the rocking chair,” Emily said, shaking out blankets and tucking them into the bed.
He sat in the rocker, balanced Amanda Sue on his knee, and pulled the towel up over her head again. She tossed herself backward and slid down between his legs. Catching her with his legs, he trapped her there between them and rubbed the towel over her hair. She fought him with screams and shrugs. Finally he pulled her up into his lap again. She promptly tried to climb him like a tree. Emily extracted a cotton-knit nightgown from a pile of clothing and reached for the child, literally pulling her off Logan’s head.
He smoothed his hair down with both hands, saying, “This kid must be part mountain goat.”
Emily sent him a loaded glance. “Maybe she inherited that tendency, too.”
“Just for the record,” he snapped, “her mo—uh, Donna was as crazy about rock climbing as I am. That’s how we met, you know. She was working for the guide, flying parties to climbs by helicopter.”
“No, I didn’t know,” Emily said, pulling the gown’s short sleeves over one of Amanda Sue’s flailing arms. “Why should I? It was before my time.”
“Oh. That’s right, but just before.” Odd that he’d just come back from a month in the Rockies with Donna as his climbing partner when he’d hired Emily. His previous assistant had set up half a dozen interviews for him, and Emily had been the very first. He’d hired her on the spot and never been so glad as now.
Emily quickly diapered Amanda Sue, who was rubbing her eyes again and beginning to lose her fight. Then she removed a tattered teddy bear from the diaper bag and handed it to the child before clipping her pacifier to her shoulder. Amanda Sue made that odd half-laugh, half-sob sound as she hugged the stuffed bear, babbling, “Sur-bay, sur-bay.”
“What’s she saying?” Logan asked.
“I think she’s calling the bear by name.”
“What would that be, Sir Bear, maybe?”
Amanda Sue shook her head violently, answering his question herself. “Sur-bay,” she said, “Sur-bay.” She started kissing it, making loud smacking sounds, then bit its nose.
“Sugar Bear?” Emily suggested.
Amanda Sue kicked and laughed. “Sur-bay!”
Logan shook his head. “How do you do that?” he asked Emily. “How can you understand her?”
Emily shrugged. “Practice,” she said, picking up Amanda Sue and replacing the bear’s nose with her pacifier. “I have several nieces and nephews.”
He hadn’t known that but was suddenly reluctant to admit it. She’d worked for him for two years, after all, and he hardly had any secrets from her, depending on her to help him balance both his business and social schedules—and now his domestic life. He should know more about her.
“Turn on one of those monitors,” Emily said, nodding toward what looked like a pair of plastic walkie-talkies on the dresser. Logan did so. “Now turn off the light, but leave the door open.” He did that, too, while she sat down in the rocking chair with Amanda Sue, bear, and pacifier.
He leaned a hip against the end of the dresser and watched as Emily engaged the baby’s attention by first talking to her, then whispering to her as she rocked gently back and forth. Soon his rambunctious daughter’s eyelids began to droop and she settled into the crook of Emily’s arm. Minutes later, she was lolling peacefully. Rising carefully, Emily carried the sleeping child to her crib and gently tucked her in, being sure to keep the bear next to her. Turning away, she picked up the extra monitor and tiptoed from the room. Logan followed.
When they were several yards away, Emily turned on the monitor and carried it down the stairs, where she placed it near to hand on the coffee table.
“You’d better take that to bed with you,” she instructed, stepping into her shoes. “She’s liable to wake up several times during the night, and you’ll need to reassure her. But don’t worry, it’s perfectly normal under the circumstances. She’ll settle down before long.”
He barely heard what she was saying, his attention completely focused on the fact that Emily was obviously leaving. “Where are you going?”
She sent him a surprised look. “Home, if you must know.”
Sheer panic descended. “You can’t go home! I need you here. Amanda Sue needs you.”
Emily sighed and folded her arms, fixing him with an implacable look. “Listen, I understand that you’re concerned, but you’ll be fine. Just do what I did.”
“B-but what if she cries?”
“Calm her down. Just remember that the key is to stay calm yourself.”
“She could want something, and I wouldn’t know what!” he protested.
“Yes, you will,” Emily assured him. “If she wants a bottle or her bear, she’ll ask for them. You’ll figure out the rest by just paying attention.”
“Emily, I insist that you stay!”
She gave him a look he’d seen before. It clearly said that she could find another job anytime she wanted. Unaccountably, he was hurt. This wasn’t work, this was…personal. And Emily was an employee, not a friend. He bit his lip, feeling extremely foolish.
“You’re right. I’m sure we’ll, uh, manage.”
Emily nodded crisply. “I’ll be in the office early in the morning to take care of a few things I didn’t get done today, for obvious reasons. I took the liberty of calling an agency and setting up a few interviews with prospective nannies, so you’ll want to bring Amanda Sue into the office with you. I thought that was preferable to doing the interviews here, all things considered. But take your time in the morning. I know how hard it is to get a baby changed, fed, dressed, packed and out of the house. First appointment is at ten.”
“Ten,” he echoed numbly, wondering how in blue blazes he was going to get through this.
“I moved the safety seat to your car earlier while you were putting up the crib,” she said. “Just be sure the restraining belt is clipped before you leave. She’ll fight you, of course, but she won’t win unless you let her.”
He nodded, but he didn’t mean it. He wouldn’t tell her that the curly headed little moppet upstairs had already won the battle of wills between them a dozen times that day. He’d never been so exasperated as when driving her to and from the ranch. It was like trying to travel with a caged tiger, one smarter than him. He’d groveled all he intended to for one day, however. If Emily was determined to go, well, that was that.
When she moved toward the foyer, he almost let her go without another word, but then he thought of all she’d done for them that day and knew he couldn’t. Gritting his teeth, he hurried after her. “Emily.”
She paused and turned, obviously expecting more entreaties. “Yes?”
“I just wanted to thank you for everything.”
She smiled wearily. “No problem. I realize you were desperate. Glad I could help.”
“I
