The Single Dad's Virgin Wife. Susan Crosby

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СКАЧАТЬ the conference table again.

      It is? Tricia thought, but she said thank you then sat. “Why me, Mr. Falcon?”

      He raised his brows at her directness. “Why not you, Ms. McBride?”

      “I’m sure Denise told you I’ll be leaving Sacramento in January to move to San Diego to start a new job. I would be in your brother’s employ less than three months. That seems unfair to the family.”

      “And you’re absolutely committed to this other job?”

      “Yes, absolutely, unequivocally. I’ve given my word.”

      “Just checking,” he said with a smile. “You know, it’s obviously not the ideal situation for us. But the important thing is that we’ll have that three-month cushion to find someone perfect, someone who will stay. Who knows, it could happen next week, and you’d be on your way. We’re not guaranteeing the job for the whole three months, either. But in the past Noah has been forced into making expedient choices. You’ll be giving him the luxury of time to find just the right person.”

      “By that you mean he loses employees frequently?”

      David hesitated. “My brother tends to hire people fresh out of college who don’t have a clue about life yet, not to mention how to handle four children. You were a kindergarten teacher, which leads me to believe that you like children, certainly a necessity for the job, plus you have actual experience working with them. You’re thirty-four, so you have life skills, as well. Denise has done a thorough background check on you, and I feel comfortable that you’ll be an asset.”

      She eyed him directly, not easily fooled. “And what’s the real reason you’re doing this behind his back?”

      He half smiled. “Truth? Noah’s children are in need of a woman like you, even if it’s only for a few months. Their mother died three years ago. The house is…quiet. They need laughter. And someone who will stand toe-to-toe with Noah.”

      “Why?”

      “He needs help, but he usually resists suggestions. Noah is still grieving. He doesn’t know how to deal with his children.”

      “Deal with them?”

      “Wrong word, I guess. He loves them. He just doesn’t know how to show it.”

      He sounded to Tricia like a man out of his element and on the edge. “When Denise called me yesterday to talk about the job she made it seem like a nanny position, but after the details she gave me today, I’d say it’s beyond that.”

      “It’s more teacher than nanny. The kids are homeschooled, so your teaching background is important.”

      “Homeschooling four children is a far cry from being a nanny.”

      “Which is why the salary is so high. But the kids are bright and eager to learn.”

      “How old are they?”

      “The boys are nine and the girls are twelve.”

      “Twins? As in two sets?”

      He gave her a dry, apologetic smile. “Which is the other reason the salary is high. Yes, two sets of twins, who aren’t nearly as intimidating as you might imagine. Just the idea of them tends to scare off the prospective help, which is why I asked Denise not to mention it.”

      “I’m really not sure about this….”

      “I understand your reservations, but if you’ll just give it a chance…” He leaned forward. “Denise is good at what she does, finding the right person for the job. In fact, she’s downright uncanny at it. Why don’t I just take you to Noah’s house now, while he’s at the office? You can meet the children and see the environment.”

      The children. Tricia pictured them, sad, and lonely for a father who didn’t know how to show he loved them. She blew out a breath, trying to dispatch the heart-tugging image. “Where does he live?”

      “About an hour’s drive north of Sacramento, a little town called Chance City, although not within the town itself.”

      “You mean it’s in the country?” Tricia couldn’t contain her horror at the idea. She’d spent her entire life in the city. She liked concrete and grocery stores and fast-food restaurants.

      “Depends on what you mean by country. It’s in the Sierra foothills,” David said. “His home is large and comfortable, on ten acres of property.”

      “As in no neighbors for ten acres?” This was getting worse and worse.

      “Or thereabouts.”

      “So, I’d have to live in? What about my house? I’m getting it ready to put on the market.”

      “You could get Saturdays and Sundays off. He can hire weekend help locally, if he wants to,” David said.

      Silence blanketed the room. Living in, with weekends off. Not exactly what she’d signed up for. Or expected. Then again, it was only for three months, and her mantra of the past year kept repeating in her head: Life is short. Make it an adventure. She just needed to keep her usual safety net in place, too.

      “Okay,” she said at last. “Let’s go check it out.”

      Claws of tension dug into Noah Falcon’s shoulders as he turned into his driveway and followed it to the back of his property. He drove into the garage, shut off the engine and sat, trying to shift out of work mode and into parent mode. The demands of owning a company were a breeze compared to being with his children each night. Somehow during the past three years they’d become almost strangers to each other.

      Lately he’d found himself coming home later and later, knowing they would be ready for bed, if not already asleep, thus avoiding contact beyond a query about how their day had gone and what they’d learned. When he did manage to make it home for dinner, he tried to carry on a conversation at the table, but unless he continually asked questions, they were almost silent. He didn’t know how to breach that silence, to get them to open up on their own.

      And this was Friday, which meant another whole weekend with them.

      At least tonight he didn’t have to worry about what to do, since it was past their bedtime. But as he walked toward the house he saw his daughters’ bedroom light on and realized he’d come home too early, after all. The rest of the second-floor rooms visible from the back side of the house were dark—the master suite and the bedroom the boys shared. Although there was a bedroom for each child, both sets of twins remained doubled up, choosing not to be separated.

      He understood their need to be together and hadn’t pushed them to split up, even though he remembered having to share with his middle brother, Gideon, when they were young, and begging to have his own space, not getting it until he was a teenager.

      But twins were different. Closer. At least his twins were. And Adam and Zach were only nine, so they probably wouldn’t be ready for individual rooms for a while yet. Maybe Ashley and Zoe never would.

      Noah let himself into the kitchen through the back door. As usual, a plastic-wrap-covered dinner plate was in the refrigerator, along with instructions СКАЧАТЬ