Suddenly a Family

by Harris, Leann

  He couldn’t go that direction again. Sylvia had cured him of the marriage fantasy. And even if she hadn’t, his mother had been no sterling example. He’d been the product of an affair between a married man and his mom. After the affair ended, neither parent had much use for him, and Zach had grown up unloved and unsupervised.

  He stopped his mind from reliving those ugly memories. Tomorrow, before he picked up the girls, Zach would find the name of a service that hired housekeepers. That would take care of laundry, housecleaning and meals.

  As he stretched out on his bed, he remembered the taste of Toni’s lips and wondered if the skin under her ear would taste as sweet.

  Damn, he was in trouble.

  Chapter 6

  Toni glanced down at the banana pudding on the car seat next to her. She wondered if the girls and Zach would like it.

  The driver behind her honked his horn, bringing her back from her mental wandering to the street where she needed to pay attention to the traffic. She started to drive.

  It had been nearly a week and a half since she’d heard from Zach, and her curiosity had gotten the better of her. She’d made homemade banana pudding and decided that the twins needed a treat.

  Pulling into the parking lot of the apartment building, she parked, grabbed the dish of pudding, her purse, and headed to Zach’s apartment.

  When she rang the doorbell, she heard a muffled shout, followed by a loud thud and then the sound of a smoke detector.

  The door opened a crack and Lisa looked up at Toni. “Hi,” she greeted Toni. “Daddy, it’s Toni,” she shouted over the noise. The alarm stopped, leaving the scene deathly quiet. “And she’s carrying somethin’ Hurry and open the door.”

  Zach appeared a moment later at the door and unlatched the chain. “Hello.” He looked like a man wrestling an alligator and losing.

  A self-conscious smile curved Toni’s mouth. “I didn’t mean to disturb you, but I made some banana pudding and thought y’all would enjoy it.”

  “Can you come inside and cook?” Lisa asked Toni. Lori appeared by her sister’s side. “Daddy just burned the meal the lady left.” The child waved her arms to fan away the smoke.

  Toni gave Lori a puzzled frown. “What lady?”

  “The housekeeper,” Zach supplied.

  “Yeah, and she quit today,” Lisa added innocently. “I don’t know why.”

  Toni got the distinct impression that Lisa knew exactly why the woman had quit.

  A dull flush colored Zach’s face.

  “I’d be happy to help any way I could,” Toni offered.

  Zach hesitated a moment, then said, “I’d appreciate it.” He stepped away from the door and motioned Toni inside. “Things got out of hand.”

  From the awful smell and drifting smoke, she could well imagine.

  They went immediately to the kitchen. Sitting in the sink was a skillet filled with spaghetti sauce burned to the bottom of the pan.

  “I guess I turned the burner on too high, then forgot about it,” Zach admitted.

  “It happens to all of us. If you have some ground beef and tomato sauce, we could make more sauce for the spaghetti.”

  “We?” Zach replied.

  “That’s a figure of speech. Do you have more meat?”

  “In the refrigerator. And there’s tomato sauce in the cupboard.”

  “Then we can save dinner,” Toni replied.

  “Yeah!” chimed the girls.

  “Aside from tonight’s cooking mishap, how have things been going?” Toni asked Zach as they cleaned up the kitchen. She had volunteered to load the dishwasher and clean up the pans, while Zach dried them and put them away.

  He shrugged. “I’ve been on easier missions.”

  Toni’s startled gaze found his.

  “I’ve done easier things,” he amended his statement. “It seems the girls have a certain talent for running off housekeepers. I don’t know if it’s on purpose, or just the result of having two little girls.” Zach shook his head.

  “Well, all children have times of—”

  He rested his hip on the counter next to her. Toni felt his warmth as if she stood close to a fireplace during a bad winter storm.

  “Yes?” He waited expectantly for her to finish.

  “Acting up. Maybe the girls are worried that you, too, will leave them, and are trying you to see how you’ll respond.”

