up as it could be. He’d told his daughters to at least give the room a half hour after Emma arrived before they messed it up again.
They’d laughed. They hadn’t thought he was serious.
He’d looked out the front Palladian windows for at least the tenth time when his cell phone buzzed. Taking it from his belt, he was concerned it was Emma telling him she’d changed her mind. But it wasn’t. It was his sister.
Without preamble, she said, “I still think you’re crazy to hire a stranger.”
He could imagine Shannon’s red curls flying and her lips, which were usually turned up in a smile, pointing downward.
“Good morning to you, too, sis.”
“You should have used an agency.”
“As I told you before, I tried an agency. The applicants they sent never could have kept up with the girls. You know how much energy they have.”
His sister was silent until she said, “Yes, they have energy, but they need it to be channeled in the right way. What makes you think this woman can do that? It’s not like she was a schoolteacher or worked in day care.”
“Working with animals is like working in day care,” he muttered.
“Don’t try to snow me,” Shannon protested.
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll invite you to dinner as soon as Emma’s settled in. How would that be?”
“Sooner,” Shannon demanded.
“You know, you always were a bossy kid sister.”
“And you were always a know-it-all older brother.”
They both laughed. Thank goodness they could laugh. It kept them sane when the world turned upside down.
Suddenly he heard a car in the driveway. It was a compact blue sporty model. Just like Emma, he supposed—full of class and energy. “I gotta go. She’s here.”
“You can always call me if she doesn’t work out.”
“Bye, Shannon.” He ended the call and replaced his phone on its dock.
He watched as Emma stepped out of her car. He felt his pulse race a little faster as first one bare leg appeared and then the other. As she closed the driver’s-side door, his breath actually caught. She’d worn pale pink shorts—a respectable length—and a puff-sleeved gauzy white blouse. Her curly hair blew in the wind. He noticed her sandals had little jewel-like beads on them. Pippa would love that.
Emma stepped to the back door of the sedan and pulled out a messenger bag.
He told his daughters, “I’m going to help Emma bring her things in.” He hurried out the front door and down the walk then took the side path to the driveway. When Emma saw him, she smiled.
That smile.
Maybe he’d made a huge mistake. He was attracted to her even more than he’d realized.
On the other hand, he needed a nanny. He’d keep that attraction in check.
“Welcome to the Sutton abode.” As soon as he said it, he thought it sounded lame.
Emma didn’t seem to notice. “It’s good to be here. You can’t imagine how thankful I am that I found a job.”
“If you have other suitcases, the girls can help.”
The smile left Emma’s face. “One suitcase.”
He knew Lydia never went anywhere, even for just a weekend, without three suitcases. This was Emma’s life...in one suitcase?
His thoughts must have shown on his face. “I suppose you’re wondering why I didn’t bring many belongings to North Carolina.”
“You travel light?” he joked.
Silence fell over them until a mower at a neighbor’s house started up. Then Emma responded, “I impulsively moved to Spring Forest, intending to have other items shipped later. But since I only had a small studio apartment, that just didn’t happen. I wanted to wait until I was settled somewhere.”
“Is taking this position another impulsive decision on your part?” After all, he had to ask questions if he wanted to get to know her and her personality. That was important when he saw her interacting with his girls. It was the only way he’d know if this was going to work out. He had to be protective of his daughters.
“I’m not sure how impulsive it is,” she said, looking directly into his eyes. “I made this decision out of necessity. I needed a job and I really didn’t want to return to Pennsylvania.”
When she didn’t explain further, he decided to let the discussion go for now. There would be time aplenty to get to know Emma Alvarez. After all, they would both be living under the same roof.
* * *
A short time later, after Daniel reluctantly left for work, Pippa, Penny and Paris took Emma on a tour of the house. It was a large house with a covered entry in the front leading into the foyer. The room to the left, the girls explained, was Daniel’s home office. It was easy to see that when Emma peeked in. Across the foyer on the right was the living room. Straight ahead Emma could see the great room with a vaulted ceiling. There was also a stairway that led upstairs.
The kitchen and the dining room were off the great room and there was a mudroom and a laundry room, as well as a bathroom.
Penny looked at her older sister, Paris, and said, “Let’s show her her room.”
Emma was anxious to see where she’d be staying.
The girls led her down the hall past Daniel’s study and turned left. When Emma stepped inside, she realized the suite resembled a studio apartment. There was a double bed, a sitting area and a kitchenette. A full bath off the room meant she’d have complete privacy if she wanted it. When she was done for the day and came in here for the night, there was no reason for her to have to go into the rest of the house. She liked that, and already felt more comfortable about being here. The house was in order but Emma could easily see it needed a good dusting and a sweeper run over the carpet.
She asked Paris, “How long has it been since your nanny left?”
“Two weeks,” Paris responded but didn’t explain further.
“The first thing we need to do,” Emma told them, “is to clean. Can you show me where the cleaning supplies are?”
“I thought you were going to spend time with us,” Penny complained.
“Oh, I am. You’re going to help me clean.”
“No way,” Paris mumbled. Pippa and Penny looked as if they were going to revolt, too.
“I’ll tell you what. We’ll make a game of it. And your reward for helping will be a visit to Fiesta. What do you think?”
“We can really visit
