by Ripley, Meg
“But I did at one point,” Damien replied. “Brianna has been here long enough that you’ve already forgotten how lost I was when Linda and I got divorced, and how I had to figure out how to manage Stephanie’s care on my own.”
Jackson glanced into the next room, where Damien’s daughter, Stephanie, was playing happily with his own two children. They seemed content for the moment, but he knew that as soon as the little girl left, his kids would go right back to fighting. That was the only thing they seemed to do together, and he couldn’t help but blame himself. “That’s true. And I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you helping me out with this. The nannies from the temp agency are unreliable at best. They either don’t bother showing up because they don’t want to work at night, or they can’t handle the children. I know Jonathan and Jessica can be difficult, but you’d think a professional would know how to deal with them.”
“I’ve never personally met Cathy, but Brianna says she’s fantastic with kids. It’ll be fine, I’m sure. And if it’s not?” Damien put his hands up in the air. “Then you’ll hire someone else.”
“Once again, easy for you to say.”
“Hey, I was nervous when I brought Brianna over here from Ireland. I didn’t really know what I was getting. She said she could do the job, but it’s a risk any time you hire someone. You of all people know that.” Damien adjusted his cuff and checked his Rolex. “As long as her flight was on time, she should be here any minute. I should warn you though; Brianna said Cathy’s a babe. You might want to watch out for yourself.”
“Oh, no.” Jackson took a step back. “Even if she looks like Christie Brinkley, I’m not interested. I’ve gotten myself into a big enough mess with Crystal, and I feel like it’s going to be quite some time before I can fully hoist myself out of it.”
Damien’s dark eyes glittered mischievously. “You can’t always help it, you know. I did my best to stay away from Brianna. She was my employee and all that. But when it works, it works.”
“Okay, but Brianna is a shifter. I’m sure that makes it a little different. Humans just don’t have the same sort of attraction about them as dragons do.” Jackson had dated a few human women in his younger days before he had married Crystal. At first, they’d seemed exotic and exciting, but he quickly discovered they weren’t nearly as thrilling. They tired easily and they were far too subservient.
Damien just shook his head. “Whatever you say, man. I think I just heard them pull up. I’ll go get their bags.”
He disappeared out the door, and a moment later, Brianna walked through the doorway, followed by Cathy. Whatever Jackson had been expecting—and he hadn’t thought about it past the point of her simply being someone who was capable of taking care of his children—it hadn’t been this. Cathy had milky skin that could have been infused with moonlight. Her hair was thick and wavy, cascading softly around her shoulders. She was dressed simply in a pale blue belted blouse and black leggings, but the outfit complimented her curving body in a way that made Jackson rather uncomfortable to be standing in a room full of people. He focused on her wide, chocolate eyes as he stepped forward and held out his hand. “Hi, Cathy. Pleasure to meet you. I’m Jackson Casey.”
She gave him a dazzling smile, and her soft hand cradled perfectly into his. “It’s nice to meet you, too. I want you to know how much I appreciate you giving me this opportunity.”
He swallowed at the beautiful lilt in her voice. Jackson had heard Brianna speak multiple times and never thought a thing about it, but it was different coming from Cathy. “I’m sure you want to get settled in as soon as possible, but let me get the kids so you can meet them.”
His heart thundered as he went into the next room, trying to calm his body. A cold, tingling sensation made his skin pucker in places. His scales were trying their best to break through, but this wasn’t the time or the place. Cathy undoubtedly knew he was a dragon, but that didn’t mean he should instantly shift as soon as he saw her.
Damien, having brought in the suitcases, caught up to him and grabbed his shoulder. “You doing all right, Jack?” he whispered.
“Yeah, but wow.” Jackson didn’t like to admit that he had been wrong, but there was no point in denying it.
Damien laughed and scooped up Stephanie, where she had been playing with Strawberry Shortcake dolls on the floor with Jessica. “Come on, little one. We’ll need to get home soon.”
