Cinderella Nanny (Book One of The Connor's Series)

by Rita Hestand

  "I will bring you something…" She said and called Mike back to the house. Philippe waved at them.

  When she looked in the refrigerator, she found tea already made, so she poured a glass and gave it to Mike to take to Philippe.

  "Be careful," She warned.

  "Si…"

  Mike returned when Philippe finished his tea and put the glass on the counter. Sarah was making them some breakfast.

  "Philippe had seven children, and many, many, grandchildren."

  "You found that out with one visit."

  "Si…"

  She laughed.

  "Are you hungry?" She asked.

  "Si…I mean, yes, I am hungry."

  Sarah looked at him and smiled. "Good, you should answer in English always. You will start school very soon now and there won't be as many Spanish children, so you must speak English always with them or they might pick on you. Do you understand?"

  "Yes ma'am. What does that mean?"

  "It means they might make fun of you."

  "Oh, then I will speak English, always."

  "We will practice reading this afternoon. Did you sleep well my pet?"

  "Yes Auntie."

  "Now that you are here, how do you like it?"

  "Very much. And you?"

  "I like it too. But I can't stay always." Sarah said, wanting Mike to understand that this was his home, not hers.

  "Why not? I want you to stay."

  "I will for a while…"

  "Please don't go away…" Mike cried suddenly.

  "Oh Mike….I won't for a while. I promise." She came to cuddle him when she realized she had upset him.

  "You are not afraid here are you?" She asked.

  "No…but…Mama was Mexican, and you and I am Mexican. If you leave, the only Mexican will be me…." Mike cried.

  "Oh…I see. Well, I will not leave until you are comfortable, but you must understand that you are half-white, too. That is important to you too. And this is your home."

  "As long as you are here, I will not be afraid."

  "Good." Sarah knew she had to make his adjustment here as easy as possible for him. He was right. He had lived in a mostly Mexican population, here he would be white and he needed to realize that it was part of his heritage too. Still, looking at him now, she knew she had her work cut out for her. She would talk to Mitch about it, this evening. Maybe he could help in some ways.

  The cook and maids were off today, and the house was empty except for them.

  "Can we go for a swim again today?" Mike asked.

  "I suppose so, later, after our lessons."

  "But I am not in school yet." Mike complained.

  "No, but when you go, I want you to be the best you can be."

  Mike folded his arms and pouted.

  "That won't work, little man."

  He looked at her and suddenly smiled. "Okay, I will be the best."

  "Good."

  She fixed them a grilled cheese sandwich and got out some chips. He drank his milk down and ate his sandwich. She had barely touched hers.

  "Do you like my father?" Mike asked.

  "Very much. He is a nice man." Sarah smiled.

  "He is also very handsome." Mike watched her face.

  "Yes…he is." Sarah shot him a scowl. "And he has a beautiful girlfriend Mike."

  "I don't like her." Mike frowned.

  "That isn't fair. You just met her. You know nothing about her. Besides, she is your father's choice, and you must respect that, whether you like her or not."

  Mike's eyes widened. "But what if he marries her? I don't think she likes me either."

  "What gives you that idea?"

  "The way she looked at me. I don't think she likes kids."

  "She might have had a bad day, or something. Don't be so quick to judge her."

  "Alright…" he frowned again.

  Sarah's cell phone rang. She answered it. It was Julio again.

  "Oh hello."

  "You didn't have time to talk to me the last time I called. Where are you?" Julio asked.

  "I'm in Plano…"

  "Plano…I don't even know where that is."

  "It's close to Dallas." Sarah replied.

  "Can I come to see you there?"

  "No….I have been hired by Mike's father to be his Nanny, so I don't want you to come here. He is a very rich man, and he wouldn't like you coming around with your loud truck and bothering the neighbors."

  "But when will I see you?"

  "I don't know for sure. I'll call you and let you know."

  "Don't you miss me?"

  "Julio I have to go, Mike is out on the patio, and there is a pool here, I can't let him play out there alone. Not until he is used to this place."

