The Nanny Bargain

Chapter Two

“Welcome, Tori.” Ray Selby smiled as he opened the front door to the imposing two-story stone house at seven o’clock on a Thursday morning. Incredibly, it was only a week after she’d interviewed and been offered the job.

“You know, though,” he added drily as he motioned her inside the shadowed entryway, “you could use that key Therese gave you. You don’t have to ring the bell. You’re part of this household now.”

“I know, but I thought the first time I should at least announce myself. You know, before Grady and Luke Hunter come traipsing in behind me with furniture and the rest of my stuff.”

Ray glanced toward the street where her friend Sunshine’s new husband, Grady, and his older brother were waiting by Luke’s loaded crew-cab pickup. They and Sunshine had gone with her to Jerome yesterday to retrieve belongings stored in a friend’s garage. She’d enjoyed reliving highlights of last week’s wedding and hearing about the newlyweds’ stay at the Grand Canyon’s El Tovar Hotel, right on the rim. She’d appreciated, too, their support as she returned to the town she’d felt compelled to leave some months ago.

Thankfully, she hadn’t seen her ex-fiancé on the streets that were, by contrast to summer’s bustling tourist season, fairly deserted this time of year. How could she have been so mistaken as to have believed they’d be a good match?

Ray waved Luke and Grady forward and they leaped into action, lowering the tailgate and carefully unloading her grandmother’s blanket-swathed antique dresser.

The older man continued to smile at her as the others approached. “I can’t tell you how thankful Therese and I are that you said yes to our offer. Especially after the show Cubby and I treated you to at the Ice Cream Emporium. It was a relief that you didn’t scare easily.”

“It takes more than an unhappy little boy to run me off.”

On the contrary, it had won her over.

With Tori leading the way past a small library on one side of the spacious hallway and what she could only think of as a parlor on the other, she and the men skirted past a sweeping staircase and a darkened dining room. Another hall branched off, leading to a rear corner of the house and what had once been a cook-housekeeper’s apartment, and would now be her new home. At least for a few years anyway, if all went well.

“This is nice.” Luke sounded surprised as the brothers carefully lowered the dresser to the spot she indicated.

When given the grand tour following her interview she, too, had been pleasantly surprised to find the apartment featured a kitchenette, sleeping alcove, walk-in closet and its own bathroom. Lots of sunshine-filled windows, as well. Although the space was furnished, Ray had had the bed frame and dresser moved elsewhere so she could bring her grandmother’s antiques.

They’d barely finished hauling in the remainder of her belongings, reattaching the mirror to the dresser and getting the bed set up and mattress placed, when the chatter of children echoed down the hallway from the front of the house.

“Sounds like the troops are up and on the move.” Ray gave Tori a wary glance. “Brace yourself.”

Since tomorrow would be her actual first day on the job, she’d hoped for time to get settled in today. Oh, well.

“Hey, look what I found!”

They turned to see Sawyer Banks in the doorway, holding a grinning twin in each arm—no small feat, since they must weigh at least forty pounds each. Tori almost gasped at the resemblance between the threesome. The mussed blond hair. Blue eyes. Matching smiles.

But what was Sawyer doing here? Checking up on her? Reminding her that she had an obligation to him? If so, he wasn’t going to like what she’d be sharing as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

“Which one of you boys let this character in?” Ray teased his grandsons. Or maybe that gruffness and the sharp look in Sawyer’s direction wasn’t teasing? When she’d let the Selbys know she’d be working at the Outpost part-time, they’d raised no objections, and Sawyer had told her he had a “decent enough” relationship with his brothers and their grandparents. That was clearly evident in the case of the obviously excited boys, but was it her imagination that there was tension hanging in the air between the two men?

“He brought us a new game.” Cubby waved a small box in the air as if to legitimize opening the door to him.

Their big brother gave them a hug, then set their feet on the floor. The pair were dressed in tennies, jeans and sweatshirts, and side by side the resemblance between them was evident, although not identical. Cubby’s face was less rounded than Landon’s and devoid of the few freckles that scattered across his brother’s nose. Nor was his gaze as bold. And whereas Landon’s reddish-tinted bangs fell evenly across his forehead, Cubby’s hair had a definite side part.

Both thrust their hands into their back pockets, a mirror image of each other—and of Sawyer’s stance behind them.

“Say good-morning to Tori,” Ray prompted, apparently mindful that she’d soon be an instrumental player in the lives of his grandsons.

“Good morning, Tori,” all three Banks brothers responded. Landon confidently. Cubby, with his head ducked shyly. Sawyer with mischief dancing in his eyes.

