The Nanny Clause

Emma had kept her temper even up until now. But suddenly his words lit a match to it. She pushed her chair away from the table and stood. “If I’m going to be involved in your daughters’ all-day care, then that means I’m going to be involved in their lives. I wasn’t going to tell them what the phone call was about but they heard Fiesta’s name mentioned. I wasn’t going to lie to them when they asked me about it. And as we talked about it, I realized a pregnant cat could teach them about birth and responsibility. It could also bond you with your daughters more than they are now. Did you ever think of that?”

Before she cried in front of him, she tossed her napkin to the table. “I’ll clear this mess later. I’m going to my room for a little while.”

She hurried from the kitchen before more of her feelings leaked out.

* * *

Daniel cleaned off the table and ran the dishwasher. Action was his defense against unsettled feelings. Emma Alvarez had unsettled quite a few. When he’d finished all the kitchen chores—he was not going to leave them for Emma—he knew what he had to do.

Apologizing wasn’t something that came easy to him. Maybe that was one of the reasons Lydia had left, along with many others. Unfortunately, Emma’s actions had stirred up the past. It was a hornet’s nest he didn’t usually disturb. Possibly, that’s why he still felt empty sometimes. After Lydia had left, he’d had to focus on the girls and work. That was it. It was called putting one foot in front of the other and he’d done that for two years.

However, suddenly Emma’s presence had thrust him back into thoughts of his marriage and the aftermath of it. He was uncomfortable. That’s why he’d argued with Emma.

Walking down the hall to her room, he knew there was a possibility that she could be packing to leave. Did she run from arguments? Did she stay and fight? Did she resolve them and go on? He didn’t know how she would respond to their current problem. To his surprise, he wanted to find the answers to all of those questions.

Knocking on Emma’s door, he tried to prepare himself for the scene ahead. After all, that’s what lawyers did. Don’t ask a question you don’t know the answer to. At least that’s what his friends who were criminal-trial lawyers had told him.

When Emma opened the door, her eyes went wide. She obviously hadn’t expected him. She’d changed into a sleeping tank and shorts that had little multicolored paws all over them. That almost made him smile. But the discussion they had to have was too serious.

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