Mommy for Hire

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  “Sorry I’m a little early,” Alexis said, shaking out her umbrella. “I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get here.”

  “No problem.” Grady paused to introduce his four best friends: Dan, the architect of all his developments, and Travis, who owned the construction company that built them. Jack, the wiring genius whose company installed the networks, phones and satellite systems. And last but not least, Nate, the CEO of the Texas-based financial services company that was going to be leasing eighty percent of the available space in this latest project.

  “Nice to meet you,” Alexis said.

  The four men murmured the same, grabbed their jackets and headed out.

  Grady and Alexis were alone. Dumbstruck by how lovely she looked, with raindrops glistening on the tip of her nose and her cheeks, he said the first thing that came to mind. “Sorry about the weather….”

  Merriment sparkled in her eyes. “You control that?”

  Her teasing brought a smile to his face, too. “Sorry about having you meet me here in the middle of a monsoon,” he corrected. “I thought the rain would have let up by now.”

  “We’re in the midst of a tropical storm—or what’s left of it this far inland. The precipitation isn’t going away until tomorrow evening, at the earliest.”

  Normally, Grady would have known that. But he’d been too preoccupied lately. “Guess I should have paid more attention to the forecast.”

  “You seem to have your hands full.”

  Grady thought about Savannah’s temper tantrum that very morning, when he’d told her she had to wear her school uniform—not her princess costume—to school, as always. “I do at that,” he said dryly.

  The phone rang, and Grady held up a hand, wordlessly asking her to wait before he pulled his BlackBerry from his pocket. He listened, but the words made no sense. He blinked in stunned amazement. “Could you repeat that…?”

  Slowly but surely the meaning sunk in. Words not polite for fit company filled his head, the inner diatribe directed exclusively toward himself, for his increasingly poor parenting. “No. Thank you for letting me know. I’ll be right there.”

  He ended the call with a push of a button.

  Alexis looked at him and lifted a brow.

  “It’s Savannah,” Grady said, already searching for his umbrella. “She’s in trouble.”

  “WE CAN GO OVER your picks for the next introduction on the way over,” he promised Alexis as the two of them headed back out into the rain.

  She had insisted that this time he consider at least three women, before selecting one. She hoped going through the process would show him what a valuable screening tool it was. Unfortunately, despite the fact she talked nonstop on the fifteen minute drive to Miss Chilton’s Academy for Young Women, Alexis was fairly certain Grady didn’t absorb a word of what she said.

  Before she could quiz him on his thoughts, however, they were turning into the visitor parking lot of the city’s oldest and most prestigious all-girl school. “Would you like me to wait in the car?” she said.

  Grady shook his head. “It’s too warm. I have no idea how long this will take. And I may need female reinforcement.”

  “Mind telling me what’s going on, then?”

  He held the umbrella over her head as they hurried toward the door. “The headmistress said something about a contretemps in ballet class, whatever that means. All I know is I am expected to come and get Savannah and take her home early—after stopping in the school office.”

  Grady held the door, then escorted Alexis through the lobby to the glass-walled principal’s office. There, seated on a bench, was Savannah. Next to her was a little girl with long red hair and the kind of to-the-manor-born-air about her that Alexis had always hated.

  Both were wearing hot-pink leotards, tights, tutus and ballet slippers. Their hair was askew. Their faces were flushed and pouty, but otherwise both looked fine.

  The school secretary shot Grady a sympathetic look. “I’ll let the headmistress, Principal Jordan, know that you are here.”

  Behind Grady, the door opened and closed.

  An elegant red-haired woman in a slim black Prada skirt, electric-blue silk blouse and black Jimmy Choo boots glided in. She’d drawn a silk Hermes scarf over her head, to protect her hair. She whisked it down to lie against the diamond pendant around her neck. “Grady.” She turned a regal nod in his direction.

  “Hello, Kit,” he replied. “Principal Jordan. I’d like you-all to meet Alexis Graham. She’s a friend of the family.”

  Alexis tried not to read too much into the acknowledgment.