Why did her heart pirouette when she met Sawyer’s gaze? Not good. “Good morning, boys.”

“Now that Banks is here—after the work’s done—looks like you’re finished with us.” Luke glanced around the room with satisfaction, then Tori walked the Hunter brothers to the door, reiterating her thanks. When she returned, Ray had vanished, but Sawyer and the boys were unabashedly exploring her new living quarters.

She’d assumed contact with Sawyer would be strictly during her work hours at the Outpost—although they hadn’t yet established those days or hours. If he popped in frequently to see Cubby and Landon, why was he in need of an “inside line” to the household?

“Sawyer, look.” Landon pointed at something inside the open door of a lower kitchenette cabinet. “That’s a mousetrap.”

Wonderful.

Sawyer squatted next to him. “Sure is, buddy. But there’s nothing in it, so that’s a good sign. Probably put there as a precaution since this apartment’s been empty for a while.”

Did he believe that, or was he throwing out that reassurance for her benefit?

“Let me see.” Cubby pushed his brother aside and squished in beside Sawyer to duck down and look, too. “Wouldn’t it be cool to see a mouse in it?”

Sawyer cast an amused look in her direction. “You’d rather not, right?”

“I could do without one.”

Landon looked up hopefully as he wandered away to peek in the walk-in closet. “But we could catch it and keep it as a pet. We don’t have any pets.”

“We don’t have pets because G’ma is ’lergic.” Cubby gave a solemn nod. “Maybe she’s ’lergic to mouses, too.”

His twin sneered. “Nobody’s allergic to mice, stupid.”

“Landon.” She caught the boy’s eye and shook her head. “Your brother isn’t stupid. Please don’t call him that.”

He shrugged. “It’s scientifically proven mice aren’t big enough and don’t have enough dander to cause an allergic reaction.”

Cubby frowned. “What’s dander?”

“Icky stuff that gets in your hair.” Eyes widening and brows elevated, Landon lifted his hands over his head as he stalked toward his brother. “Creepy crawly stuff with hairy legs and tiny teeth.”

Sawyer grabbed him and pulled him in close to noogie the top of his head. “And maybe you’re full of hot air.”

The giggling boy pulled away.

The teasing part she could live with, but the questionable “scientifically proven” bit, spoken with an air of authority, she’d have to be on the alert for.

“Landon? Cubby?” a feminine voice called from the open doorway. “Time for breakfast.”

“Good morning, Therese.” Tori smiled at the dark-haired, stylishly coifed woman dressed in wool slacks, a blue cashmere sweater and low pumps. From the information Sawyer had provided, she must be in her midseventies; Ray about that age, as well.

“Good morning, Victoria—Tori.” As Cubby snatched up their new game from the top of the bed and the boys dashed past her to the kitchen, she leveled her gaze on Sawyer. “Good morning to you, too. Ray mentioned you’d stopped by. We haven’t seen you in quite a while.”

“The Outpost keeps me hopping.”

“The Outpost. Yes, I imagine so.” She turned again to Tori. “I’ll do my best to keep the boys out of your hair today. I imagine you’ll want to unpack and find a home for your things.”

“That would be wonderful. Thanks.”

“Have you had breakfast?”

Tori noticed she didn’t include Sawyer in the query. “Before the crack of dawn, but thanks for asking.”

“Do plan to join us for lunch. Eleven thirty.”

“I’ll do that.”

Still standing in the doorway, Therese briefly touched her fingertips to the door’s polished wood, then raised a delicate brow at Tori. “You do recall our house rules?”

Ah, yes. The apartment door should remain open at all times when hosting male guests.

“I do. Thank you.”

While Tori hadn’t dated since Heath’s departure, she was in no hurry to again, so that wouldn’t be a problem. But although Sawyer’s unexpected presence wasn’t anything close to a date, she wasn’t convinced either Ray or Therese was particularly pleased with his putting in an appearance on her first day in their household.

Which didn’t exactly reflect the lay of the land that Sawyer had led her to believe.

* * *

Leave it to Therese to put him in his place in front of Tori. But what had he expected? He’d made himself scarce, then here he came barging back into their lives bearing gifts right smack on the day they’d acquired a new—and attractive—nanny.

No, not nanny. Childcare giver.

When the twins’ grandmother departed, he snagged a couple of paper towels from the dispenser above the counter. “Let me get that mousetrap out of here. You’ll want to clean the cabinet and put stuff in there.”

“But if there are mice...”

He reached into the back of the cabinet with a paper towel and pulled out the trap. Inspected it. Wrapped it up, then stood. “The cheese is hardened. It’s been there for quite a while with no takers. Ray probably forgot it was under there.”

