by Judy Jarvie
Brigitta broke in with a sudden sob. ‘My father’s suffered a heart attack, I must leave now. I’m going to the airport. Perhaps you could come and retrieve Josh’s car seat from the taxi cab?’
Her lip trembled again and she blotted her eyes with a handkerchief as the tears poured down her cheeks. ‘I deplore having to leave this way,’ she muttered. She reached out to touch Josh’s arm and bit back more tears. Clearly leaving Josh was as hard as this whole paternal health crisis issue. ‘Family, Mr Sutherland, is family.’
Lyle retrieved his wallet, grabbed a clutch of notes. ‘Here, take this to cover your current expenses. I’ll make sure you’re paid until the end of the month. But I will have to employ a replacement, Brigitta, you are aware of my position? My son needs day care and he’s my first concern.’
Brigitta’s lip wobbled again, ‘I understand. You are a generous man, Mr Sutherland.’
‘You’ll be missed,’ he told her. Inside him confusion, tiredness and frustration cycloned, blowing his plans, his priorities to the four winds. He felt like one of the snow globe baubles they peddled in the market, his senses blinded in the swirl of events. He needed his world to be in sharp, clear focus right now. He didn’t need snowstorms of added problems sending everything into disarray.
Two more cafés to launch and no nanny for Josh.
But taking such feelings out on Brigitta wouldn’t help. He’d learned that much from the day he’d had the difficulties with Maddie – she’d taken the brunt of his woes because she’d felt like an immoveable obstacle to his peace of mind. He’d had his fill of life’s dramatic turns in the last year.
Years of turmoil and fighting for precious time with his son. Followed by a tragedy that had rocked life as he knew it.
Trying and failing at fatherhood. One step forward, three steps in reverse.
‘Daddy, I love you so much. Can we play carpet bobsleigh tonight?’ Josh remarked in his ear.
Lyle hugged him close.
‘Sure, buddy.’
He disguised his facial tension with a taut smile. His predicament concerned him; his failing status as a coping dad, his vulnerable precious boy left sidelined again, his livelihood, his business objectives …
Lyle knew his palm pilot was so crowded with to-dos, another list of vital jobs might as well get the red flag urgent treatment.
‘Let’s go and fetch the car seat,’ he said lowering Josh to the ground and taking his hand. ‘You’re absolutely right, Brigitta. Family is family. Your priority lies at home.’
Chapter Three
Maddie watched as Lyle tried to juggle the hard-to-manage combination of an unwieldy kid’s car safety seat in one hand and a small boy keen to run and explore in the other.
She heard him calling to the child to come back, his tone revealing his difficulties with every repetition.
‘That’s Lyle’s son,’ Jim told her. ‘Josh. A cutie, isn’t he?’
The son? Or the father?
The revelation of Lyle’s personal circumstances jarred with Maddie’s thoughts and expectations. She’d imagined the boss otherwise – single, driven, a go-getter tycoon without ties. But why wouldn’t Lyle Sutherland have an attractive doting wife and a brood of gorgeous beaming children at home too? Domestic harmony behind the surly Scot with the harsh work ethic and professional strictures.
And it was then she realised she’d been so busy firing artillery at the man, holding the confusing sparks and contradictions he kindled inside her against him, she hadn’t stopped to consider any of the real details. That he was a father. Involved. Out of her zone of interest.
Maddie watched the boss lay down the seat as the boy removed his gloves. Lyle tried to replace the gloves, without any progress worth noting. The furrows on his brow told of a man under attack. Maddie’s instincts made her walk over and offer to provide the helping hand he looked like he needed.
‘Want me to try?’ she asked softly. ‘It is cold here, he might think he doesn’t want them but he needs gloves. You’re right to push the issue.’
Lyle’s back remained as stiff as his resolve. Again he tried to negotiate glove realignment while the boy deflected him with ease. ‘I’ll manage.’
‘Gloves and pre-schoolers aren’t a good combination,’ she elaborated, getting closer. Like herding wary sheep and trying not to scare them. ‘Wriggling octopus fingers makes it trickier than origami.’
Lyle looked up at her from his crouched position. ‘Any suggestions for success? Besides studying origami at advanced level?’
