by D. R. Grady
“Yes. I’m determined to get in to at least one of them.” Her smile turned mischievous. “I want to be a vet when I grow up.”
“I see. You never considered motherhood?” With me?
Her face darkened and closed down. “That choice was made for me.”
Oh? Okay, now what was he supposed to say in response to that? Man, talk about conversation bombs. Good one, Morrison. Maybe Bryce had come by his lack of social skills naturally after all.
Before he could grasp something else to say, she leaned forward. “Here’s the block I need. Pull over and I’ll walk from here.”
Since he couldn’t think of anything else to do, Nick did as she directed. She’d be safe in this part of the city, so he waved her off as she exited his vehicle and swung her leather briefcase strap over her shoulder.
With a cheerful wave, she departed, a spring in her step. Nick was pretty sure she forgot him the minute she turned to walk away from him.
He sighed. That seemed to be the story of his life when he allowed blondes in.
***
Macy stood, smiled, and shook the hand of the woman who had finished interviewing her. “We’ll be in touch,” the woman promised with an encouraging smile.
“Thank you,” Macy said and left the room. Her heart swelled as she thought of attending this school. Yet her elation wasn’t as euphoric as it could be. Something was impinging on her elation. She decided she didn’t like it. Now should be a time of celebration.
When she cleared the building, she called Nick. “I’m done,” she said and looked up and down the street.
“So am I. I’m about three blocks away.” She could hear road noise in the background. “How’d it go?”
“I’ll tell you when you get here,” she said. For some reason she was hesitant to say anything until she was safely in the car. Call her crazy but...
A few moments later Nick stopped the car in front of her and she climbed in. He’d know the interview went well by the grin she couldn’t seem to erase.
“Went well, did it?” he asked dryly as he looked over his shoulder before entering traffic.
“Yeah. I’m in.”
His eyebrows soared. “They told you that already?”
“No. But I know they’ll offer me a place.” She could barely remain seated now that she was in the car. Vet school, just wisps of a dream this time last week, now appeared to be within her grasp. So why wasn’t she so eager to snatch at those wisps now they’d materialized into a substance she could claim?
“And you’re going to take it?”
Nick didn’t look at her, which was odd, but then he did have to traverse traffic. Not a favorite pastime of many.
“Yes.” Why did that sound so final?
“So now you’ll start thinking about finding a place?”
She shrugged. Macy really didn’t want to think about this right now. “I guess so, yes. I’ll have to figure all the details out soon.”
If she thought about this then she’d have to start thinking about saying goodbye to these people she’d begun to think of as hers.
“I haven’t officially been accepted,” she said.
“True.” Nick still didn’t look at her. Was she becoming paranoid on top of all this? Did she have a blotch on her nose? Had she sprouted a wart?
“I won’t make any plans until everything is official.”
“And when will that be?”
She frowned. Hadn’t she already told him that? “June or July at the latest.”
“They confirmed that?”
“Yes, she told me they’d be in contact.” A little cloud of excitement burst in her stomach. An official at her top vet school had told her they’d be in contact. Just being chosen for the interview validated her dream.
Nick nodded and signaled to turn onto the ramp that would take them to the highway. Maybe now that they’d cleared traffic and would soon be on the highway he would look at her. Somehow she doubted her own hypothesis, though.
“The kids will soon be out of school,” he remarked. A conversational topic, that was good, right?
“Yes. What do they normally do during the summer?” Macy was glad they were having this conversation. It was useful information.
“I’ve been sending them to a day camp.” He did finally glance at her. “I don’t know if you’ll want to do that, or not?”
“Is it five days a week?”
“It can be. They’re flexible there.”
She nodded. “I’ll talk to the kids about it and see what they want to do. They probably don’t have to go five days a week.”
“I know the younger two especially enjoy it.”
“Savannah’s probably at an age where she can be a counselor.”
“She is.”
“Okay, well, I’ll talk the matter over with them. It’d be fun to take some day trips.”
Nick glanced at her again. “Like where?”
“We’re close to Gettysburg and Washington, D.C. The Baltimore aquarium and zoo are close, not to mention all the stuff in Philly. There’re a lot of things we could do that would be fun and educational.”
He nodded. “I’d like to do all those things too.”
“Maybe we can take a day a week or month, which ever suits your schedule, and go.” She chewed on her lip. It would be a lot of fun to visit the Smithsonian. “Of course, the Smithsonian needs more than a day.”
“That’s more like a week-long trip.”
“Have you ever taken the kids there?”
“When they were younger, Melissa and I did. But I doubt even Savannah remembers much.”
“There’s so much to see and do there. It’d be a fun mini vacation.”
“Let’s plan to do that this summer.”
“You folks normally go to the lake though, right?”
“That’s a weekend thing. We haven’t gone on a real family vacation since Starla was born.”
Macy tsked him. “Shame on you.”
“Things were a bit hectic,” he said dryly, and she laughed.
“Yes, I suppose they were. But that’s about to change this summer.”
“Yeah.”