  He rubbed his chin as he thought about that. Toni had the crazy urge to touch his face, run her fingers over his lips and—She stopped her wayward thoughts, and concentrated on the skillet in the sink.

  “That could explain their actions with the housekeepers. Both women were efficient and good cooks.”

  “Zach, what the girls are looking for is an emotional connection. Their behavior is not that unusual. Have you taken them to a counselor or psychologist?”

  He shook his head.

  “Talking about their fears might help. It also might help you.”

  From his expression, Toni knew she had just stepped on his toes. She rinsed off the pan and placed it in the drainer.

  He picked it up and slowly dried it.

  “Other than running off the housekeepers, is there any other question I could answer for you?” she asked.

  “Is asking for fourteen glasses of water after they’ve gone to bed natural?” He sounded completely bewildered.

  Laughter bubbled up. She leaned against the sink and smiled at him. “When I was young, my dad used to keep a nightly tally of how many times I needed water and bathroom breaks. I think he announced the record was ten in one hour. I held the record among my sisters.”

  A slow, sexy smile curved his mouth. “I can identify with his frustration.”

  “It’s common. And I think as time goes on, Zach, that the girls will settle down. Has there been anything else?” She dried her hands.

  “They tried to run the scam on me of switching identities, only it backfired on them. Since Lori has her cast on, I nailed them the first time they tried it. I guess they were so used to doing it, it didn’t occur to them the cast told them apart.”

  “Good job.” Toni glanced down at her watch. “It’s late and I should go.”

  She took a step and ended up inches from him. Toni had to stop herself from reaching out and running her fingers over Zach’s strong chin. She’d been attracted to him from the first moment she saw him, but watching him struggle to be a father to the girls went straight to her heart, multiplying her desire.

  His hand came up and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “Thanks for your help.” His head started to lower, then he stopped himself and took a step away from her.

  After saying goodbye to the girls, Toni paused at the front door.

  “Try another housekeeper, Zach. Eventually, the girls will realize that they can’t run everyone off.”

  “I’ll do it. And Toni—” He paused, then whispered, “Good night.”

  As she drove home, Toni wondered what Zach had wanted to say. She wished she could as easily turn off the feelings that Zachary Knight ignited in her.

  “I quit.”

  Zach stared at the elderly woman as she picked up her purse. He’d come home a little later than his normal time, expecting things to be under control at the apartment. No such luck.

  “You can mail me my wages.” She strode to the door and looked back at the girls. “Good luck. I hope you survive.” With a militant look, she slammed the door behind her.

  Zach’s gaze moved from the closed door to his twins, sitting on the couch. Lori bit her lip, and Lisa smiled innocently at him. This housekeeper-sitter lasted two days before she’d quit. It appeared his girls were good at running off help.

  Zach slipped off his sport coat and hung it over the back of a chair. “Do you have any idea why Mrs. O’Neal left?” Zach calmly asked. He realized early on that if he was going to get any information out of the girls, he had to use a calm and quiet voice, no matter if he felt like shouting.

 
“Nope,” Lisa gaily answered. Her answer was just a little too pat to relieve Zach.

  Zach looked at Lori. “Do you have any idea why Mrs. O’Neal quit?”

  “I don’t know,” she quietly answered and looked to her sister for support. “Maybe it was—”

  Lisa popped up and ran over to where the fishbowl sat on the low bookcase and frowned. “Daddy, are the fishies suppose’ to be floating upside down?”

  He strode across the room and one glance at the bowl told Zach that the goldfish were dead. Next to the bowl was an empty container of fish food. Looking at the bottom of the bowl, Zach discovered a large amount of food.

  “No, fish don’t swim upside down. They’re dead.”

  “How come?” Lisa asked. “They weren’t in an accident like Mom.”

  Lisa’s innocent words brought Zach up short. The girls had gone through so much in the past month and they didn’t need him to lose it by shouting at them.

