He cleared his throat before he began. “No more handstands or gymnastics. I’d prefer that you only run short errands with the kids in the car. I went grocery shopping this morning and got lunch meat and sandwich fixings, so you don’t need to cook.”
It shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it was unexpectedly painful to realize how little he thought of her. Dully, she nodded.
“Hope is coming tomorrow, right?”
“She’s still in the hospital. It could be a few more days until she’s back.”
He paused, pursing his lips as if considering the information. She thought then about turning around and walking away. The desire to slam the car door in his face and leave him on the curb was overwhelming. But this wasn’t about her. It was about Marie and Hope. This was five days out of her life, and the only downside was that she’d lose some training time. For Hope, it meant losing full-time work for the summer, and possibly a great part-time job that she could keep when she went back to school in the fall.
Marie hadn’t mentioned it, but Kelsey knew Hope’s finances constantly teetered on total disaster. She’d had to drop out of school six years ago when her mom got sick, leaving Hope with a host of medical bills and little means of paying them. Hope loved being a nanny, but she really wanted to be a teacher. Gentle Hands supplied her with relatively constant work, but she needed a degree if she was ever going to be financially secure.
“Fine,” he said, though he was clearly not happy about the situation. “You can tell Marie the end of the week is okay. But any longer than that and I’m going to find someone new.” He patted her arm as if he were comforting a child. “I’m sure you’re a really great mountaineer, Kelsey. I’m just not sure about you being a nanny. I hope you understand.”
She took a long, slow breath and tried to remember one of her yoga mantras. “I understand completely. You need to protect your kids. From me. I appreciate the ground rules, and I’ll do my best to obey them. I hope it’s okay if we go over to the park?” She pointed down the hill.
He brightened. “That sounds great. I’ll be home for most of the day. If you have any questions about safe activities, just ask.”
She dug her fingernails into her palm, shaking with the effort of keeping calm. “Thanks. I’m so glad to know you’re here.”
…
Ross wasn’t sure what to say after that. He’d been up half the night trying to decide what to tell her when she came back in the morning. Having her there yesterday had been nothing short of a nightmare. He’d thought about her constantly, desire simmering just below the surface every time he looked at her. He’d played out scenarios in his mind—starting, of course, with taking her back to a hotel and having crazy sex with her all night long.
It hadn’t taken long to reject that notion. Kelsey was the kind of woman you slept with but she was definitely not the kind you dated or brought home to meet your kids. She was a risk-taker and a drifter, precisely the opposite of the kind of woman he needed. And since she’d now met his kids, it would be impossible to put her back into the “someone you slept with” box. Which meant that parting ways was the only choice he had.
He’d thought about calling Marie and telling her he didn’t want Kelsey back, but that felt cowardly, and a little silly. Just because he couldn’t look at her without thinking dirty thoughts didn’t mean she wasn’t capable of keeping the kids from setting the house on fire. He could handle the attraction. He wasn’t an adolescent, for pity’s sake.
He didn’t doubt that he’d done the right thing by creating ground rules, though he could tell Kelsey was annoyed. He supposed he should be grateful she’d taken it so well. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her feelings, but he really didn’t have a choice. He needed a babysitter, and right now, she was all he had. When the week was over and the other nanny had returned, Kelsey would be out of their lives anyway. Which was exactly what he wanted.
Wasn’t it?
Chapter Six
Thursday morning, Ross watched as Kelsey pulled up in front of the house in her decrepit vehicle. Her long legs preceded the rest of her as she got out of the car, her small bag settled on her hip like some kind of talisman. He flicked his paper and pretended not to notice her. It wasn’t as if he was waiting for her to arrive, after all. He just enjoyed drinking his coffee in the front room of the house. Marie had called him the night before to say that Hope was now out of the hospital and feeling much better, but it would be a couple of days before she felt strong enough to take care of the kids. She’d start on Monday, if that was okay with him.