eyes narrowed at the sly look she cast him. Suddenly she struck, reaching the hose just before he did, and turning it full on in his face.
Ignoring the streaming water, he hooked his arm around her waist and tipped her off her feet, holding her easily over the mud bath below them.
“No, no, wait,” she gasped, giggling so hard her face was red. “I’m sorry. Really. That was…was completely inappropriate of me.”
He squinted through the water she was still squirting in his face. “Inappropriate?” He finally managed to redirect the hose. Right at her. “I’ll show you inappropriate.”
She shrieked and wriggled, her hands pushing at him.
Garrett laughed. And it struck him then that it had been a long time since he’d done so. Water soaked his shirt, soaked her clothes. The children were watching them, agog. He laughed so hard his chest hurt.
He laughed so hard, his hold on Darby loosened. She twisted free, her feet tangling with his legs, and down they went.
Mud splattered.
Water gushed.
“I can’t believe you did this!” Darby tried to sit up and ended up only spreading more mud. She planted her hands on Garrett’s chest for traction.
“Me? I didn’t trip us,” he pointed out. He was sprawled on his back, half in the muddy trench, half on the grass. There were streaks of mud on his cheek. “Besides, you started it all with the bouncing ball.”
He lifted his head to look at her. “You know, I don’t think I’ve laughed in this town since I was five years old.”
Darby’s throat tightened. She realized her hands were still pressed against his chest. It might as well have been bare for all the protection his soaking-wet T-shirt provided. “I didn’t laugh a whole lot in my childhood, either,” she admitted.
“You need a bath.” Regan stood beside them, her nose wrinkled.
Darby chuckled. “You’ve certainly got that right, peaches.”
“I’m not a peach. I’m a princess.”
Garrett reached out and dashed his fingertip across her nose, leaving a streak of mud. “A princess with mud on her nose.”
Reid ran up beside his sister, sticking out his face. “Do me. Do me.”
Darby watched Regan’s expression. The little girl didn’t know whether to laugh or be insulted. But when Reid giggled wildly at the dollop of mud Garrett deposited on his button nose, she finally grinned. She crouched down and gathered up a handful of the slick stuff and turned on her heel, running toward the triplets who were corralled in the playpen.
Darby groaned. “Too much of a good thing,” she decided quickly and scrambled to her feet. She caught up to Regan and redirected the girl. In minutes Regan and Reid were making mud pies, and the toddlers had escaped their own “anointing.”
She had muddy handprints all over her dress, and her legs and feet were coated. Garrett was hosing himself off again. She started across the yard toward him, stopping short when he suddenly yanked off his shirt and dropped it on the ground beside him before turning the hose over his head like a shower.
Regan tugged on her shorts, and Darby dragged her gaze from the sight of water streaming off Garrett’s broad shoulders.
“Uncle Garrett’s getting naked.”
“No, sweetheart.” Her voice felt strangled. “He just took off his shirt because he’s all muddy from working on the plumbing. See? He’s just cleaning up a little.” She couldn’t keep from looking back at him and felt her stomach jolt at the sight.
She brushed her wet hair back from her face and focused on the much safer sight of her miniature charges. “While you guys are making mud desserts there, I’m going to make our main course. We’ll eat out here. Have a picnic. Sound good?”
Enthusiastic cheers followed her as she walked toward Garrett. He’d turned the hose on an assortment of tools. “Mind if I use the hose there for a little rinsing myself?”
He pointed the hose at her legs, and she shivered a little as the cold water washed away the mud. But it was a good shiver because the day was almost unbearably hot. “So, are you going to be able to fix the leak you found?”
He didn’t look at her as he nodded, and Darby stifled a sigh. For a while there he’d laughed. The sound had delighted her just as much as when she’d heard Regan and Reid giggling in the bathroom that first night.
Now, however, he’d apparently put his sense of humor back on ice.
“I’m going to fix some lunch. Would you like some?”
“No. I’m gonna pick up some materials to get this mess taken care of.” He bent over, hooking his fingers through the handle of his red toolbox.
Darby folded her arms, looking anywhere but at the play of muscles across his smooth, hard back. You’d think she’d never seen a male torso before.
You haven’t. Not one like this.
She ignored the voice. “You’ve got to eat,” she said to him.
“I’ll grab something while I’m gone.” He straightened, hefting the heavy box with ease.
“But—”
“Darby.” His jaw looked tight. “Let me take care of the plumbing and my stomach, and you take care of the five minis. Deal?”
She frowned, glancing at the children. They were perfectly occupied in the yard. Safely fenced in. The only dangers were squishy, messy mud and grass stains. She followed Garrett around the side of the house, latching the gate behind her. “Have I upset you? I know I’m just the nanny and you’re the boss, but it was just so funny. I couldn’t resist.”
“Some things I can’t resist, either,” he said roughly. “And dammit, Darby, you’re soaking wet.”
She ran her hands through her wet hair. “So are you.”
“I’m not wearing white.” He ran his finger along the narrow strap over her shoulder. “You are.”
She flushed, hastily crossing her arms over her chest. “I didn’t realize.”
“I did.”
“I’m sorry.”
Garrett exhaled in a thin stream and stepped in her path when she turned to go. “I’m not. But that’s a problem I’m just gonna have to deal with.”
Her chin angled. “There’s no problem. I wasn’t throwing myself at you.”
“No, you were throwing mud and—”
“I said I was sorry.”
“You were throwing smiles and laughter, too. And the kids loved it. So stop apologizing.”
Her
