Nanny in Hiding

Tara Kenyon looked like a movie star, Amy thought. Tall and slim at about five foot eight, she had luxurious chestnut hair and glittering green eyes. Her features were flawless: straight nose neither too long nor too short, plump lips, perfect white teeth, beautifully arched brows, long, thick, curly eyelashes and a creamy complexion with just a hint of a tan.

And that body! Amy could only dream of such a body. It was very slender yet curvy, with full high breasts and a nicely rounded rear.

Tonight she wore a figure-skimming silk sheath in a shade of tangerine that looked fabulous on her and complemented both her hair and her skin. The dress ended several inches above her knees, revealing long, gorgeous legs and high arched feet with perfectly manicured toes shown to advantage in strappy gold stiletto heels.

Next to her, Amy felt colorless and dull in her beige dress and plain brown sandals, but the outfit was the best she’d packed in readiness for her chance to flee. The reminder that she was here on false pretenses took away some of the pleasure she’d begun to feel at her warm welcome from Lorna’s family.

Watching Tara, Amy saw that she acted like a star, too, barely acknowledging the introduction to Amy as her gaze moved unerringly to Bryce. Only then did she turn on the full wattage of her smile.

Leaning forward, she kissed him on the mouth. “Hello, stranger. Haven’t seen you in a few days,” she drawled sweetly. “Where have you been hiding yourself?”

“Another nanny quit,” Bryce said.

“Are you sure you’re not beating them or something? Not that it might not be pleasant to be beaten by you.” This last was said with a low chuckle.

With unspoken accord, Amy and Lorna moved away.

“Bitch,” Lorna muttered.

Amy couldn’t help laughing. “I take it you don’t like her?” she whispered.

“Remind me to tell you some Tara stories tonight after we get back to the house.”

Just then Lorna’s youngest sister, Claudia, approached. Amy had met Claudia and the rest of Lorna’s family earlier and was struck by how attractive they all were. Lorna reminded Amy of Cameron Diaz with her big eyes and wide smile, whereas Claudia was a Meg Ryan type with her coltish grace and impish grin. Chloe, the oldest sister, had more classical good looks, sort of a cross between a young Cheryl Ladd or a Michelle Pfeiffer. They were all blonde—although Amy suspected some of the blond came from a bottle—blue-eyed, slender and tanned.

Bryce was very attractive, too, but in a different way. His hair was darker than the girls’—more brown than blond—but he also had those intense blue Hathaway eyes. Amy decided she wouldn’t exactly call him handsome. His chin was too square and his nose a tad crooked, but in addition to those great eyes, he had a terrific smile, and he exuded warmth and strength. Not to mention tons of sex appeal. These were all qualities Amy was sure most women found irresistible—not just Tara Kenyon.

It was easy to see where the women got their good looks, for their mother, Kathleen, was a beauty, almost as perfectly put together in her way as Tara Kenyon was in hers. Yet there was something about the expression in Kathleen Hathaway’s eyes that told Amy the older woman wasn’t happy. Amy wondered if that unhappiness was related to Lorna’s father. Jonathan Hathaway was handsome, but there was a softness about him that Amy found off-putting.

“So what are you two plotting?” Claudia asked with a grin as she joined them.

“No plot,” Lorna said. She leaned over and stage-whispered into Claudia’s ear, “Just dissing Miss T.”

Claudia grimaced. “Oh. Her.”

Amy was gratified to find she wasn’t alone in her almost immediate dislike of Tara Kenyon. Glancing back, she saw that the woman had slipped her arm through Bryce’s and was looking up at him as if he were the only person in the room.

“Yep,” Lorna said, following Amy’s gaze. “She’s gunning for him.”

“Your brother doesn’t act as if he minds.” It disappointed Amy that he seemed to welcome Tara’s attentions, but it didn’t surprise her. No man would be immune to a woman like Tara, she was afraid.

“She’s been after Bryce since she was knee high to a grasshopper,” Claudia said with an exaggerated country accent.

“Yeah, she nearly croaked when he brought Michelle home and announced their engagement,” Lorna added with a wicked grin. “I don’t think it ever entered her head that he’d marry someone else. It’s one of the few times in Tara’s life that she’s ever been denied something she coveted.”

Just then Bryce and Tara walked in their direction, and the sisters immediately changed the subject.

“So, Amy,” Claudia said, “Lorna tells us you’re heading to California?”

Amy nodded.

“Do you have family out there?”

“No. I just wanted a change.”

“She wanted to get away from her ex,” Lorna added.

“Well, I admire you. I want a change, too, but I haven’t done much about it.”

“You’re doing something,” Lorna said.

“Finally,” Claudia said.

“Hey, it’s not easy bucking Gran.”

