The Nanny Bargain

by Glynna Kaye

  “I don’t know when my heart has ever been won over to children so quickly. They’re so sweet. So loving.”

  “A lot like you in that respect.” He smiled, his expression tender. And something more...

  Sensing his intentions, her heartbeat quickened in anticipation. But she couldn’t let him kiss her, could she? Not again. Not until they’d spent more time together. Until she discovered if Therese was wrong in her assumptions about his long-term level of devotion to the twins. To her.

  As she well knew, the enticing feelings of “love” held little meaning if not built on a solid foundation of lasting commitment. But Sawyer had yet to speak of love. Shouldn’t that fact alone put her on her guard? Enable her to resist the temptation of his kisses?

  Reluctantly she pressed her hand firmly to his chest and attempted to step back.

  But he held her fast, his gaze intent. “Tori, I think you need to know that—”

  With a reverberating clang the cowbell above the main door startled them apart.

  “Anybody home?” Diego bellowed from the front of the store.

  Sawyer looked down at her almost helplessly as the sound of Diego’s booted feet on the hardwood floor signaled his approach.

  Rounding a display of backpacks, the young man halted abruptly, obviously taken aback at their presence and no doubt wondering why they hadn’t called out in response to his greeting. He nodded to the unwieldy box in his arms. “FedEx delivered this just as I walked up.”

  Sawyer motioned him forward. “Put ’er in there. We were just...unpacking boxes.”

  “Then here’s one more.” Diego swiftly deposited his load, then with an uncertain glance at Tori, hurried off.

  “You were starting to say?” Tori encouraged, her voice low, yet knowing that the tension-charged atmosphere that had held her breathless in Sawyer’s arms was not to be recaptured.

  He shrugged, avoiding her gaze. “Maybe it will come to me later.”

  “I guess, then, it’s time I get back to the house to help with dinner.” Sawyer merely nodded. And although grateful as she headed to her car that she hadn’t had to disclose the Selby children’s visit until she had more concrete information, the afternoon had nevertheless ended on a disquieting note.

  What was it Sawyer thought she needed to know?

  Chapter Seventeen

  “First of all, Tori, rest assured Therese is going to be fine.”

  Those words met her when she stepped in the front door of the Selbys’ house late that afternoon, her heart still troubled by Sawyer’s unspoken words.

  She stared up at the Selbys’ oldest son. “What happened to her?”

  “She fell down the stairs after lunch.”

  “Oh, no.”

  “We called the paramedics to check her out, but they didn’t think she needed further medical attention. She’s going to bruise and feel sore, though. We’re to keep an eye on her, but she’s upstairs resting now.”

  “Where are the boys?”

  Curtis smiled. “Ray and Fay—sounds cute, doesn’t it?—are out back playing with them so they won’t disturb their grandmother.”

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”

  “You couldn’t have done anything to prevent what happened. But I think this is a prime example of why we’re getting them out of this big old house. It’s too much for them, even with a housekeeper and someone to watch the twins.”

  “I know they’ve talked of getting a smaller place. Something on one level.”

  “That sounds like a simple enough solution,” another voice called from the parlor adjacent to the entryway. Robert, son number two. Tori and Curtis entered the room to join him and his wife, Tonya, and he continued. “But they can’t keep living independently. With the MS complication and two rambunctious boys, it’s too much.”

  “Not that you’re not doing a wonderful job, Tori,” Tonya quickly added, her smile reassuring. “But with Ray and Therese closer to us, we can take over that responsibility.”

  “Although—” Robert, casting a meaningful look at his wife, sounded regretful “—it might mean splitting up the twins to manage that.”

  Split them up? They were talking, too, as though the decision to move Ray and Therese had been made. Had the twins’ grandparents so quickly capitulated in the few hours she’d been working at the Outpost? She glanced toward the staircase that had sealed Ray and Therese’s fate in the eyes of their children. “Is it okay if I go up and check on her?”

  “She’ll appreciate the company.”

  “Nice girl.” Curt’s voice carried up the stairs after her.

  Ray and Therese’s kids seemed nice enough, too, although clearly stressed by their parents’ situation and the added complications presented by the children of their deceased sister. But surely they weren’t serious about raising the boys in two different households?

  “Tori?” a weary voice responded when she knocked at the partially open door and called Therese’s name. “Please come in. And shut the door behind you.”

  Tori followed her employer’s instructions, scanning the dimly lit room with a single lamp glowing on the nightstand next to where Therese sat upright on the bed, propped on pillows. For the first time since Tori had known her, she looked every one of her seventy-five years.

  “Pull up that chair, sweetheart.”

  She obeyed, bringing an antique desk chair forward, and sat down. “I heard you took a bad tumble. How are you feeling?”

  “Not as bad as they’re making it sound. I didn’t fall all the way down. I misplaced my foot not that far from the bottom. I could have done the same thing at twenty-five as at seventy-five.” She motioned impatiently. “I can’t believe they called 911. How embarrassing to alert the whole neighborhood to a stumble when there are no broken bones. Nothing sprained. Bruises are putting in an appearance, though.”

