The Nanny Clause (Furever Yours Book 4)

by Karen Rose Smith

  Lydia patted her youngest daughter on the head. “Maybe you won’t need a nanny now that I’m here.”

  This time Daniel spoke up firmly. “Emma and the girls have bonded. There’s no reason to disrupt their routine because you came to visit.”

  “Maybe more than a visit,” Lydia reminded him.

  It was clear Daniel hadn’t expected his ex-wife. It was clear Lydia intended to try to take over. It was clear that they were all in for a lot of trouble.

  Chapter Eleven

  Emma was reaching across the bed in the guest room, spreading clean sheets, when Daniel came in.

  He asked, “What are you doing?”

  “I’m freshening the room. I wouldn’t want Lydia to think I wasn’t doing my job.”

  “Emma—” Daniel’s voice was heavy with frustration.

  “Did you invite her here?”

  He went over to the other side of the bed to help her attach the bottom sheet. It was a bit of a chore on a high mattress, but she could have done it herself. For some reason she didn’t want his help right now.

  “You have to understand that I’ve always encouraged her to come back for a visit to see our daughters. They need that.”

  Emma finished with her side and crossed her arms. “They need a mother who’s here.”

  Daniel finished with his side and studied Emma. “Of course they do. But that’s not going to happen. Lydia is married now, living with the man she gave up everything for.”

  Emma asked, “Everything?”

  “Yes. Me, her daughters and our life here.”

  To Emma’s dismay, Daniel sounded as if it had happened yesterday.

  Crossing to the dresser, Emma took a pretty pinstriped white-and-lilac sheet from the drawer. At the edge of the bed, she flipped it over the entire mattress. The stripe matched the fitted sheet on the bottom.

  Daniel caught the sheet and pulled it to where it belonged.

  “Tell me what happened,” Emma said, thinking about her and Daniel making love...and realizing now that she might not have a future with Daniel and his daughters.

  Daniel glanced at the bed and she wondered if he was thinking about the time they’d spent together. As he sat down on the edge of the bed, he motioned to her.

  She sat beside him but their bodies weren’t touching. Right now, she just felt betrayed. She tried telling herself that wasn’t Daniel’s fault. He was correct. His ex-wife had the right to visit her daughters whenever she wanted.

  “I have sole custody. The settlement was written up so that Lydia had liberal visitation rights. For instance, if she wants to take the girls to Alexandria, she’d have to get permission from me to take them out of North Carolina.”

  “And you’d let her?”

  “She’s their mother, Emma.”

  Emma was silent until Daniel covered her hand with his. “I worked through bitterness and resentment, telling myself I had to do that for Penny, Pippa and Paris. I didn’t want them to be estranged from Lydia even though that’s what ended up happening.”

  “That was her fault.”

  “Yes, it was. But I came to understand that what happened between us had been brewing for a long time.”

  “What had been brewing?” she prompted, wondering just how vulnerable Daniel might become with her.

  “The fact that we had different values and different goals and different parenting techniques had begun undermining our marriage since Paris was born. But the biggest problem between us was the fact that Lydia had always had expectations of me and I guess I had expectations of her, too.”

  “Can you explain?” Emma requested.

  Daniel glanced at the door. “Are you sure you want to do this now? We could be interrupted at any time.”

  “That’s always going to be true.”

  Studying Emma, and perceptive enough to see that she needed answers now, he agreed. “Yes, I suppose it is.” After a pause, he went on. “When I met Lydia, we were on the same campus. I was in law school and she was taking courses in broadcasting.”

  Broadcasting meant that Lydia had wanted a career in on-air journalism. “She wanted to be an anchor on a TV show?”

  “She did, but...we fell in love, or lust, or something. I was ready to settle down. Lydia had always been a daddy’s girl. She had a trust fund. I, of course, wanted to move back to Spring Forest because my roots were here. I’d lost my dad my senior year in high school. I lost my mom my first year of law school. My parents weren’t in Spring Forest any more but my sister was, along with everyone else I knew here. I wanted to raise a family here. I thought Lydia accepted that. Maybe I needed a family so badly that I overlooked basic differences between me and Lydia. From about the second year of our marriage, she wanted me to get a job in a big law firm in Raleigh or even DC or New York. I’d had a couple of offers. Maybe if I’d taken one of those positions, we’d still be together. I don’t know.”

  Emma thought about that. “Even if you had different goals?”

  “Once our kids came along, my goal was making the best life I could for them.”

  “And Lydia didn’t share that same goal?”

  “She did, but she only wanted two children. That’s what we planned. But life doesn’t always go as we expect. Pippa was one of those surprise babies.”

  “She didn’t want Pippa?” Emma couldn’t imagine not wanting that bright-eyed, sweet little girl.

  “She settled into the pregnancy and she seemed happy when Pippa was born. But afterward—” Daniel shook his head. “Lydia did love Pippa, Paris and Penny, but she and my partner, Allen, fell in love. They’d been having an affair about six months before he and I were offered the jobs in Virginia. She wanted me to take it. I wouldn’t. Allen did, and that seemed to be the last straw for her.”

