The Nanny's Twin Blessings. Deb Kastner

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ her, beyond what he’d read in her resume. There were a lot of blank spots in her history, more than words on paper would be able to convey. He’d have to remedy that if she was going to stay.

       Wait.

       What was with the if?

       Of course she was going to stay. He had invited her. Hired her. No room for second thoughts now.

       With effort, Drew turned his attention back to the story. Stephanie had given each boy one of the finger puppets and was drawing both of them into the action, retelling the story she’d just read to them with their own words and their own character voices.

       Why hadn’t he ever thought of that? The kids would retain the Biblical account much better if they were actively involved.

       That sealed it—Stephanie was definitely going to be good for the boys. Maybe it was good that he had hired a nanny, even if it was only temporary, until the school term ended and he could be home with the boys for the summer, or at least until he’d had that court hearing at the end of May.

       The twins retold the story several times, and then Stephanie tucked the puppets away and replaced the book on the bookshelf. All of the adults gathered around and listened to the boys recite their prayers as Drew tucked them in, pulling their comforters up under their chins and kissing each of the boys on the forehead.

       Stephanie’s face turned a pretty shade of pink when Matty named her specifically and asked God to bless her. Drew closed his eyes and prayed right along with his sons. Their family, the nanny included, needed all the prayers they could get.

       Afterward, he retrieved Stephanie’s bags from the rental car and made sure she was comfortable in the room above the garage. Before becoming Stephanie’s quarters, the room had been his study, where he often went to read or grade papers after the boys were asleep. But when he’d decided the best thing for his family was a full-time, live-in nanny, giving her the room over the garage only made sense. He’d removed a file cabinet, relocated a couple of bookshelves and made the addition of a queen-size bed and a dresser. Voilà—comfortable living quarters.

       Of course, that was from his perspective—which even he had to admit was unembellished and completely male. He had no idea what Stephanie would think of the room. He didn’t know her well enough to guess, and he didn’t know what kind of conditions she’d come from, what she might have to compare it with.

       No doubt she’d experienced more opulence than he could ever afford. After all, her last position was for a wealthy political household in New Jersey. Did her parents have money? What kind of living had she made as a nanny? How different were city accommodations versus what he could offer her in Serendipity?

       He scoffed and shook his head at his own extraneous thoughts. He was going to short-circuit himself worrying about the dozens of unanswered questions whisking around in his brain, and he had enough to be anxious about already.

       Like Heather, and being served with legal papers.

       Drew took a much-needed breath of fresh air on the back porch. Quincy needed his nighttime outing, anyway, so Drew figured he might as well take a few minutes to see if he could get his whirling mind to quiet down a little, but he ended up ruminating on how his life had come to this point.

       His ex-wife had taken his heart and trampled on it. He’d tried to save his marriage, even seeing a counselor, but he couldn’t do it alone. All his prayers and actions had been for nothing. Heather didn’t want to be a wife. She’d balked at the notion of being tied down to house and home.

       To his surprise and dismay, Heather hadn’t even wanted to see the boys, except for the occasional weekend. And even when she’d planned to spend time with them, she’d often been late. Once she hadn’t bothered to show up at all, and Drew had been left with two disappointed three-year-olds to console.

       Now she suddenly wanted full custody? He’d never felt so powerless. Didn’t the courts usually side with the mother?

       What could he do that he wasn’t already doing? Jamey and Matty were in a difficult and possibly dangerous situation, since he suspected Heather would neglect them even if she won custody, leaving them with their maternal grandparents at best, or any one of her string of boyfriends at worst. And there was nothing he could do to stop the chain of events that was unfolding.

       Except the fact that he’d hired Stephanie. He prayed that having a nanny for the boys would make a difference at the court hearing. He didn’t know how else to show something as intangible as love and devotion.

       Shivering, he folded his arms and sighed. It wasn’t the cold night air getting to him, but rather the chill inside his chest.

       There was one thing he could do. On his own, he was bare and vulnerable. But he wasn’t on his own. God in His Providence would take care of the twins. He had to believe that. God was in control of his future, and his sons’ well-being. His children were protected in the palm of the Master’s hand.

       Drew bowed his head and thanked God for His many blessings. He had health and a home, and bounteous food on the table. He had family—his father, for all his gruffness, and his precious twins.

       And he had Stephanie, the woman who might make the difference between his being able to secure custody of his twins or not.

       God bless them all.

      Chapter Three

      Why did the house smell like bacon?

       Drew awoke to the sizzling smell of a hot breakfast and his stomach immediately growled in protest. He hadn’t had a real, home-cooked breakfast since…

       Well, it had been a long time.

       He shrugged on jeans and a T-shirt, not bothering to check his appearance in the mirror. His curiosity about what was happening in the kitchen trumped the urge to take extra time to spruce up before presenting himself to the world—or rather, to Stephanie.

       Drew walked bare-footed into the kitchen, where he discovered Stephanie at the stove flipping pancakes, while Pop and the twins waited impatiently at the table, forks in their hands and expectant looks on their faces. Someone had set a basket of fresh strawberries on the table and both of the boys sported telltale red-stained faces.

       “Good morning, Drew,” Stephanie greeted as he entered the room and tousled his twins’ hair.

       “Morning,” he echoed absently as he tried to take in the full extent of what was happening.

       Stephanie was dressed in gray sweatpants and a loose-fitting pink T-shirt and had her sun-gold hair swept back in a ponytail. Even in casual clothing, she was strikingly beautiful, especially because she appeared at ease and in her element with giggling children in the room.

       At home. In his house.

       In the week since she’d arrived to supervise his sons, the whole house seemed to be more orderly and less stressful. She was paradoxically full of energy and yet able to create a calm, tranquil atmosphere in the house when need be. The boys loved her, and he had no qualms about having the twins stay in her care while he taught at the elementary school. He might not have known Stephanie for long, but he trusted her.

       She’d apparently scoped out his pantry at some point during the week. Not only had she found all the ingredients to СКАЧАТЬ