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Truthfully, her words uncovered the guilt that consumed him as an overworked single dad. He hated how much time he had to spend away from Mindy. Half the time, he hated dating, too, but he’d promised Marie that he’d remarry so that Mindy wouldn’t be raised without a mother in the home. Probably, she’d made him promise because she knew how much he worked and feared that Mindy would be raised by babysitters if he didn’t remarry.
Well, he’d changed and was trying to change more, but he’d made a promise—not just about remarrying, but about what type of mom Mindy needed, actually—and he intended to keep it. Which didn’t mean this snippy schoolteacher had the right to condemn him.
“Look, I’m sorry. It’s not my place to judge and I don’t know your situation. Ask Daisy, I’m way too outspoken and it always gets me into trouble.” Her face was contrite and her apology sounded sincere. “The thing is, I know kids and I’m good with them. If you’re struggling, either with her disability or with...other issues, I could help. Build up her self-esteem, encourage her independence.” Those pretty, almond-shaped brown eyes looked a little bit shiny, as if she was holding back tears. “Don’t turn me down just because I’m mouthy, if you think I’d be a help to Mindy.”
She was right. And he was a marshmallow around women who looked sad, especially seriously cute ones like Susan. “It’s okay.”
And it was okay. He recognized already that his burst of anger had more to do with his own guilty feelings than with her comment. But that didn’t mean he had to hire her.
The doorbell chimed, making them both jump. “That’s probably my next interview. I’m sorry.” He stood. “Here’s your résumé back.”
“It’s all right, you can keep it. In case you change your mind.” She stood and grabbed her elegant black portfolio. Come to think of it, all of her was elegant, from her close-fitting black trousers to her white shirt and vest to her long black hair with a trendy-looking stripe of red in it, neatly clipped back.
Just for a minute, he wondered what that hair would look like flowing free.
Sam forced that thought away as he came around his desk to Susan’s side. She looked neat and professional, but as soon as she opened her mouth, it became apparent that she was quite a character. Sam shook his head as he ushered her through the entryway. Why Daisy had thought he and Susan could work together was beyond him.
Thinking about her interview, he couldn’t help grinning. What job applicant questioned and insulted the potential boss? You didn’t see that in the business world. He was used to people kowtowing to him, begging for a job. Susan could take a few lessons in decorum, but he had to admit he enjoyed her spunk.
The doorbell chimed again just as they reached it, so he was in the awkward position of having two job applicants pass each other in the doorway. The new one, a curvaceous blonde in a flowered dress, stood smiling, a plate of plastic-wrap-covered cookies in her hands.
“Hi, are you Mr. Hinton? Thank you so much for agreeing to interview me. I would just absolutely love to have this job! What a great house!”
“Come on in.” He gestured the new applicant into the entryway. “Susan, I’ll be in touch.”’
“I hope so,” she murmured as she brushed past him and out the door. “But I’m not holding my breath.”
Chapter Two (#ulink_a2475903-0032-5024-a00b-fa2529932e02)
The next Thursday afternoon, Sam arrived at the turnoff to his brother Troy’s farm with a sense of relief. His sister was right; he needed to take a break from interviewing nannies during the day and working late into the night to make up for it. But he was desperate; Mindy’s last day of school had been Tuesday, and without a regular child care provider, he’d had to stay home or use babysitters who weren’t necessarily up to par.
Mindy bounced in her booster seat. “There’s the sign! Look, it says D-O-G, dog! But what else does it say, Daddy?”
He slowed to read the sign aloud: “A Dog’s Last Chance: No-Cage Canine Rescue.”
“Cuz Uncle Troy and Aunt Angelica and Xavier rescue dogs. Right?”
“That’s right, sugar sprite.” And he hoped they could rescue him, too. Or not rescue—they had too much going on for that—but at least give him ideas about getting a good child care provider for Mindy for the summer.
“There they are, there they are! And look, there’s baby Emmie!”
Sure enough, his brother and sister-in-law stood outside the fenced kennel area. He parked, let Mindy out of the car and then paused to survey the scene.
