âSee you at home,â Annie said.
Ian caught her arm before she reached the SUV. She glanced back at him. The look of appreciation in his eyes jammed her throat. She felt special in that moment, more special than she had in a long time.
âAnnie, I donât even know how to begin thanking you for your help.â
She covered his hand with hers, the physical connection making everything fade from her consciousness except the man near her. She smiled. âYou just did.â She continued her trek around to the carâs driverâs side, missing his touch.
That was too dangerous for her to get used to.
Sheâd let down her defenses in college and had risked her heart once before with David and ended up brokenhearted. She couldnât go through that again.
As she started the car, she realized that when sheâd said, âSee you at home,â sheâd felt as though his house was her home. More than she had at any place sheâd been a nannyâ¦
MARGARET DALEY, an award-winning author of ninety books, has been married for over forty years and is a firm believer in romance and love. When she isnât traveling, sheâs writing love stories, often with a suspense thread, and corralling her three cats that think they rule her household. To find out more about Margaret, visit her website at margaretdaley.com.
Chapter One
Dr. Ian McGregor sank into a chair at his kitchen table, exhausted after wrestling with Joshua to take a much-needed nap. With his elbows on the oak surface still cluttered with the lunch dishes, Ian closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands, massaging his fingertips into his pounding temples. How did Aunt Louise handle Joshua when his youngest was dead tired yet fighting to stay awake?
With a lot of practice, no doubt. Something he lacked. Ian glanced at the clock on the wall and shot to his feet. The next candidate for nanny, one who had come highly recommended, would be here in ten minutes. He had high hopes she would work out because no one else had since Aunt Louise had passed away six months ago. Ian missed his auntâs bright, cheerful smile and all the love sheâd had for his family.
Locking away his sorrow, Ian looked at the chaos around him and noted he now had nine minutes. He snatched up all the dirty dishes and crammed them into the dishwasher, leftover food and all. Then after wiping down the counters, he stuffed all of his four-year-old sonâs toys and the clothes heâd dragged out into the utility room off the kitchen and slammed the door closed.
Two minutes to spare. He wanted to be outside before Annie Knight rang the doorbell. He didnât want Joshua scaring her away if he woke up from his nap, especially without the rest he needed.
Lord, please let this one work out. On paper she looks great. We need her.
Heâd turned to God so many times in the two years since his wife had passed away. There had to be an answer to his most recent problem somewhere.
As Ian made his way toward the foyer, the doorbell chimes pealed through the house. He sighed, realizing that he should have foreseen, after the day heâd had so far, that Annie Knight would arrive early. He rushed across the foyer and swung the door open before she rang it again.
The woman greeted Ian with a bright, wide smile, and he looked at it for a few seconds before he lifted his eyes to take in the rest of her... His mouth began to drop open. He quickly snapped it closed and stared at the young lady, probably no more than eighteen, standing on his porch. She couldnât be Annie Knight. That nanny had worked for six years, the past three years for a doctor he knew. She had graduated from college with a double major in psychology and child development.
Ian craned his neck, peering around the woman with thick shoulder-length blond hair and the biggest brown eyes heâd ever seen. Maybe sheâd come with Annie Knight. But no one else was there. âYes, may I help you?â