  Savannah, however, was looking at her with an expression that clearly said, I’m so glad you’re here! Now save me!

  “Nice to meet all of you,” Alexis said politely after the introductions had been made.

  “What’s going on?” Grady asked the principal.

  “I’d like to know that myself,” Kit Peterson said, clearly unhappy to be there under those circumstances.

  “Savannah and Lisa Marie disrupted ballet class with a brawl. The teacher sent them to my office. Hair pulling, pushing, shoving, name calling—none of that will be tolerated at our school.”

  Grady looked at his daughter. Clearly in shock, he knelt down in front of her. “Honey, what do you have to say for yourself?”

  Nothing, apparently, Alexis noted.

  “She started it.” Lisa Marie pointed the finger at Savannah, who remained stubbornly silent.

  “I expect both girls to apologize to each other right now,” Principal Jordan said.

  “I’m sorry.” Lisa Marie Peterson piped up immediately.

  Her mom beamed in approval and relief, as did the headmistress.

  Grady’s little girl remained silent.

  “Savannah?” he prompted.

  Her expression grew stonier. She refused to look at her father, or any one else, even Alexis.

  “Perhaps you should discuss this matter at home,” Principal Jordan suggested, with slightly less patience.

  Mrs. Hanford appeared with two backpacks and child-size rain slickers, one set of which bore outrageously expensive designer labels.

  The principal looked at Grady, her frustration with his daughter apparent. “Although she does not have to do it right now if it is not sincere, I will caution you both that Savannah will not be allowed back in school until formal verbal restitution is made.”

  “I understand,” Grady said.

  So, apparently, did Savannah.

  She wasn’t budging.

  “YOU OKAY WITH DROPPING by our house for a while, before we go back to the construction site to pick up your car?” Grady asked Alexis, after settling Savannah in the back seat and climbing behind the wheel.

  “Sure.”

  “Good.” His jaw set determinedly. “Because I still want to go over those files you brought, as soon as we get a minute.”

  “I wasn’t certain you’d be interested…in, um…” Alexis paused to cast a brief glance at the back seat, where a glum Savannah was silently staring out of the rain-streaked window.

  “In what?” Grady prompted, with a sidelong glance of his own—at her.

  Alexis’s cheeks warmed self-consciously beneath his scrutiny.

  “Um…” She dropped her voice another notch. “Continuing your search for a new…” She gestured rather than complete the sentence out loud.

  Grady exhaled, his own frustration with the situation apparent. “I think this latest ‘contretemps’ proves more than ever that I need to do something to provide the missing female guidance.”

  “There are other ways to do that.” Alexis spoke before she could stop herself.

  He gave her another, sharper look. “None I am interested in.”

  They both fell silent. Five minutes later, they turned into the driveway of his 1920s bungalow-style home in the River Crest Country Club area. The two-story gray stucco home with the dark gray roof and sparkling white trim was situated on a tree-lined cul-de-sa
c. Approximately half the size of many of the other luxurious homes in the area, it had an understated elegance and cozy, charming appeal, unobscured by the rain still pouring from the skies.

  While Grady shut off the engine, got out of the Escalade and opened the rear passenger door, Alexis followed suit.

  Grady lifted Savannah, who was clad in her yellow rain slicker and ballet slippers, down to the pavement. She didn’t seem to care that her slippers were getting soaked for the second time. “Let me grab your backpack, then I’ll carry you the rest of the way,” he offered.

  Finally, Savannah sparked back to life.

  “No!” she shouted. Fists balled at her sides, she spun around, and before he could stop her, took off at a rapid pace for the front of the house. Several inches of water had gathered in the drive and water splashed up around her knees.

  “Slow down!” Grady called, striding after her.

  “No!” Savannah shouted again. Clearly in a temper, she increased her speed, breaking into a run. And that was when it happened. The slippery soles of her flimsy slippers went out from beneath her and she went flying.

  Alexis and Grady both gasped as Savannah landed facedown on the concrete drive, the bulk of the impact taken by her outstretched elbows and knees.