  She rolled up her sleeve, the evidence apparent.

  “But what a mess this opened the door to.” Therese folded her arms in a huff, then winced at the discomfort. “If our kids have anything to say about it, there will be a moving van loading us up tomorrow morning.”

  “Surely that’s not their decision to make.”

  “They think I’m being stubborn, but there’s no reason we can’t stay right here in Hunter Ridge.”

  Tori gave an inward sigh of relief. “Then there’s nothing to worry about, right?”

  “Except I think Ray’s wavering.” Therese shifted against the pillows, trying to get comfortable.

  “I’m sure he’s concerned about you and the toll the boys may be taking on your health. He’s probably looking on down the road, too.”

  Would the Selbys live long enough for the twins to reach adulthood? They were both so active, so youthful, it was hard to imagine that they wouldn’t, but no one could predict the future.

  “The boys aren’t taking a toll on my health. In fact they keep me young. And I’m not ready to give up my independence.” Therese scowled. “Yes, I can understand the kids wanting us to live closer to them. But with real estate prices the way they are in California, the sale of this house won’t put a dent in a place of our own there. At our age we wouldn’t want to start payments on a new mortgage, so we’d have no choice but to move in with one of them. That would likely mean being separated from the boys and very possibly them being separated from each other.”

  “I picked up on that possibility a few minutes ago, too. They seemed reluctant to do it, but it sounded as if they thought they might not have a choice.”

  “Tonya and Robert are empty nesters living in a two-bedroom condo—so they want Ray and me to move in with them. Amber and Paul have a high-rise apartment and one teen still living at home, but could take one twin. Then Curtis and Fay have a house full of teenagers, but they think they could
swing a nephew also.”

  “Not an ideal situation.” In fact, Tori hated the idea and knew Sawyer would, too.

  “If I know Curtis, though, he’ll want everything resolved and tied up in a nice neat bow before he leaves. And if Ray gives in? I’ll have no choice but to go along with him.” She reached for Tori’s hand. “So pray, sweetheart. Pray.”

  Pray she would. But as much as she hated the thought of delivering the news to Sawyer, she had no choice now but to let him know what was going on in the lives of his little brothers.

  * * *

  “They’ll split up the twins over my dead body.” Sawyer sat at his desk, thunderstruck at what Tori had shared after arriving early the next morning before the Outpost opened. Not only did Therese have multiple sclerosis, but Ray and Therese were possibly moving to LA and taking the boys to live with one or the other of Vanessa’s older siblings.

  “I’m not under the impression splitting the boys is something they want to do. They’d prefer to avoid it. But their housing situations, unfortunately, aren’t conducive to taking in two more adults and caring for twin preschoolers under a single roof.”

  “Those boys will not be split up.” But how could he stop them? They were legally in Therese and Ray’s care, and if the couple went along with their children’s plans... “Surely they’ll stand their ground for the boys’ sake.”

  “That’s been their intention all along, but—”

  “All along? This isn’t the first you’re learning of this?” Surely he must have misheard.

  She glanced away, almost as if reluctant to look him in the eye. “They’d earlier mentioned their kids have been at them to relocate to Los Angeles since they first retired years ago. This isn’t anything new.”

  “You’ve known about that possibility and never said a word to me about it? You didn’t think that was something that would negatively impact my brothers?”

  “There wasn’t anything to tell.”

  “How do you figure that?”

  “Because Ray and Therese were dead set against leaving Hunter Ridge. Now with Therese revealing the MS diagnosis to the family combined with yesterday’s fall, they’re under more pressure from the kids. Therese is still adamant she wants to raise their grandsons here. Ray’s on the fence. I don’t know what they’ll decide.”

  He ran his hand roughly through his hair. “This is great. Just great.”

  He didn’t know much about Vanessa’s brothers. But he did know that the twins’ folks hadn’t ranked her siblings at the top of the list of potential guardians should anything happen to them before the boys reached adulthood. In fact, they’d felt strongly enough about that issue that they’d listed him, of all people, second after Therese and Ray. His dad wouldn’t want his sons growing up in Los Angeles either. And certainly not apart. Not going through another upheaval on the heels of losing their parents.

  “This is exactly what I needed to be kept in the loop on, Tori. It’s why I recruited you for the job in the first place.” He caught the wince in her eyes at his accusatory tone, but continued on. “This doesn’t give me much time to figure out what can be done.”

  “You’ll try to stop them from moving?”

  “Ray and Therese can move to Timbuktu if they want to. But I’m not going to let them drag my brothers far from the place Dad wanted them to call home. I can’t tell you how often he said he wished he could have grown up here rather than in a big city. How he said he loved the town and was thrilled his second family would get the opportunity his first one didn’t.”

  “But would relocating with their grandparents be so bad? Ray and Therese would be nearby even if the kids weren’t under the same roof. Their children seem nice. Very sincere in their concern for their parents and the boys.”

  “Splitting siblings up is bad enough, but twins? No.” He shook his head. “I won’t let that happen, and I’ll use the fact that I’m legally next in line for guardianship to press my point.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “See a lawyer. Try to get those kids removed from their grandparents’ guardianship if I can. The boys shouldn’t be held captive in Ray and Therese’s power struggle with their adult children. But I’m going to need your help in this, Tori. Your support.”

