Inherited:OneChild(18)

Annalise appeared in the doorway, her curls as tumbled and ruffled as   his niece's. She pulled up short at the sight of all of them piled in   his bed. "Oh," she said, disconcerted. "There you are. What … what are you   doing?"

"It's Family Bed," he offered.

She blinked at him in utter bewilderment. "What's Family Bed?"

And he'd thought he'd been deprived. He wondered why she'd never   experienced something so wondrous. What had her childhood been like that   she'd never known the pleasure of curling up with her parents and   siblings in one big bed? Even he, with his dearth of close family ties   had, for one sweet summer, known the joy of Family Bed.

"Every Sunday my mother, stepfather, and Joanne would collect books and   newspapers, coffee and juice, and spend the first couple of hours of  the  day in bed together." He glanced down at his niece, tucked close to  his  side. "I gather Joanne continued the tradition."

A wistful smile teased at the corners of Annalise's mouth. "It sounds lovely."

"Why don't you join us?"

A sweeping flash of vulnerability betrayed her longing to do just that   and made Jack think of a child with her nose pressed to the candy store   window, always on the outside looking in. Never allowed a taste of   heaven. He'd had close and personal experience with that particular   emotion, having iced up his nose on that window on more than one   occasion. Then her expression vanished as though it had never been, and   he could only marvel at her self-control.                       
       
           



       

"I don't think it would be appropriate for me to join you." She edged   toward the door. "I'll just get breakfast started while you and Isabella   enjoy reading together."

"We can fix breakfast later on. Right now it's time for Family Bed." He nudged his niece. "Isn't that right?"

She nodded eagerly and held out her arms to Annalise, who wavered,   clearly torn between a desire to share in something she'd never   encountered before and longed to experience, and maintaining a   professional distance.

"Come on, Stefano. You're needed here."

He'd said the exact right thing. Her smile nearly blinded him as she   approached the bed. He grabbed Madam by her collar and wrestled her   toward the end of the mattress in order to give Annalise room. She slid   beneath the covers next to Isabella and the three of them reclined side   by side, against mounds of pillows. He opened the Mrs. Pennywinkle  book  and cleared his throat.

"'It was a cold winter day when the magical china doll, Nancy, found her way to the next little girl who needed her … '" he began.

Beside him, his niece patted her doll's back and hugged her closer.   "Your doll looks just like the one in the book," Annalise said in   surprise. "Is … is she a Nancy doll?" At Isabella's nod, a husky tone   entered her voice. "No wonder she's so special. Do you think she's here   to help you like the doll in your storybook?"

Again Isabella nodded, this time pointing to the dog. "You think your   Nancy doll sent Madam to you?" Jack asked. When his niece nodded a third   time, more emphatically, he exchanged an uneasy glance with Annalise.   "Is this going to be a problem?"

"I don't think so, not unless she starts to believe that her doll can grant wishes."

"And if that's what she already believes?"

"I don't know," Annalise admitted. "I guess we hope that with the proper   amount of love and attention and counseling, she gradually realizes   that isn't the case. I have to admit, I'm a little out of my depth on   this one."

Isabella gave the book an impatient tap and Jack forced himself to relax   and offer an apologetic smile. "Sorry, munchkin. I got distracted   there. What do you say we start over?"

The next hour passed on wings, ending too soon as far as Jack was   concerned. When his bed emptied out so that everyone could dress, so did   the warmth, and he decided then and there that Family Bed would become  a  weekly ritual from this point forward. His cell phone rang just as   Annalise herded Isabella toward the kitchen to whip up a batch of   pancakes. He checked caller ID and connected the call.

"Yeah, Derek. What's up?"

"Sorry to call so early in the morning, but the PI's preliminary report   just hit my in-box and I knew you'd like the results ASAP."

"And?"

"And Ms. Stefano is clean … for the most part."

Jack spared a quick glance toward the hallway. Girlish laughter slipped   out from the direction of the kitchen and he nudged his door closed.   "What part isn't so clean?"

"There was a small matter when she was sixteen. Cops raided some kid's   birthday bash and issued her a citation for underage drinking. They   expunged her record after she completed some court-ordered community   service. Since then, she's been so clean she squeaks."

Jack lowered his voice. "If the record was expunged, how did you get the details?"

"I have my sources. I'm not minimizing what she did, Jack, but it was a   long time ago. Her mother had died a couple years before that and her   father was in the military at the time. After her brush with the law, he   took an early discharge and started up a fishing charter service, I'm   guessing so he could assume a more hands-on role. He sent her off each   summer to stay with an aunt during tourist season. The aunt's a school   teacher who lives out near Columbia. She's probably the one who   influenced Annalise's career choice."

"Did you find anything that might concern CPS?"

"Nothing. I doubt they'll even dig up as much as I have." There was a   brief pause. "So, how's it going at your end? Your marriage project   moving right along?" he asked a shade too casually.

"It's coming."

"Coming … as in soon, though, right?"

Jack let out a long sigh. He knew that tone. "Aw, hell. What do you know that I don't?"

"The Locke woman's making noises again. I've done everything I can to have her replaced, but apparently she's irreplaceable."                       
       
           



       

"How much time do I have?" Jack asked grimly.

"Let's see … . Soon would be good. If you and your charming bride-to-be   were to show up at the Judicial Center and fill out a marriage   application sometime today, you could be wedded and bedded in   twenty-four hours. How does that sound?"

"Hell, Derek. That isn't soon. That's immediate."

"Immediate works for me."

"Well, it doesn't for me. And I guarantee, it won't for Annalise."

"I strongly suggest you find a way for it to work for both of you. Once   you're officially married, I can probably hold off CPS for another  month  or so, convince them the two of you deserve time to settle into   connubial bliss. But that's as far as I'll be able to push it. You need   to marry now in order for me to insist on any sort of further delay.  And  then you need to create a loving relationship that's good enough to   pass Mrs. Locke's scrutiny."

Jack closed his eyes and ran a hand along the nape of his neck. Damn it to hell. "I'll try."

"I suggest you do more than try."

Jack spent the rest of the day considering and rejecting any number of   arguments to present to Annalise, everything from a declaration of   undying love-which would leave her laughing herself silly-to the   unvarnished truth, which he feared would not only leave him without a   bride but without a nanny, as well.

Still … What choice did he have? He couldn't lie to her. He slanted her a   calculating look as they put Isabella down for the night. He needed to   find a way to convince his nanny to agree to a coldly logical, if  highly  offensive, proposal of marriage. But, how?

There was only one way. He'd tell her the truth and hope she'd been   serious when she had claimed she'd do everything in her power to help   Isabella. "We need to talk," he informed her, as soon as they finished   tucking in his niece.

Annalise regarded him with a worried frown. "Is something wrong?"

He waited until they'd returned to the living room before explaining.   "According to my lawyer, I need to marry immediately in order to retain   custody of Isabella."

She stared in shock. "Oh, Jack, is he certain?"