The Nanny's New Family (Caring Canines)

by Margaret Daley

  “I’ll come pick him up.”

  “Under these circumstances, I think that would be best.”

  After Annie retrieved Rex from the backyard, she drove toward Will Rogers Elementary. Her cell phone rang, and she saw it was Ian. “I’m almost at Jeremy’s school,” he said. “He had a seizure. The teacher called and left a message for me. When I got out of surgery, an aide told me.”

  “He’s at the nurse’s office.”

  “Meet you there.”

  Annie pulled into the parking lot, took Rex out of the backseat and hooked up his leash. Not half a minute later, Ian pulled in next to her. She waited for him, then they walked to the entrance together.

  “Good idea about Rex,” Ian said. “I didn’t insist on Jeremy’s taking Rex to school, but I will now.” He opened the door.

  While Annie and Ian signed in at the office, she said, “We have the weekend to see if he’ll come to the conclusion on his own. I brought Rex to remind Jeremy what the dog can do for him. And I have a feeling Jeremy could use Rex for comfort, although I doubt he’ll admit it. It upset him that the kids on the playground saw him. His teacher said he freaked out.”

  “It’s time we encourage him to talk about his epilepsy with the other children. Rex could help with that.”

  At the nurse’s office, Ian asked what happened and how long the seizure had lasted while Annie took Rex to the room where the cots were. When they entered, Jeremy was curled on his side, his eyes closed. Annie sat in the chair between the beds with Rex between her and Jeremy’s cot.

  Ian went in and sat on the other bed, whispering, “The nurse said he went to sleep right away. He’s been here about forty minutes. His seizure lasted around three minutes. That was an estimate from the teacher’s assistant on the playground. Jeremy fell down on a soft patch of grass, and she couldn’t feel any bumps or see any cuts.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  “Take him home. He’ll be wiped. That’s the longest seizure he’s had that I know of.” Ian stood and stooped next to his son. “Jeremy.” He gently shook the child’s shoulder.

  Jeremy’s eyes blinked open and he looked right at his dad then closed them.

  “Son, I’m taking you home. Can you walk?”

  No response.

  “Then, I’ll carry you.” Ian slipped his arms under his child’s body and hefted him up against his chest.

  “I’ll get the doors.” Annie scurried around Ian, holding Rex’s leash, and walked ahead of them out to the Lexus. “Are you going back to work?”

  “No. My surgeries went faster than I thought they would.”

  “I’m going to run one errand, then it will be time for me to pick up the other children.”

  “I’ll see you back at the house in a while.”

  Annie opened her driver’s door while Ian placed Jeremy in the backseat of his Lexus, and Rex climbed in with his son.

  Ian straightened. His gaze held her like an embrace. “Thanks for coming, Annie. It’s good to know I have someone to rely on.” His voice thickened, and he swallowed hard.

  “I’m doing what is needed,” Annie murmured, wanting to look away, but the sheen in his eyes riveted her.

  Ian loved his children, and to see them hurt and vulnerable had to be hard for him. Annie wasn’t their parent, but she struggled with her emotions more than when she worked for the others. She couldn’t compartmentalize her feelings as she had before. It would be difficult to leave the children—Ian.

  Not a word was spoken for half a minute. Annie couldn’t have moved if she’d wanted to.

  Then Ian’s cell phone rang, breaking the connection. Annie hurried and slid into the Ford Explorer. She still had an errand to run, but the whole way to the store, she couldn’t shake the idea that something had happened back there. Something had changed between them.

  * * *

  “I can’t believe my youngest is five. It goes by fast, especially when you’re running to keep up with him.” Ian stood next to Annie on the sidewalk, watching ten four-and five-year-olds jumping, sliding and climbing all over the bounce house that took up a good part of his front yard. “I warned the neighbors it might be a tad noisy today.”

  “You think? I should have given earplugs to Amanda.” Annie laughed and raised her voice over the shouting, with Joshua’s ten friends and the twins each having one, as well.