Troy was reaching out for the baby, all of two weeks old, so that his wife could kneel down to greet Mindy with a huge hug.
The tableau they presented battered Sam’s heart. He wanted this. He wanted a wife who would look up at him with that same loving, admiring expression Angelica gave Troy. Wanted a woman who’d embrace Mindy, literally and figuratively. Seeing how it thrilled Mindy, he even thought he wouldn’t mind having another baby, a little brother or sister for them both to love.
This was what he and Marie had wanted, what they would have had, if God hadn’t seen fit to grab it away from them.
He pushed the bitterness aside and strode up to the happy family. “How’s Emmie? She sleeping well?”
Troy and Angelica looked at each other and laughed. “Not a chance. We’re up practically all night, every night,” Troy said, and then Sam noticed the dark circles under his brother’s eyes. Running a veterinary practice and a rescue while heading a family had to be exhausting, but though he looked tired, there was a deep happiness in Troy’s eyes that hadn’t been there before.
That was the power of love. Troy and Angelica had married less than a year ago and instantly conceived a baby, at least partly in response to Angelica’s son Xavier’s desire for a little sister. They’d even gotten the gender right.
Sam renewed his determination: With or without God’s help, he was going to find this for himself and Mindy. He didn’t need the Lord to solve his problems for him. He could do it on his own.
“Where’s Xavier, Uncle Troy?”
Troy chuckled. “It’s Kennel Kids day. Where do you think?”
For the first time, Sam noticed the cluster of boys on the far edge of the fenced area. It was the ragtag group of potential hoodlums that Troy mentored through giving them responsibilities at the kennel. Amazing that his brother, busy as he was, had time to work with kids in need. Or made time, truth be known, and Sam’s conscience smote him. He ought to give more back to the community, but he felt as if he was barely holding his own life together these days. “Who’s monitoring the boys? Is that Daisy?”
“Can I go play, Daddy?” Mindy begged.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“It’s not safe, honey.”
“But Xavier’s over there.”
“Xavier’s a boy, honey. And...” He broke off, seeing the knowing glance Troy and Angelica exchanged. Okay, so he was overprotective, but those boys were playing rough and Mindy, with her missing hand, had one less means of defense.
And one more reason to get teased, in the sometimes-cruel world of school-aged kids.
Mindy’s face reddened and she drew in a breath, obviously about to have a major meltdown.
Sam squatted down beside her, touching her shoulder, willing her to stay calm. He was so tired after another late night working, and he wasn’t that great about dealing with Mindy’s frequent storms. Didn’t know if there even was a good way to deal with them.
“Hey!” Angelica got a little bit in Mindy’s face, startling her out of her intended shriek. “I know! Why don’t you and your daddy go ask Xavier to take you down to the barn? He can show you the newest puppies. You can stay outside the fence,” she added, rolling her eyes a little at Sam.
“Okay! C’mon, Daddy!”
Thank you, he mouthed to Angelica, bemused by the way a little girl’s mood could change in a second.
“Not sure if you’ll be thanking me in a minute,” she said with a chuckle.
She must mean his ongoing battle with Mindy, the one where Angelica and Troy were staunchly on Mindy’s side. “We’re not getting a puppy!” he mouthed over his shoulder to Angelica, keeping his voice low so he wouldn’t reawaken Mindy’s interest in the issue.
But as he and Mindy approached the group at the other end of the fenced enclosure, Sam wondered if Angelica might have been talking with Daisy...and if her joke about him not thanking her might have meant something entirely different.
Because she was there.
Susan, the firebrand waitress and job candidate he hadn’t been able to get out of his mind for the past four days.
Who was she to tell him he wasn’t raising his daughter right?
And what on earth was she doing here?
The answer, apparently, was that she was working with the kids, because she was squatting down beside one of the smaller boys, probably seven or eight years old. From the boy’s awkward movements, Troy guessed he had some kind of muscular disorder.
And Susan was helping him to pet a pit bull’s face.