Jackson escorted his own children back into the living room. “Cathy, this is Jonathan and Jessica. Kids, this is Cathy. She’ll be taking care of you while I’m at work.”
Cathy smiled sweetly at them, bending slightly to address them. She held out her hand toward Jonathan. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m sure we’ll get along splendidly.”
But Jonathan scowled. “You’re not my mother.”
“Jonathan!” Jackson was horrified. He had talked to the children several times, and they both knew perfectly well that they would be getting a full-time nanny instead of the various temps that had been coming in and out. To top it all off, neither one of them had mentioned Crystal more than once or twice in the few weeks since she’d left, which indicated to Jackson that they hadn’t missed her all that much.
But Cathy took the jab in stride. “That’s right, and I’m not trying to be. I just want to make sure that you’re clean, fed, and happy. Is that okay?”
The boy still wore an angry look that Jackson felt was dangerously close to becoming a pointed muzzle and sharp teeth, but he reluctantly shook his head. “I guess.”
The young woman turned to Jessica. “Hi, there. I see you like Strawberry Shortcake.” She pointed at the doll still in the little girl’s hand.
Jessica beamed. “You’re pretty.”
Those were Jackson’s exact sentiments, but he kept them to himself.
“Thank you very much.”
“We’d better get going so the four of you can get to know each other,” Damien volunteered, still with that glint in his eye when he glanced at Jackson.
Brianna rushed forward to hug her friend. “I’m so glad you’re here! We’ll get together and take the kids to the park or go shopping.”
A moment later, Jackson cleared his throat as he was left alone with just Cathy and the children. He gestured toward her suitcases. “Here. I can show you to your room.”
“Actually, if you don’t mind, I’m eager to hear about the children and my duties.”
He had one hand on the largest suitcase, but he turned to look at her over his shoulder. “What do you mean?”
“Well,” she said with a shrug, “what are their schedules like? Are there certain foods they can’t or shouldn’t have? Oh, and I’ll need to know what your schedule is like as well. Some emergency phone numbers would be good to have, too.”
Jackson pursed his lips and turned to the children. “Why don’t the two of you go play for a bit while Cathy and I discuss grown up things?”
“But I want to tell her about all the food I want to eat,” Jonathan whined. “She probably doesn’t even know how to make a Totino’s pizza!”
“Actually, I can heat up a frozen pizza quite well,” Cathy corrected him, the corner of her mouth twitching into a smile. “And the three of us will have plenty of time to get to know each other.”
Jonathan looked from one adult to the other, saw that he was outnumbered, and pushed out his lower lip. “Fine. C’mon, Jessica. Let’s go play.”
“Okay, but I’m not playing Transformers again! I’ll be Rainbow Brite, and you can be Buddy Blue, and…” Their voices trailed off as they made their way down the hallway.
Cathy was watching him eagerly. Clearly, the plane ride all the way from Ireland hadn’t been enough to wear her out. “Is there some place we could sit down and I could make a few notes? I have a pad and a few pens in my bag.”
“Well, I don’t think there’s a whole lot to take notes on, to be honest with you.” None of the other nannies had been so inquisitive. That meant either they were completel
y incompetent, or that Cathy was a perfectionist. “They go to bed when they get tired, and they get up when they’re ready.”
“How much television are they allowed to watch each day?”
Jackson hadn’t thought about it before. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Oh. I see.” She nodded and forced a smile. “And what about food? Are there certain dishes they like, or any allergies I should be concerned about?”
Gesturing vaguely toward the kitchen, Jackson replied, “The freezer is full of food. Jonathan can heat some of it on his own, but of course Jessica will need some help. She likes mac and cheese and SpaghettiOs a lot. I don’t expect you to be a full-time cook, you know.”
“All right.” Her fingers clutched a little harder at the strap of her purse. “And are there other duties you expect of me?”
Jackson ran one hand through his hair. “No, not really. The housekeeper comes in a couple times a week. Maybe just keep up with their laundry.”