  There was a moment’s awful silence as her tiny body shook with soundless sobs, and then, a second later, loud wails.

  Grady didn’t hesitate. Tossing Savannah’s backpack to Alexis, like a quarterback handing off a ball, he rushed forward and scooped his sobbing daughter into his arms.

  He carried her through the rain to the front porch, punched in the code on the keypad next to the door, then stepped inside.

  Alexis followed, her own eyes filling with moisture that had nothing to do with the rain coming down.

  It didn’t matter how old she was, or who was hurting. Alexis couldn’t stand to see someone in pain. Never had been able to. Which was what had made the last years of her ill-fated marriage so very hard.

  Grady continued through the foyer, down the hall and into the state-of-the-art kitchen, soothing his daughter with low, comforting words all the while.

  Arms locked around his neck, Savannah cried uncontrollably.

  He buried his face in her damp curls, gently patting her back, still soothing her verbally.

  Finally, when she hiccupped and seemed to be calming down, he said, “Let me have a look at those ‘owies’.”

  Savannah shook her head and clung all the more tightly.

  Grady glanced at Alexis over the top of his daughter’s head. “Can you…?”

  “Sure.” She slipped out of her drenched trench coat and moved closer, trying to inspect the damage. “Looks like she scraped both knees,” she reported.

  And that had to hurt!

  “Check her elbows.”

  “We’re going to have to get her slicker off.”

  “I’ll help.”

  Still sobbing, Savannah refused to cooperate.

  Together, the two adults finally managed, without Grady ever having to put his daughter down. “They look a little raw, but they’re not…” Bleeding, Alexis mouthed. “Her palms, unfortunately, are both scraped raw.”

  Whoo boy, Grady mouthed back. “Savannah, honey, we need to get your owies cleaned up, and get you out of these wet clothes.”

  “No,” Savannah wailed, even more hysterically. “It’s going to hurt!”

  “Then how about,” Grady suggested, barely missing a beat, “we have your fairy godmother do it?”

  ALEXIS HAD TO HAND IT to Grady—that was inspired. The suggestion got his daughter’s tears stopped—momentarily at least—as she lifted her head and looked at Alexis. “Can you do it?” she whimpered. “Can you make it stop hurting?”

  Alexis had made people in far worse straits comfortable. “Of course I can fix you up,” she said calmly, slipping into caretaker mode. She tapped her index finger against her chin. “The question is,” she added thoughtfully, “do you want to clean up those scrapes here in the kitchen, or in a nice warm bubble bath?” Which would do a better job and be a lot easier. “If we can get you in the tub to soak the dirt and germs out of your owies, I bet you can have a Popsicle, too.”

  Savannah sniffed and looked interested. “While I’m in the tub?” she asked incredulously.

  Alexis turned to Grady, shifting the ball right back to him. “Daddy? Is it okay?”

  Respected glimmered in Grady’s eyes. “Sure.”

  “I’ll tell you what. I’ll get her in the tub, and you follow with Popsicles, the first aid kit and whatever dry clothes you want her to wear.”

  His lips curved into a grateful half smile. “No problem, fairy godmother.”

  Alexis looked back at Savannah, who was still ensconced in her daddy’s strong arms. “Do you think you can walk upstairs, or do you want me to carry you?”

  The child sniffed again. New tears trembled on her lashes. “I want you to carry me,” she whimpered.

  “I’ll be happy to.” Alexis held out her arms.

  Savannah slid into them.

  Together, they went up the stairs, down the hall, to the private bath in Savannah’s suite. It was just as girlie and pink and suited for a princess as her bedroom was. “My goodness, you have a big selection of bubble baths!” Alexis exclaimed. She sat on the rim of the sunken tub, Savannah on her lap, and reached over to turn on the tap. “What kind do you want? Lavender? That’s supposed to be very soothing. Or the one that smells like baby powder?”

  “Baby powder.” The lower lip was out as far as it would go.

