The Nanny Clause (Furever Yours Book 4)

by Karen Rose Smith

  “I know she is.” Emma switched on her flashlight as they marched forward. “She’s not using her motherly instincts. She’s following an unwritten creed that she’s developed because she thinks it will work. Just dropping back into their lives was jolt enough for them.”

  “I know that, and you know that, but she doesn’t seem to be getting it.”

  “Maybe she doesn’t want to get it, Daniel. Maybe this is just some last-ditch effort to find a different life rather than deal with the one she has. When she gets unhappy, she moves on.”

  “That’s harsh, Emma.”

  “But it doesn’t mean it isn’t true.”

  They were at the edge of the woods now and Daniel shone his flashlight all around, as deep into the trees as he could. He thought about what Emma had said. Lydia was used to getting her own way. She’d been flirty and feminine and passionate and fun when he’d met her. They’d thought the honeymoon would last forever. However, children made a difference. Lydia had given him three lovely daughters, and he’d loved her for that. Maybe that had eclipsed everything else—her restlessness, her search for the next shiny new toy she could pay for from her trust fund. It was as if he’d never been enough.

  After she’d left, he’d realized their marriage had ended soon after Penny had been born. Maybe it was the responsibility that had gotten to her. Maybe he hadn’t done his share. But he’d been figuring out how to support them and maintain this beautiful house before her trust fund ran out. He’d had to take up the slack. At least, that’s what he’d believed he was doing.

  Emma started on the path that zigzagged through the woods. She wasn’t afraid to choose her own path. She didn’t seem to be afraid of the darkness or the thorns or anything else that stood in her way.

  He remembered his cuts and scratches. Catching her shoulder, he ordered, “Wait.”

  “If we wait too long, he really will be gone.”

  “I don’t think so. My guess is he has a nice little cave somewhere that he uses for shelter. The food on the porch has been gone every day so he’s been eating and probably drinking. My guess is he’ll eventually come out of hiding when he isn’t scared. Going too far into the woods won’t find him—and it might end in you getting hurt. I don’t want you to suffer the same wounds I did.”

  She went perfectly still. “Are we still talking about the brambles in the woods?”

  Emma’s intuition always impressed him. Clasping her shoulder, he admitted, “I want to protect you from any kind of hurt.”

  “Sometimes that isn’t possible.”

  He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and turned her back toward the house. “Do you want to talk about the hug I gave Lydia?”

  “No.” Emma’s voice held a note of determination that he didn’t like. If they didn’t talk, he wouldn’t know what thoughts were floating through her head. If they didn’t talk, he couldn’t tell her that his feelings for her were growing deeper.

  On the other hand, if he did say it, he didn’t know if she’d believe him.

  * * *

  The following evening, Emma left Paris in her room to pack up the supplies she’d need for her swim meet. Emma couldn’t stop thinking about her day at work with Daniel while Lydia had chauffeured her daughters. There had been tension between her and Daniel even though they’d worked in separate spaces. She could feel the conflict and knew he could, too. What they were going to do about it, she didn’t know. Their excursion outside last night to look for the dog hadn’t made the situation any better.

  Penny peeked out from Fiesta’s room. “Nacho is scooting to the edge of the bin. Come see.”

  Perhaps kitten excitement was exactly what she needed...and the girls did, too.

  Pippa was sitting in front of the box, watching them. That was unusual because she was usually walking all around, looking at the kittens from every angle and petting Fiesta.

  As soon as Emma dropped to the floor, Penny pointed to the little yellow tabby. “Look at him move. Can he crawl out?”

  “Not yet. It will be a little while until he can manage that. But he’ll start scrambling around even more. And after their eyes open, they’ll start learning to focus. Once they can do that and their muscles grow stronger, they’ll outgrow this bin.”

  “Then we can let them in the rest of the house,” Penny decided.

  “I’m sure your father will have something to say about that.”