“And what about you, Mr. Casey? Do you have a certain schedule that I need to work around?” She had sounded so sweet and eager when she had first come in, but there was a certain bitter undertone in her voice that Jackson’s sharp ears easily picked up on. He would have corrected anyone else and told them to call him by his first name, but he didn’t this time. “I own several nightclubs, bars, and restaurants, so I work evenings and nights. I’m usually gone before dinner and home around two or three in the morning.”
Her mouth was a hard line as she nodded. “I guess that covers it, then. You can show me to my room now.”
Relieved, Jackson grabbed her suitcases and took them upstairs. He was grateful not to be discussing their lack of schedule or rules, but he could feel a thick tension in the air that hung around Cathy’s head and threatened to invade his personal space. This strange woman who didn’t know him from anyone else was judging him already, and he didn’t like it. He was a powerful business man, and he didn’t usually care what anyone thought about him, but this girl was going to be living in his home.
He set her bags down just inside the spare bedroom. “Here you are. The bathroom is right down the hall, and there’s a linen closet right there if you need towels or extra blankets.”
“Thank you,” she replied stiffly. With surprising strength, Cathy stepped into the room and grabbed one of the suitcases, hoisting it onto the bed.
Jackson started to turn away, ready to get on with his life and leave this vacillant woman on her own, but he found that he couldn’t just let this go. “Listen, if you have some sort of problem with the way I run my household, then I would prefer it if you’d just come right out and tell me.”
Cathy paused, her back turned to him as she pulled a pair of white Keds sneakers from her suitcase. She set them back down and turned stiffly to her new boss. “I don’t have a problem with the way you run your household.”
His shoulders relaxed a little. Maybe he had been wrong about her.
“Because you don’t run your household,” Cathy continued. “I’m not saying the children should have a minute-by-minute schedule, but at the very least, they should have a bedtime.”
Jackson instantly went on the defense. “I work odd hours, and that makes it a lot harder for them to be on a timetable.”
“If you’re not even here for bedtime, then it shouldn’t make any difference to you. And how do you think any nanny is supposed to do a good job of taking care of them if there are no rules and they can eat whatever they want, when they want? How will I ever know when I should make breakfast, because the children might get up at five in the morning or they might get up at ten?” Cathy’s voice was firm, but she wasn’t yelling at him.
That was her only saving grace from getting fired on the spot—that, and the fact Jackson desperately needed to get back to work. As attracted as he had been to her initially, he now knew for sure he wouldn’t have any problem keeping their relationship strictly professional. She was far too rigid to be intriguing. “They’ve been doing just fine so far, and I didn’t hire you to swoop in here and change their lives. I just need to know that I have a responsible pair of eyes keeping them from killing each other. Do you think you can handle that?”
Her deep brown eyes were as hard as her jaw. “No problem.”
“Thank you. Now, since you’re so concerned about it, I’ll make sure I write a few numbers next to the phone and then I’ll be in my den.” Jackson stomped off down the hall and back downstairs, shaking his head and wondering why he had ever let Damien convince him that this was a good idea. He and Brianna had insisted Cathy would be a wonderful addition to his household, but it seemed she was only going to create more chaos.
Chapter Four
Cathy awoke early the next morning, even before her alarm went off. She knew she should have been tired from traveling and sleeping in a strange bed. At first, it was pure excitement that was keeping her going. She was finally in America! This was the place everyone dreamed of, and she was getting paid to be there.
But now, it was worry and anticipation that were keeping her from resting. In the short amount of time she’d had to get to know the Caseys the previous evening, she’d learned a lot. Jonathan was ten years old, and while he certainly wasn’t old enough to think of himself as man of the house, he definitely thought he knew what was best. He wasn’t interested in listening to some random woman who threatened to replace his mother. At six, Jessica was sweet—mostly—but she was used to having her way on everything. When Jonathan didn’t want to play Rainbow Brite with her for the millionth time, the world was literally caving in on her shoulders.
