Читать книгу The Nanny's Twin Blessings - Deb Kastner - Страница 11

Chapter Two

Stephanie didn’t hear the actual conversation between Drew and his guest. Adrenaline made her heartbeat pulse and pound in her ears in a fierce rhythm, like a roofer hammering nails, drowning out the sound of the men’s voices.

At the knock, she’d experienced a startling moment of panic where she’d actually considered hiding behind the couch. She’d been certain that the man at the door was Ryan, that he’d already tracked her down, determined to charm or intimidate her into going back with him.

Which she would never do.

She wondered how long this indeterminable fear would follow her around. Would she ever not jump when someone knocked on the door?

She was more relieved than she could say when she realized the visit had nothing to do with her, but she felt guilty that it was at Drew’s expense—it didn’t take a genius to figure out something had gone wrong in his world.

He slammed the door and returned to his chair, a crumpled manila envelope clenched in his fist. His breath came in ragged gasps and his face was an alarming shade of crimson. Stephanie braced for the detonation she was sure was to follow, for the man was clearly a ticking time bomb.

The explosion never came. Drew yanked at the knot in his tie and stretched his neck from side to side, but he didn’t yell, or sulk, or throw anything, which is what Ryan did when things didn’t go his way.

Instead, Drew quietly reached into his shirt pocket for his reading glasses and removed from the envelope a crisp white set of legal documents. He released a long, unsteady breath as he silently perused the papers, the worry lines on his forehead deepening. When he was finished, he bowed his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. Stephanie thought he might be praying, but she wasn’t certain. Probably staving off a headache, as well.

The pressure in the air around her seemed to intensify as her mind thought up a number of scenarios that Drew might be facing. She wanted to reach out to him but wasn’t sure how. When she laid a comforting hand on his forearm, his muscles rippled with tension.

“My ex-wife is suing me for full custody of the twins.” The statement was matter-of-fact, but his expression was anything but. Agony flashed through his eyes when he spoke of the woman, and Stephanie winced. She could relate to that kind of pain—of having the person you had expected to spend your life with let you down.

But there was more injury than anger in Drew’s gaze. Stephanie couldn’t claim to be as noble. She despised what Ryan had done to her, and she hated herself even more for having let him, for getting her priorities so mixed up she couldn’t see what was happening to her until it was too late.

But for her, at least, what was done was done, and she was moving forward with her life, starting now.

For Drew, however, it looked as if his troubles were just beginning.

He cleared his throat, his lips moving silently as he searched for the right words. “Obviously, I’m pretty desperate to find adequate child care for the twins,” he began, leaning his forearms on his elbows and clasping his hands together. “The boys were in day care with a local woman, but she had to move to Chicago to be near her ailing sister. Her leaving left a big gap in Serendipity, especially for me.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she replied, though in truth she wasn’t exactly sorry. If the woman hadn’t left, she wouldn’t have a job. “The boys are three years old, right? Do they attend preschool yet?”

He shook his head. “Unfortunately, Serendipity doesn’t have a preschool.”

“Oh, my,” she responded, her surprise showing in her voice. She would have thought that even as tiny a town as Serendipity would have a preschool to help the little ones with learning readiness.

“I know. It’s a huge issue, right? I’ve been in mediation over custody of the children with my ex-wife, Heather, for some time now, and being able to send the twins to a preschool might have worked in my favor. Right now, I have temporary custody. Heather sometimes visits the kids on weekends. Right after the divorce, that was how she wanted it, but now, inexplicably, she’s changed her mind.”

He sighed. “I hired you in the hopes that she and the mediators would see how serious I am about taking care of the twins and would grant me primary custody without getting the court involved.” He slapped the legal document with the back of his hand. “As you can see, that’s not working out so well for me.”

He scrubbed his free hand over his scalp, making the short ends of his hair stick up every which direction. “If my ex-wife has it her way, I won’t get to see the twins at all, except for maybe supervised visits. She’s claiming I’m an unfit father.”

“Why did she change her mind? And why would she be so unwilling to share custody?” Granted, Stephanie had just met Drew, but she’d appreciated what she’d seen so far. No one could fake the kind of love shining from Drew’s eyes when he was around his boys, or even spoke of them. He appeared to be a patient and tender father. He was even willing to hire a nanny from out of town to make sure the twins were adequately cared for full-time. If that wasn’t devotion, Stephanie didn’t know what was.

Besides, the boys needed their father in their lives.

“Two years ago, Heather left me and the kids because she didn’t like being tied down as a wife and mother. She’s a party girl, and always has been. Staying home on Friday nights just didn’t suit her.”

“Then why does she want custody of the boys now?”

He scoffed and shook his head. “There’s the rub. I don’t know. She doesn’t want to be tied down with the twins, so it only makes sense that I maintain primary custody. I’m guessing she just doesn’t want me to have them, because she wants to hurt me. I had no idea she felt so much hostility against me.”

His voice was raspy with emotion, and his gaze didn’t quite meet hers. “If she wins in court, the twins will be raised by various relatives and an absentee mother. I’m afraid for them. That’s why I have to fight.”