Sam shook his head. Of course she was. The woman obviously had no common sense, no safety consciousness, no awareness of what was age-appropriate. If that kid’s parents could see what she was doing...of course, given the nature of Kennel Kids, the boy might not have involved parents. Still, Troy or Angelica ought to rein Susan in.
At that moment, she lifted her head and saw him. Her mouth dropped open, and then her eyes narrowed as if she was reading his mind.
“Xavier!” Mindy’s joyous shout was a welcome distraction. “C’mere! C’mere!”
Susan called out to Daisy, who was, he now realized, standing guard over the overall group. Daisy came and knelt beside the boy Susan had been helping, and Susan exchanged a few heated words with her, then rose effortlessly to her feet. She followed Xavier, who was running toward the fence to see Mindy.
A knee-high black-and-white puppy bounded over on enormous, clumsy feet, barking. The kids immediately started playing with it, Mindy poking her fingers through the fence to touch its nose and Xavier jumping and rolling with the puppy on the inside of the enclosure. Which left Sam to watch Susan’s approach. She wore cutoff shorts and a red shirt, hair up in a long ponytail. She looked young and innocent, especially since she’d removed her multiple earrings. “Didn’t expect to see you here,” he said, hoping his voice didn’t betray his strange agitation.
“The feeling’s mutual, and when I get the chance, I’m going to strangle your sister.” She knelt down, and Xavier, along with the black-and-white dog, fell into her lap, pushing her backward.
Daisy. Oh. Susan’s being here was Daisy’s doing. “I never could control that girl. She always does exactly what she wants.”
She flashed a smile. “And she always means well.”
He watched Susan struggle out from under the dog, laughing when it licked her face. Then she handed Xavier a ball from her shorts pocket and he threw it for the dog to fetch.
“What’s Daisy doing?” Sam asked. “Is she pushing us together on purpose?” If his sister was playing matchmaker, she was doing a poor job of it. She had to know Susan wasn’t his type, even though the thought of going out with Susan sounded the tiniest bit appealing, probably just for the chance to argue with her.
“She wants you to give me your nanny job, which you and I both know is ridiculous.”
Oh, the job. Heat rose to the back of Sam’s neck as he realized he’d misinterpreted his sister’s actions as dating-type matchmaking. And, yes, it was ridiculous from his own point of view to hire someone as mouthy and inappropriate as Susan, but why did she find the idea ridiculous?
“Hi, Miss Hayashi,” Mindy said, looking up at Susan with a shy smile.
“Hi, Mindy.” Susan’s voice went rich and warm as honey when she looked down at his daughter. “Want to come in and play with the dogs?”
“No, she can’t come in!” The words practically exploded out of Sam’s mouth.
“Oh.” Susan looked surprised, and Mindy opened her mouth to object.
“She can’t...” He nodded down at her. “It’s not safe.”
Xavier provided an unexpected escape route. “You’re too little to come in here,” he explained. “But I can take you to the barn and show you our new tiny puppies. There’s eight of them, and they’re all gray ’cept for one spotted one, and their eyes are shut like this!” He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, them immediately opened them, grinning.
“I want to see them!” Mindy jumped to her feet, hugged Sam’s leg and gazed up at him. “Please, Daddy?”
Love for his daughter overwhelmed him. “Okay, if you have an adult with you.”
Xavier ran a few yards down to the gate, and with an assist from Susan, got it open. “Come on, Dad will help us,” he said, and the two children rushed off toward the barn.
Leaving Sam and Susan standing with a fence between them. “You shouldn’t have invited Mindy to come in without my permission,” he informed her.
“Right. You’re right. I just...who knew you were that overprotective? She’s not made of glass, but you’re going to have her thinking she is.”
“I think we’ve already established that you don’t have the right to judge.”
“Yeah, but that was when I was trying to get the job with you. Now, I’m just a...well, an acquaintance. Which means I can state my opinion, right?”
