by Molly McLain
Nicole laughed. “So who’s Tony?”
“Mark’s cousin. He’s single and adorable. There’s zero attraction between us, mostly because we’ve been friends forever, but he would pretend there was something brewing if I asked him to.” Ally tapped her finger against her lip, a distant look in her eyes. “Actually, that’s a horrible idea. He’s got his own drama right now, since his sitter had the big one last night. Maybe you heard Nancy and Pam talking to Gladys this morning at Cedar Street?”
Realization dawned. “He’s got a flyer posted. I saw it at the grocery store today.”
Ally nodded. “Yep. I feel so bad for him. He doesn’t have family here besides Mark, and finding childcare in this town is like winning the lottery.”
“How old is his daughter?”
“Six or seven months?”
“Where’s her mother?”
Ally shook her head. “That is so not my story to tell. Suffice to say, she’s not in the picture. It’s just Tony and Brianna.”
Interesting. “What kind of hours does he work?”
“A lot of them. He’s works for a local contracting company.” Her friend pursed her lips. “Why? Are you thinking about taking the job?”
Nicole shrugged. “I quit the hospital in Denver to come here.” She also explained about her lease and now her car. “I have a new job lined up in Chicago after the holidays, but that won’t help me now. I could really use something to tide me over.”
Ally nodded. “Well, I hear Brianna’s a good baby. I could put in a good word for you, if you’re really interested.”
Nicole glanced around, taking in the mess. “This place isn’t exactly conducive to children right now.”
“Believe me, if you keep letting me fondle your family jewels, I’ll be here every day. We’ll have things in order in no time.”
“Yeah? How are you with a hammer?” Nicole asked, grinning. “Because as soon as we go through all this stuff, there’s a mile-long list of repairs to be made.”
Ally arched an eyebrow. “You did hear me say that Tony’s in construction, right?”
“I wouldn’t offer to help him out with expectations he’d do the same for me. You said he works a lot of hours and he’s got a baby to tend to in his off time.” And it’d much cheaper—and less embarrassing—to do what she could herself, rather than decline any fancy contractor ideas he might have because she couldn’t afford them.
“You never know—it might be the perfect arrangement.”
The perfect arrangement would be anything that kept her from maxing out her one remaining credit card and reverting to the financial dependency of a college kid. And if that meant spreading herself a little thin, so be it. “If I keep you in antiques, you’ll keep coming over?”
“You think this is work for me, but what you’ve failed to realize is that antiquing is my addiction.” Ally grinned. “So you’re going to call Tony?”
“I am.”
“He’s really cute.”
“I don’t care if he’s cute.” Unless, of course, he looked like the guy outside the coffee shop. If that were the case, she’d be in trouble.
***
Tony climbed behind the wheel of his truck and dug his phone from his pocket. The thing had vibrated a good hour ago, in the midst of another aggravating debate with the county board, but he hadn’t dared answer it and risk making an already tense situation even more strained. Besides, the number on the display wasn’t familiar, so it was probably just as well he let it go to voicemail. His patience had been pushed to the limit today and he’d hate to get off on the wrong foot with a potential sitter.
First impressions were everything.
He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel while he listened to the message.
“Hi, Tony. My name is Nicole Hodges. I saw your sign for a babysitter. I might be able to help out. I’m a registered nurse and can provide references. Call me back if you’re interested and maybe we can chat?” She rattled off her phone number and sighed in a way that made him think she smiled. “Hope to talk to you soon.”
Two things—no, three things—crossed Tony’s mind as he clicked off the phone. One, he didn’t know anyone in town named Nicole and her last name definitely wasn’t familiar. Two, she didn’t sound like the motherly or grandmotherly type he’d envisioned taking care of Brianna. Her voice was far too soft and breathy—too sexy—for that. Three, just listening to her speak, for all of twenty seconds, had given him a semi.
He needed to get laid. Bad. Eight months without sex was starting to mess with his head if he couldn’t even listen to a woman speak without getting hard. And not just any woman either, but one that could possibly end up working for him. Provided, of course, she wasn’t some crazy child predator, hoping to sink her claws into his baby girl.