“Wow.” Stephanie didn’t even know what else to say. She’d grown up in foster care. She knew firsthand what it meant to be unloved, to be shuffled from house to house with no stability. She couldn’t imagine using those two precious boys as pawns in what was essentially a vindictive game.

“According to this summons, I’ve got a CFI—a Child and Family Investigator—from the court coming to the house sometime in the near future to scope out the family situation. With all your credentials as a nanny for the twins, I can only hope it will help my case.”

“It certainly can’t hurt. I’ll do whatever I can,” she vowed.

“I know I have to trust God with my boys. But sometimes I find it hard to put my circumstances in God’s hands. Their whole lives may be affected by what happens next.”

That, Stephanie thought, was the closest he was going to get to saying he was frightened, both for himself and for his sons. And she couldn’t blame him. She’d heard the stories of court cases gone wrong, where children had been hurt and even killed by misinformed decisions from the judges.

Compassion and resolve welled in her throat. She’d only known the twins for an evening, but that didn’t lessen her determination. She would help in whatever way she was able. She wasn’t going to let anything happen to those boys—or Drew, either, for that matter, if it was in her power to stop it.

She’d been praying for purpose in her life. Maybe that’s why God had sent her here—for a set of darling twins and their handsome, dedicated father.

* * *

Being served legal documents had shaken Drew up more than he cared to admit, and he was a little embarrassed that Stephanie had been there to witness his private humiliation. He made a quick decision to mentally shelve his emotions for now, until he had time to consider his next steps.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, suddenly noticing that Stephanie’s eyes were darkened with fatigue. “I’m being insensitive. I should have postponed our conversation until tomorrow. You must be exhausted from your trip.”

“I am a little tired,” she admitted. “It’s been a long day.”

“Then let’s table this discussion for now and pick it up tomorrow morning. I’ll see you to your room and get your bags for you so you can settle in for the night. It’s nothing fancy—just a furnished room over the garage—but it has its own entranceway so you won’t be stumbling over Pop and the twins when you need some privacy.”

She smothered a yawn, making Drew feel even guiltier for keeping her from her rest. Studying her face thoughtfully, he realized that her eyes were puffy and shaded by dark circles, as if she hadn’t been sleeping well.

He definitely didn’t want to push her when she was already exhausted, but he was still curious about her situation. It occurred to him that moving out here to be a nanny for his twins might have been a last resort for her. No one else had answered the advertisement he’d placed, and with good reason. He wasn’t offering much in the way of a salary, especially for someone who’d been a successful nanny in a large east coast town. Who would want temporary employment in the middle of nowhere?

Stephanie Cartwright, apparently.

The question was, why?

“Drew!” His father’s loud, gruff voice echoed down the hallway. “The boys are waiting on their story.”

“Coming,” Drew called back. “Give me a second. I’m sorry,” he apologized to Stephanie. “Would you mind waiting a few more minutes while I tuck the boys in?”

She chuckled and gestured with her hands. “I see what you mean about your father. Go. I can wait.”

“Bring Stephanie with you,” the old man hollered, almost as if were eavesdropping on the two of them.

Drew tensed and turned back toward Stephanie. “Do you mind?” he asked with a quirk of his lips. “Pop’s not going to stop until he gets his way.”

“No problem, really,” Stephanie assured him. “I’d love to spend a little more time getting to know the twins, and I’m sure they’re anxious to have their daddy tuck them in.”

“Probably,” he agreed. Their bedtime ritual had become one of Drew’s favorite parts of the day, when his two sleepy boys were all quiet and cuddly. Tonight, however, he doubted they were either, what with all the excitement in the household. Getting them to calm down enough to go to sleep might be easier said than done.

Then again, Stephanie was a nanny. Maybe she had some fresh ideas for rustling rowdy preschoolers into bed and under the covers.

“Drew,” his father called again. Impatiently, in typical Pop fashion. Stephanie might run for the hills yet.

“Yeah, yeah,” Drew replied, winking at Stephanie. “What did I tell you?” he concluded in a mock whisper.

She giggled lightly, which erased some of the weariness from her countenance.

He felt her eyes branding into his back all the way down the hall, and unease once again bore down on his shoulders. He couldn’t help but be uncomfortable. What was she thinking about?

How he’d just been served? His apparent failure as a father?

He hoped she could see beyond the legalities to his heart. Being a dad was everything to him, and he wanted to keep it that way. Having her on his side would definitely be a positive factor, especially now that this was going to court.

The moment the twins realized Stephanie had entered the room behind him, they squealed and bounced on their beds. In Drew’s opinion, it didn’t help matters that she jumped right into the fray, laughing along with them and stirring them up to even greater noise and excitement. The idea here was to calm them down enough to go to sleep.

“Settle down, boys,” he instructed gently. “It’s already past your bedtime. If you guys want me to read you a story, you need to lie down and cover up. Right now, no excuses.”

“But, Daddy,” Matty whined, rubbing his bright blue eyes with his little fists. “We’re not tired yet.”