She gave him a relieved smile. “That’s good.”

He glanced at the door still open to the hallway, amused at Therese’s unsubtle allusion to “house rules”—as if she thought he’d attempt to put the moves on Tori if left alone behind closed doors?

While Tori had called to let him know she’d applied for and then gotten the job, he hadn’t seen her since early last week, and she looked prettier this morning than he remembered. Pale blond hair framed her face, accentuating expressive eyes, and that smile she’d flashed in his direction a time or two made his breath catch. Was that why he’d shown up on her doorstep this morning with the excuse of dropping off a new game for the boys?

He looked down at the wrapped mousetrap in his hand, then back at Tori. “I don’t suppose you noticed that Landon can stretch the truth if it suits his purposes?”

Invented. Fabricated. Made-up. Nobody liked you to use the blunt word liar these days.

“I did notice. To my knowledge, science hasn’t proven anything of the sort as he claimed. I have no doubt there are people who are allergic to mice.”

“That’s something he’s gotten into since coming to live here. He cites studies or claims he saw it on some TV documentary. Makes it sound real legit. If you didn’t know better...well, you’d swallow it hook, line and sinker.”

“Why do you think he does it?” She looked at him earnestly, as if expecting him to have all the answers.

“I expect, for the most part, to buffalo his brother. There’s some competition there. Maybe he thinks he can win Therese’s and Ray’s approval, too.”

“Do they call him on that behavior?”

“I imagine they do when they catch him at it. I’m glad you picked up on it right away.”

He’d had the wool pulled over his own eyes more than a few times until Landon started in about some “fact” related to trapshooting that had absolutely no basis in reality. But he’d sounded so credible, knowledgeable, and someone who wasn’t a trapshooter would have let it slide by.

“I’ll make it a priority to work with Therese and Ray to get that habit nipped in the bud.” She frowned slightly, as if this issue was something he should have made her aware of in advance. “Is there anything I need to know about Cubby?”

“Nothing of that nature.” Or at least he didn’t think there was. But it wasn’t as if he’d seen the boys on a regular basis since their parents had died. Only enough to know that they weren’t fully the same kids they’d been a year ago. Which was why it would be good to have Tori here, an objective observer. “He can get emotional. Tends to play Therese with tears, which irritates Ray to no end.”

She nodded, but didn’t look surprised. Had she seen some of that during her interview and follow-up meetings with the Selbys?

“So,” he said, determined to broach the next subject. “Do you have a feel for when you might start at the Outpost?”

“Would you mind awfully much if I got through a week here before we make that decision? It may take a while to determine what schedule works best for the boys, the Selbys and me.”

While he needed her to start deep cleaning and organizing at the Outpost as soon as possible, readying the place for what he hoped would be a busy season, that would be one less week he’d have to pay her.

“Okay, then, we’ll talk a week from now.”

“Which brings up something else you need to know...” She lifted her chin slightly, as if expecting to be challenged on whatever she was about to say. With a glance to the open door, she lowered her voice. “I won’t be accepting your proposed dollar addition to the hourly wage the Selbys offered.”

He drew a quick breath. She was holding out for more? He hadn’t anticipated an underhanded maneuver like that.

“I’m not sure I understand,” he said carefully, “what you mean, Tori.”

She clasped her hands together, looking more sweetness and light than the hardheaded negotiator she apparently was. “It simply means that I won’t accept monetary compensation that obligates me to you. Not beyond, I mean, what you pay me as your employee at the Outpost.”

“Hold on a minute.” She wasn’t asking for more money, she was ditching her “obligation” to him altogether? “I thought when we last spoke that you understood—”

“That you were buying my services as a snitch?” Her smile was entirely too perky. “I understood that clearly, Mr. Banks. Which is why I almost walked away from this job opportunity you presented. That is, until I had time to rethink a few things.”

He frowned. He’d been snookered.

To his irritation, she laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ll look out for the twins and it won’t cost you a dime. Think of me as a human smoke detector. If there’s anything that concerns me about the safety or welfare of Cubby and Landon, I’ll quietly sound the alarm.”

“But you won’t be—?”

“Reporting to you? Nope.” She shrugged, as if that settled it.

His gaze flickered to the open door to ensure they were still alone.

“But...” Despite his reluctance to make an issue of something he’d picked up from his friend’s mother, he couldn’t help countering her smile with one of his own. “I can make sure the Selbys won’t retain you for long.”

Wariness lit her eyes. “Why would you want to do that?”

“Could be I’m not entirely sure you’re trustworthy.” He folded his arms. “Surely you don’t think I’d recruit you to look after my brothers if I didn’t do my homework, do you?”