  “And Mom, too,” Penny said dejectedly.

  Emma tried to remain positive. “She’s excited about Paris’s swim meet tonight. Don’t you think it will be fun with all of us going there to cheer on your sister?”

  “You know what, Emma?” Penny asked.

  “What?”

  “I’m not glad Mom is back.”

  “Penny...”

  “I’m not. She messed up everything. We were having a good time with you and—”

  Suddenly Emma realized that Pippa was crying. Tears were running down her face and she hiccupped. Immediately Emma moved toward her and took her into her arms and onto her lap. “Hey, honey. What’s wrong?”

  But Pippa just shook her head.

  “Are you upset by what Penny said? I’m sure she didn’t mean it. Your mom being here is a special visit.”

  Pippa was still shaking her head, and Emma didn’t know what that meant.

  Emma said, “Penny, why don’t you go see if Paris is ready. I have the feeling your mom and dad are ready to go.”

  “All right. But I did mean what I said.” After a last look at her sister and Emma, she left the room and shut the door.

  Emma turned her focus to Pippa again.

  Pippa slipped her arms around Emma’s neck and held on tight. Emma gently rocked her until the seven-year-old stopped crying. “Won’t you tell me what’s wrong?”

  Pippa stayed silent. Then she whispered to Emma, “Mom doesn’t really like us, does she?”

  “Your mother loves you. Are you still thinking about the dog? Your mom’s just not used to having animals around her. She knows now how important that dog is to you. If he comes around, she won’t shoo him away again. I know one of these days we’ll actually see him eating the food.”

  Pippa leaned away and looked up at Emma. “You really think so?”

  “I do. And I also think you can look forward to this swim meet tonight. Wouldn’t it be exciting if Paris has the best time?”

  Pippa shrugged. “I guess so. Will you sit beside me?”

  “I’m sure I can arrange that. But if your mom reads you a story tonight before you go to bed, I want you to listen closely. You won’t just hear words, you’ll hear the love in her voice.”

  “Really?”

  Emma was going to hope and pray that when Lydia put Pippa to bed tonight, she’d give her extra affection. She’d have to say something to Lydia. Maybe this time Daniel’s ex-wife would listen.

  * * *

  Daniel sat on the bleacher, Emma beside him, Pippa beside her, then Penny, then Lydia. Lydia kept glancing his way, and he wasn’t sure what that was about. He did know that there seemed to be a wall up between him and Emma—a wall that he wanted to tear down. He wasn’t sure if she wanted the same thing. He couldn’t blame her for being upset. His daughters needed her, but she was trying to let Lydia find her place with them. On top of that, he needed her. However, she didn’t seem to believe that. He had to figure out a way to show her.

  Penny leaned toward him and pointed to the pool. “Paris is up next as soon as the whistle goes off.”

  Beside her, Lydia put her hand on Penny’s shoulder. “Don’t yell. Your dad knows.”

  Don’t yell? Daniel just shook his head. Everybody was yelling and cheering and calling out. This wasn’t a sit-down dinner, for heaven’s sake.

  When he looked down the row, he saw that Pippa had leaned against Emma, and Emma had encirc
led her with her arm. What was going on there? He noticed Pippa had been quieter than usual lately. That could be because of Lydia, or it could be something else. He’d have to talk to Emma about it after they got out of here.

  His shoulder brushed against Emma’s. She moved away and he thought again that he had to do something quickly or he was going to lose her.

  Nevertheless, for right now, his attention had to be on Paris. He knew she was a good swimmer. Especially tonight, she’d told him she wanted him to pay close attention. She wanted to break a team record because she was competitive clear through. That could be good but it could also make her concentrate too much on winning.

  As soon as the whistle went off, Daniel stood to cheer. Emma did, too, and so did Pippa and Penny. Lydia gave them all a puzzled look.

  After a few moments of hesitation, she stood and yelled, “Go, Paris.”