Drew smothered a chuckle as Matty’s objection was punctuated with a big yawn. The boys weren’t tired—they were overtired.

“We want to stay up and play with Miss Stephie,” Jamey protested.

“It’s Stephanie,” Drew gently corrected, ruffling Jamey’s hair with his palm. “And she’ll be here when you wake up tomorrow. She’s your new nanny. She’s here to take care of you.”

Stephanie placed a hand on Drew’s arm. “My name is hard to pronounce when you’re just learning how to speak. Stephie is just fine.”

“Steph-eee,” Matty said proudly.

“Very good, Matty,” Stephanie praised, causing Matty to straighten his shoulders and sit an inch taller.

Okay, that was weird—or incredible, depending on how he looked at it. She’d only spent a few minutes with the boys, and she already knew Matty from Jamey—and quite confidently, at that. How had she known which twin she was addressing?

He wasn’t able to ask how she’d done it, for at that moment the boys launched off their beds onto the floor and began dancing around Stephanie.

“Boys,” Drew warned, trying to sound stern. “Bedtime. I’m not going to say it again.”

“Grouch,” his father grumbled under his breath. Drew and Stephanie exchanged a look.

What did I tell you?

Drew didn’t speak the words aloud, but he was pretty sure Stephanie correctly read his expression. Pop was going to be interesting at his best and exasperating at his worst.

Her lips twitched. He thought she might be smothering a laugh. At least she was good-natured about it.

The twins groaned in unison at his spoilsport pronouncement, but they both returned to their beds and crawled underneath the covers. He hated to be the bad guy, but someone had to take control here.

Drew set a chair between the twins’ beds and pulled out the Bible storybook they were currently reading together. The book included little finger puppets which Drew manipulated as he told the stories, delighting the boys with his silly moves and goofy voices. At the very least, it usually captured their attention enough to settle them down; but tonight, to his chagrin, their primary focus seemed to be on Stephanie.

“Stephie do it,” Jamey announced.

“Yeah,” Matty agreed. “Let Miss Steph-eee read to us.”

“What a good idea,” his father added in a coarse voice. “Ladies first, and all that.”

Stephanie’s eyes widened at the prospect. She hesitated and cast Drew an enquiring look—ready to step in and read, but not willing to step on his toes.

It was kind of her to think of him, even though he was clearly outnumbered. He had mixed feelings about relinquishing his nightly reading to Stephanie, even once. This was his special time with the twins, their bonding time.

But this was about what was best for the boys.

Overpowering love for his sons billowed up his chest until he thought he might burst from it. By God’s grace, the twins had kept him anchored in this world when he might otherwise have drifted away. They filled his life with purpose.

He turned his face so Stephanie and the twins couldn’t see what he was feeling as he faced the truth. He was in no mental condition to read out loud, and he didn’t want the boys picking up on his concern. Stephanie was their new nanny. It would be good for her to start bonding with Matty and Jamey as soon as possible.

Who knew when that case worker was going to visit? His shoulders tensed and sent sharp jabs into his neck just thinking about it. The relationship between Stephanie and the boys had to look natural, without pretense.

Which actually made it pretense. He felt mortified even to think that way.

In any case, the boys were clearly anxious to enjoy her interpretation of the present story, perhaps even with the finger puppets, if she was willing.

“I guess it would be all right for Miss Stephanie to read to you,” he conceded, surrendering both the chair and the book to her.

“Okay,” she agreed, her dark eyes shining and a sweet smile on her face. “But only this one time. You like it best when your daddy reads to you, right?”

Both boys nodded in response to her animated question and Drew shook his head in amazement. Stephanie had somehow managed to put an enthusiastic spin on something that would otherwise have been uncomfortable and demoralizing for him.

It was almost as if she’d been able to read his thoughts and empathize with his feelings, which was an uncomfortable notion. The last thing he needed right now was a woman in his head.

“So, where are we?” Stephanie asked brightly.

Not you. We.

The way she instantly and effortlessly integrated herself into the family was unsettling, to say the least.

“Uh, Noah, I think,” he answered, smothering the catch in his voice by feigning a cough.

Stephanie might not have noticed his forced enthusiasm, but his father raised a suspicious eyebrow. Drew pretended not to notice.

He sat on the edge of Jamey’s bed and pulled the little guy into his lap, and then urged Matty to come cuddle with him, as well. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad, after all, being able to sit here with the boys in his arms.

“A long, long time ago, there was a man named Noah. God told him he had to build an ark—that’s a big boat,” Stephanie began, holding the book so everyone could see it.

Drew had to admit Stephanie was a good storyteller. Even his father was enthralled, hobbling over and perching on the edge of Jamey’s bed next to Drew so he could watch the story in action.

Stephanie was vivacious and animated and brought the story to life with the little finger puppets. If he was being honest, she was a far better storyteller than he. And this was clearly not her first time using finger puppets. She was a natural.

She must have often read books to the children she cared for in New Jersey, or maybe even for a library story time. He could see her doing that, captivating other little children with her storytelling as much as she was with his own kids right now.

He really didn’t know that much about 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.