Suddenly the semi wasn’t a problem.
He thumbed to Carissa’s number and began to back out of the courthouse parking lot. “Hey, do you know anyone named Nicole?” He chewed on the inside of his cheek when she told him she didn’t. “Already got a message about the sitter position and since you know more local women these days than I do, I thought I’d check in to make sure she’s not some closet psycho.” Carissa chuckled in his ear and told him he was paranoid. Probably he was, but this was his kid’s safety they were talking about. “Okay, thanks, Car. Gotta make a quick run to the shop to drop off some paperwork and then I’ll be by for Bri.”
He ended the call at a stop sign and quickly swiped to the number this Nicole chick had called from. It matched the one she’d left on the voicemail, so he selected the number and sent up a quick prayer to the Big Guy above that this was the break he and Brianna needed.
“Hello?” came that soft, feminine voice from the message on the third ring.
Tony swallowed and willed his dick to behave. “Uh, hi, this is Tony Dunn. You called earlier about the babysitting flyer?”
“I did. Are you still looking for someone?”
He smiled and gave a light, but reluctant chuckle. “I’ve only been looking for about six hours and the signs have been up for less than three. From the timing of your call, I’m guessing you’re the first person to see any of them. You said your name’s Nicole?”
“Yes. Nicole Hodges. I’m new to town.”
That explained the unfamiliarity. “Do you have family here?”
“Not anymore. My grandmother was Ethel Keller. Maybe you knew her?”
He had, but that made him feel only slightly better about this woman. Just because she was someone’s granddaughter didn’t mean she wasn’t a maniac.
“I knew Ethel. She used to make the best chocolate chip cookies around.”
Nicole laughed and the sound of that sweet reverberation sent a shiver down his spine and straight to his balls. “Listen,” she said, “maybe it would be best if we met and discussed this. Over coffee or something. You can tell me what you need and I can tell you more about myself.”
What he needed? Damn. And listen to that killer voice while also having to maintain eye contact? Sounded completely unhumiliating.
Maybe he should come right out and ask Nicole if she was hot. If she was, he’d save them both a lot of time and energy and end this now. Or at least postpone things until after he found someone to take the edge off his lack of horizontal action, because any other scenario was going to be hell on his gonads.
But that wasn’t professional, was it? More like a fast way to getting slammed with a sexual harassment suit. And he didn’t have time for that. He’d just have to hope Nicole didn’t have the smokin’ good looks to back up her phone-sex voice.
“Uh, sure, we could do that.” He checked his watch. “How about later this afternoon? I’ve got a couple errands to run, but I should be free by five o’clock. We could meet at the coffee shop in town. Cedar Street Brew?”
“Sounds great.” He was so horned up, he swore she purred when she said it. “I’ll see you then.”
Tony clicked off the phone and p
ounded a fist against his thigh as he pulled up to Hudson Contracting’s main office. Dude, you need to get it together. Shit ain’t about you and your dick anymore.
Funny how Saturday nights used to be about having a few beers, lighting up the town, and finding a woman to warm his bed. Now they were about meeting potential babysitters over coffee and regularly turning his face toward the sky, hoping and praying he had it in him to be even half the father Brianna deserved.
***
“I don’t know what happened. We were sitting on the floor playing with the blocks and she was laughing and smiling and having a good time. Then she started getting fussy and when I picked her up, she felt hot. I don’t have a thermometer here, so I don’t know what her temp is, but she feels feverish.”
Tony took Brianna from Carissa’s arms and, yep, his little girl was indeed throwing off heat like a radiator. Whimpering, she buried her face in his neck and, at the moment, he wanted to do the same thing to her, because this was the first time Bri had been sick since he’d had her and he had no friggin’ idea what to do.
“Should I take her to the after-hours clinic?” he asked, his lips pressed into Bri’s shock of light brown hair as he swayed from side to side, trying to comfort her.