  “And us. Did you see Jade and Jasmine looking between you and your twin earlier?”

  “We dressed exactly alike on purpose. I thought it would be fun to try to fool your daughters.”

  Ian turned toward the woman beside him and studied her. “Are you Amanda?”

  “What do you think?” A twinkle danced in her eyes.

  Ian glanced toward her sister by the door to the bounce house. Joshua ran up to her, grinning from ear to ear, and threw his arms around her. Ian returned his attention to the woman standing with him, catching her running her finger under the collar of her turtleneck shirt. “You are definitely Amanda.”

  “What gave it away? Annie and I are pretty good at changing places.”

  “You aren’t used to wearing a turtleneck.”

  “True. We fooled your daughters, though. Annie is going to save telling them until later.”

  “But not Joshua. That hug was for Annie. She made today special for him.” Lately there had been a lot of special moments for Ian’s family because of Annie.

  Amanda tilted her head and scrutinized him. “You like her. I’m glad because I think she’s terrific, too. She has a gift with children, and they gravitate to her. I thought Annie would be a teacher. But she wanted to do something more one-on-one.”

  “I’m glad she decided that. For the past two weeks, my family has finally started settling into a routine. Before Annie, no matter what I did, I couldn’t seem to get it together.”

  “Four children take a lot of coordinating. Annie had the best example. Our mom was always there for us. We knew what she expected, and we knew our boundaries.”

  Ian smiled. “Zoe and then Aunt Louise always held the fort. When they passed away, I was left unprepared.”

  “Sounds as though Annie came in the nick of time.”

  Ian watched Annie among the children in the bounce house, laughing as loud as they were. She gave him hope again. When he’d opened the door to her that first day, he had been desperate. Ian didn’t like chaos any more than his kids did. He wanted to help her, too. “Amanda, why won’t Annie do anything about her scars?”

  “She’s become good at hiding them.”

  “But I think something could be done to diminish them. At least on her face. And certainly her ear could either be reconstructed, or she could have a prosthetic one.”

  “The ones on her neck and ear aren’t nearly as bad as the one across her chest. But in answer to your question, I can’t say. If Annie wants you to know, she’ll tell you.”

  Ian faced Amanda, not surprised by her answer. “I understand. You two are very close, like Jade and Jasmine.”

  “Annie doesn’t trust easily. After the accident she discovered who her real friends were. It’s sad how some people view beauty only outwardly. But then you should know that—your business revolves around appearance.”

  “There’s more to being a plastic surgeon than cosmetic procedures,” Ian said. “The part I love best is the reconstructive surgery. My little brother had a cleft lip, and he got teased to the point he didn’t want to go to school. Surgery changed his life.”

  “Wouldn’t it be nice if people would just accept us for what we are? God does.” Amanda checked her watch. “I’m going to relieve Annie. I need to work off that piece of cake.”

  Ian scanned the children. Jeremy had never come outside after Joshua opened his presents, and everyone had cake and ice cream. He’d said he would. After making sure everything was running smoothly, Ian went inside and found his eldest son sitting on the staircase with Rex next to him.

  “I thought you were coming outside. Jo
shua will wonder where you are.”

  “What if I have a seizure like yesterday?”

  “We’re here to help you. You’ll be okay. You can’t hide in the house forever.”

  His service dog moved closer and laid his head in Jeremy’s lap.

  “You’ve got Rex. He’s there to help. Remember what he did that evening at Caring Canines?”

  “But on the playground everyone was staring at me.” Jeremy chewed on his lower lip.

  Ian sat next to his son. Had Annie gone through this after her accident? “Because they didn’t know about your seizures. Maybe you need to share it with them. Rex can help you.”

  “What if someone laughs at me?”

  “Then, he isn’t a friend. You need to ignore him. I hope you’ll take Rex to school on Monday.”

  Jeremy stroked his dog’s head. “I don’t know.”

