beautifully landscaped estate, and an iron gate swung open easily at Stone’s light touch on his horn.
At the end of a short driveway, a southern mansion appeared almost magically in an emerald setting of trees, vines and brilliant tropical flowers. Ashley felt as if she’d just turned the pages of a fantasy book, and she had a feeling that if she just closed her eyes, the whole scene would disappear. Only the insistent, escalating cries of the baby assured her that this was no dream.
More like a nightmare, she thought as she parked behind Stone’s car in front of the house and hurried to get the baby out of the back seat. She somehow managed to get him settled in the hand carrier before Kyle Stone could offer his help.
“Let me carry him,” he said.
“Thanks, but I can handle him.”
“Don’t be silly,” he chided and quickly took the carrier from her.
She wanted to protest his high-handed way of taking over because for some perverse reason she didn’t want to be indebted to this self-assured, attractive man. She hated to admit that without his help, she didn’t know how she would have managed her purse, diaper bag and the carrier. She had a feeling that he was deftly managing her in some fashion. Used to holding her own with the president of her college and prestigious faculty members, she chafed at being treated like an inept employee.
“I’ll have Joseph bring in your luggage and the rest of the things,” he assured her as she sent a questioning look at the packed car.
She managed a thank-you smile. Luckily, Davie had ceased his wailing long enough to blink his round blue eyes in the sudden sunlight, and Ashley took advantage of the moment to glance at the southern mansion.
This was a summer home? Tall white pillars graced a long veranda spanning the front of the house. Large mullioned windows dotted the first and second floors, and a pair of embossed front doors identified the entrance. Even as Ashley wondered how she would find her way around such a place, the doors flew open and two children burst out on the veranda. Stopping at the top of the stairs, they stared down at her with unsmiling, belligerent frowns.
The oldest was a ten-year-old girl, Jill had told Ashley. She had a lean girlish build and was a head taller than her sturdy eight-year-old brother. Both had dark hair, strong features and an air of superiority about them. They were staring at her with the guarded animosity of the enemy. Her teaching experience had been limited to college students who were dedicated to passing her classes. She knew nothing about appeasing youngsters who looked as if they had taken an instant dislike to her. Ashley felt her stomach take a sickening dip down into her toes.
Kyle quickly waved for the children to come down the steps. “Pamela. Benny. Meet Mrs. Gordon. This pretty lady’s here to see that you have a good time this summer.” He lowered the carrier so they could see the baby. “And this is Davie. I bet he’s got a smile for you when he knows you better.”
“Hello,” Ashley said, making certain that she smiled directly at each one of them. “I’m glad to meet you.” She knew Jill would have said something like, “Hi, guys, how goes it?”
Kyle tried to break the stiff moment by ruffling Benny’s dark hair, winking at Pamela. “These kids are the greatest. Benny has a fantastic model airplane collection that he’d love to show you, and Pamela’s going to be an Olympic swimmer, aren’t you, hon? I bet Mrs. Gordon likes to swim, don’t you?”
Fortunately, Ashley didn’t have to lie to get in good with the little girl. Both she and Jill had been on the swim team in high school.
“I love to swim,” she said quickly. “And I bet Pamela could teach me some strokes.” Then she smiled at Benny. “And I would like very much to see your airplane collection.”
As they walked up the steps into the house, Kyle kept up a running monologue, praising the kids and giving Pamela and Benny the impression that their new nanny was in awe of all their accomplishments.
They entered a spacious foyer decorated in white-and-black marble, and Ashley scarcely had time to view numerous doors opening off of a wide hall before Kyle whisked them up a beautiful staircase to the second floor. A spacious sitting room furnished with lounge chairs and a large television was in an open area at the top of the stairs. Ashley could tell from the childish clutter that the two children spent a lot of time there. No doubt the downstairs living rooms were off-limits.
Benny rushed over to a table, picked up a video game and held it out to Ashley. “Let’s play. It’s a neat airplane war game. You can have the Tomcats.” Then he added with all the dictatorship of an eight-year-old, “Pammy won’t play so you have to.”
“She’s not playing that stupid game,” flared his sister. “Mother said she was supposed to keep me company in this horrid place.” Her blue eyes held the hint of tears. “Grandfather had no right to make us come here.”
“You’re a baby…baby…baby.”
“I am not.” Pamela clenched her fists.
Ashley knew that if she wanted to get off on a good footing, it was important not to slight either Benny or Pamela, but at the moment she had no choice. Davie might be the smallest of the three, but his loud protests could no longer be ignored. She felt as if she were being pulled in all directions at once, and she sensed that Kyle was waiting to see what she was going to do.
“We’ll play later, Benny,” she promised, and caught Pamela’s eyes with a reassuring smile. “I have to tend to the baby now, but there’ll be time later to do the things you want.”
Neither of them responded to her promises. Both of the children were staring at her with their original belligerent frowns, and she knew that she had lost the first round by default.
“The nursery is this way,” Kyle said, leading the way down the hall. Pamela and Benny didn’t follow but remained in the sitting room. “I hope you’ll be very comfortable here,” he said as they reached the nursery, with a connecting bedroom and bath. “We want to make certain that you have a very pleasant and entertaining summer.”
Something in his tone didn’t quite match the look he was giving her. She’d seen the way he’d managed the children, and she wondered if somehow he was manipulating her in the same fashion. Right then and there, she decided that she’d warn Jill about him. Ashley’s intuitive sense had always stood her in good stead when dealing with people, and something about Kyle Stone did not ring true. There was a secret remoteness about him that wasn’t hidden by his pleasant smile or his accommodating manner.
He set the carrier down in the nursery. “I think your little fellow’s tired of traveling. I’ll send Mrs. Borsch, the housekeeper, up to see if there’s anything you need. She told me that she thought the nursery was pretty complete, but I’m sure you’ll want everything to your own liking.”
To my own liking?
“I’m sure everything will be fine,” Ashley said, seeing diapers, a bottle warmer and other baby paraphernalia ready and waiting. Thank heavens, someone had anticipated the demands of caring for a baby twenty-four hours a day. If she could just get through the next few hours, things would surely smooth out.
Kyle had seen her eyes narrow as he spoke, and he knew she’d picked up the edge of sarcasm in his tone. Even though her reputation as the rather spoiled wife of a notable sports figure had preceded her, he’d have to be more careful. He didn’t want to antagonize her. If Jill Gordon got her back up,