Neither of them commented on the fact that it was a onetime deal, since she’d be leaving, but it hung in the air anyway.
***
Macy exited from the car as soon as Nick pulled into the garage. She couldn’t seem to help the feeling of belonging to this family and this house. Both welcomed and beckoned to her. But to respond, Nick would first have to ask her to stay. Second, it’d be nice if he kissed her. Just once. Every hour.
She sighed as her thoughts shot into realms they had no business visiting.
A person shouldn’t do that. It raised hopes and lowered necessary barriers.
With a frown, Macy entered the house, aware of the eerie quiet. The kids were all still at school. Nick, with a mumbled sentence she couldn’t distinguish, disappeared into his office. They’d eaten a quick lunch on the way home, so she didn’t have to figure that meal out.
Instead, she trailed up to her room and changed out of the outfit she’d purchased for interviews. It had seen some wear. But now she was on the right career path for her. There should be more excitement, a voice reminded her. Macy flicked the voice away. She was excited.
She dug into her purse for her phone. An unanswered question ate at her like Filbert. Perhaps it was time to call her mother and ask her a few questions.
The phone rang on the other end. And rang some more. Frowning, Macy peered at the clock. They should be home, but then both seemed to have to see doctors frequently these days. And on days when they felt good, her mom had mentioned they took day trips to places they’d always said they would do, but never did.
Her mother’s voice came over the line, inviting her to leave a message.
“Mom, it’s me, Macy. I have some questions for you. Please call me back. I had an interview today for vet school at the University of Pennsylvania. That school is my top choice,
of course. It went well. I’m really excited. Call me back. Bye.”
Macy hit the disconnect button and contemplated winging her phone against the wall. Why was she feeling so frustrated?
During her interview with Nick she hadn’t hidden her goals. In fact, she told him that she intended to attend vet school in the fall. Nick had never indicated he wanted more from her than nanny duties anyway. So these feelings of guilt should not be bothering her.
So why were they?
The kids’ faces swam before her and she realized the details were fuzzy because there were tears in her eyes. She wanted them. She wanted a career as a vet. But she didn’t know if they wanted her or not.
Maybe she’d offer to stay and they’d all rather she not, anyway. Of course, she hadn’t received that impression from Nick on the drive down and back. Nor had he ever suggested he wanted her to stay or leave, for that matter. That didn’t stop Miss Paranoia from believing something she hadn’t even validated.
A glance at the clock told her she better get to work. This house didn’t clean itself, and there were supper plans to think about, as well as figuring out a snack for when four hungry kids descended on her. Generally, their arrival brought their father, too, scrounging for food.
Trailing out of her bedroom and down the stairs, Macy tried hard to feel enthusiastic about her life. She had everything she wanted now. Everything. So why did she want to sit down on the steps and cry?
Chapter 15
“Hello, how was school?” Macy managed to ask in a civil, normal voice when the kids piled through the door.
“Fine,” was the standard answer.
She glanced at Savannah. “Have those boys who were bothering you left you alone now?”
Savannah nodded as she bit into an oatmeal raisin cookie. “Yeah. It’s amazing. Now that I have a phone, and they’ve seen it, they stay away from me.”
Macy raised a brow. “Completely?”
She grimaced. “No, not completely. But now they only bother me as much as they bother my friends.”
“That’s a plus, I guess,” Macy said, although she wished Savannah didn’t have to go through the experience at all.
“My teacher said you called her,” Savannah mentioned and eyed her over a glass of milk.
“I did. Your phone was one line of defense, but I thought your teacher might like to know what’s been going on and she’s the second line of defense.”
“She asked me to stay after class today and told me she suspected something was going on, but because none of us told her, she couldn’t help.” Savannah stared at the countertop. “Do you really think something like telling my homeroom teacher would have changed things?”
Macy nodded. “Yeah, I do.”
“I thought it was something I couldn’t talk to anyone about.”
“Why?”
Savannah shrugged. “Because it was my problem. I thought I had to solve it alone.”
“Not all of life is a test you know. It’s okay to ask for help.” Macy rested a hand on Savannah’s shoulder. “You’ll find too, that most people are glad you asked, and are more than willing to help.”
“That’s what Mrs. Williams told me today. She said if I had come to her from the beginning she could have put a stop to it. But she didn’t know then. Now she called all their parents and told them what happened to me.”
“And?”
“The boys all got in trouble. Several other girls, when they heard that, came forward and told Mrs. Williams those boys had been harassing them, too.” Savannah bit her lip.
“So what did you learn from this situation?” Macy leaned back against the counter, happy that things had gone better for Savannah.
“That I don’t have to solve everything by myself.”
“Absolutely. Anything else?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Savannah said, and frowned.
“How about if you had spoken up at the beginning of the year, you might have saved yourself this trouble, and also prevented those other girls from being hassled.”
“I hadn’t thought about that,” Savannah replied. Her cheeks took on a pink tinge. “I guess I was stupid, wasn’t I?”
“Not at all. And remember, none of those girls said anything, either. You weren’t alone. Now you know that if you bring problems like that to the attention of the right people, you can change the experience.”