  "Si…call me later."

  "Sure…"

  Mike had run out the minute he realized it was Julio. Sarah liked Julio as a friend, but she didn't want to be intimate with him and that is what he sought from her.

  She hoped while she was here she could discourage him.

  At the same time, she had to teach Mike to accept other people in their lives.

  The phone rang once more and she snapped when she answered it.

  "Oh…I'm sorry. Did I catch you at a bad time?" Mitch asked.

  "Oh-oh, no, I thought you were someone else." She explained.

  Mike came and sat on her lap at the table.

  "Is that my Papa?"

  "Yes…"

  "I just wanted to let you know, I'll be home early. I shouldn't be but an hour or two."

  "Oh, that's good. I'm about to give Mike a reading lesson now."

  "I guess I should be calling some schools and getting information on where to enroll him." Mitch said.

  "Leann said she'd tend to that. She's bringing some information home tonight."

  "Great," Mitch sounded relieved. "I honestly had no idea where to start."

  Sarah laughed. "You will learn in time. You and Mike have to slow down and everything will fall into place before long."

  "Yes, I think you're right about that." Mitch laughed into the phone. "Well, I'll see you soon."

  "Alright." Sarah hung up.

  "Didn't he want to speak to me?" Mike asked.

  "No my pet, he was just telling me he would be home early." Sarah ruffled his hair.

  "Oh…"

  "Now young man, I have brought the reader out, and we will practice for a while, then you can go for a swim."

  "Will you get in with me?"

  "I guess so…"

  "Good."

  For an hour, they read and reread a story about a little duck named Willy that was hard of hearing.

  Mike looked at the pictures of the cute little duck and then at Sarah. "Why is he hard of hearing?"

  "I don't know. But lots of people are."

  "I didn't know that." Mike looked at the little duck again. "But why?"

  "I don't know. Some people can't hear, some can't see, some can't walk. They are called disabilities."

  "That's sad, I like this story…"

  "It's a little duck that gets into a lot of mischief, just like a little boy I know." Sarah tickled him.

  "Did I read good."

  "Did I read well?" Sarah corrected.

  Mike rolled his eyes. "Well."

  "Yes, my pet. You may go get your suit on."

  "Okay, will you get yours on too, so we can go play in the water? Papa was teaching me to dive into the water to find things."

  "I guess…" Sarah wasn't as good a swimmer as Mike was so she was hesitant to play games.

  "Great…."

  Sarah put on the skimpy suit and looked at herself in the mirror. "Mama Mia, but this is skimpy. I feel naked."

  Sighing she decided there was no harm, since no one was home anyway.

  She walked out and found Mike already in the pool, splashing about.

  She got in and waded out a ways toward him. "This is far enough for me."

  "Okay…now, do you want to hide the treasu
re or do you want me to?"

  "I'll hide it. You find it." She took the beautiful color rocks, shovel, and pail and scattered the rocks about for him to find.

  Mike had a blast diving down into the water to find each rock. When he came up, he put them in the pail.

  When the pail was full, he looked at her. "Okay, it's your turn to find the rocks."

  "Oh…my pet. I don't want…."

  "Please…" he begged.

  "Oh alright. I'll try."

  Mike hid the rocks while she turned away so she couldn't see him.

  When she began diving down to find them she found several, came up, and put them in the pail. However, she lost her balance and began splashing about, and then suddenly she sank.

  Mike saw her and thought at first she was playing but when she didn't come up, he yelled.

  "Help…help, my Auntie is drowning…."

  Just then, Mitch had come through the living room out to the patio and heard the commotion.

  "What's wrong?" He hollered.

  "It's Auntie…she's drowning…"

  Mitch threw his shoes in the air and dove into the water, suit and all.

  He found her in seconds and began dragging her through the water to the steps. She wasn't moving.

  Panic set in. "Call 911, Mike. My phone's in my jacket on the couch in the living room."