As realization dawned, her pretty mouth dropped open with a sound of protest. “I can explain. That was a long time ago. And I was only—”

“Seventeen. I’m confident nothing of that nature will ever happen again. But the Selbys are quite conservative, you know, and getting arrested for trespassing and disturbing the peace might not sit well with them. A potentially bad influence on their grandsons.”

A multitude of emotions sparked in her eyes. Lips now pressed together, she looked momentarily down at the floor, most likely gathering her thoughts. Then back at him.

“Court records for a minor would have been sealed. So how did you...?”

“You’re not the only one who has friends in Jerome.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You’ve known this all along but are going to use it now to throw a roadblock in my working here? I’m serious that I’ll involve you if I feel something jeopardizes the boys.”

“You need this job, though, don’t you?” he said softly, watching her closely. Apparently, from what he’d learned from his friend’s mother, a relationship breakup was what had sent her flying to Hunter Ridge in the first place, and he doubted she’d want to return to her hometown if she could make a go of it elsewhere. “You need the housing benefit, too, if you intend to stay here.”

“I—Yes, of course, I need both housing and a job. I’ve made no secret of that. But I don’t want to feel like an informer on people with whom I’m building a relationship. People I’ll be living with under the same roof.” She folded her arms, a reflection of his own stance. “And if you put in a bad word for me with the Selbys, in a small town like this whatever you tell them could get around. Make it difficult for me to find another job.”

He had her now. “It could.”

For a long moment, she dared to glare daggers at him. But when her expression abruptly softened, his gut tightened in uneasy anticipation of her next response.

“The other day you as good as said you didn’t have any viable alternate candidates,” she said smoothly, watching him like a kitten at a mouse hole. “I got the impression I was your last hope.”

She had him there—and had the nerve to smile at that insight. It was true he didn’t know anyone else in town who might be sympathetic enough—and discreet enough—to help him out. Or at least no one who’d be available for childcare duties.

“So where does this leave us?” Tori’s challenging stance eased as she unfolded her arms, apparently assured that she’d played the winning hand.

He had to hand it to her. She had pluck.

While he could be pigheaded here because she refused to cooperate with him across the board, that would be cutting off his nose to spite his face. He needed her in the kids’ household.

He squinted one eye. “A compromise?”

“We both have a horse in this race, don’t we?”

“Guess we do.”

“Bottom line, though, is that, outside of my work at the Outpost, I don’t want to take money from you or to otherwise be obligated to report to you.” She quirked an engaging smile. “So take it or leave it.”

Chapter Three

Even to her own ears, that didn’t sound like much of a compromise on her part.

And standing her ground was a risk—a foolhardy one perhaps—given that Sawyer had exercised due diligence before recruiting her. While she could explain the situation to any reasonable person—she and a group of high school friends had staged a protest when an out-of-town developer managed to circumvent local laws and was preparing to raze a historic building—Sawyer was right. The Selbys might not take an arrest lightly.

Nor did it sound as if he’d be interested in hearing her side of the story. Besides, didn’t Grandma always say wrong is wrong, and having a reason for doing it didn’t make it right?

Sawyer’s assessing gaze locked on hers as she held her breath, preparing for another reminder that with a few well-chosen words he could ensure she wouldn’t retain this job—or land any other job in town, for that matter.

But he didn’t respond. At all.

“So,” she said hesitantly as the silence stretched between them. “You’re good with that?”

“It looks as if I’ll have to be, doesn’t it? That is, as long as you alert me to anything significant that could negatively impact my brothers.”

“You have my word on it.”

“And you have mine to keep my mouth shut, as well. Assuming, of course...”

“I said you have my word.”

He nodded. But despite the grudging settlement between them, she held no illusions that he was pleased about this turn of events. Even though they’d only recently become acquainted, it was clear Sawyer Banks wasn’t a man who liked to have his plans thwarted.

Nevertheless, a prayer of thanks winged its way Heavenward. Sawyer didn’t seem to personally hold her teenage infractions against her and had agreed not to share them with the Selbys as long as she kept her part of the bargain.

She wanted this job. How often in the past week had she relived her encounter with the orphaned Cubby and his grandfather at the ice cream shop? Recalled how it had hit too close to home? She wanted to be here for the little guy and his brother. She needed to be here to hold them and hug them when tears flowed. But she had no intention of sharing with Sawyer her impressions of that chance—or divine?—meeting or what convinced her to change her mind about applying for the job.

He wouldn’t understand.

“What did Ray and Therese say—” Sawyer’s gaze probed “—when you told them you’d also be working part-time at the Outpost?”