‘Mittens simplify the task.’ Then she reconsidered her words. Knowing Lyle, he’d immediately assume she was calling him a fool and judging him on his lack of knack in the toddler gloves department. ‘I speak as someone who struggles to get bread in the toaster holes in the morning.’
Lyle’s shoulders rose as he forced a semi-laugh.
Maddie crouched down and intercepted the tiny hands, brushing Lyle’s large manly ones as she did and sending a fireball catapulting through her from some hidden place in the pit of her stomach.
Ignoring the flush it sent to her cheeks, she smiled at the boy. ‘Hello, I’m your dad’s friend. I love putting gloves on real fast, wanna help?’
Josh nodded slowly at her.
‘Josh is my son,’ said Lyle. ‘Josh, this is Maddie, my super waitress. Josh always fights with gloves and hats. Outdoor shoes aren’t a favourite either.’
‘Pre-schoolers’ prerogative,’ she shrugged. Then an errant thought took hold. The son liked to fight – a gene pool prerequisite given her dealings so far with Lyle?
‘Josh finished kindergarten early?’ she quizzed, popping behind the counter to fetch the boy a few mini-marshmallows as cooperation incentive.
When she returned Lyle lowered his voice. ‘An au pair family emergency. Know any top notch nannies with December vacancies, Maddie?’
‘Well, it’s still November so you’ve time before the festive rush. I do know some childminders but both have long waiting lists. You could approach some agencies direct?’
Maddie set about starting over with the gloves, then smiled an encouragement. She needed Lyle to give a little here too – she was trying. He didn’t answer. Just watched as she correctly frogmarched Josh’s tiny cold fingers into place. Then Lyle looked defeated as if she’d just struck him down. As though the easy fun and practical side exhausted him.
Was Lyle so preoccupied with business that proper life couldn’t take precedence as it should? Was it easier to bury his head in paperwork over donning the parental cloak for real? The thought was too close to her own family background for comfort.
She tried not to critically assess Lyle now. It was something she’d learned in her previous job. Don’t judge before you know. But she also knew from personal experience that highly motivated professionals could be disinclined parents. Was this Lyle’s fatherhood footprint? Did he have hands-on parenting phobia too?
Maddie saw Lyle ruffle his son’s dark hair and something inside her melted. She chided her assumptions.
‘We’ll just have to work something out fast. Josh comes first. No compromises.’
Maddie rose to give them some space.
She watched Lyle thoughtfully as he interacted with his son. When he held her gaze, breathing became a definite issue.
Quickly she was too aware of details. The way his hair gave away the same hint of curl that Josh had but it was cleverly disguised by being more closely cut. But she shouldn’t be assessing this particular man because she’d just discovered he had a family in the picture.
She should probably be running away from this situation at speed. But some strange internal force pushed her onwards. At least Lyle had an excuse for his moods, his issues; he was in a genuine fix here. Sometimes you needed intervention to help you ride the storm.
‘Sometimes the schedule just has to flexible when it comes to family,’ Maddie said. ‘Perhaps your wife could help? Can’t she share childcare cover?’
�
��No wife,’ Lyle answered simply, biting on his lower lip and keeping eye contact off limits. ‘She died last year.’
In a moment’s breath the dynamic she’d been evading hung fiercer than ever. Maddie wanted to stuff something huge in her mouth for her error. The chemistry she’d berated in herself didn’t feel so bad. Or good. But right now it just made her guilty as heck. The man was a recent widower.
‘Oh, I’m so sorry.’ She felt a blush rise at the blunder. She held a hand before her mouth. ‘I’m sorry for your loss.’
He didn’t comment, just jumped to another easier topic. ‘You did a better job than me on the gloves,’ he observed, keeping his stare on the boy’s hands. ‘Thanks for the help.’
Maddie seized the situation. ‘You’re welcome. Aren’t there any relatives who could help out to lift the pressure off you?’
Lyle shrugged, his tongue flicking to his lips as his brain worked through things. ‘My mother’s a great help. But Josh is a really lively four year old and she suffers from rheumatism. I don’t want to overtax her. But I know she’ll help where she can. Finding a nanny will have to be a priority.’