“She could be teething, although she hasn’t been tugging at her ears and she’s not drooling.” Carissa bit at her lip. “I would probably give her some infant Tylenol for the fever and keep an eye on her. Make her comfortable. If the fever doesn’t let up or she becomes inconsolable, take her in.”
He nodded and, not for the first time, wished he wasn’t going about this parenting thing alone. It was nice to have someone to hash this stuff out with, but he knew Josh wouldn’t appreciate him monopolizing his fiancée.
“What came of the call on the flyer?” Carissa asked.
Shit. “We’re supposed to meet for coffee in an hour, but I can’t take Bri out like this.”
“I can keep her a little longer. Josh and I aren’t going out to dinner until six o’clock.”
Tony shook his head. “That’s okay. I’ll just call and reschedule. It’s not a big deal.”
“Except it kinda is. You only have one more day to figure out what you’re going to do for next week.”
No kidding. “Nah, I’ll take it from here. You and the boss have a good time experimenting tonight.”
“What was that?” The devil himself strolled into the kitchen, hair damp from the shower.
Carissa bit her lips together and blushed. “Nothing, babe.”
“Are you hitting on my woman again, Dunn?” Josh moved up behind his fiancée and nipped at her jaw.
Tony rolled his eyes, snagged the diaper bag from the counter, and gave Brianna a jostle. “Nope. I’ve got all the woman I can handle right here.”
“That purse looks good on you,” Josh chided. “But it doesn’t match your shoes.”
“Fu—” Tony cut himself off, just short of swearing in his daughter’s ear. “I’m outta here. Thanks, Carissa.”
“Anytime. And something comes up tonight, just call.” When Josh grunted his disapproval, she stuck an elbow in his ribs. “I mean it. Anything at all, you let me know.”
Tony nodded. “I will. Thanks again.” And then he left, a twenty-eight-year-old, two-hundred-pound former Marine scared shitless because of a six-month-old, fifteen-pound baby girl.
Chapter Four
Nicole arrived at the coffee shop early, mostly because she was dying for another caffeine fix and maybe a little because she was hoping to run into the handsome stranger from that morning. Not that she had even a second’s worth of time for that kind of foolishness, now that she was taking this completely crazy leap into providing temporary childcare.
But just in case—and because this was a job interview despite the informal setting—she’d taken care to look nice, swapping her jeans and stained top for a pair of black leggings with a light green sweater and caramel knee-high boots. She’d also braided her hair and put on a little make-up, as well as printed off a copy of her resume. Maybe it was overkill for a babysitting gig, but a girl had to be prepared.
Two sips into her second caramel macchiato of the day, her phone chirped with a text message. I’m sorry, but I need to reschedule. Baby isn’t feeling well. Tony
Hmm. Not a good sign. Was she being blown off by a man she hadn’t even met yet?
Sorry to hear that. Maybe I can come to you? She hit send, fully anticipating a rushed excuse as a response. Or maybe she was just being snippy because, if this job fell through, she might have to reduce her coffee budget even further.
You’d do that? If it’s not too much to ask, that’d be great.
Well, heck. Maybe he really did have a sick baby. She shot off another text, asking for his address. When he replied with a location a single street over from Gran’s, a bubble of excitement rose in her chest. No car, no worries!
“You’re leaving already? I thought you were meeting someone?” Sammy, the evening barista, frowned when Nicole stood and gathered her things.
“Change of plans.” She smiled politely at the young woman and slipped into her jacket. “You wouldn’t happen to know Tony Dunn, would you?” Maybe a little more intel on the guy would be helpful. Ally had made him seem safe enough, but now she was going into his home. Never hurt to be extra careful.
Sammy’s eyes widened and she got a goofy grin on her face. “You know Tony, too?”
Erm... “Not exactly, that’s why I’m asking. He’s the person I was meeting, but he can’t make it, so I’m going to his place instead.”