  “I know Joshua’s friends would love to get to know Rex better. Come on. I’ll show you.” Ian stood and waited.

  When his son rose, Ian filled his lungs with a deep breath. Outside, when Jeremy strolled toward the bounce house, several kids came up to him. Before long three more joined them. Jeremy began demonstrating some of the tricks Rex could do. Relief flowed through Ian.

  “I’m glad you could talk him into getting out of the house,” Annie said from behind. “I tried earlier, but he didn’t know if he should.”

  Ian rotated toward Annie. “This is a good place for him to practice sharing his service dog with others. The more comfortable he is, the more likely he will take Rex to school willingly.”

  “Joshua asked me this morning after breakfast if he could take Daisy.”

  “He said something to me, too, right before the party. Obviously you didn’t give him the right answer.”

  Annie chuckled. “Kids don’t think adults compare notes. Amanda and I used to do that all the time with our parents.” She looked around. “Where are Jade and Jasmine?”

  “I don’t know. Their two friends are still here, so they can’t be too far away. At least I don’t have to worry about them—unlike Joshua when he disappears for any length of time.”

  “I think those older girls are flirting with Jeremy,” Annie observed. “The other kids are going back to play in the bounce house, but the twins’ friends are hanging on to every word Jeremy is saying.”

  “He’s blushing. I didn’t know Jeremy could do that. Want to walk around and look for the twins?”

  “Let’s check behind the bounce house.”

  “Over by Jeremy? Maybe we can eavesdrop.” Annie tried, but she couldn’t contain her grin.

  “I think that’s a good suggestion. Jade and Jasmine could be on the other side of that monstrosity in my yard.”

  Annie started forward. “I told you it would be big. Quit complaining so we can hear what the girls and Jeremy are saying as we walk by.”

  “Why, Annie Knight, I never thought you were capable of such underhanded behavior.” Lately he’d noticed he’d smiled and laughed more than anytime the past year. And he was sure it was because of Annie. She was having an effect on the children—but also on him.

  “When it comes to protecting children, you do what you have to,” Annie replied.

  Ian’s laughter caused his son and the two girls to glance their way.

  Annie jabbed Ian playfully in the side and whispered, “So much for being subtle.” They kept walking.

  “Did you hear he was explaining what his service dog does?” Ian asked as they circled the bounce house.

  “Dad, Annie, look at me.” Joshua went down the slide headfirst.

  “Joshua, I’m glad that landing is cushioned. And yes, I heard,” she told Ian. Annie came to a halt, staring at the front porch, then she burst out laughing.

  Ian swung his attention to what she was looking at. His two daughters were coming toward them, dressed exactly alike and wearing the same hairstyle. “It’s rare to see Jade wearing a dress. I’m surprised Jasmine talked her into it.”

  “When it comes to clothes, Jasmine is adamant about what she puts on. Jade couldn’t care less.” Annie waved at the two girls. “They won’t fool me. The minute they start talking they’ll give themselves away. They haven’t mastered the art of switching places the way Amanda and I have.” Annie nodded toward them. “For instance, they walk differently.”

  “I never thought about that, but it’s true.”

  As Annie greeted the twins by name, the flush to their cheeks revealed she was right. In a short time, Annie had come to know his family well, Ian reflected. In some ways she knew them better than he did, which was disconcerting. He’d been lost in grief the past two years and had distanced himself from his children. That would change today.

  * * *

  Sunday evening, after they’d held the family meeting and the children had gone to bed, Annie left for the night. But instead of going to her apartment, she sat on a lounge chair on the patio to enjoy the crisp, cool spring air with a sky lit with thousands of stars. This had been a weekend full of surprises. First, Annie had thought for sure she could fool Ian when Amanda and she switched roles, but she hadn’t for long. That stunned her. Did Ian know her that well? The thought that he did excited and scared her at the same time.