  Mike dashed out of the pool, and Mitch began giving her CPR. She was so still he was afraid…

  Suddenly, she began to spit water and rose up just enough to look into his eyes. "Thank God…," he whispered.

  He was holding her there, beneath him, and she looked up with such wide-eyed anticipation. She opened her mouth about to say something, to break the spell but nothing came out. His eyes traveled swiftly from her trembling lips to her neck and shoulders, and down to the skimpy coverage of her full breast. Her breath caught in her throat, and this time he covered her lips with a kiss that brought complete awareness. Shockwaves of sensations speared through him when she moved her lips with his, as though dancing to some tune. Her body seemed suctioned to him, imprinting on his mind. Then sanity prevailed and he pulled away, to see the same sensations on her face. Confusion, and some strange primitive delirium of delight For more than a split second, he just enjoyed being this close to her, reveling in her no censure state of mind. The kiss was like a match, burning, spreading a fire straight to the heart. It went on for what seemed like hours, but was only seconds. Then voices intruded on their moment and the spell was broken.

  Their eyes met in stunned silence.

  The paramedics were there before they could scramble from the pool.

  Mitch stayed in the water while they hoisted her onto a gurney and fastened her. Mike was at her side, reaching for her hand that suddenly felt limp and cold.

  When he had full control of himself, Mitch followed the paramedics to the ambulance.

  "She's responding, but we should take her in, just in case. She looks a little dazed." The young handsome paramedic said.

  She couldn't find her voice and they thought she sustained more damage than first imagined.

  "Yes, I'll follow behind you." Mitch said, as he tried to come out from under the stupor.

  Mike was at his side. "Is she going to be alright?"

  "Yes, she'll be fine. But we'll go to the hospital and make sure, okay."

  Mike smiled. "Okay."

  Mike grabbed his hand and didn't let go. He was concerned and Mitch was befuddled. What had happened out there? One minute he was trying to resuscitate her and the next; he was kissing her with everything he had in him. It was no peck either. He was involved in that kiss, and so was she. It shook Mitch not to be in control of things, but he had to smile at that. That was the beauty of it. There was no control. As bizarre as the moment was, he enjoyed it to the fullest. That's what astounded him most.

  Silently he couldn't help but wonder if Mike had witnessed it.

  However, Mike was very quiet, and Mitch suspected he was too worried about her to think about what he might have seen.

  "She's going to be alright. They just want to make sure there was no damage. She couldn't speak. It could be just some reaction to it all."

  Mike nodded.

  Mitch was nearly at the hospital when he realized he was soaking wet, from head to toe. Still, Mike was concerned and he needed to see that she was okay. Mitch was shaken too, but it wasn't from the near drowning. Although the thought of losing her was so important, he didn't give a damn that one of his finest suits was near ruin now.

  "What's CPR?" Mike asked as they were walking to the waiting room.

  "It when someone needs to be resuscitated. Like when they are drowning, or having a heart attack or something like that. Why?"

  "That's what you said you were doing." Mike looked at him. "It looked more like kissing to me."

  "There's a difference Mike. Especially in a circumstance like this."

  "Oh!" Mike nodded. "You saved her!"

  A doctor came out in the waiting room and asked some questions.

  "We'll check her over and if everything is alright, you can take her home."

  "Thank you…" Mitch smiled.

  "Looks like you need some dry clothes. And you just might have saved her life with the CPR."

  Mitch nodded.

  "So…" Mike crooked his head. "It was CPR?"

  "Of course…"

  Mike nodded. "Okay. But," he stopped and looked up at him. "I wouldn't have minded if it was a kiss, though."

  "No?" Mitch questioned.

  "No." Mike smiled. "I love my Auntie Sarah, and I want her to stay forever."

  Dear God, he only hoped he could explain his actions to Sarah. Or maybe he'd get lucky and she wouldn't remember it. However, from the look on her face…she'd remember.

  Chapter Ten

  Sarah was squirming around on the bed; her whole body had heated up with that kiss, and stirred a passion she had never known. Remembering it made her blush. Nearly drowning didn't bother her half as much as the kiss. They shared a swift, hot, passionate kiss. She'd been a very willing victim, and that was the problem.

