Part-Time Wife. Сьюзен Мэллери

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СКАЧАТЬ an independent city. You’ll like it. Just follow me. I’ll go slow.”

      Her gaze widened, as if she’d read more into his statement than he’d meant. Before he could explain, she smiled. “Okay, Officer Haynes, I’ll be right behind you.” She opened the driver’s door and slid inside.

      As Craig started his car and pulled away from the curb, he thought about what Kim had said when she’d phoned to tell him she couldn’t take the job.

      “I have a friend who would be perfect for you.”

      In that moment, on a night when the pressures of the job and raising three kids alone had driven him to the edge of his patience, he’d wanted to believe she referred to more than a baby-sitter.

      “Pretty stupid, Haynes,” he muttered. He’d given up on relationships a long time ago. There weren’t any promises, no sure things. And his ex-wife, Krystal, had taught him the foolishness of trying to believe in love.

      So what if he found Jill attractive? All that meant was he wasn’t as dead inside as he’d thought. Maybe it was time to think about dating. There was only one problem. He came from a long line of men particularly gifted at screwing up relationships.

Chapter Two

      Craig pulled up in front of the house and motioned for Jill to park her car in the driveway. He pushed the button on the garage door opener and got out immediately, but she sat in her red Mustang, staring. He glanced at the two-story home in front of him. It wasn’t all that different from his neighbors’. The area was a more recent development, about six years old. He’d bought the house after his divorce, thinking that making a clean break would make it easier for all the boys. Besides, Fern Hill had a great school system with a sports program that was the envy of the state. He’d wanted that for his sons.

      He tried to see the house as a stranger would see it. The high peaked roof was Spanish tile, as were most of the others on the street. White stucco with wood accents, tall windows that—he squinted and stared—needed washing pretty badly. The front yard was oversized, mowed but not trimmed. He frowned. Since taking his temporary assignment, he hadn’t spent much time at home. The house showed the neglect. He wondered if the boys did, too.

      Jill stepped out of her car and gave him a slight smile. “Cops make more money than I thought,” she said. “This is nice.”

      “It’s south of the city,” he said, “so most people won’t make the commute. For me, it’s closer to work and closer to Glenwood, where my brothers live.”

      “Great.” But she didn’t sound very enthused.

      She walked around to the rear of her car and lifted the trunk. Before she could reach for the suitcase, he grabbed it and pulled it out.

      This time her smile was genuine. “Thanks. Such nice manners. Your mother must be proud.”

      Before he had to decide whether to explain that he hadn’t seen his mother in years, the front door was flung open and two boys raced down the walkway. Craig grinned when he saw them.

      “Is this her?” C.J. asked. His nine-year-old looked like a typical Haynes male, with dark hair and eyes.

      “Yes. Jill, this is my middle son, C.J. Short for—”

      She looked at the boy and winked. “Let me guess,” she said, interrupting. “Craig Junior.”

      “Yeah.” C.J. skittered to a stop in front of her and held out his hand. “Pleased to meet you, Ms. Bradford. I’m very much looking forward to having you as our nanny.”

      She looked at Craig. “Impressive.”

      He shrugged. “C.J.’s our charmer.”

      “And a fine job he does, too.” She took the hand the boy offered. “The pleasure is mine, young master C.J.”

      Craig turned and saw Danny standing by the edge of the driveway. He motioned him closer. His youngest held back a little, then walked toward them. Big eyes took in Jill’s appearance, then lingered on the bright red car. Craig put down the suitcase and placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder. Danny looked up at him and smiled.

      Craig could go weeks without remembering, but sometimes, like now, when Danny smiled, it all came back. Krystal hadn’t come home after she’d had their youngest. She’d sent a friend to pack up her clothes, and she’d walked away without looking back. Danny didn’t know his mother, although he had some of her features. When the memories returned to force open old wounds, Craig clung to the only sane and constant source of strength in his world: his children.

      He bent down and picked up Danny. The child placed one arm around his shoulder and leaned close. “She’s pretty. The prettiest of all of them.”

      “Yes, she is,” Craig answered softly. Jill was pretty. And sexy and all kinds of things that most men would enjoy. She was also his employee, and as that, she deserved his respect and nothing more.

      C.J. was chattering on about the neighborhood, his friends and what he would really like her to serve for dinner. When his middle son started in on an earnest discussion of why it was important to have dessert with every meal, Craig interrupted.

      “I’m sure Jill knows what to prepare, C.J.”

      The boy gave him an unrepentant grin. “Yeah, Dad, but a guy can always hope, can’t he?”

      “Sure. Hope all you want, then eat your vegetables. Jill, this is my youngest, Danny.”

      She moved close and touched the boy’s arm. Her green eyes crinkled at the corners as she smiled. “Hi, Danny.”

      “Do you like little boys?” he asked. “Mrs. Greenway didn’t. She said we were more trouble than we were worth.”

      Craig winced. Mrs. Greenway had stayed for three days before he’d fired her, but she’d made a lasting negative impression on the boys.

      Jill nodded. “Of course I like little boys. What’s not to like?” She glanced at Craig and rolled her eyes as if to ask what kind of person would take a job watching children if she didn’t like them in the first place?

      He opened his mouth to reply, then realized he had merely interpreted her look that way. She might have meant something else entirely. He’d barely known Jill Bradford an hour. They couldn’t possibly be communicating that well.

      But something bright and hot flared to life inside his chest. It wasn’t about sex, although he still liked the way she looked in her jeans. It was something more dangerous. A flicker of interest in what and how a woman thought. As if they could be friends. As if he could trust her. Then he reminded himself he didn’t trust anyone but family.

      “Ben said you should get Mrs. Miller back,” Danny said, his hold on Craig’s shoulder tightening. “I miss her, too.”

      “Mrs. Miller was the boys’ nanny for several years,” Craig explained. “They miss her.”

      Danny looked at him and bit his bottom lip. “Do you think she misses us?”

      “Of СКАЧАТЬ