A flash of something that looked like envy crossed the girl’s face and she narrowed her eyes. “Really. Hmm.” Then she stuck her tongue in her cheek and, after a momentary stare-down, spun on her heel and grabbed a venti cup. “Actually, I know Tony pretty well,” she said over her shoulder as she brewed the espresso—a triple shot?—and went to work on some kind of latte. “He went to high school with my brother Travis. We used to hang out. A lot.”
Ohh. “Yeah?” Clearly this girl was chomping at the bit to brag up her Tony Dunn experiences. Which made Nicole curious and begged the question—who was this guy exactly? And if he truly did “hang out” with Sammy, who couldn’t have been more than nineteen, how old was he? And where the hell was his daughter’s mother?
“Yep,” Sammy replied with a cheeky grin, obviously pleased that Nicole had taken the bait. “Do me a favor and tell him I miss him. I haven’t seen him for-ever.”
Nicole held back a snort. “You got it.”
Sammy topped off the drink with a shake of cinnamon, capped it and slid it across the counter. “And take this to him. He’ll know it’s from me.”
I just bet. “Sure.”
Juggling two drinks and her bag, she got back into Luke’s truck—he’d called to say he’d be a little late coming by for it tonight—and almost called Ally to demand clarification.
What if this Tony guy was really young? Ally had said he was ‘adorable’ and ‘cute’, which were both terms Nicole associated with...well, kids. She’d also said he worked for a construction company, but doing what exactly? Clean up? Grunt work? Could he even pay her the generous wage his flyer had promised? Not that money was everything, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that this was quite possibly not the position she thought it would be.
By the time she pulled into the man’s driveway, she had a hundred questions running through her mind. Taking a deep breath, she set forth to get them answered.
***
Having the prospective babysitter come to his place after a busy work week was the worst friggin’ idea ever. She’d take one look around and, if she was smart, run as fast as she could in the opposite direction.
Granted, the house itself was fine, nice even, thanks to a collaborative renovation project between Hudson Contracting and Carissa, who’d bought the home in foreclosure and flipped it over the summer. Before that, it had been the home Tony grew up in, though in those days it hadn’t l
ooked remotely like it did now with its gleaming wood floors, fresh paint and simple, but quality accessories.
The problem, rather, was the laundry on the bathroom floor. And the dishes piled up next to the sink, because he hadn’t emptied the dishwasher from three days ago. And there were toys and baby stuff all over the goddamn place, too. Thankfully, the diaper genie took care of Brianna’s less desirable contributions to the household, but the dirty socks he’d found under the couch certainly didn’t help. He’d sprayed a shit-ton of air freshener to cover up the funk—and over the dirty dishes too—then he got a small fire going in the fireplace. It wasn’t cold enough to turn on the gas furnace, but the air still had a nip to it and, with Brianna being sick, he wanted her as comfortable as possible.
Right now, she looked awfully cozy, sleeping in her playpen in the corner of the living room. He’d barely gotten the fever reducer in her before her eyes began to droop and she crashed in his arms. He’d never been so glad to see her welcome rest and, with any luck, the nap would help her fight off whatever she was battling.
Blowing out a breath, he took one last glance around the house. It would have to do. Besides, as he reminded himself no less than twenty times a day, everything was about Brianna now—not him and definitely not his modesty.
He heard a car door shut outside and he scratched a hand back through his hair. Maybe his preoccupation with the mess would keep his mind off Nicole’s sex goddess voice.
The doorbell rang a minute later and he jogged into the foyer, kicking his work boots and tennis shoes out of the way, and cursing his idiocy. He couldn’t even put his shoes away, for Christ’s sake—what business did he have being a father?
Taking in a lungful of air, he opened the door...and his best attempt at a fake smile melted right off his friggin’ face.
Not only was Nicole of the sexy, I’ll-make-you-come-in-seconds-you-bad-bad-boy voice, she was apparently of the hot, smokin’ blonde variety, too. The kind that distracted him outside of a coffee shop and made him almost late for work.
“You,” she said simply and it took him a moment to realize she was gaping at him, much like he was her.