  Alexis snapped open the lid. “You want to help me pour it in?”

  “Uh-huh.” Savannah leaned over to let a generous amount stream beneath the tap. Bubbles sprung up immediately. She smiled slightly at the sight.

  “I’m going to warn you,” Alexis said. “It might sting when you first sit down in the tub, but then it’s going to get much much better.”

  “I know,” Savannah acknowledged miserably. “I’ve had to do this before when I falled down and hurted myself.”

  Alexis helped her slip out of her worse-for-wear ballerina outfit. “Me, too.”

  Savannah’s eyes widened in amazement. “You fell down?”

  “All the time when I was a kid,” Alexis admitted with a rueful grin. “I had the worst time trying to learn to ride a bike….”

  She was still regaling Savannah with stories of her own mishaps when Grady appeared, three pineapple-flavored Popsicles in hand.

  Savannah brightened, seeing the frozen treats. Grady’s eyes met Alexis’s. “One for each of us.” He telegraphed his gratitude, then turned back to his daughter. “So how are we doing?” he asked, lounging against the counter. “Are you okay?”

  Savannah nodded and averted her eyes.

  A sure sign, Alexis noted, that she was not.

  “SAVANNAH ASLEEP ALREADY?” Alexis asked an hour later, when Grady joined her in the kitchen. She had been sitting at the table, catching up on her end-of-business-day e-mails, while he put his daughter to bed.

  Grady nodded, his compassion for his little one evident in his gentle expression. “She didn’t even get past the first page of the storybook.”

  Alexis sent him a commiserating glance and closed the lid of her laptop computer. She could finish that later. It was time to get back to setting up her primary client. “She had a rough day.”

  “I’ll say.” Appearing as restless and distracted as Alexis felt Grady plucked the skillet out of the dish drainer and put it away.

  “But a good dinner,” Alexis said, as he handled the very last of the cleanup. “Those two grilled cheese sandwiches and a glass of chocolate milk really did the trick,” she teased.

  Grady grinned, as if knowing it wasn’t the healthiest array of foods he could have provided. He leaned against the sink, arms folded in front of him. “It was what she wanted,” he said with an unapologetic lift of his broad shoulders. “Speaking of which…” He paused to look Alexis in
the eye. “Thank you for staying and helping get her all fixed up. And hanging out with her while I made dinner. And eating with us once again.”

  He acted as if it had been a chore. It hadn’t been. The truth was, Alexis hadn’t felt so happy and content in a long time. Part of it was being around a child, because she loved kids. Had always wanted them. Fate had kept her from having any so far, but she hoped it wouldn’t always be the case.

  “It was my pleasure,” she murmured, doing her best to keep the situation from getting too intimate.

  “I’m serious.” Grady strolled closer. “You were really good with her today.”

  Thinking maybe it was time they called it a night, Alexis pushed back her chair and stood.

  The Savannah who’d hung out with them at suppertime was cuddly and cheerful and cooperative. Which made Alexis think all Grady’s little girl really needed was a lot more tender loving care from people who genuinely cared about her.

  Marriage, Alexis realized, might not be necessary.

  Was it possible that a family friend—filling in as an occasional mom slash mother figure—would do?

  Alexis wanted to suggest just that, rather than have Grady rush into a marriage that potentially might not work out over the long haul…and hence create a bigger void than Savannah already had in her life.

  Unfortunately, Alexis’s role as matchmaker, the responsibility for bringing in more business to a firm that had stood by her during the best and worst of times, precluded her doing so.

  Aware that Grady was gazing at her quizzically, she turned the conversation back to the reason they were both here. “I enjoy spending time with her.”

  Grady studied Alexis. “She adores you, you know.”

  Alexis felt a lump of emotion well up in her throat, and the equally strong need to protest. “She barely knows me.”

  He stepped close enough to inundate her with his brisk, male scent. Some emotion she couldn’t quite define flickered in his eyes. “She knows enough.”

  Alexis stared at him in confusion. She felt they were on the brink of some kind of epiphany. “Meaning…?”