if nobody was home?
A woman with a trace of an accent finally answered, “Vandenburg residence. Who is calling, please?”
“This is…Mrs. Budge Gordon.” Even as she said the name for the first time, it sounded false in Ashley’s ears. “I was told to call when I arrived. Someone is supposed to guide me to the house.” Then she added, “I’m the new nanny.”
“I’ll tell Mr. Stone. Where are you?”
Ashley glanced quickly around. “I’m at the Seaside Inn,” she said, and before she could ask how long it might be before her escort arrived, the woman hung up.
Great, thought Ashley. She had no idea how far away the Vandenburg house was from the wharf. Ten minutes? A half hour or more? Jill had said that the estate was on the Atlantic side of the island at its southern tip.
Davie was sleeping peacefully in his car seat, and Ashley hesitated to move him. I should have told them I’d be waiting in the car, she lamented. Whoever was coming for her would probably go inside the inn looking for her. Sitting in the front seat, she could watch everyone who went in and out of the white clapboard building, but the problem was that she didn’t know what Mr. Stone or anyone else the woman might send looked like.
After waiting twenty minutes, she decided that she’d better unload the baby and make herself visible. Not a good start, she thought, as her natural penchant for having things well-ordered put her off balance.
She was busy unhooking the carrier from the back seat when a red Jaguar pulled into the parking lot and parked a few stalls away. She didn’t see the dark-haired slender man who got out of the car and walked toward her.
There she is, Kyle Stone thought as he took in the white Mercedes and the neat backside of the woman as she leaned over to bring a baby out of the back seat of the car and put him in a small hand carrier. Of course, she’d be driving a fancy car like that. Even though he’d never met Jill and Budge Gordon, he knew their reputation as leaders in the fast crowd of nationally known sport figures. Kyle hadn’t been surprised that Budge had decided to shaft everyone and take off with illegal betting money. Keeping up their high-flying lifestyle must have been a constant financial drain.
Jill Gordon as a nanny? The idea made him hide a chuckle as he sauntered over to her car. He’d had his doubts about her ever showing up. But here she was, dressed as if she was ready for a beach party.
“Hello. You must be Mrs. Gordon,” he said politely as she turned around, clumsily grasping the handle of the carrier with both hands.
Her eyes widened with surprise and obvious relief. “Are you—?”
“Kyle Stone,” he answered, smiling as he quickly made a mental assessment of her. Her makeup was artfully applied to enhance her delicate features and deep liquid-blue eyes. Full lips were carefully traced with a pink, kissable lipstick, and shoulder-length, wavy, honey-blond hair framed her face. Tight jeans cupped her thighs and legs in a provocative fashion. At the moment tiny lines of a frown marred her forehead, and the skimpy summer blouse she wore didn’t hide the rise and fall of her fast breathing.
“Did you have trouble finding the ferry to the island?” he asked politely. Nervousness stood out all over her.
“No, not at all.” Her smile was quick and superficial. “Thank you for coming so quickly. I would like to get the baby settled at the house as soon as possible.”
“Of course. It’s only about a fifteen-minute drive across the island.”
She wished now that she hadn’t taken the baby out of his car seat. Maybe the movement of the car would lull him back to sleep. It wasn’t time for another bottle, and it would be just her luck to have Davie shrieking his head off when they arrived at the house.
“I think you’ll find everything you need in the nursery,” Kyle said. “Mr. Vandenburg gave orders that it was to be completely equipped. What’s the baby’s name?” he asked politely.
“Davie.”
“He’s a fine fellow. So bright. Look at the way he’s looking around.”
Instead of smiling or responding to the compliment as he had expected a new mother would, she gave her attention to returning the baby to his car seat.
When she had trouble locking the baby in, he said, “Here, let me.”
Without any argument, she stepped back and let him do it. “I don’t know why I have trouble getting that fastened,” she said nervously.
Motherhood wasn’t sitting well with her. Her uneasy, inept handling of the baby made him suspect that she’d turn over the baby’s care to hired help the first chance she got. Any maternal instinct she had didn’t show, he thought. It was a good thing that Lily McKee had been hired to help out with the kids. Jill Gordon must have been in desperate financial straits to accept Hugo’s offer. Kyle certainly didn’t put much faith in Mrs. Budge Gordon’s ability to be any kind of a nanny.
“There you are, fellow,” he said to the wide-eyed baby. Davie had golden hair fuzz and the same deep blue eyes as his mother. He wondered how any father could run off and leave his son the way Budge had.
“I guess you don’t remember how to get to the house from your other visits?” Kyle said when the baby was in place and the back door closed. “Mr. Vandenburg sent his car for you on those occasions, didn’t he?”
She nodded without looking at him.
“Well, just follow me. There are lots of small roads that snake through the thick stands of moss-covered oak and cypress trees. If you take the wrong one, you can wander around in a confusing maze. The Vandenburg acreage is one of the largest estates, and it’s easy to get disoriented. Just stay close behind me.”
Kyle walked back to his car, but before he started up the engine, he picked up his cell phone and dialed a number.
When he got his connection, he briskly told the party on the other end, “The pigeon is in the coop. I’ll keep you posted.”
THERE WAS SOMETHING ABOUT Kyle’s practiced manner that put Ashley on edge. Even though he’d indicated that he hadn’t met Jill, he had given her the impression that he’d been around when her twin and Budge had visited Hugo Vandenburg. She didn’t like the clear assessing sharpness in his eyes, and his smile had held a subtle mocking criticism when she’d been so clumsy handling the baby carrier. She wondered what his position was at the Vandenburg estate, and hoped to heaven that she wouldn’t have much contact with him.
Ashley was grateful for the red Jaguar moving ahead of her on a narrow road snaking through heavy stands of ancient live oaks hung with gray moss. Like a dark surrealistic painting, a tracery of sunlight filtered through thick branches of pine, cedar, and magnolia trees. Heavy undergrowth of myrtle bushes and palmettos masked hidden marshes and, except for the wild flight of birds disturbed by the cars’ engines, Ashley couldn’t see any sign of man or beast. Being used to the wide-open spaces of Colorado, she felt a tightening of claustrophobia as she drove through the dark tunnel of trees and vegetation.
Davie was growing fussy in his car seat. She knew he would be howling at the top of his lungs in a few minutes if she didn’t tend to him. That’s all I need, she thought as her hands tightened on the steering wheel.
When