“I should have said something in the fall,” Savannah said and Macy heard echoes of her own earlier frustration.
“Don’t worry about it now. You’ve learned from the experience. And now you know exactly what to do if this ever happens to you again.” Macy peered intently at Savannah. She hated her next bit of news, but thought now was as good a time as any to inform her. “Savannah, this type of harassment is not uncommon at all ages.”
The girl’s eyes widened and Macy saw shock, disbelief, and fear chase each other across her face. “What?”
“You’ll probably have to go through some form of it from now on through to your first, second, and so on jobs. Employers understand this is a problem, especially for young women, and are growing wiser in dealing with such employees,” when Savannah started, Macy used a cutting gesture with her hand.
“You just have to stand up for yourself. Most employers and educators have a zero tolerance policy. They’ll deal with those boys who gave you a hard time. You might encounter some bosses who use their position to try to coerce women into doing sexual favors for them in order to keep their job.”
“I’m going to have to deal with this at work?” Savannah’s voice was a whisper.
“Yes. But how are you going to deal with the problem next time?”
Savannah’s mouth set into a firm line. “I’m telling someone in authority. A teacher, the principal, my boss’s boss, whoever can make a difference.”
“Exactly. And remember, chances are good if you’re dealing with this, some other woman probably is too.”
“It’s hard being a female isn’t it, Macy?” Savannah asked and cocked her head to the side.
“Yes, it is.” Macy wished she could reassure Savannah, but she didn’t want the girl to relax. There were too many predators out there. A phone might help her some, but ultimately, her instincts and wits were the key ingredients to keeping her safe.
“You need to trust your instincts and keep your common sense. And don’t let your phone battery go dead,” Macy instructed.
Savannah nodded. “Right.”
The other kids clamored for her attention, so Macy smiled at Savannah and turned to speak to each of the other kids. Bryce didn’t say much, but she still showered him with interest. Too much attention and he’d retreat so she was careful. Brandt enthused about dinosaurs, especially the Tyrannosaurus Rex, which they’d learned about in class. Thank goodness dinosaurs were extinct. Otherwise Brandt would want one for a pet.
“Here’s another picture,” Starla said and handed her a paint hardened portrait Macy promptly hung on the refrigerator.
“It’s beautiful,” Macy said, and it was. Only these pictures broke her heart. Because even though she had no idea how Nick felt about her, Macy had no doubts about where she placed in Starla’s heart. The curly haired blonde in the “mom” place in the family picture bore a striking resemblance to her. Macy hadn’t dug up the courage yet to ask for verification on that, because she didn’t think she could bear the answer.
“Thank you,” Starla said, taking the credit as her due. She helped herself to some cookies and a glass of milk. She smiled at someone behind Macy, who she took to be Nick.
A masculine hand reached around her and snagged some of the cookies off the plate. Macy noticed there weren’t many left. She glanced around and noticed a large pile in front of Brandt, and a nearly equal stack in front of Bryce.
Nick leaned over and took the last glass of milk from the island. “This is for me, right?”
Macy nearly missed the question. When he leaned over like that, he brought a waft of h
is masculine scent. A mixture that seemed to produce a gelatin-like effect to her person. Not a scenario she wanted to explain. One’s legs giving out from under one for no apparent reason would raise suspicions she didn’t want to talk about.
She swallowed drool before answering. “Yes.” Her voice sounded a bit strained, but hopefully Nick wouldn’t notice. Savannah might, but hopefully she was too young to realize what Nick’s hormones were doing to her own. For that matter, what she’d like her hormones do to his.
Those little fantasies still kept her awake sometimes at night.
“I love cookies and milk,” Nick said with a lusty sigh.
Macy nearly swallowed her tongue. Oh, please, don’t do that.
He raised his glass and took a healthy swallow. The muscles in his neck were beyond sexy. She wanted to sample them. Macy frowned. She’d never had vampiric aspirations before. This was not a good time for those buried yearnings to come to light.
Nick took a bite from his cookie and surveyed Starla’s drawing. “Is that new?” he asked her, thankfully. Macy entertained visions of him taking a bite out of her, and the gelatin effect returned with reinforcements.
She tried to think about her earlier conversation with Savannah about sexual harassment. Probably not a good way to teach her about such things by jumping the girl’s dad and getting herself fired. The lesson she attempted to teach would backfire. That wasn’t a good plan.
But a delicious one.
Macy leaned forward and snatched up a cookie. She needed something to do with her mouth. This was absurd. Quite the most foolish situation she’d ever found herself in. What was it about Nick Morrison that brought out the whacko in her?
That might be another one of those questions better left unanswered.
***
Nick looked up in time to see Macy’s tail disappear around the corner. He frowned. Why was she up so late? He was still awake because of her, but why was she still awake? He heard the door to the patio slide open and since he couldn’t figure out why she’d have to go outside at, he glanced at the clock, eleven-thirty at night, he left his office to investigate. She was safe enough because they hadn’t had any more intruders, but he still wondered what she was doing.