  Emma already saw Lydia as a spoiled princess—someone who hadn’t had to really work for anything she wanted. Maybe this estimation would change while she was around her, but Emma doubted it.

  “You didn’t have a clue that she was cheating on you?”

  Daniel raked his hand through his hair. “I should have. I knew Allen was seeing someone but not who. We were both working on that case that drew national attention. We had press to deal with, we were keeping very late hours. I was away from the house more than I was here. The girls had Lydia so I thought everything was all right at home. After all, once the case was finished we could go back to a more normalized schedule. But by then it was too late.”

  “I’m sorry, Daniel. I am so sorry.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t imagine why she came to visit now, but I’m sure I’ll find out.”

  “She wants you back.” Emma had already figured that out from Lydia’s comments.

  “She’s married to Allen,” Daniel protested.

  “That might not matter.”

  “It matters to me. Lydia and I are finished. I don’t want her back.”

  Emma tossed out the one conclusion that mattered. “But your daughters might.”

  Daniel wrapped his arm around Emma. “That’s something we’ll have to figure out. Lydia doesn’t do anything without a motive behind it. I just need to find out why she’s here. At the same time, I want to encourage her to get close to Pippa and Penny and Paris once more.”

  “But won’t they feel abandoned when she leaves again?”

  “That’s a situation we’re going to have to resolve. I’m determined that Lydia won’t leave again until we’ve figured it out.”

  Emma wanted to ask where she fit in, but she was afraid to ask that question.

  * * *

  Emma preferred to believe that Daniel no longer had feelings for his ex-wife. However, Lydia was beautiful...down to the manicured tips of her fingernails. The following morning, Emma made breakfast for everyone, although Lydia was late coming downstairs. She was pleasant e
nough with Daniel and his daughters. Penny and Pippa seemed to have accepted her back into the family easily. Paris, though, was back to acting sullen and quiet.

  When Emma took her seat at the table, Lydia turned to Daniel. “I guess she eats with you, too?”

  Daniel looked as if a thundercloud had just passed over his brow. “Of course Emma eats with us. She’s not a maid, Lydia. In fact—” He stopped, gazed at Emma and then explained, “She’s very special to all of us.”

  Emma had wanted to hear him say “She belongs here as much as you do,” but, of course, he didn’t want to start a fight and have bad feelings swirling around his daughters. She understood that. But it was hard sitting at the table feeling like an outsider, when a day ago she’d felt as if she belonged. Lydia monopolized the conversation and ignored Emma the best she could.

  Emma told herself this was only temporary. To her dismay, she realized she didn’t know that for sure.

  Daniel suggested, “Lydia, you can stay here with the girls and then drive them to camp. Emma could continue her work in my office without chauffeuring them.”

  This time Lydia did look at Emma. “I’m sure she gets paid for chauffeuring. And really, Daniel, I need at least a day to acclimate, don’t you think? I’m tired from the traffic and the drive. I just need to relax today. Besides, I don’t want to mess up your normal schedule.”

  What Emma was thinking couldn’t be said with minors in the room. It was easy to see that Lydia wanted what Lydia wanted, with no thought as to what was best for everyone else. But would Daniel fall into the trap of giving it to her?

  To her surprise, Paris spoke up. “Are you all coming to my swim meet tomorrow evening? My times have been really good.”

  “We wouldn’t miss it,” Daniel assured her.

  “I mean I want everyone there. Even if Mom comes, I want Emma there, too.”

  Emma reached out and covered Paris’s hand with her own. “If you want me there, I’ll be glad to come.”

  Lydia stared at the comfort Emma was giving Paris, and she turned away. Didn’t she realize that someone had to give compassion, assurance and confidence to her daughters? What could possibly make her think that she could drop into their lives again and act as if nothing had happened?

  Lydia had gone upstairs to get changed while the girls checked on Fiesta and the kittens. Daniel came up behind Emma in the kitchen. He settled his arm around her waist and turned her toward him. “I know you have a lot of questions and things you might want to say but you aren’t saying them, to keep the peace.”

  Emma felt tears come to her eyes...because he understood. “I would never do anything to hurt Paris, Pippa or Penny.”

  “I know that. I need answers from Lydia. We’re going to have to have a discussion so I can find out why she’s really here.”

  “I still believe she’s here to reunite with you.”

  He was already shaking his head.

  “Maybe she’s realized she shouldn’t have left in the first place,” Emma pointed out.

  Daniel stared out the window for a moment and Emma wondered if he was imagining what his life would be like if Lydia hadn’t left.

  When he turned back to Emma, he asked, “Do you want me to stay until you leave to take the girls to camp?”

  Yes, that’s exactly what Emma wanted. But she was an adult. She could handle herself in this situation. She’d just focus on Daniel’s daughters.

  Some mornings Emma walked with Daniel into the garage to see him off. That way he could steal a kiss. But this morning he didn’t suggest it. And when he gave her a hug before moving away from her, she could feel the tension in his body. Ever since they’d made love, she could sense so much more about him, about her and about them together. But what if being together wasn’t a possibility? Even if he and Lydia didn’t reconcile that didn’t mean that his ex-wife’s presence wouldn’t come between her and Daniel.