Claudia made a face. “Tell me about it.”

“Mommy, Mommy! Lookit what I got.”

The three women turned at the sound of Calista’s excited voice. Amy smiled as her daughter, followed by Bryce’s two girls, skidded to a stop in front of her. Eyes bright with happiness, she lifted a strand of coral beads that were hanging around her neck.

“Where did you get those?” Amy asked.

“Stelwa gave ’em to me.”

Stella Hathaway gave Amy a shy smile.

“That was sweet of you, Stella,” Lorna said. She pulled Stella close and gave her a shoulder hug.

“I have some beads like those,” Susan piped up, “but mine are green. She can have mine, too.”

It was obvious from her tone of voice that Susan had no intention of being outdone by her sister.

“What generous girls you are.” This came from Claudia, who winked at Amy.

“Did you say thank you?” Amy asked Calista.

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, I’d like to thank you girls, too.” Amy smiled down at Susan and Stella. “But maybe your father won’t like you giving away your jewelry.”

Susan made a face. “He doesn’t care.”

“We bought the beads with our own money,” Stella offered. “When we were in Mexico last year.”

“You went to Mexico?” Amy said.

“Uh-huh,” Susan said. “We took a cruise with Daddy.”

“That sounds like fun.”

“Claudia and I went, too,” Lorna said. “And it was fun.”

“We had our own party,” Susan said.

“While the adults were having a cocktail party,” Lorna explained.

“It was cool,” Stella said. “We got to dance and everything.”

They talked about the cruise a few more minutes, then the girls trooped off—the older two each holding one of Calista’s hands.

“I haven’t seen those girls take to anyone like that in a long time,” Claudia said, watching them walk away.

“Neither have I,” Lorna added thoughtfully.

Amy watched them, too, thinking how much she was going to hate leaving Morgan Creek. She’d only been here a few hours and already she felt at home. And, obviously, so did Calista. It really was sweet how Susan and Stella were looking after her.

Just then one of the maids came around with a tray holding glasses of champagne, and a few minutes later the adults were called across to the dining room where dinner was ready to be served. The children would eat in the morning room, Lorna explained to Amy, supervised by two teenage sitters her mother had hired for the evening. “Mother and Gran like civilized meals,” she added with a laugh. “Meaning, they don’t even want to see the children, let alone hear them.”

“Yeah,” Claudia said. “We weren’t allowed to dine with the adults until we turned sixteen. And even then, woe to anyone who couldn’t behave themselves.”

Amy thought about the way she was raised, which was so different. Of course, she was an only child and had been born to parents who were already in their forties and who had never expected to have a child. Consequently, they were so delighted, they liked having her with them all the time. When Amy started school, it was Amy’s mother who had cried instead of Amy. Remembering, Amy felt a frisson of sadness. Her mother had been dead for nearly ten years, and Amy still missed her.

Once in the dining room, Amy found herself seated across the table from Tara Kenyon and Bryce, who was on Tara’s right. Amy was seated between Lorna and Greg Standish, Chloe’s husband. Greg was extremely handsome, Amy thought, and very charming. Almost too charming. When he turned to her, giving her the full force of his attention, she decided if he were her husband, she might never let him out the door.

“So you and Lorna were roommates in college?” he said.

“Yes.”

“Lucky Lorna,” he murmured.

Amy had never been comfortable with men who flirted as easily as they breathed. She was not a mistress of light banter, and she was particularly bad at anything with sexual overtones. Maybe this was because she had spent her working life with children, who were nothing if not direct, so she’d never had a chance to master subtleties. Or maybe it was because Cole had been so possessive and jealous that she’d had no opportunities to develop her skill at casual, social flirting. On the other hand, maybe it just wasn’t in her to be anything but straightforward in her relationships with others. And yet, here she was, presenting a false front to all these nice people, she thought with a renewed stab of guilt.

“Behave yourself, Greg,” Lorna said.

Greg just laughed and winked at Amy.

“Bryce,” Lorna said, “did you notice how taken Susan and Stella are with Amy’s little girl?”

“I did.” His gaze met Amy’s, and he smiled. “She’s a charmer.”

“Thank you.”

“Well behaved, too,” Lorna added. “Which isn’t surprising, seeing as how Amy’s background is teaching young children. I think I told you that’s what she plans to do in California.”

Amy wished she could find a way to change the subject. She was sure Lorna’s brother didn’t care what her plans were, plus she didn’t like being the focus of everyone’s attention.

“Why are you going to California?” Bryce asked. “Is it because you have a job lined up there?”

She knew he was just being polite. “No, not yet.”

“Would you consider staying in Texas if you could find a job here?”

She was surprised by the question. “I…I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about it. I guess if I happened upon a job somewhere like Morgan Creek, I would. I like small towns.”