‘Want me to play with Josh while you make calls?’
Josh was still watching, intently, assessing her every move then a slow but bright smile began to dawn. His curls were something from the heavenly realms. Like a pocket cherub.
‘You have hair like Barney Blue Hair Bear,’ Josh observed. ‘And you talk like him too.’
The latest U.S. export TV marketing monstrosity wasn’t on Maddie’s personal “things to love” list. Being likened to a man-sized bear with on-end dazzling blue hair who sang with a band of raccoons wasn’t something every woman dreamed of. Unless she’d gotten the women’s wish list manual all wrong.
She nodded at Josh, trying to encourage his engagement and trust. ‘I’m Barney’s biggest fan. It’s why my hair’s this colour. Glad you think it’s cool.’
Josh’s smile vanished. ‘No, I’m his biggest fan! You’re a grown-up so you don’t count.’
‘True. Maybe if we get you a pair of magic blue mittens from the market, you’d be easy to spot as his biggest admirer? Will we get some if Daddy says it’s okay?’
‘Please Daddy? Can I, can I?’ the boy asked, a glint of firmness in his gaze.
Lyle tried to smile but it didn’t fool her for an instant. His face belied tension, trouble, tiredness. He shook his head. ‘You don’t have to – ’
‘I want to. You can trust me; I’m a trained childcare worker and I’ve got references you checked up recently. I’m even towing the line at café work. But I’d far rather be having fun and occupying Josh than cleaning tables if you’ll let me?’ She bit the corner of her lip to push the cheeky vibe as encouragement.
Lyle closed his eyes briefly and shook his head at himself. ‘I suppose this is karma for me being such a pain to you before.’
Maddie chanced a grin. ‘It’s the simple offer of a helping hand while you make calls. Plus it’ll be fun.’
Lyle rubbed his jaw, where dark shadow was starting to form. It suited him lots and she suddenly wished she hadn’t gotten so close to notice.
He glanced at his watch then thanked her. ‘I’ll be twenty minutes tops. You’re an angel and I owe you one.’
‘Take as long as you need, boss. We’re going to have a blast.’
Maybe his hard surface was starting to melt. Lyle just needed to permit a thaw, admit it wasn’t weakness to go with the conditions. Everyone encountered black ice at some point. She’d navigated plenty herself. Black, black ice that had seen her run away from Boston and never dare to go back.
How does she do that?
Waltz in with no warning and turn a tricky situation into a fun, easy one without any effort at all? Muster up a fun activity for Josh that had him laughing uproariously with nothing but pencils, paper napkins and a smile? They were making pirate hats and she’d bought him blue mittens.
Maddie had clearly been gifted at her prior job, the one she’d trained for.
But then she didn’t have a million other priorities twisting for attention in her head, a phone buzzing in her pocket demanding instant action, lots of business commitments to mastermind. A new son in her life without a manual on the finer points to ensure success.
Lyle straightened his stance as he completed calls. Focused and attentive.
He rang his mother to explain the situation and, as luck would have it, Isobel Sutherland was shopping in the city centre and said she’d happily fetch Josh. Crisis averted, thanks to Maddie’s window of reprieve. Thanks to her cool, capable, blue-haired head.
On a whim Lyle then flicked through his cell phone numbers to find Maddie’s agency boss. Did they deal with nanny placements or could they recommend an agency?
His finger paused on the dial button, watching the woman who was singing songs to his son. Achieving gales of laughter. Seeing Josh so happy and relaxed caused a lump of emotion to thrum somewhere above his breast bone.
Josh needed the best.
Josh needed to smile like this all the time.
Was he being crazy here? Or was there a golden opportunity sitting with Josh at a café courtyard table, colouring in and making paper pirate hats right now? Was this a notion he should sidestep? Especially since it involved a sometimes crazy American woman who stirred uneasy feelings and hitched his adrenaline with her looks. One who was so sassy it almost put his head in a spin. So beguiling in her charms that she won over clientele and turned them into regular customers after just one visit.
Perched on a nearby stool, Lyle considered the brainwave – trained nursery nurse with experience, patience and quick wit. Long legs, a watchable sway and eyes that made him look for longer than he should. An accent so sweet it reminded him of purest organic highland honey on the comb.