  Daniel smiled. Maybe she was catching on.

  Paris was ahead of her competitors, swimming powerfully for a girl her age. When she reached the other end of the pool, she turned around and started back. She was still about an arm’s length ahead of her closest rival. She was giving this swim all the power she could. When she reached the wall, the coach kneeled at her lane and blew his whistle. As she stood in the water, he lifted her hand and she pumped the air. Her time was posted on the scoreboard. She had beaten last year’s record.

  “Let’s go congratulate her,” Daniel suggested.

  They all went trooping down the bleachers and over to Paris’s lane. She’d hoisted herself out of the water and stood. But as soon as she did, her body swayed like a reed in the wind.

  Daniel ran to her and caught her before she fell. He murmured to her, “Just sit here. I’ll have somebody check you out.”

  “No, Dad.”

  This time he wasn’t listening to her. The medic who serviced the swim team came running over. Daniel stepped back to let him do his job. After he thoroughly checked out Paris, he said, “Her pulse is fast, but I think the adrenaline rush of putting out all that energy suddenly stopped and she crashed.”

  Daniel said to Lydia, “Why don’t you take Pippa and Penny and go home. Emma, will you stay with Paris while she gets changed and make sure she’s okay?”

  Their gazes met. There was no wall between them when Emma answered, “Of course, I will.”

  Lydia had her arm around Pippa. “Come on, honey. We’ll see your dad and Paris when we get home.”

  Daniel knew Lydia had forgotten Emma on purpose. He’d deal with that later.

  Daniel could see Emma was watching Paris carefully as she followed his daughter into the women’s locker room. Crossing to the exit door, he pushed through it.

  There was a bench in the hallway, and he sat, ruminating about the whole situation. When Emma and Paris emerged from the locker room, Emma said, “Let’s sit over there and talk for a few minutes.”

  Paris glared at her, but Emma didn’t seem to care.

  “I think I know why Paris almost fainted,” Emma said. “Paris, tell your dad what you had to eat today.”

  Paris mumbled, “Orange juice and a piece of toast for breakfast, and a salad for lunch.”

  Emma said, “I’m going to walk outside so you two can talk.”

  Daniel was so pleased Emma was as perceptive as she was.

  Paris wouldn’t look at him.

  “Emma talked to you about the nutrition you need for your body, didn’t she?”

  “She talked about Fiesta,” Paris mumbled.

  “But you knew she was also talking about you.”

  “I guess.” She looked down at her hands in her lap.

  “Paris—” He put his arm around her shoulder. “Will you tell me why it’s so important to you to be thin. Is it because of bullying at school, other girls...?”

  “No, nothing like that.”

  “Then what is it, honey?”

  He saw his daughter’s eyes become moist. “I want to look like Mom. But to do that, I have to diet like she did. I can remember. And she exercised every day. She still does. She has weights in her room. She brought them in her suitcase. And, Dad, isn’t that what I have to do to be pretty and get a boyfriend?”

  Daniel didn’t even want to think about Paris dating, but he knew the time would be coming quicker than he expected. “Tell me something. When we walked in here tonight, at least three boys said hello and wished you good luck. Do you remember that?”

  “That was Tommy, Brent and Casey. They run track. I watch their practices sometimes and cheer them on.”

  “They seemed to like you. Boys will like you for your inner qualities as well as your looks. You’re beautiful inside and out, Paris.”

  “You’re not objective!” she protested.

  “The boys watching you at that swim meet were plenty objective.”

  Paris’s eyes seemed to light up. “Really?”

  “Yes, really. You can’t swim like that without the nutrition to power you. What if you had felt weak in the middle of that heat?”

  “That would have been dangerous, I guess.”

  “It definitely would have been dangerous.”

  Emma had come back into the school and raised her eyebrows in question.

  Daniel nodded for her to join them. When she reached the bench, he said, “Paris is going to eat more so that she stays strong and can swim her heart out if she wants.”