Bryce studied her for a long moment. She couldn’t imagine what he was thinking.

Then he said, “Maybe that could be arranged.”

“Really? Do you know of an opening here?”

He nodded slowly. “Yes, I do.”

At this, Tara Kenyon said, “She’s a kindergarten teacher, Bryce. There’s only one kindergarten in Morgan Creek, and Allison Stuckey has that job.”

“I was thinking along different lines,” Bryce said, not looking at Tara. Once again he smiled. “Amy, what would you think about coming to work for me as a live-in nanny to my girls?”

Chapter Three

Amy’s mouth dropped open. “Wh-what did you say?”

“I said, how would you like to work for me as a live-in nanny to my girls?”

As Amy digested this startling development, she realized this offer might be the answer to her prayers. Cole would never look for her in Morgan Creek because he wasn’t even aware of its existence or the fact she had any connection to it. Working for Bryce would mean she would be living on this compound, behind high walls with a sophisticated security system, to all intents and purposes hidden from view.

She and Calista would be safe.

“Bryce, being a nanny isn’t like teaching school,” Tara said.

Ignoring Tara’s remark, Bryce kept his attention trained on Amy. “It seems to me we could help each other out. I need someone young and energetic and experienced with children to supervise my girls. And you need a job and a way to care for your daughter at the same time. This would solve both our problems. I’ll make it worth your while and pay you as much as you’d make teaching.” He named a generous amount.

Tara had no intention of being ignored. “Have you any experience with girls the ages of Stella and Susan?” she said.

Her voice was perfectly pleasant and reasonable, but Amy knew the woman was not pleased. “Actually,” Amy answered just as pleasantly, “I have.” She turned to Bryce again. “I’m certified to teach kindergarten through second grade, and even though most of my experience is with kindergarten, I did substitute teach in both first and second grades my first year out of college.”

He nodded, obviously pleased. “Stella just completed second grade, and Susan will begin second grade this year.”

“I figured as much,” Amy said.

“So what do you say? Interested in the job?”

“Oh, Amy, it would be great to have you here!” Lorna said. “Please say yes.”

Although Amy was so thrilled about the job offer she wanted to get up and dance around the room, she managed to reply calmly and in a businesslike manner. “I appreciate your confidence in me, and I accept your offer. I promise I won’t let you down.”

“Great,” Bryce said.

“Oh, I’m so excited!” Lorna said.

Amy stole another glance at Tara. Although she still maintained an even expression, her eyes as they met Amy’s were as cold and hard as Bryce’s were warm and welcoming.

Amy suddenly had that feeling her mother used to describe as “someone walking over my grave.” She knew as certainly as she knew her own name that she had made an enemy in Tara Kenyon, who obviously viewed her as some kind of threat. Why this should be so, Amy had no idea. After all, Tara was beautiful and rich and from the same social class as Bryce, whereas she, Amy, was not beautiful or rich and certainly not even close to the same class of people as the Hathaways.

She wanted to say, Chill, honey, I’m just the hired help. Your claim on Bryce Hathaway is perfectly safe. He would no more be interested in me than one of the maids.

Sure, Bryce liked her. She could see he liked her. But his liking her had to do with his children and his need for someone to take care of them and not to anything else. Amy was enough of a realist to know that. Anyway, even if Bryce did like her in another way, it wouldn’t make any difference. Amy wasn’t interested in romance. Not yet. Maybe never. And even if she were, how could she get involved with any man under false pretenses? The fact was, she was living a lie, and a lie was no basis upon which to form a serious relationship.

For the rest of the meal, Tara managed to dominate Bryce’s attention, and Amy knew it was no fluke that she did it talking about people, events and subjects Amy knew nothing about and couldn’t possibly comment on. Amy was amused. Tara thought she was effectively cutting Amy out, but she was actually doing her a favor, because now Amy could try to relax and just enjoy her dinner.

Even so, she was relieved when dinner was finally over and she could escape the table. Grinning, Lorna linked her arm with Amy’s as they headed toward the morning room and the children.

“I’m so tickled you’re going to be staying on,” she said. “It’ll be such fun to have you here.”

“I’m pleased, too. It was really nice of your brother to offer me the job.”

“Hey, you’re doing him a favor. He’s had a devil of a time keeping nannies.”

“Why is that? Do you know?”

“This isn’t exactly an exciting place to live, Amy. I mean, the closest movie theater is a good forty-five-minute drive. And shopping? Forget it. You’ve got to go into Austin or San Antonio to find a decent place to shop. And as for eating out, if you don’t belong to the country club, you’re pretty much limited to barbecue or Tex-Mex.”

Amy shrugged. “Those things aren’t very important to me.”

