Carter quirked an eyebrow when the woman from the beach, Ms. Rhodes, called him sand stealer. He’d have to think about that one—but later when he had time for trivialities. Right now, looking at her wind-blown hair, profusion of hippie jewelry, and sun-kissed complexion, he faced a conundrum.
Every nerve and chemical response in his body responded positively and enthusiastically to her, but there was absolutely no way he could hire this woman as a nanny. His mother would laugh in his face and then force her way back into her self-appointed position as the only appropriate person to parent Addi.
Trying to buy time, he glanced back at the information Brenda had given him. Hannah. Her name was Hannah. Seeing her first name plucked at something in his chest and felt oddly satisfying. He kept reading.
“You have a master’s in Early Childhood Education?” he asked, shocked. He looked her over again.
Hannah narrowed her eyes, apparently insulted by the note of surprise in his voice. “Yes. If you’ll notice, I’m an elementary art teacher. I just finished my second year.”
“Art teacher? Well that makes more sense.”
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing.” He read further down and saw that she was twenty-four, had been working for Sand Dollar Babysitting Services for five years. The service was the most highly rated service in the area, which he knew because they would be one of two that the resort would recommend to guests. According to the owner, Hannah was one of their most popular sitters. Which was just great. There was no way he could reject her based on anything legitimate. He couldn’t possibly tell her that his only objection to her was what his mom would think of her appearance.
Clearing his dry throat, he said, “I appreciate you coming in this morning—”
Before he could continue, the door opened behind him and he turned to see who had come in. Of course, because the universe was determined to make this a holy nightmare, it was his mom.
“I heard you are interviewing a nanny,” she said, waltzing over as if in no doubt that she was supposed to be there. She stood next to him in a cloud of designer perfume and studied Hannah. Worried, he looked at Hannah, and to his surprise, saw that Hannah was doing the same to his mom. Each of the women stood strong in their own confidence, unabashedly taking stock of each other. But where Hannah was merely curious, his mom looked like she was looking at a spider—a lowly and potentially dangerous pest that needed to be squashed.
“Ms. Rhodes, this is my mother, Deanna Ellis.”
Hannah stuck out her hand. “How d’you do?” Her tone was sweetly polite, like honey with her accent coming out stronger with the phrase.
His mom reached out, barely grasping the end of her fingers for a few seconds, as if afraid of germs. Carter clenched his teeth. “She’s got great qualifications,” he said, holding out the report from the babysitting service.
She didn’t take it though, just started shaking her head. “Oh dear. This is why I wanted to bring someone with me. I’ve already contacted an au pair from New York. She can be here by Friday.” She turned back to Hannah. “I’m sorry—but thank you for coming.”
Appalled, Carter saw Hannah’s right eyebrow inch up as her expression tightened. His own jaw was as tight as a loaded spring. He’d had enough. “This isn’t your decision. I’ve already decided to hire Ms. Rhodes, and that’s final. Brenda, please see to the paperwork. Mom, come with me please.”
Grasping his mom firmly by the elbow, he pulled her into his private office. What he wanted to say to her was better said in private. After shutting the door, he crossed his arms and stared her down. She was a short woman with skin that was still smooth, with only a few lines at the corners of her eyes and mouth. The expression on her face showed barely restrained anger and a great deal of stubborn determination. In the business world, he could make deals, negotiate terms, and get his way with the most hardened personalities; his mother was another matter entirely.
“I’d like to make one thing very clear. I am Addi’s parent, not you.”
“Addilynn.”
“Precisely my point. You are going back to Colorado today. If you want someone to boss around, you can busy yourself with you clubs and charities, but you are going to give Addi and me a break. I appreciate all you’ve done for us in the past more than I can say, but I’m in a different place than I was six years ago. It’s time for you to let go. Please don’t make this more difficult than it already is.”
After a long silence, heavy with meaning, his mom said, “Fine. But you’re making a mistake with that woman. She’s trouble, mark my words.”
“You can’t tell that with one look.”
She tilted her head, frowning heavily. “I’m judging by the way you’re looking at her, not just my own perception. She’s exactly the sort of woman you need to avoid, but you just can’t seem to help yourself.”
Carter had known all along that she might think exactly this thing, but it just frustrated him more that she was so predictable. Or maybe that he was so predictable. But really, the only experiences she had to go on was his ex-wife and a few of his girlfriends in high school—and his bad choices then had been a form of rebellion. Since his divorce, he’d barely dated. The few women he’d gone out with had been women his mother had either introduced him to or that he knew would win her approval. He’d never had more than a passing interest in any of those snobby, manicured princesses.