  Annie pushed away thoughts of men and focused on another surprise. Jeremy not only brought Rex outside at the birthday party, but he’d taken him to church, too. Both were good dry runs for tomorrow. Tonight at supper, he’d announced Rex was going to school with him.

  But the biggest revelation was today when Annie had spent most of the day with her family and all she could think about was Ian and his children. She’d wanted them there, too. Her dad encouraged her to ask them to come for Memorial Day at the lake, and she was definitely considering it.

  The sound of the sliding glass doors opening startled her. Annie twisted around to find Ian coming out of the house toward her. Although she’d relished the quiet, his presence sent a thrill through her. She needed to put a stop to that—but at the moment she didn’t know how.

  “I was checking that the doors were locked and caught sight of you out here. Mind if I join you?”

  “This is your house.”

  “But this is your downtime.”

  “Haven’t you figured out by now that except for church and family, I have no life beyond my job?” Annie smiled. Until she’d come to Ian’s house, that had been true. But when she was with Ian and his family, she didn’t think of herself as an employee. Annie slid her eyes closed for a few seconds and tried to change the direction of her thoughts.

  “So that’s why you come back early on Sunday and join us for dinner.”

  “Well, that and I don’t have to cook the meal.” And Annie enjoyed the family meetings—each one showed progress toward a good working model.

  “I thought you liked to cook.”

  “I do, but it’s nice to be pampered every once in a while.”

  “I’ll have to remember that.” Ian took the lounge next to her.

  Only inches apart. His proximity revved her heartbeat, and she shivered.

  “Cold?”

  “No, I’m fine.” As soon as I quit reacting to you being this close to me. “Tonight is so lovely I decided to spend some time out here.”

  “I have a feeling the quiet is what lured you.”

  “You’re probably right, after spending today with my large family. I think every niece and nephew was there today. Usually a couple are missing.”

  “What are their ages?”

  “When everyone is present, their ages are two to fifteen, but in seven months there will be a baby. Amanda told me she’s eight weeks pregnant. Her first, and I’m excited! I’ve had plenty of practice with all the stages children go through, but the baby stage is my favorite.”

  “What about having your own? You would be such a good mother.”

  Annie tensed, relieved that in the dark Ian couldn’t read her expression. The subject always brought a momentary pang of regret
and pain. Because of her forgetfulness that night at the cabin, she’d been denied the one thing she’d always wanted: to be a mother. If she could relive that moment she lit the candle, her life would be totally different today.

  “Annie?” Ian clasped her hand.

  “I can’t have children. When the beam fell across my midsection, it caused some internal injuries.” The words slipped out before Annie could take them back. Only her family and her doctor knew that information. Why was she telling Ian? It wasn’t his concern, but she found herself sharing more with him than any other outsider.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t...” For a long moment Ian didn’t say anything.

  Annie swung her legs over the side of the chaise longue and sat up. “You were making an observation, and I appreciate your thinking I would be a good mother. I accepted the fact I wouldn’t be able to years ago.” But she could still remember that day when the doctor had told her. Something had died inside her then. God had other plans for her life.

  Ian leaned forward. “I shouldn’t have asked. It’s none of my business, but I don’t think of us as employer and employee. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you. I consider you a friend. You’re easy to talk to. And I don’t know what I would have done about Jeremy without you. For six months I’ve felt overwhelmed. I don’t now.”

  Annie knew her other employers had appreciated her services, but their words had never affected her the way Ian’s did. A glow from deep within spread to encompass her whole body. “I’m glad I could help” was all she could think to say.

  “It was a great day when you came to interview for the job.”

  Annie rose. “It’s time to call it a night.”

  When Ian stood so close she could smell his scent of lime aftershave, her breathing quickened. She wanted to forget her past and focus only on this man, this moment alone with him.

  “I’m taking the kids and Rex to school tomorrow morning,” he told her. “I want you to sleep in and enjoy the time off. You deserve it.”

  “But I don’t—”

  “You’ve hardly taken any time off, so no argument.”