  However, that wasn't her real worry. Her real worry was that she might have jeopardized her position with Mike. Mitch might have thought it intentional. How could she explain? There was no real explanation. Her body had moved automatically to join with his from the moment he first kissed her. And she could definitely tell the difference in CPR and a kiss.

  When she heard him whisper, "Dear God," and look so concerned into her face, she felt the trembling of her body stop, and a new awareness flowed through her. Not just awareness, but eagerness.

  "Oh my God?" She shrieked when the doctors let her alone for a few minutes, and her face heated with the memory. "He belonged to my sister! Not me! Now…he belongs to Claire. How could I let such a thing happen?"

  Tears were close to falling though when she also realized that the kiss was the closest thing to pure rapture she had ever experienced. She had felt seductive, hot, and wanting, as though a dam had burst inside her and let all those feelings rush through her.

  She had to rid herself of her feelings. She had to forget how warm his lips were, how his tongue began to explore further.

  "He is not for you. Put him out of you head!" She demanded of herself.

  It was silly to get so wound up over one little kiss. A kiss she could never allow again.

  And Mike! Oh, what was she to do? He must have seen them. What would he think?

  She was feverish when the two of them walked into her room boldly. Mike ran to her side. Mitch, with his crinkled expensive and wet suit, looked sheepishly shy.

  "See, I told you, she was going to be just fine." Mitch smiled at Mike.

  Mike climbed up on the bed with her, hugging her to him. "You scared us."

  "I'm sorry. I'm not a good swimmer." She confessed.

  "Well, we can't have that. We'll see you get some lessons then."

  "I shouldn't have played the game."
Sarah reproached herself.

  "Not to worry, once you are confident in the water, you can play any game." Mitch added, his eyes not quite meeting hers just yet.

  She was glad. She didn't want to see the reproach in his eyes.

  "So, can I go home, now?"

  "Not just yet. I see you did get your voice back though." Now he was looking and she could plainly see he was thinking the same as she. It was a mistake, and she wouldn't let it happen again.

  She smiled back at him now.

  "I can teach her to swim…" Mike offered.

  "We'll see…" Mitch nodded.

  "I need to get home. Leann was bringing those papers for Mike's school tonight."

  "She called, said she'd have supper waiting for us. Hoped you were alright."

  "I am fine. I don't need a doctor." She protested.

  "Best to be sure…" Mitch sat against the wall in one of the big chairs they had.

  Mike cuddled up to Sarah.

  A doctor came in and smiled. "Well, now, is this your son and husband?"

  Sarah blushed, "No…no, this is my nephew and…his father."

  He looked straight at Mitch. "She'll be released in a few minutes, we just wanted to take all her vitals and make sure she felt alright."

  "Great. Thanks."

  "Now I would bet there might be a sucker out at the nurse's desk for you. Want to come with me and check?" The doctor asked Mike.

  "Can I?" Mike asked.

  "Sure," Sarah nodded. "But don't run off. We'll be leaving soon."

  When they were gone, Mitch shifted in the chair.

  "I guess I should thank you for jumping in like you did. But I'm sorry you suit is all ruined."

  He looked at her strangely. "I was just very glad you were alright. The suit is replaceable. You aren't."

  She nodded and bowed her head. She didn't know what to say.

  "I guess I got a little carried away with my rescue…" He murmured. "Didn't I? Hope I didn't offend you?"

  His glance raked her boldly.

  "Under the circumstances….it was just an over emotional reaction…wouldn't you agree?"

  He smiled slowly at her. "And very pleasurable…wouldn't you agree?"

  Her mouth fell open again, wordless. She'd give anything to look into his eyes right now and see if he was mocking her.

  With any other man that might have sounded arrogant, but she had been a willing partner to it. Her face flushed. She shrugged…"Yes…" Her voice went very low. "But of course it will never happen again…"