leather purse. “He told me you were looking for the best and were willing to pay for it.”
When she put it that way, what could he say? “How much is three times?” he asked, still a bit skeptical.
“Forty-five hundred a month.”
She stated the amount quickly, as if she was afraid he’d object. But he was actually relieved. Was that all? He’d have to pay at least that much in the city—for probably half as many hours. “That’s fine.”
She smiled self-consciously. “We could use it.”
He caught her choice of pronouns right away. “I thought you weren’t married.”
“I’m not. I live with my father. He…he can’t work right now.”
“Is he injured?” If so, Tyson immediately identified.
“No.” She tugged at one sleeve, seeming a bit self-conscious. “He has…health issues.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I hope it’s not serious.”
“He’ll be okay.” She lifted her chin.
“Does he need constant care?”
“Not constant. A neighbor, Mrs. Duluth, looks in on him every now and then while I’m at work, and that seems to be enough until I get home.”
“So he’ll have what he needs while you’re here?”
“Yes.”
Tyson had hoped she’d explain what kind of health issues her father faced. When she didn’t, however, he had no choice but to move the conversation along. There were only so many questions he could ask without invading her privacy beyond what was reasonable in a job interview. “Have you had any experience with children, Ms. Brown?”
“Nothing official, but I’ve been babysitting since I was twelve.” At the mention of children, her face lit up with enthusiasm and, just like that, she seemed far less average than before.
It was her eyes, Tyson decided. Large and luminous and one shade darker than her skin, they seemed exotic. How old was she, anyway? Twenty-four? Twenty-five?
“I know most all the kids in Dundee,” she added, smiling wistfully. “I love babies.”
That made exactly one of them. At this point, Tyson was too angry to love anything. Even himself. “That’s encouraging.”
“I can get references if you want.”
“You already have the best reference you could get. Gabe thinks very highly of you.”
A squawk from the other room caused Tyson’s stomach muscles to cramp with tension. The monster was awake….
“When can you start?” he asked, anxious to make the final arrangements. Forget the rest of the résumés. He needed someone now. Maybe she was only the second person he’d interviewed, but he liked her better than the starstruck Ms. Davie he’d spoken to earlier. Dakota hadn’t even mentioned football. With her, he was just a man hiring a nanny, and she was just a nanny looking for work.
Perfect.
Her lips parted as she stared up at him. “I’ve got the job?”
“You’ve got the job.”
“That’s wonderful.” Smiling in apparent relief, she clasped her purse to her side and stood. “I can be here first thing tomorrow, if you like.”
He stood, too, and instinctively moved to cut off her path to the door. She couldn’t leave him alone with what was in the next room. He wouldn’t survive another hour. “Any chance you’d consider starting today?”
Her step faltered. “It’s almost two o’clock in the afternoon.”
Braden was just working himself up into a full wail, but it was enough to shred Tyson’s last nerve. “Is that a problem?”
She raked delicate-looking fingers through her dark hair. “How long do you need me?”
He wondered how many hours he could get away with. “Four hours? Five?” he asked hopefully.
“I hadn’t expected to start quite so soon. I need to notify my current employer.”
The crying was growing louder by the second. “There’s a phone.” He pointed at it.
“I was also going to check on my father.”
“Can’t you call the neighbor and have her do that?”
Her teeth sank into her bottom lip. “I could try, I guess…”
Tyson needed a more decisive answer. “I’ll give you a five-hundred-dollar bonus if you can make the arrangements,” he promised. Surely a pharmacy clerk would be willing to briefly impose on a neighbor in order to earn five hundred dollars! She could even share the money with the neighbor to make it worth his or her time.
He could tell by Dakota’s expression that she was tempted, but she still took a moment to respond. “You’re serious?”
“Completely.” He wished he could slap the cash down on the desk, but he didn’t have that much in his wallet. Maybe that wasn’t the best approach, anyway. She seemed almost as spooked by his eagerness as she was relieved to get the job. “What do you say?”
She glanced around the office, at the action photos of Gabe Holbrook from the days when he could still play football. “How long have you known Gabe?”
“Years and years,” he assured her. “We used to play together when I was a rookie and he was MVP. Before the accident that…you know.” He couldn’t say it, wouldn’t jinx himself that way. What had happened to Gabe was every professional athlete’s worst nightmare. “Gabe likes me,” he went on. “Really, he does. You can call him if you want. On that phone there.” God, stop the crying! “Then you can start.”
“No one pays five hundred dollars for one afternoon of babysitting,” she murmured. “I—I couldn’t accept that much.”
Her response threw him. “Sure you can. If you’ll stay, I’m happy to pay it. I can’t give it to you until tomorrow, though. After that I’ll pay you weekly.”
“Gabe mentioned that you’re going through a hard time right now, that you’re not quite yourself.”
Tyson couldn’t help being offended. Who’d be normal after what he’d been through? “I’ll have to remember to thank him for that.”
“He meant it well,” she said earnestly. “He’s worried about you. And…I’m not the type to take advantage of someone.”
What? Almost everyone he met wanted something from him. Sometimes he felt besieged, as if the whole world was crowding him, forcing him farther and farther into a corner as they pleaded for a photograph, an autograph, an interview, a donation, an endorsement—even sex. Some women did all they could to sleep with him just for
