his larger goal of finding a new mom for Mindy.

“It's a little cold for swimming,” Susan said as she helped Mindy undo the buckles. “But there's a lot to do at the lake aside from swimming.”

Sam's arms were loaded down with the picnic basket, blankets and a couple of lawn chairs, but looking around the stuff, he could see Mindy's lower lip sticking out.

“I want to swim!” his daughter said.

Susan nodded comfortably. “Okay. You can. I'm not going in that lake until the sun comes out, but I'll watch you.”

Sam came around to the side of the car where Susan was bent over, gathering an armload of beach toys. “She can't go in the lake. It's too cold.”