The Single Dad's Virgin Wife. Susan Crosby

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СКАЧАТЬ knocked. No answer. She opened the door wide, letting the hall light guide her way. Neither boy spoke. The lumps in their beds remained motionless. In the dark she couldn’t differentiate between the boys and didn’t know which one slept in which bed, either. She took her cue from what surrounded them. One side of the room was military neat. The other was a maze of sports equipment. She headed there first, tripping over a basketball.

      “Good night, Adam,” she said, rubbing his shoulder for a second. He lifted his head in a hurry.

      “How’d you know it was me?”

      “You are one of a kind, young man.”

      A moment of silence, then, “I am?”

      “You sure are. Sleep tight.”

      “Will you be coming back?”

      “I hope so.”

      She moved to Zachary’s bed and repeated her good-night and quick touch to his shoulder. He didn’t say anything until she’d reached the door.

      “I don’t remember your name,” he said in the darkness.

      “Tricia McBride. ’Night.”

      After shutting the door, she leaned against it for a moment, grateful she’d been able to tell them apart, hoping that impressed them in some way.

      Then she headed downstairs to beard the lion in his den.

      Noah drummed his fingers on his desktop, phone to his ear, as he listened to his brother defend his decision to do the hiring this time around.

      “Doesn’t hurt that she’s easy on the eyes, either,” David said, a wink in his voice.

      “That’s about the dumbest thing you’ve said. I’ve never gotten involved with an employee, nor do I intend to start.”

      “You should take a page out of my book. Worked for me.”

      “You took a huge risk by getting involved with your housekeeper. She could’ve quit, or filed a lawsuit, or—”

      “Get engaged to me,” David interrupted. “Turned out great.”

      “You were lucky.”

      “Damn straight.”

      “I didn’t mean it in a good way, David.”

      David laughed. Noah settled into his chair. Actually, he was glad not to have to deal with interviewing and hiring yet another nanny, but he didn’t want David to think he had free rein to interfere.

      “The kids seem to like her,” Noah said. “They’ve had to adapt way too many times. I hope this one sticks.”

      David was quiet for a few seconds, then, “That’s my hope, as well.”

      Noah heard someone coming down the stairs and assumed it was Tricia. “I have to go. We’ll talk more at the office on Monday.”

      “I guess I can wait until then for my thank-you gift.”

      Noah shook his head as he hung up. David wanted everyone to be as happy as he was, now that he’d found the right woman. Noah had already found and married the right woman, once upon a time.

      A knock came at his door. “It’s Tricia,” she announced.

      “Come in.” He tried to take in her tall, curvy body again without her noticing his interest. Easy on the eyes, indeed, he thought, remembering David’s comment. He indicated the chair across from his desk.

      “They’re all tucked in,” she said, crossing her legs, her foot bouncing. “They are sweethearts.”

      He leaned back. “Thanks. It’s been hard on them since losing their mother.”

      “I’m sure it has. That was three years ago, right?”

      “Right, but don’t give me any pop psychology about how they should be over it by now.” He was so damn tired of hearing that.

      Her foot stopped bouncing. “In some ways it gets even tougher as time goes by. They’re probably not able to bring up her face so easily now, and I imagine that bothers them a lot. It’s scary when the images fade, and you want so much to keep them near.”

      Her observation struck home hard with him. He was going through the same thing, even with pictures as reminders. He couldn’t hear Margie’s voice anymore, except that Ashley and Zoe laughed like her. “You sound like you’ve had experience with it yourself.”

      “My father died when I was eleven, so I do understand their loss.”

      He appreciated that she had that in common with the children. It could only help.

      “Shall we discuss the job?” she asked. “Did David fill you in on me?”

      “He said you want weekends off and would live in during the week. Cora, the woman who cooks and cleans for us, also only works Monday through Friday. That leaves me without anyone on the weekend.”

      She smiled in a way that said she wasn’t biting. “Since you don’t need the house cleaned or the children schooled on the weekend, you only have to feed and play with them. I assume they make their own beds? And you must be able to cook by now.”

      Apparently she was going to be difficult. “Is there a particular reason why you can’t live here full time?”

      Her brows went up. “Do I have the job description wrong? David said I was mostly to be your children’s teacher. That’s a Monday through Friday job, as far as I’m concerned. And everyone is entitled to time off, you know.”

      “The rather lucrative salary I pay,” he said, “has always included the general care of the children. A nanny as much as a teacher. That means weekends, too.”

      “Then you’ll have to cut my salary proportionately, because I don’t want to live here 24/7. I live in Sacramento. Is there some reason why you can’t parent your children on the weekend?”

      She’d touched a nerve. He was already aware he was failing as a father. He didn’t need someone who didn’t know anything about him or his history telling him that, too. “Sometimes I have work to do,” he said.

      “Then we’re at an impasse. If you can’t watch your children yourself, you’ll need to hire weekend help. David must have told you I’m fixing up my mother’s house to sell it.” She cocked her head. “And I don’t mean to be presumptuous, but you seem to be in a good position financially. You could hire a full-time, live-in staff.”

      “I haven’t always been in that position. It’s made me careful. Too careful, David tells me. I do what I feel is right for me, my family and my business.” He had children to provide for now and in the future. He also had employees who depended on him, on the business he brought in and the solvency of the company. He lived up to his own personal standards, was proud that he did.

      “Father?”

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