Or maybe that should be American sweet rolls? Addictive. Distinctive. For his willpower, maybe even deadly?
Lyle pocketed the phone. He had a solution here. A quick, short-term fix to ensure his son had immediate expert attention. Why doubt it could work? Ultimately he just wanted Josh to be cared for and to make this situation more bearable for all of them.
Maddie looked up with a beaming smile when he reached her.
Lyle looked back at a truly exceptional candidate for the job. His son’s new American nanny.
All he needed now was to persuade her. Should he lock her in the stockroom until she agreed?
Lyle fixed her with a searching grey gaze that sought serious response.
‘Would you consider being my stand-in nanny? With a considerable pay rise as incentive? Obviously I’d be inconveniencing you, so you’d be entitled to a short-notice pay hike. It’s a live-in job. I’d pay a bonus for that inconvenience too.’
Was this a joke?
Maddie stared at Lyle and waited for a punch line that didn’t come. She gaped at him for some seconds. ‘You’re serious?’
‘Think of it as a job swap. You told me you’re trying to get a mortgage. The increased pay should come in useful.’
Lyle Sutherland. Grumpy Coffee Chain Boss asking her to be a nanny to his son with immediate effect. Too weird?
He watched, waiting for her answer, and she drank in the brief glimpse of his tongue moistening his lower lip – too kissable for comfort.
‘You’re ideal, it’s staring me in the face. The perfect solution is you.’ His smile and confidence did nothing to allay the danger in his suggestion. ‘You’ve won Josh over already.’
‘I think I’m speechless,’ Maddie muttered. ‘Caught by surprise.’
Lyle motioned to the pirate hats they’d made and strewn across the café table. ‘Anyone would think I’d asked you to walk the plank.’ He blinked and those dark impossibly long lashes showcased his killer grey, sharp eyes. Her insides were registering how much he affected her in a slow, heated meltdown within.
This man had power in spades.
Power to upend her. Confuse her. Affect her.
; ‘You really mean this, Lyle? It’s not revenge for when we first met?’
He laughed off her questions. ‘You’re already hired, experienced. Saves going through interviews and vetting processes again. Of course the decision is entirely yours.’ He shrugged broad shoulders. Shoulders that carried a spectrum of qualities: implacability, stubbornness, go-getter business instincts, clear love and adoration of his young son. Noble as well as dangerously enticing.
Maddie herself was struggling to see the conquest in the situation; she suspected she could be the loser in this helter-skelter offer. Experienced childcare worker she might be, nanny material, she wasn’t quite as sure. Being a one-to-one nanny meant burrowing deep into one family. Becoming a friend and confidante as well as an essential cog of happy home life.
Happy family life caused her personal issues. Revisiting her past. Remembering her father.
Then again she needed more money saved. She needed to keep Lyle on side as an employer. She’d been dreaming of that place of her own, with her name on the deeds, for so long.
But was she ready to become a nanny to achieve it? To move in with Lyle?
Maddie watched Josh trying on his new gloves and beaming at her. ‘We had fun, thank you. I love my mittens. Can we do it again soon? I’ll bring my Barney book next time I come.’
‘No problem. It was my pleasure. Sure – told ya. Barney’s my fave too.’
Josh could make her mood turn to positive with ease. His enthusiasm and trust dispelled the black crags of doubt.
Her gaze travelled up and zapped against Lyle’s. Potent sparks flashed inside her as they stared. Something lit up, recognising the deep vat of love inside this man for his child. A child who no longer had a mother. She felt overwhelming empathy for his predicament.
Emotion made her throat thick as she tried to navigate her way forward. ‘Maybe you should sleep on this offer, Lyle? It’s sudden. You may get offers from an agency sooner than you think, someone better qualified than me?’
‘You’re a natural, Maddie. Why would I want a stranger? My son likes you. Need more reasons to accept? Do I have to tempt you further by adding that we have an in-house swimming pool? And I’ll up your pay to double; I’ll even consider a bonus on top if things work out. Maybe I can help you get those mortgage arrangements fixed up too, if you’ll let me help?’