“I agree,” Lorna said. “Of course, I get to travel quite a bit for my job. Being a nanny six days a week really ties you down, plus it isn’t easy. Are you real sure you want to do this? I mean, we did kind of pressure you.”

Amy wasn’t completely sure of anything except the need to hide from Cole, but she smiled and said, “I’m sure.”

Lorna grinned. “This is going to be like old times.”

Amy nodded, but she knew nothing would be like old times, not for her, at least. Her life had changed irrevocably the day she married Cole Jordan, and she would spend the rest of it looking over her shoulder.

Bryce kissed his grandmother good-night, then walked over to where his mother stood talking with Claudia. She turned to him and smiled. “Leaving?”

“Yeah, I think I’d better. The girls are getting wild, which means they’re overtired.”

“So I noticed,” his mother said dryly.

Bryce’s eyes briefly met Claudia’s. In hers he saw understanding and empathy. All the Hathaway siblings understood that their mother would never be the storybook, doting grandmother. Kathleen Bryce Hathaway loved her grandchildren, but she had no patience for behavior that was less than perfect.

And in Bryce’s experience, no child was perfectly behaved. Children were children, not miniature adults. But there was no point in expressing the sentiment, because in this one way, his mother and his grandmother were alike. Each held strong views on the subject, and neither would ever change.

“Before you leave, dear,” his mother continued, “I’d like a private word with you.”

“That’s my cue to disappear,” Claudia said, grinning. She lifted her arms. “Gimme a hug, big brother.”

Once Claudia was gone, his mother said, “Bryce, I’ve never known you to be impulsive—at least not since you became an adult.”

Bryce instantly realized what was coming.

“So do you think it’s wise to have hired Lorna’s friend to supervise the girls without knowing anything about her?”

“Well, I do know she’s Lorna’s friend, and Lorna seems to think highly of her.”

“Yes, but from what I gather, Lorna only knew her for a brief period of time many years ago. We know nothing about her people or her morals or anything else really.” Kathleen frowned. “It worries me. Don’t you think you should at least check her credentials?”

“I intend to.” Bryce had already decided he would ask Amy for her references and give them a call.

“Good. In our position it pays to be careful, you know.”

“It pays any parent to be careful.”

“Well, of course, but people like us have to be doubly careful.”

Bryce bit back what he really wanted to say. Instead he just kissed his mother good-night and went to round up his daughters. As they walked home, he thought about his mother’s concerns. His mother had her faults—the priority she placed on position and wealth being uppermost among them—but at bottom she was a sensible woman who didn’t worry needlessly. And when she did express concern, her reasoning was usually sound.

Why had he been so impulsive tonight? His mother was right. It wasn’t like him. Normally he thought things through and investigated all aspects of a situation before he acted. Yet in the case of someone to care for his children—a job that was crucially important—he had acted on instinct, never mind the fact he had belatedly decided it might be wise to check Amy’s references.

Why?

Later, as he supervised the girls in their bedtime rituals, he still hadn’t come up with an answer to his impulsive act. It was only as he climbed into bed and turned out the bedside lamp that the answer came to him, and it startled him.

Something about Amy Gordon reminded him of Michelle. Bryce punched up his pillow and turned on his side.

Amy didn’t look like Michelle. Michelle had been blond with gray-blue eyes. She’d also been taller than Amy, an all around bigger woman. Yet there was something, some quality the two women shared, although Bryce couldn’t exactly put his finger on it.

He thought about his impulsive act for a long while before finally deciding it didn’t matter why he’d acted the way he had. For some reason he liked Amy and he instinctively trusted her. No, he didn’t know a lot about her background, but he was a good judge of people, and he would lay odds Amy Gordon was a good person and her references would all check out.

So he wasn’t sorry he’d offered her the job. In fact, he had a strong feeling she would be the best nanny his girls had ever had.

“So tell me about your brother,” Amy said. She and Lorna were sitting on the porch—Lorna in the swing, Amy in a nearby rocking chair. Each sipped from a glass of wine. The heat of the day had finally succumbed to nightfall and the strengthening wind that promised rain before morning. It was so peaceful sitting there in the moonlight, listening to crickets chirping and the wind rustling through the leaves of the big magnolia tree that dominated the front yard. Amy could feel all the stress and worry of the past couple of days falling from her shoulders.

“Bryce is one of the good guys,” Lorna said. “Of course, I am prejudiced since he’s my brother, but even so, it’s true. I admire him and respect him more than just about anyone in the world.”

Amy couldn’t help the stab of envy. She had always wanted brothers and sisters. “What happened to his wife?”

“Ovarian cancer. She died three years ago.”

“That’s tough.”

“Yes, it was. We were all pretty broken up about it. Michelle, well, she was special. We all loved her. Even Mother.”

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