“She’s an acquaintance with a double certification in elementary and special ed,” his sister, Daisy, said, coming from behind to put a hand on Susan’s shoulder. “Sam, when are you going to realize you’re way too cautious with that child? Marie was even worse. You’re going to have Mindy afraid of her own shadow.”
“That day is a long way off,” Sam said, frowning at the idea that Marie had been anything but the perfect mother. Did everyone think he was too overprotective? Was he? Was he hurting Mindy?
“Um, think I’ll go help get the kids ready to go home.” Susan walked off, shoulders squared and back straight.
Daisy glared up at Sam. “What’s your problem, anyway? Susan said her interview with you didn’t go well.”
“Did she tell you she couldn’t stop questioning my abilities as a father? I hardly think that’s what I want in a summer nanny.”
“Come on, let’s walk up to the house,” Daisy said, coming out through the gate and putting an arm around him. “Sam, everyone knows you’re the best dad around. You stepped in when Marie got sick and you haven’t taken a break since. If you’re a tiny bit controlling, well, who can blame you? Mindy’s not had an easy road.”
“You’re using your social worker voice, and I’m sensing a ‘but’ in there.” He put his own arm around his little sister. She definitely drove him crazy, but he didn’t question her wisdom. Daisy was the intuitive, people-smart one in the family, and Sam and his brother had learned early on to respect that.
“The thing is, you’re looking for a clone of your dead wife. In a nanny and in a partner. What if you opened your mind to a different kind of influence on Mindy?”
“What do you mean, in a partner?” He’d kept his deathbed promise to Marie a secret, so how did Daisy know he was looking for a new mom for Mindy?
Daisy laughed. “I’ve seen the women you date. They’re all chubby and blonde and worshipful. It’s not rocket science to figure out that you’re trying to find a replica of Marie.”
The words stung with their truth. “Is that so bad? Marie was wonderful. We were happy.” He’d never been like Daisy and Troy, adventurous and fun-loving; he’d always been the conventional older brother, wanting a standard, solid, traditional family life, and Marie had understood that. She’d wanted the same thing, and they’d been building it. Building a beautiful life that had been cut short.
“Oh, Sam.” Daisy rubbed a hand up and down his back. “It’s understandable. It was a horrible loss for you and Mindy. For all of us, really. I loved Marie, too.”
Reassured, Sam could focus on the rest of what Daisy had said. “You think I need to be worshipped?”
“I think you’re uncomfortable when women question your views, but c’mon, Sam. You’re Mensa-level smart, you’re practically a billionaire and you’ve built Hinton Enterprises into the most successful corporation in Rescue River, if not all of Ohio. It’s not like you need reassurance about your masculinity. Why don’t you try dating women who pose a little bit of a challenge?”
“I get plenty of challenge from my family, primarily you.” He squeezed her shoulders, trying not to get defensive about her words. “My immediate problem is finding a nanny, not a girlfriend. And someone like Susan has values too different from mine. She’d have Mindy taming pit bulls and playing with hoodlums.”
“She’d let Mindy out of the glass bubble you’ve put her in!” Daisy spun away to glare at him. “Look, she’s the one with coursework in special ed, not you. She’s not going to put your daughter at risk. She’d be great for Mindy, even if she does make you a little uncomfortable. And you did kind of contribute indirectly to her getting fired from her waitressing job.”
A hard lump of guilt settled in his stomach. He didn’t want to be the cause of someone losing their livelihood. He’d always prided himself on finding ways to keep from laying off employees, even in this tough economy.
She raised her eyebrows. “Think about it, bro. Are you man enough to handle a nanny like Susan, if it would be the best thing for Mindy?”
* * *
Susan sat at the kitchen table with Angelica and the new baby while Daisy warmed up the side dishes she’d brought and ordered her brothers outside to grill burgers.
“Do you want to hold her?” Angelica asked, looking down at the dark-haired baby as if she’d rather do anything than let her go.
“Me?” Susan squeaked. “No thanks. I mean, she’s beautiful, but I’m a disaster with babies. At a minimum, I always make them cry.”
