After he studied her again, really studied her, he nodded. “All right. For now. But I will find a way to repay you.”
She really didn’t want him to repay her, and she suddenly realized why. The crush she’d had on him, if she could call it that, was turning into something else. Now that she was getting to know him, could she be falling in love with him?
That question scared her too much to even consider.
The following afternoon, Jared tapped his loafered foot under his desk, impatient though he shouldn’t be. This woman sitting across from him could be Courtney and Amy’s next nanny, although he couldn’t quite imagine it.
“You’ve lived in Lubbock all your life?” he asked Mrs. Brunswell, a sturdy woman in her early fifties with gray hair that stood out around her head like a fuzzy halo.
Very straight in her chair, she answered him, “Yes, all my life. I’ve no desire to go anywhere. Some people want to see the world. I make myself happy right here in Lubbock.”
Would she curb the girls’ curiosity about the world? Would she make them think Lubbock was all there was? On the other hand, it was good to be happy where you were. He was second-guessing himself, trying to find the perfect person to take care of his daughters. If he had to admit it, he’d already found her. Emily would be perfect. But she had a job that he knew was important to her, even though he wondered if she wouldn’t be better suited working in the hospital, helping to deliver babies.
The older woman sat forward in her chair. “You said you have twins, Dr. Madison. The first thing to do with twins is to show them that they are individuals. It’s much better not to dress them alike and not to let them spend all their time together. They also need to explore individual talents. If one takes piano lessons, the other should take clarinet. They deserve their own instrument. Do you know what I mean?”
Courtney and Amy liked to dress alike. They didn’t have to. They had plenty of clothes in their closets, but they chose to wear the same outfits on the same days. They liked to be with each other. They played with other children and would be doing more of that when preschool started next week. But they preferred each other’s company. Should he really interfere with that? What would Emily think?
He moved to the next point on his checklist. “In my occupation I have unusual hours. Would you be able to cook supper for them if need be?”
“I can cook, but I don’t make chicken nuggets and French fries. I cook good meals—pork and sauerkraut, spinach and zucchini casseroles, lots of vegetables, good protein, few potatoes. I have to cut out those carbohydrates, you know.”
Jared thought about Emily serving the takeout food. He thought of Emily, helping cut Courtney’s meat. He thought of Emily retying the bows in Amy’s hair. What kind of meals would Emily cook if given the chance?
In spite of the restraint he’d been employing ever since last night and their earth-shaking kiss, he’d tried to keep his mind strictly on the practical aspects of his day. But he could not just drop that kiss from his memory. He couldn’t just push it into a closet and lock the door. It kept peeking out. It kept unsettling him. It kept reminding him he was a man with needs. Just thinking about it aroused him and that had to stop.
Pork and sauerkraut. Spinach. Caring. Playing. Connecting.
“Do you know children’s games?” he suddenly asked.
“I can play gin rummy and crazy eights,” Mrs. Brunswell replied, as if those were the only games required.
“I’m thinking of outside games, too—hide-and-seek, scavenger hunts.”
“Oh, I suppose we could do those.”
Fair or unfair, he was getting the feeling that Mrs. Brunswell might keep an eye to the TV while she played crazy eights with her charges. She looked slow-footed to him as if running after a child would take a great deal of effort.
Jared’s cell phone beeped and he was glad for the interruption. “Excuse me,” he said to Mrs. Brunswell. Then swiveling away from her, he checked the number. It was Emily. “What’s wrong?” he asked, worried.
“Nothing’s wrong. The girls are fine. I’m fine. We’re having a great day. Two things,” she said quickly. “First of all, your cousin Chloie called.”
“Why didn’t she call my cell?”
“She just got around to checking her messages and didn’t have your number in her contact list. The good news is she can help you. She’s on South Padre Island meeting with a client and will be back tonight. She can take care of the twins tomorrow. She said she’s caught up on her Web design deadlines and can take a break.”
“Thank goodness,” he muttered, glad he didn’t have to find a nanny right away. “And the second?” Hearing in Emily’s voice the sweetness, caring and enthusiasm, he knew he could never hire Mrs. Brunswell.
“Second,” Emily went on, “I’d like to take the girls to the park this afternoon. I’ll be very careful with them, keep my eyes on them all the time. The fresh air would be good for them.”
He suddenly realized he trusted Amy and Courtney with Emily because they couldn’t stop talking about her, because of the expression on her face whenever she was with them. Whatever the reason, it was gut instinct. His gut instinct was telling him to dismiss Mrs. Brunswell. If Chloie could watch the girls until his mother was on her feet again, he wouldn’t need to hire a nanny. “The park will be fine. I’m going to check in on my mother and then I’ll be home.”
After he closed his phone, he concentrated on Mrs. Brunswell again, searching for the words to tell her he wasn’t hiring her.
Emily felt like a mom and loved the feeling! With the Texas-bright sun peeking around the clouds, she helped Amy from the swing, then took her hand and Courtney’s. They walked through the grass to the merry-go-round. Although she felt like a mom, she wasn’t. Soon Jared’s daughters would be under someone else’s care. “You’ll be playing with Chloie soon. That should be fun.”
“Are you going away like our mommy did?” Amy asked.
This was dangerous territory. Emily didn’t know enough about the situation to speak with the girls about it. At three and a half, how much could they remember about their mother?
“I’m not going to go away. I’m going to go back to working where your dad works.”
“Mommy ran away and never came back,” Courtney informed Emily seriously.
Was that how Jared had explained their mother’s absence? Had they heard adults discussing it? She didn’t believe Jared should just let them think their mother went away and never came back. Yet Emily knew she had no right to discuss this with them.
“Is Grandma coming back?” Amy wanted to know as they reached the merry-go-round.
“Your grandma hurt herself and has to have an operation. She might have to go to a special hospital for a little while before she can come home.”
Courtney and Amy exchanged a glance as if this had been something they’d been worrying about. These two had a special bond and Emily hoped it would last throughout their lives. She’d often wished for a sister. She’d lost her dad to a construction-site accident when she was in high school. Her mom had died of an aneurysm a year before she and Richard had married. Looking back at her life, Emily wondered if she’d worn blinders and hadn’t seen Richard’s faults because she didn’t want to be alone in the world, because she’d wanted to cling to that one person who was supposed to always stand beside her. But he hadn’t. And by the time the lawsuit had been resolved, she’d realized how different their values were.
After Emily pushed the girls on the merry-go-round, they tried out the jungle gym while she sat on a concrete bench and watched. Suddenly a deep male voice behind her said, “They look as if they’re having