  “No,” he answered.

  Lisa looked up at him. “Can we bury ’em?”

  From the expression in her eyes and Lori’s, Zach knew he didn’t have a choice.

  “Sure.”

  After the miniburial under the bushes beside the apartments, they ate the dinner Mrs. O’Neal had left. It was a couple of hours later after putting the girls to bed that Zach was able to sit down and go through the mail.

  There were a couple of bills and a circular. But it was the last envelope in the stack, from Jones, Travis and Associates, Ltd., Attorneys at Law, that captured his attention.

  Zach opened the letter and scanned the page. “Mr. Knight, We have been retained by Melanie Stafford to obtain appropriate order granting Ms. Stafford custody of her nieces, Lisa and Lori.”

  His eyes scanned the rest of the letter.

  “...you will be notified directly of the preliminary hearing date. Sincerely, Michael Jones.”

  As Zach read the words, his anger built. He cursed, using several graphic phrases he’d learned in the military. He felt like smashing his fist into the wall, but he knew that would upset and frighten the girls.

  Standing, he walked to the living room window. Looking out at the horizon, he wondered what the hell Melanie thought she was doing.

  Getting back at you, his conscience whispered. Melanie had hated Zach from the first moment he went home with Sylvia. Melanie’s feelings only increased in intensity after the divorce.

  Taking a deep breath, he moved back to the table and reread the letter. What was he going to do? It didn’t take him long to decide he’d get himself an attorney and fight for his daughters. He might not have known the girls existed until recently, but now that he knew, there was no way in hell he was going to give them up. He refused to do to his children what had been done to him.

  He’d find a way to keep them, no matter the cost.

  When Toni turned around from the blackboard where she had written her next point of the lecture, her eyes scanned the students. By the door stood Zachary Knight. He was an imposing figure of a man with the body that would be the envy of most men and the delight of any woman. His brown hair looked as if he’d run his hands through it countless times. When his penetrating eyes met hers, he nodded and took the closest available seat.

  A million thoughts crowded her brain. Why was he here? Had something happened to the girls? Or maybe something had happened to her dad or the company.

  Panic must have shown in her eyes because he shook his head slightly. Apparently, whatever brought him here, it wasn’t crucial. He nodded for her to continue.

  She finished her point, then answered several questions from her students. Glancing at the clock, she dismissed the class.

  As she packed up her notes, she asked, “What are you doing here, Zach?”

  “I need to talk to you, Tom.” That sounded ominous.

  Her head snapped up. “Why? Is something wrong?”

  “There’s a problem.” He glanced around the room. “Could we go to your office?”

  She swallowed, anxiety knotting her stomach. “Sure.”

  As they walked down the hall, Toni wondered what could’ve brought him here to the university. She hadn’t seen him since the night she’d brought the banana pudding. Countless nights, she’d relived their time together. And she remembered the time before when he’d kissed her. The touch of his hands, the taste of his lips, the desire that overwhelmed her.

  As they approached her office door, Beth, the department secretary, nodded at Zach. “I see you found Dr. Anderson.” Her smile was flirtatious and Toni had the crazy urge to tell the secretary to grow up.

  “Thank you for your help,” he replied.

  Once in her office, Toni set down her papers and settled in her chair. “Now, what is it that brought you here?”

  He didn’t sit down but walked to the window of her office and looked out.

  “Is everything all right with the girls?” Toni blurted out, worried and nervous at his reticence.

  He looked over his shoulder. “The girls are in fine form. They ran off another housekeeper.” Facing her, he shook his head. “Whoever would’ve thought little girls had so much—”

  “Devilry?”

  From his expression, her description surprised him. “I’d call it talent.”

  “And have you compared notes with my dad yet? Remember, he had three girls.”

  The corner of his mouth kicked up. “It boggles the mind. He had some interesting stories. Did he ever have to bury your dead fish in the backyard?”