“Mom, I’m going to be her boss. It would be extremely unprofessional of me to date her so you can stop worrying about that. She’s young and qualified and comes with glowing recommendations. I don’t care what she looks like as long as she can keep Addi safe, engaged, and happy.”
She nodded. “I see that you’ve made up your mind. I hope you won’t forbid me from making short visits every now and then. I’ll miss her.”
Carter’s gut twisted. Even though she was maddeningly opinionated and controlling, he knew she really loved Addi. “Of course you can visit. Just give her a little while to settle in with the new nanny, okay?”
When she agreed, he opened the door and motioned for her to precede him. As they walked back out into the main office, his mother walked past Hannah without looking at her, but what really surprised him was that Hannah didn’t look at her either. Instead, she stood up from one of the office chairs and nailed him with such a direct glare, he stopped in his tracks. “Yes?”
“I’m waiting to continue our discussion.”
“Oh? Is there more to talk about?”
Hannah glanced back over her shoulder, as if looking to ensure his mom was out of the room. “Plenty. I understand that you had personal issues to take care of, but that doesn’t change the fact that I have not yet agreed to take the job.”
He took in her squared shoulders and the determined tilt to her chin. If he didn’t want to lose his victory with his mother, he needed to convince her to stay. He wouldn’t be surprised if she had guessed his previous reluctance, but of course she would have no way to understand what lay behind it. He motioned toward his office. “Please come in and we’ll talk things through.”
As she walked past him, she stirred the stale, air-conditioned air with the scent of ocean water and sunshine. As he followed her in, he realized that it made him long for more free time to enjoy the gorgeous setting instead being stuck in meetings all day. The way she made him want things he couldn’t have was dangerous.
She sat in one of the leather chairs in front of his gleaming mahogany desk. He went around, glancing out at the brilliant blue ocean out the window with an inward pang of longing, then sat down across from her. “Okay, Ms. Rhodes. What are your concerns? I’d love the chance to overcome them.”
“I’d like to know what hours I’d be working.”
He rubbed his chin, considering what might be acceptable to her and still meet his needs. “I’d like to spend as much time as I can with my daughter. It’s important to me to improve our relationship and be more involved with her. But I’m also a very busy man. Ideally, I’d like to have someone prepared to watch her, say, 60 hours a week on a flexible schedule.”
“Sixty hours!”
“Is that too much? You’d be paid overtime.”
He saw that this made her grow thoughtful. She bit her bottom lip as she considered this. “I would need a day off every week.”
“Not a problem. I need to take a day off myself. What else?”
“This is different than babysitting where I only have the children for a few hours. Will I be allowed to take her places to entertain her, like the beach or the aquarium or the library?”
“Absolutely. You may even have use of my driver.”
“What about expenses?”
“I’ll give you a credit card to use. Brenda will be able to track expenditures in real time, so there should be no concerns with that.”
“That’s more than agreeable to me. Are there any concerns you have about your daughter that I should know about?”
Carter turned his chair to face the window, looking out at the view as he considered her question. He appreciated that she wanted to know. Now, if only he could figure out how to tell her. “No allergies or anything like that. But there is something. She’s become subdued and too mature for her age. I know it’s my fault, or at least, I’ve allowed it to happen. Hopefully it’s not too late to repair the damage of so many years of being pampered and given the best of everything. I want her to be happy, but so much of the time, she’s not.” He turned back to face her. He tried to smile, but it went awry and felt more like a grimace. “I don’t know if that’s anything you can help with, but if you could, I would be grateful.”
She nodded and her whole expression softened. “Give me some time to get to know her and I’ll let you know what I think. It’s wonderful that you care enough to try. Believe me, in my experience, many parents don’t even realize their kids are spoiled, so you are already doing something right.”
His heart warmed to her on a different level. “Thank you. I’d do anything for her. It’s just hard to know what’s best.”
Hannah stood and shrugged. “Honestly, the best thing you can do is spend time with her. So, if you really want to see her make progress, you’ll figure out how to do as much of that as possible.”
When she turned to open the door, he jumped out of his chair and walked around his desk. “Will you accept the position?”
“Of course. I desperately need the money. I’ll go do that paperwork now, and then maybe you can introduce me to your daughter.”
As she walked over to Brenda’s desk, he couldn’t help but wonder about her financial issues. Their relationship, which now must be strictly professional, was not such that he could inquire further. He turned back into his office with a nudging feeling of concern in his gut. And more than a little curiosity.