Bruce came home a week later, his head swimming with memories of the conference. It had been nice to be received so warmly by the CEOs of his company, and they had all been thrilled when they learned that Bruce was going to be making great strides toward bringing his teams together. They had been on him for the past year about making himself more available. The business was beginning to lose money because of his lack of involvement. But he was feeling very heartened now. Especially knowing that he had a woman like Vicky on his side he could count on to take care of his children. If it weren’t for her, there was no way he would ever be able to pour himself into his job the way they expected him to. His head would be at home with his kids, and he would feel guilty the entire time for abandoning them.
Now that their grief over not having their mom in their lives was less acute, though, there was a chance for them to become more well-taken care of than he could do on his own. That was a good thing. Even if it was a hard change for his children and a difficult adjustment for him to make as well. He wanted to do everything possible to be part of their lives, but he also wanted to make sure he could secure their futures. This was the only way. He didn’t want his business to fail. If it did, he wouldn’t be able to give the life for his children he wanted to.
“Daddy!”
Bruce smiled brightly as Marie ran to him from the house to greet him as he got out of the car. He lifted her into the air and smiled.
“How have you been, sweetie?” Bruce asked.
“Good! We played house a lot. And the boys are building me a castle!”
“A castle?” Bruce asked enthusiastically.
“Yeah, because Greg is going to be an engineer. Michael wanted to help him. So now they’re making one in my bedroom.”
“That’s awesome, honey,” Bruce said.
The others were beginning to file outside to greet him and he smiled at his family, and the way they looked so natural with Victoria standing beside them. His chest tightened at the visual and he tried to distract himself before the bear within him caught on to the way he felt and decided to impose itself on his feelings for her.
“Welcome home,” Victoria said, smiling at him.
Again, Bruce had to reign in his temptation for Vicky, especially in front of his kids. If the bear came out, even just slightly, they would be able to sense the shift in his attitude toward the woman. In fact, they would probably find that she was a threat; especially Michael, who was having a hard-enough time with her without comparing Bruce’s relationship to the nanny to his relationship with his ex-wife.
He was the only one among the children who remembered their mother so well. It was for his sake alone that, at times, Bruce would wish she would have stayed, despite it being clear she was not suited for being a mother. She had left him a letter that said it all and he had to accept her point of view. He had seen it for himself and knew that, in the long run, this was the best course of action for all of them.
“Did you bring us anything, Dad?” Greg asked, stepping forward and smiling up at his father. Bruce grinned at him.
“Wait until we get inside,” he said, turning to Michael. “Hey, Mike. How was it being the man of the house while I was away?”
Michael puffed up slightly, his face growing bright. “It was nice,” he reported. “Everything went fine.”
“Is that right?” he asked with a kind smile. He looked up to Vicky, who was studying him with a small flush on her cheeks. The attraction between them suddenly thundered into reality and he knew it wasn’t just himself who felt this way. Vicky was strong and kind, and she had been brought there for a reason.
But he couldn’t give in. Not where his kids were concerned. If he gave into this forbidden attraction, it would change the dynamic between himself and his children. Not only that, but it would change things between the kids and Vicky. If things went badly between them, he would lose her as a child-care provider and his chance at being self-sufficient with his business would be lost. He couldn’t risk losing her as their nanny. She was far too good at her job. And if things got physical between them, it would make it very difficult to make any of the type of progress that needed to be made.
“Yes,” she answered, her face shining and pleasant. “Things have been wonderful here. You have some really incredible kids. Probably the most helpful and courteous I have ever cared for.”
“Even your own sisters and brothers?” Greg asked incredulously, raising a brow at Vicky.
“Much better than my siblings,” Vicky said gently. She smiled. Clearly, her siblings had given her hell.
“How old are they?” Michael asked.
“They’re teenagers now,” Vicky said.
“They’re old.”
“I guess so,” she replied.
“You must think we’re ancient then,” Bruce said with a low chuckle.
“Kind of very old,” Greg agreed.
They chatted for a while and then headed inside.
“It’s going to be nice having you home again,” Vicky said to Bruce. “The kids missed you.”
“I missed them too, but it won’t be long, they’ve organized one of the retreats for next month. I have to go early to help them prepare, so in just a few weeks, I will be gone again.”
The kids voiced their disappointment, but Bruce smiled.
“It’s going to be fine. You’ll get used to this,” he said. “It’s going to be expensive to pay for a doctor and an engineer and an artist to get an education. Besides, you guys know how much I love my business. It’s for the best.”
“Yeah…” Greg’s voice didn’t seem sure, but he did his best not to second-guess his father.
The kids weren’t very convinced, but that was all right. They would be able to adapt. Bruce had the utmost faith in that. He had raised wonderful children. They were intelligent, independent, capable, and strong. Everybody had always complimented them on their ability to thrive, and Bruce was proud of them all.
“Once I get back, I’m going to have a major surprise ready for you all,” Bruce said with a pleasant smile. The kids were immediately interested and soon, lost their gloomy expressions. Even Vicky’s eyes were alight as she gazed at him, and he couldn’t help but smile. He loved the intoxicating effect of a surprise.
“I wanna know!” Marie exclaimed.
“Yeah!” Greg agreed.
“What kind of surprise?” Michael asked, too mature to ask his father to give in but not so unaffected that he couldn’t speak about his excitement.
“The kind that makes you happy,” Bruce said carefully. “And the kind you’ll see next time I get back.”
Now, the kids were chattering amongst themselves about their surprises and had completely forgotten their unhappiness at having Bruce leave for the retreat. He was relieved that they were able to move forward and glanced at Vicky, who returned the gaze with a knowing look. It gave him a strange feeling and he looked away quickly. The bear within him was responding to her in a dangerous way. How was he going to allow himself to continue avoiding the way she made him feel? But he had to. There was no choice but to avoid her when everything they were experiencing together was for the sake of his children.
He couldn’t let himself give in. Bruce knew somehow that it would be nearly impossible to find anyone with the same unique skills and qualifications that Victoria had, and whether she and Michael got along or not, the simple fact of the matter was, she was compatible with his family. And in a way that made him feel very lucky to have her.
Vicky smiled at him, her face both gentle and kind, and once again, he had to quell the intense stirrings of the bear within. They couldn’t give in. It would be the worst case possible. Especially, if anything went wrong. Everything he was counting on would disintegrate.
And so, he continued his day as if nothing was different about the way he was feeling, doing his best to keep the bear within at bay.