  Emma was clearing the dishes from the table when she heard a cell phone ring. The girls didn’t have phones. She exited the kitchen and saw Penny, Paris and Pippa in the family room. She heard a woman’s voice, talking low, coming from Daniel’s office.

  So Lydia felt comfortable going in there? Maybe she simply wanted privacy.

  Emma stepped a little closer to the office, knowing she should simply back away. Snippets of the conversation floated out to her. It didn’t take her long to realize that Lydia was talking to a friend. Maybe a friend in Spring Forest.

  “I’m glad you contacted me. Maybe we can have lunch while I’m here.”

  There was a pause. “I can be honest with you, can’t I, Connie? No, this isn’t a vacation.”

  Emma couldn’t make herself move from Daniel’s office door.

  “I should have never left Daniel. My marriage is on the skids, and Allen can’t understand that I still have ties in Spring Forest...like you and Ted. Allen thinks I should have broken off all contact with everyone here.”

  Her friend must have made a suggestion because Lydia said, “I suppose it’s possible he’s jealous of Daniel. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’ll see what kind of tone Daniel sets. If he gets at all romantic, then maybe I’ll come back to him. But even if he doesn’t, I want to reconnect with Penny, Pippa and Paris. They’ve had one nanny after another, and I’m getting the impression that they need me.”

  It was true that Lydia’s daughters needed a mother. Emma backed away from the door. Returning to the kitchen, she didn’t know if she should tell Daniel about that conversation or not. She didn’t want to keep secrets from him. On the other hand, when he was around Lydia, he might feel differently than when he was just talking about her with Emma. Maybe in Lydia’s presence he would have romantic feelings. Wouldn’t that be good to know?

  Emma would just have to go with her instincts and hope they’d lead her in the right direction.

  * * *

  After dinner, Emma went to her room. It had become a ritual to search for her locket every morning and every evening after dinner. She hadn’t found it and neither had anybody else. She knew the three P’s had searched, too, because Penny had told her they had.

  The girls were upstairs with the kittens and Fiesta. They giggled and laughed when the little fur balls moved around their mom—circling, nursing, snuggling in. In some ways watching them made Emma grateful that she’d had her mom as long as she had. In other ways she realized now the missing would never end, just as love never ended.

  She was searching in one of the dresser drawers in case the locket had fallen in there when Lydia appeared at the door of her room. Startled by her presence, Emma closed the drawer and straightened.

  Lydia studied Emma for a moment and then asked, “Can I come in?”

  Emma nodded, not knowing what to expect.

  Lydia scanned the room. “I’d forgotten how nice this is.”

  Being tactful, Emma said, “It’s very comfortable.”

  “So comfortable you don’t want to leave?” Lydia inquired.

  Lydia looked self-possessed and confident, but Emma could see something in her eyes that said she was anything but. Lydia was short and slender, and moved like a dancer. Her professionally styled blunt-cut hair slid along her cheeks as she walked. There was never a hair out of place, not even in the morning before breakfast.

  Daniel’s ex-wife sank down onto the love seat. “You know, I really did come back here for my girls.”

  Keeping silent, Emma waited. She was afraid if she tried to respond, she’d say something she shouldn’t.

  “You’re judging me,” Lydia accused.

  Deciding to be honest, Emma responded, “I’m trying not to.”

  “You’re so wholesome. No wonder Daniel’s falling for you. But wholesome gets boring.”

  “And what are you, Lydia?” Emma kept her tone calm and even. “You left your husband and daughters, and you ha
rdly ever contact them.”

  “You’re so righteous, just like so many other people in Spring Forest. I never belonged here in the first place. I had other interests and other goals. Daniel never understood that.”

  “Do you really want to talk to me about your marriage?”

  After another glance around the room, focusing on the nightgown that Emma had laid out on the bed, Lydia let out a sigh. “No, I don’t. But I do want to get closer to my daughters again. You seem to have done that. What’s your secret?”

  “I don’t have a secret. I just care about them. They’ve probably changed since you left. You need to get to know them again...the way they are now.”

  “I try to start conversations, but Paris especially just sits there silent. Penny does that, too, sometimes. Pippa’s the only one who has welcomed me back with open arms.”

  “Have you talked to Daniel about them?”

  “We’ll just get into an argument,” Lydia complained.

  “He understands them better than anyone,” Emma countered. “He’s tried to be both mother and father to them.”

  “Until you came along?” There was resentment in Lydia’s words that she couldn’t hide.

  “I’ve only known Daniel and the girls a few weeks. You spent years with them. If you brush away the debris from the last two years, you should be able to reconnect. You know them, Lydia. Do things with them. While they’re concentrating on something else, they might talk to you.”

  “All of them? Including Daniel?” That question had a note of challenge in it.

  “Daniel will make his own choices. But I will tell you one thing—he will always put his daughters first.”

  “Do you think I don’t know that? It’s one of the reasons I left. Daniel had expectations. He believed I should think about the girls all the time, not go to the gym when the girls were sick. I should volunteer at school instead of playing a round of golf. And then when Daniel could have taken a job in Alexandria, a town near DC with all types of cultural events and history and excitement, he turned it down!”