Gift from the Heart. Irene Hannon

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СКАЧАТЬ inside his office their blood pressure skyrocketed and they got the shakes. There was no medical explanation for it. But that didn’t make it any less real. Through the years he’d worked hard to put such patients at ease, finding that casual small talk sometimes helped. So it was worth a try with his visitor. He purposely leaned back in his chair and crossed an ankle over a knee, keeping his posture relaxed and open.

      “Did you have a good trip?”

      “Yes. It took a little longer than I thought, but the scenery is lovely.”

      “When did you leave?”

      “About six yesterday morning.”

      He frowned. “Did you drive straight through?”

      “Yes. As I said, it took a little longer than I thought.”

      “You must be exhausted.”

      She shrugged. “I’ve been more tired.”

      He studied her for a moment. The light from the window was falling directly on her face, and he could see the faint shadows under her eyes—which he suspected she’d carefully tried to conceal. And despite her obviously fair complexion, she seemed pale.

      “Did you have breakfast?”

      She shook her head. She’d been way too nervous to face food. “Not yet. I’ll get something a little later.”

      His gaze swept her slender figure. Make that too slender, he corrected himself. “You don’t look as though you can afford to skip too many meals, Ms. Randall.”

      “Please call me Clare. And I’ve always been slender. But I’m very strong, Doctor, and certainly capable of tackling the nanny job.”

      He hadn’t brought up her weight because of concerns about her capabilities, but clearly the job was on her mind. His attempt at small talk wasn’t working. So they might as well dive right in. “First of all, my name is Adam, not Doctor. Second, I have to tell you I’ve never hired a nanny before.”

      “And I’ve never been one. So we’re even. But I’m sure I can handle the job. I’m a teacher, so I’m used to being around children.”

      Adam raked his fingers through his hair and sighed. “Nicole isn’t exactly a typical child. My wife, Elaine, and I separated several years ago, and Nicole spent most of her time with her mother. When Elaine died a little over a year ago, Nicole came to live with me full-time. It quickly became apparent to me that she had less-than-desirable friends in St. Louis and seemed to be heading down the wrong path. I’m originally from North Carolina, and I thought moving away from the big city might help. But it hasn’t worked out as I’d hoped. She may have had the wrong friends in St. Louis, but she has no friends here. She barely tolerates me. And she hates life in a small town. So she can be very difficult to deal with. Frankly, I haven’t been able to keep a sitter for more than a few weeks.”

      Clare frowned. The situation sounded a lot more complicated than she’d expected. But surely, at age eleven, there was still time for Nicole to turn her life around. “I’m certainly willing to do whatever I can to help.”

      Adam leaned forward and clasped his hands between his knees. “I guess the real question is why. Why do you want to put yourself into this situation? This isn’t a happy household, Clare.”

      Clare swallowed. It might not be happy, but there was time to make things right. Time for a second chance. Which was something she hadn’t had with her own family. Clare realized that Adam was studying her intently, and shifted uncomfortably. This wasn’t the time to dwell on the past. She needed to convince Adam that she would make a capable and competent nanny. She took a deep breath and looked back at him.

      “I appreciate your honesty. But from everything you’ve told me, it sounds like you need a nanny even more than you realize,” she said.

      “Maybe. But you haven’t answered my question. Why are you willing to do this?”

      “I need the money.”

      His gaze swept over her attire again, lingering on the logo on her handbag. When he looked up, she saw the skepticism in his eyes.

      “Don’t let my clothes fool you, Doctor,” she said quietly. “This suit is several years old. The purse is even older. At one time I was in a position to buy expensive things. That’s no longer the case. Aunt Jo’s legacy will help me pay off some debts and get a new start. And I will do my best to earn it. I promise you that I will do everything I can to help you with your daughter. If it will make you feel more comfortable, I can supply some character references.”

      Adam studied the woman across from him. He had no reason to doubt Clare’s story that she’d fallen on hard times. And as for a character reference, he couldn’t ask for anyone better than Jo—the very person who had sent Clare to his door. But the whole thing still struck him as odd. And somehow unfair to the woman across from him. Despite his thumbnail sketch of the situation, she had no idea what a mess she was stepping into. And he had a feeling she’d already seen enough trauma in her life. The echoes of it were still visible in the depths of her eyes. Which, for some odd reason, troubled him, even though she was a stranger.

      “That’s not necessary,” he said. “But I’d like to…”

      “Who are you?”

      The two adults turned in unison toward the foyer. Nicole stood in the archway at the entrance to the living room, dressed in hip-hugging jeans and an abbreviated crop top. Her brown hair, worn parted in the middle, hung past her shoulders, the ragged blond ends suggesting that it had once been dyed. She was barefoot, and her toenails were painted iridescent purple.

      “It’s not polite to interrupt a conversation,” Adam said with a frown.

      Nicole shrugged insolently. “Whatever. We’re out of cereal. Again.”

      The tension between father and daughter was apparent to Clare even in such a short exchange. Before Adam could respond, she smiled and addressed the young girl. “You must be Nicole.”

      “Yeah. So why are you here? We never have company.”

      “I had some business to discuss with your father.”

      “Are you sick or something?”

      Clare looked startled for a moment, then grinned. “I’m not a patient, if that’s what you mean.”

      “Too bad. That’s the only thing he cares about.”

      The remark was meant to cut, and if the sudden clenching of muscles in Adam’s jaw was any indication, his daughter had hit the mark. But Clare knew it was also a cry for help. And her heart went out to the lonely little girl.

      “Oh, I don’t know. We weren’t discussing medicine,” she said, keeping her tone casual.

      Nicole tilted her head and gave Clare an appraising glance. “So are you his girlfriend or something?”

      “That’s enough, Nicole.”

      Clare could hear anger in Adam’s voice. And frustration. Her heart went out to him, too. He was clearly in over his head with Nicole and clueless about how to control a prepubescent daughter.

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