  Emma crouched down and looked Paris in the eyes. “I’ll help you modify a meal plan. It will be healthy and keep you at an appropriate weight for your height and age. We can ask your mom to help.”

  “Do you diet?” Paris asked Emma.

  “No, I don’t. I just try to eat good food in the proper proportions. That has seemed to work for me.”

  Daniel stood. “On the way home, we’re going to stop and get Paris a milkshake. Healthy enough for you?” He grinned.

  “It will be a start in teaching her about carbs and calories,” Emma responded wryly.

  But then she smiled back at him and he thought maybe they could return to a good place again. He just had the best idea to get them there.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The next morning, after Emma and Paris checked on Fiesta and her kittens, Emma was pleased to see Paris wanted to help her make breakfast. The night before she and Paris had gone over what a good diet would contain and Emma had made her a healthy meal, to help her get a better grounding before starting her day at camp. She’d also said she’d eat something in the boxed lunch the camp provided, even if it was peanut butter on one piece of bread.

  That was progress.

  Since Emma had spent most of the evening with Paris last night, she hadn’t talked to Daniel. He, Lydia, Pippa and Penny had watched a movie. Paris had insisted it was too childish for her.

  But before Emma turned in, she’d noticed Lydia and Penny talking. That, too, was progress and she’d left the Sutton family alone to connect. But when she’d gone back to her room, she’d felt sad.

  Today, after she dropped the three P’s off at camp, she went to Daniel’s office. She’d been hopeful when Lydia had said she’d pick up the girls after their camp and take them shopping.

  That was exactly what Lydia was here for—time with her daughters. Emma could spend the whole day working with Daniel if he needed her.

  However, after she parked and used the back door to go inside, she found Megan was out of the office at the courthouse and Raina Clark was back from Arkansas!

  As she’d thought on first meeting Raina, Emma was struck again by how attractive Daniel’s office manager was. She was probably in her early-to mid-thirties. Why hadn’t anything developed between Daniel and Raina in the two years since his divorce? Daniel had told her he hadn’t dated since Lydia left. Maybe he’d been so hurt he’d simply looked at Raina as an employee and nothing more.

&
nbsp; Raina smiled. “Hi, Emma.”

  “You’re back,” Emma said lamely as her glance went to Daniel.

  He shrugged. “I didn’t know she was returning.”

  “My bad,” Raina said. “I only got in last night, but I didn’t notify Daniel because I’m not staying.”

  “You’re giving up your job here?” Emma asked, mystified.

  “I’ve asked Daniel for a leave of absence. My parents and my sister need me in Arkansas. My parents have chosen a retirement community but they’re going to need help moving and getting settled, and I’d like to spend time with them while I can.”

  As Daniel studied Emma to see how she’d taken that news, he said, “That means I’ll need you to stay on as my office manager. How does that sound?”

  Emma wasn’t sure how that sounded. Yes, she still needed the job, but she didn’t want him to need her simply for that.

  She remembered how he and his family had looked last night as they’d eaten popcorn that Lydia had popped and laughed at the movie. She was definitely beginning to feel like the proverbial third wheel. She’d have to make a decision soon on what she was going to do about that.

  After Raina hugged Daniel goodbye and left, he crossed to Emma. Today he was dressed in a cream oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled up, khaki pants and docksiders. She liked the fact that he towered above her. It made her feel feminine. She liked the fact that he could sweep her up into his arms. She also liked the fact that he was a toucher, and each of his touches meant something special to her.

  Now his green eyes were dark and deep as he gently held her by the shoulders. She could feel the heat of his hands, of each finger, through her summer top. She’d worn mint-green slacks with a yellow blouse along with white sandals. He was scanning her now as if he wanted to swallow her whole.

  A shiver rippled up her spine and her body tingled from the memories of what they’d shared, along with the anticipation of what they could share now.

  “The job is definitely yours if you want it.”