And then there was Jackson. He was handsome, but Cathy hated to admit that his looks were the first thing she’d noticed; she’d made a mental note to chide Brianna later for not giving her a heads up. His dark blonde hair had natural highlights, and he had let it grow out just long enough that he could keep it brushed back. With his square jaw, brilliant blue eyes and wide shoulders in a white suit, he was the iconic figure of a powerful Los Angeles man.
But he was so set in his ways; ways Cathy simply couldn’t agree with. She was angry about it all over again as she got up and headed down the hall to shower. She angrily scrubbed apple-scented shampoo into her hair as she relived their confrontation in her room, with Jackson insisting that the children were just fine the way they were. I’ll fix that, she told herself. Mr. Casey hired me to take care of his children, and that’s exactly what I’ll do.
Once she was dressed and had her makeup and hair done, Cathy tiptoed down the hall, carefully avoiding the door she knew led to Jackson’s bedroom. Her new boss had grumpily warned her that he was on a nighttime schedule and that he didn’t like to be disturbed in the morning.
Instead, she knocked quietly on Jessica’s door before opening it. The little girl’s room was a dream for any little princess. White lace curtains let the morning sunshine filter in over the toys spread over her cream carpet. Her fluffy pink bedding was heavily laden with every stuffed animal a kid could want. Although Cathy had yet to memorize every character, she was sure that Jessica had all the Rainbow Brite dolls that were sold. “Good morning, sunshine,” she said gently as she approached the bed. “Let’s get up and have some breakfast.”
Jessica’s flaxen hair was a cloud of knots against her pillow, and she tangled it even more so as she rolled around under her covers. “I don’t wanna.”
“I know. But it will be delicious; I promise. Let’s get up and get dressed. I’m getting your brother up, too.”
Jonathan was even more difficult than his sister. He yanked the covers up over his head. “Leave me alone!”
These children had clearly never been taught to respect authority whatsoever. Cathy understood that he didn’t yet see her as a force to be reckoned with, but she knew that the boy treated his father the same way. “It’s already past eight o’clock. I’m sure you’re hungry.”
“I only want pizza,” he replied from the other side of his He-Man comforter.
“That will have to wait until later. Pizza isn’t a breakfast food, but I have something else in mind that I think you’ll really like. Come on.” She pulled the covers back to reveal a very angry Jonathan.
Half an hour later, she’d finally managed to drag them both downstairs to the kitchen for their breakfast. Their normal fare of frozen food was fine occasionally, but she was sure she could convince them there were better things to put in their mouths. Cathy proudly placed plates of bacon, eggs, toast and fruit in front of them, followed by glasses of orange juice and milk. She took a step back, waiting for them to dig in with shock and delight.
But Jonathan frowned at his plate. “What’s this?”
“Just a nice, hot breakfast. Eat up.”
“But I want my Cabbage Patch Kids cereal!” Jessica squealed.
Cathy took a deep breath. “Why don’t you try it before you turn your noses up. It’s quite good.”
“Would you eat it?” Jonathan challenged.
Most mornings, Cathy was perfectly happy with a bagel and a cup of coffee, but she had anticipated this. She couldn’t expect the Casey children to do something she wouldn’t do herself. “Of course. I have my plate right here.” She retrieved it from the counter and sat down across the kitchen table from them. “You can even put a little jelly on your toast if you’d like.”
Jessica tentatively picked up a triangle of toast, frowning at the plate underneath it. “This is a Care Bear plate.”
“Yes, it is,” Cathy beamed. She had found an array of character dishes in the cabinet, and she thought Jessica must enjoy them.
“But I don’t want Care Bears. I want Rainbow Brite.”
Cathy was seeing a very distinct pattern here. “I understand she might be your favorite, and maybe we can find that one for lunch.”
“Can’t we get it now?” Jessica pushed her plate away as if it were contaminated.