  “How? I’m not sure—”

  “You can vouch for me. A character witness. You’ve lived for months under the Selbys’ roof and can speak to Therese’s health situation and how that could impact Cubby and Landon. To how Ray forbids me to talk to the twins about our father. How healthy is that? You can advise not splitting up the twins.”

  “It would break Ray and Therese’s hearts to give them up, even to you. And I’d have to testify in court against them? I don’t want to do that.”

  “Tori, I’m counting on you. I owe these boys and their parents more than you can imagine.”

  “You don’t owe them anything, Sawyer. Their grandparents are their legal guardians and you’re the big brother. LA’s—what? Ten hours away? You could go over on a long weekend every few months to see them.”

  He shook his head. “I owe them more than that.”

  “You keep saying you owe them. You owe them. Maybe if I understood—”

  “If it weren’t for me, Tori,” he stated matter-of-factly, cutting her off, “their mom and dad would still be alive.”

  The confusion on her face left him instantly regretting his blunt words. But it was too late now to take them back. She was the woman he loved, though. Who better to confide in?

  “I don’t understand.”

  He stood, then moved restlessly around the confines of his office. He’d never talked about this to anyone. Had never voiced it, and he wasn’t sure he could now.

  “Sawyer?”

  He took a steadying breath. May as well get it over with. “Dad had been out of town on Outpost business that week. When I stopped in around noon to play with the boys and drop off groceries—Vanessa was laid up with a broken leg—she mentioned that the hot water heater didn’t seem to be working right. I didn’t know anything about hot water heaters, so I told her I’d get hold of someone and have them take a look at it.”

  “And then?” Tori’s soft words prompted.

  “When I left there, I got caught up in a series of Outpost emergencies and...forgot.” He closed his eyes, the events unfolding before him as though it were only yesterday. “Late that night, the water heater exploded.”

  He heard Tori’s quick intake of breath.

  “The house caught on fire. Dad drove up shortly thereafter—probably hoping to surprise Vanessa by returning a day earlier than planned—and called the fire department. But before the volunteers got there, he went in himself and managed to get the boys out.”

  Tori stared at him, the horrors of that night no doubt playing out in her imagination.

  “He put them in his truck where he’d parked away from the house and called me to come get them. Then he went back in after Vanessa before I got there. They were...both were overcome with smoke. Couldn’t be revived.”

  He drew a ragged breath.

  “Oh, Sawyer...”

  As on the previous day, she came to him and put her arms around him. But he could only stand rigidly, overwhelmed by the memories of billowing smoke and flames leaping into the night as he sat in the truck surrounded by the ear-piercing wails of the frightened boys.

  “I’m sorry.” She rested her head on his chest.

  “You can see, can’t you, Tori, why I can’t let Ray and Therese take them away? I’ll do anything. I don’t care what it takes. I don’t care what it costs. If I lose the cabin and the Outpost, it doesn’t matter.”

  “I understand. I do.” She pulled slightly back to look up at him. “But do you think you’re prepared to take on two preschoolers? You yourself assured me not lo
ng ago that’s nothing you wanted any part of.”

  “My dad was a hero going back in there after his kids and Vanessa. The least I can do is to look out for the sons he risked his life to save.”

  No, he wasn’t a hero like his dad. But he hadn’t known the Selbys interpreted his actions after the fire as unreliable, irresponsible, uncaring.

  How would that look in court?

  With Tori’s encouragement, though, he’d started anew, hadn’t he? Now he had every intention of hanging in there regardless of how his heart ached over the role he’d played in their parents’ deaths. The Selbys, however, weren’t likely to forget his track record.

  “It wasn’t your fault, Sawyer, so the most important thing—” Tori drew his wandering attention “—is to forgive yourself.”

  He scoffed. “Like that will ever happen.”

  “How can God bless your future if you don’t let go of the past? If your dad and his wife could be here right now, that’s what they’d tell you to do. I know they would. They wouldn’t want you crippled for life over something that you didn’t do intentionally, that probably couldn’t have been averted even if you’d immediately called a repairman. What are the odds one would have foreseen the potential for such a tragedy and dropped everything to get there that afternoon?”

  “What if one had?”

  “The likelihood of that is slim. You’ve got to let it go, Sawyer.”

  “No chance of that unless I can prevent the boys from being taken away. Will you help me, Tori? My mind is racing to what it may take to gain legal guardianship of my brothers. The Selbys will fight me on this and I can’t blame them.”

  “Maybe they won’t. Maybe you can talk to them...ask their forgiveness for what they mistakenly perceive as you abandoning your brothers. There’s no need to tell them about the false guilt that drove you away.”

  “Then how would they understand?” He stepped back from her. “Besides, I’ve done nothing with my life to lead them to believe I’d be a good long-term influence on the boys. I’m not an established family man. I’m soon to be thirty and still unmarried. No church involvement after Dad died. Basically I snubbed my nose at God for way too long.”