  “Nope. But I did make Dad bury my pet lizard when it died.”

  “I don’t even want to think about it.” He shook his head. “But I didn’t come here to talk about the girls’ misadventures. I came here to propose to you.”

  “Propose what?”

  “Marriage.”

  Toni felt her jaw drop. “I beg your pardon?”

  “I want us to get married.”

  As a proposal, it lacked a certain charm.

  “And why would you want to do that?” She was dying to hear his reasons.

  “Because I need a wife.”

  Didn’t all men, but she didn’t voice her opinion. “Would you like to explain that statement to me?”

  He sat down across from Toni. “Yesterday I received notification from my ex-sister-in-law that she is going to fight me for custody of the girls. I talked to one of the company lawyers this morning. And although he doesn’t do family law, he told me I’d be in better shape with the courts if I was married.”

  Toni’s heart thundered. She had had fantasies about Zach, of him sweeping her up in his arms and... But this cold-blooded approach to marriage definitely wasn’t part of the fantasy. “Why ask me?”

  “Because you and the girls seem to like each other.”

  She wasn’t much impressed with his reasoning.

  “And I know your dad’s been trying to set you up with various men, wanting you to get married.” He shrugged. “I thought this might be beneficial for you, too. It would solve several problems in one fell swoop.”

  Suddenly anger shot through her. “What makes you think that?” she demanded. She sounded defensive even to her own ears.

  “Because I’ve heard him grumble about you being too picky.”

  Embarrassment rolled over Toni in waves. She didn’t doubt for one instant that her father had said such a thing, or that everyone at Anderson knew of her father’s desire to see her married. He tended to be very blind in certain areas. She remembered several times when people had stared at her, then shook their heads.

  “I can deal with my dad,” she tersely replied. “Why don’t you just find a nice girl, court her and marry her?” Toni asked. “That would solve your problems.”

  “Because I don’t want a real marriage.” The harsh tone of the words reflected his feelings. “Love is a crock. What the world revolves around is lust. That is understandable. I just want the appearance of a marriage to keep my girls with me.”

  “I see.” Z
ach certainly did have a dismal view of life and marriage.

  “My first marriage was a disaster. Sylvia and I fell into lust, then married. It was a terrible mistake. We made each other miserable for a long time. The sex wasn’t worth it. I vowed never to do it again.”

  “But you’re asking me to marry you,” Toni stated.

  “Ours would be a business arrangement only. I wouldn’t expect this to be a normal marriage.”

  That caught her attention. “What exactly do you mean?”

  “Strictly platonic. No sex would be required.”

  “No sex,” she repeated, unsure she’d heard right.

  “That wouldn’t be part of the bargain. We would be getting married to protect each other from outside influences—you from your dad messing in your life, me from the courts taking away my girls.”

  Well, he certainly did have a plan. And Toni didn’t know what to say.

  “I see I’ve surprised you.” His voice had softened and his expression was less defensive.

  She took a deep breath, gathering her scattered wits. “Yes, it’s quite a surprise.”

  “If you’re worried about your inheritance, I’ll be happy to sign a prenuptial agreement.”

  Not once had she worried about her inheritance.

  He stood. “Why don’t you think about it, then get back to me in a day or two.”

  “All right. I’ll consider it.” Toni couldn’t believe her ears that those words had come out of her mouth.

  He moved to the door. “No matter what you decide, Toni, thanks for all your help with the girls.” He smiled that killer smile of his that made her heart skip a beat, then left her staring at the empty door.

  After several minutes, Beth appeared in her doorway. “Where’s that incredible man I saw you with earlier?” she asked. The leer in Beth’s eyes irritated Toni.

  “He’s gone.”

  Beth shook her head. “You’ve been holding out on us, haven’t you, Toni? Where did you find him?”

  “Zach works for my dad.”

  “Is he single?” Beth asked, eagerness in her voice. Here was someone willing to date Zach.

  “Yes.”