the kitchen and slid directly under Carlotta’s foot, the one attached to her bad knee.
She’d gone down hard.
One look had told Connor he didn’t have the necessary equipment to treat her injury at home, or at the office. Hence this unexpected trip to Village Green Hospital’s E.R.
Connor would have joined Carlotta in the exam room, but she’d insisted he stay with the girls. He’d relented when Megan’s eyes had filled with tears and Ryder Scott, the doctor on duty, had promised to give Connor an update as soon as he knew more.
While the twins watched television, Connor retrieved his phone from his back pocket and thumbed through his contact list. If Carlotta’s injury was as bad as he suspected, he would need alternative child care.
“Daddy?”
He lifted his head.
Megan’s bottom lip trembled. “You’re not going to make us get rid of Samson, are you?”
“Not a chance, sweetheart.” He pulled her into a one-arm hug. “He’s part of the family now.” For better or worse.
So far, it had been mostly worse.
Eyes full of worry, Molly drew alongside her sister. “Samson didn’t mean to hurt Carlotta.”
Connor gave her a reassuring smile. “No, sweetheart, he didn’t.”
He wanted to say more, explain that the puppy needed obedience school stat, but Ryder joined them in the waiting room. The other doctor’s tight expression confirmed Connor’s suspicions. The news was bad.
He stood. Megan rushed past him and tugged on Ryder’s sleeve. “Is Carlotta going to be okay?”
Ryder glanced at Connor before answering, “Sure is.”
The other doctor smiled down at Megan. The gesture wiped away the tension on his face and relaxed his features, reminding Connor of the man’s younger sister. All the Scotts looked alike, but this one favored Olivia the most, right down to the blue-blue eyes, the color of the Colorado sky.
Connor had been thinking a lot about Olivia since their unexpected reunion this morning. Hard not to, since his daughters had chattered nonstop about her all the way home from the park.
She’d certainly made an impression on them.
The image of Olivia’s eyes crinkling around the edges when she smiled at them still hovered in the back of his mind.
“Hey, kiddo.” Ryder tugged on Megan’s ponytail, the only hairstyle Connor had mastered in his four years of solo parenting. “No need for tears. Your housekeeper’s going to live. She just busted up her knee.”
Connor tried not to groan at the description. “How badly busted up are we talking?”
“Broken kneecap, torn ACL. The orthopedic surgeon is with her now. He’s suggesting immediate surgery.”
Translation: months of recovery time.
The girls’ summer break had barely begun. Connor stuffed his phone back in his pocket. “I’d like to see her now.”
Ryder hooked a thumb over his left shoulder. “Third room on the left.”
“Be right back.” He stayed only long enough to determine how Carlotta was feeling, promise he’d take care of any medical bills not covered by insurance and assure her she had a job when her knee healed.
As soon as he and the girls arrived home from the hospital, Connor went to work on his child-care dilemma. He made the first call to his sister Avery a recent college grad home for a few months before she started medical school in the fall.
She answered on the second ring. “Hey, bro. What’s up?”
After he explained the situation, she clicked her tongue in sympathy. “Ouch, poor Carlotta. Tell me what I can do to help.”
“Can you watch the girls tomorrow?”
“I can watch them all summer if necessary.”
“It won’t come to that.” He glanced out into the backyard. The twins were attempting to run off the puppy’s seemingly never-ending energy. Good luck with that.
“I mean it, Connor.”
“I know, Avery, and I appreciate it.” He tightened his hold on the phone. “But I promised you experience in the office before you start medical school, and I’m going to keep my word.”
Resolved to find a solution that would work for everyone, he ended the call.
Closing his eyes, he wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. He was suddenly bone-tired, as if the long, endless days he’d endured since Sheila’s death were finally catching up with him.
He missed his wife, missed her company and the deep, abiding friendship they’d shared since the third grade. Four years since her death, he was past the worst of his grief and moving on with his life. Some days were easier than others; most were just hard work.
He would tackle this latest problem as he did all the others. One detail at a time. He spent the rest of the night either on the phone or waiting for someone to return his call.
Unfortunately, he arrived at his office the next day with his child-care problem still unresolved. Connor would not rely solely on his sister. He would figure out another solution.
His mind on several options, he headed toward the east wing of the building where he had his personal office space. He stepped across the threshold and...
Stopped cold.
Olivia Scott stood beside his desk, seemingly absorbed with the task of writing on a piece of paper beneath her hand.
Connor’s heart took a quick, hard thump. Ethan’s sister looked like summer in a pair of white jeans, a fancy blue top and high-heeled sandals.
His mind went momentarily blank. “Olivia?”
She looked up and smiled. “Oh, Connor. Hi. I was just leaving you a note. Guess I don’t have to now.” She lifted the piece of paper beneath her fingertips, then tossed it in the trash.
She shifted a step closer. Her scent, a pleasant mix of lavender and vanilla, was very female and more than a little distracting. “Aren’t you going to ask me why I’m here?”
“Okay...” He angled his head, swallowed. “Why are you here?” He swallowed again. “And why were you leaving me a note?”
Leaning back against his desk, she rested her hands on either side of her. “I have a proposition for you.”
He simply stared at her, uncertain how to respond to that.
“I heard your housekeeper injured her knee yesterday.” Her gaze turned somber. “Ryder told me about the accident when he came home last night.”
Ah.
“I
