Daddy.”
“’Night, Code.” Josh lingered for a moment, enjoying the little rustles Cody made as he settled. Then he returned to his room, flopped on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
Sleep wouldn’t come easy for him tonight.
* * *
Maggie pulled in the driveway of the big blue house, her car packed to the gills. Everything else had gone into storage when she sublet her apartment. That had been a bit of a risk. If this nanny position had fallen through, she’d have been up you-know-what creek without a paddle.
At least it would be familiar territory.
She got out of the car and hesitated in the driveway. Hired or not, it didn’t seem right to just walk in the house. Ellen burst out the front door.
“Maggie! Oh, my goodness, let me help. Josh, come on,” she yelled over her shoulder. “Maggie’s here.” She hurried across the lawn and gave Maggie a quick hug. “Let Josh and me help you. Is this all you brought?” she asked as she opened a rear door.
“All?” Maggie laughed. The car practically groaned under the weight of her “necessities.” The front door banged shut before she could say anything else and she turned to see Josh step out on the porch. His flannel shirt looked soft and worn with age, and his jeans held the same patina. His whiskey gaze caught hers and her traitorous pulse tripped. He gave her a half smile, strode down the steps.
“Good morning, Ms. Thelan,” he said, his deep voice resonating in the very core of her.
“It’s Maggie,” she said, and mentally winced at the husky element in her voice.
“Maggie, then,” he said and looked at her with... Was that regret?
“Josh! This box has books. Can you get it?” Ellen’s voice reached them, and he turned toward his mother.
“Sure, Mom,” he said. Maggie went around to the other side of the car as her insides twisted. Was Josh having second thoughts about hiring her? He’d been ambivalent, she knew, but she’d hoped a few days of space would have erased his doubts.
An hour later, she decided she’d imagined the whole thing. Josh was polite, and said no more than necessary, but she didn’t catch any more weird vibes from him. Ellen made up for it with chatter and Maggie was grateful for her warmth. Cody hovered around the edges of the activity, helping sometimes without being asked, but mostly dogging his father’s shadow. Her heart ached for the boy.
She hoped by Monday he’d have accepted her enough that they could spend the day together comfortably.
“Okay,” Ellen announced, placing a box on the floor by the bed. “Josh has the last one, he’s coming up behind me. Looks like you’ve made progress already,” she added, nodding to the closet where some clothes hung.
Maggie laughed. “That’s why I leave all that stuff on hangers. Makes me feel like I’ve done a lot when actually...well, actually, I haven’t.” She sank down in a chair near the fireplace, looked around at the mess. “I can’t thank you enough for helping me.”
Ellen waved her hand, dismissing Maggie’s thanks. “It was nothing, honey, really. Do you need any help unpacking?”
Maggie shook her head. She wouldn’t ask for anything more even if she needed it. “No. Thanks, though. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay, then.” Ellen crossed to the door, then stopped. “You have my number if you need it on Monday? If you have any questions at all, you can call. Josh can’t always get away, but I’m usually available.”
“I do have it. I’m sure we’ll be fine, but it’s a big comfort to know you’re there if we get stuck,” Maggie assured her. Ellen nodded.
“Okay, then. Sorry to run, but I’m meeting a friend for dinner and it’s a good hour drive.” She left, and Maggie heard her voice in the hall before Josh came in, carrying the last of the boxes.
“Where can I put this?” he asked.
She waved her hand. “Anywhere’s fine. I have to go through them all anyway.”
Josh deposited the box near the one his mother left and stood still. An awkward silence fell over the room as Maggie tried her hardest to look everywhere but at him, but her gaze kept darting back as if he were magnetic.
“I—”
“Do—”
They both stopped, and he dipped his head in her direction. “You first.”
She drew in a deep breath. “I was just going to thank you for the help,” she said. “It wasn’t necessary but I really appreciate it.”
“No problem. Do you like pizza? You’re welcome to eat dinner with us.”
Maggie hesitated. She needed to erect some kind of wall between her unexpected emotions and this man. On the other hand, it would be an opportunity to interact with Cody. “Will Cody mind if I join you? I don’t want to infringe on his time with you.”
Josh shook his head. “You won’t be. It’ll be good for you to spend some time together. Any requests for toppings? Anything you can’t stand?”
They settled the pizza question with no onions or peppers for her but anything else was fair game. Josh left the room, pulling the door closed behind him. Maggie stared at the closed door, then flopped back on the bed as the enormity of her situation began to take root.
She’d found Cody, gotten the job she wanted so badly.
But she’d never figured on her brother-in-law. She hadn’t counted on seeing him as an attractive man. Somehow, she needed to figure out how to ignore that while keeping her true relationship to Cody a secret from his father. A flash of guilt made her swallow hard. Would it have been better to own up to her connection to Lucy?
No. She stood up and moved to the nearest box. The last thing she wanted was to inflict any more pain on either Josh or Cody. They’d experienced a terrible loss before Cody’s first birthday and she had no desire to open any old wounds for them. With any luck she could spend a year or so with Cody, and have enough of a relationship with the little boy that Josh would allow her to stay in his life after Cody no longer needed a nanny.
So she’d get over this ridiculous quasi-attraction to Josh and that would be that.
Wouldn’t it?
So why didn’t her plan seem to be quite so simple anymore?
Chapter Two
Her nephew, so far, hated her.
Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration. Maggie braced her arms on the kitchen counter and let her head fall forward with a sigh. Almost lunchtime on their very first day together and Cody hadn’t spoken more than four words to her. And only then because she’d spoken to the little boy first. It would take time for him to adjust, this she knew. It didn’t bother her. Really.
If only he wouldn’t look at her like he might a particularly freaky bug.
