come Stacey gets to lounge around at the beach on the Med and I’m stuck lugging a heavy backpack on a trail where there won’t even be hot and cold running water?”
“Luck of the draw. Plus you’re our resident expert on troublesome teens.”
“Oh, joy, another challenge. When do we meet?” she asked. Rule number one of Vacation Nannies was that both parties had to agree to the assignment. Which usually worked to make sure the match between nanny and children was harmonious, but she had seriously been off with the Lightower children. Who expected them to behave so nicely at the initial meeting and then turn into terrors? Not that she hadn’t been able to cope, but the carefree cruise she’d anticipated had not been the case.
“Friday. If everything goes okay, you’ll depart next week and be gone three weeks.”
“How old’s the teen?” Savannah had specialized in adolescent behavior when getting her degree in education. She had a special bond for children who had reached the whacked-out stage of teenagedom, which included recalcitrant and defiant behavior.
“She’s fourteen. Lives here in New York.”
Savannah could hear papers being turned over, Stephanie was obviously referring to interview notes. She plopped down on the sofa, giving up any thought of going back to sleep until later. “Never mind giving me all the info. I’ll be by later to look at the file. Anything else I should know?”
“Do you have hiking boots?”
“Of course, remember my trip to the Adirondacks last fall? It was a glorious week tramping round the forest and enjoying at all the colorful foliage. The pair I got then are well worn in. How cold is it in the High Sierras in June?”
“Check the national weather outlook. I’ll confirm you’ll be there on Friday at eleven. Oh, and, Savannah …” Stephanie sounded hesitant.
Savannah sat up at her tone.
“What?”
“The dad is Declan Murdock.”
Savannah frowned, almost hearing Stephanie holding her breath after delivering that bombshell.
“I’m not going,” she said. Declan Murdock. It had been seven years since she’d seen him. Seven lonely years of trying to forget the man she’d loved with all the fresh bright hope of first love—and who had dumped her so unceremoniously.
“He asked especially for you.”
“That’s hard to believe.” And was like a knife twisting in her. He’d left her because of Jacey. Now he wanted her to watch her while he was off doing what—oh yeah, backpacking. What had happened to Jacey’s mother? They were divorced—again?
“Why backpacking in the mountains? Why isn’t he just sticking around New York while he has Jacey? They could see shows, visit museums, go to the shore. Bond in New York.”
“I don’t inquire as to why our clients do things. Friday morning at his office. I think you know where.” Stephanie hung up before Savannah could utter another word.
She slammed down the phone. “For this I had to get up early?”
Declan Murdock. She hadn’t seen him in years, hadn’t thought about him in—well, at least maybe one year. She wished she could say she’d forgotten him as fast as he’d probably forgotten her. But she’d been incredibly hurt by their parting. She’d been dreaming of a wedding and he’d been lured back to his ex-wife because of a daughter he hadn’t known existed.
For the longest time she’d gone over everything, replaying in her mind every word he’d uttered at that final meeting, trying to see where things could have gone differently.
“Water long under the bridge,” she muttered, going to get coffee to jump-start her brain. Did Stephanie really think she’d take the job? Be alone with Declan and his daughter for three weeks?
“Why not ask me to plunge a knife into my heart to begin with. It would be just as painful,” she mumbled, watching the coffeemaker drizzle the brew into the carafe. Divorced, Stephanie had said. So when had that happened? What about Declan’s determination to make a go of his marriage for the sake of a daughter he’d just discovered?
No one would blame her for turning down a request for an assignment from the man who had broken her heart. The man against whom she had judged all other men ever since—and had usually found them lacking.
Maybe she should have asked the Lightowers to extend her services—even the horrible brats looked better than facing Declan again.
Taking her coffee, she went back to the sofa and gazed out the window. She wondered if he’d aged much. She’d learned how successful his sporting goods chain had become. Everything he touched seemed golden.
Divorced. Her curiosity got the better of her. Dare she risk her peace of mind by seeing him again? Any feelings she’d had for him seven years ago had evaporated. She’d become much more wary, much more cynical about men’s intentions.
And how could she watch his daughter—the reason he’d left her. She’d been so in love, and she’d thought he had, as well. How could he so easily have tossed that love aside to marry Margo—or rather to remarry her when she’d shown up years after their divorce saying Declan was a father. He’d had the paternity tests done and had then been convinced he needed to marry Jacey’s mother again and build a strong family unit.
Forget about the college student who had adored him. Forget about the plans and dreams they’d had. Once he’d uttered the fateful words, Savannah had wished him well and left the coffee shop, tears not falling until she was home.
So what had happened to his precious plans that had brought him full circle back into her life?
Curiosity won. She’d go to the interview. It wouldn’t go well, she already knew that. But the reputation of Vacation Nannies was on the line. She didn’t want him bad-mouthing the company because of personal feelings. Feelings that should have died seven years ago.
“That did die seven years ago!” she repeated aloud. “I’m so over you, Declan Murdock.”
Friday, Savannah dressed with care. She was no longer the college student dating an up-and-coming businessman. She went with the most trendy outfit she had, and spiked her short hair the way she liked it. Her outfit was the fourth she’d tried on this morning, wanting to get just the right look of successful businesswoman and capable nanny. The navy slacks, white blouse and sassy scarf declared her achievement.
He’d done well, she’d learned a couple of years ago. Well, so had she and her sister. Maybe not on the scale he’d reached, but wildly prosperous. She and Stacey had planned their business long before they were able to start it. The one course she especially wanted to take in her senior year in college was Start-ups on a Shoestring—taught by visiting guest lecturer Declan Murdock shortly after he began his sporting goods company. She’d hung on his every word. First for what she could learn about business, then for what she could learn about the man himself. When he’d asked her out, she’d gone. There were rules at the college against faculty dating students but as a guest lecturer, he wasn’t really faculty.
Only a few years older than she, he’d captured her imagination and fired her enthusiasm about her business model
