The Nanny's Secret Child

He stared at the floor a long moment before answering. When he met her gaze again, she saw sparks of anger flash in his blue eyes. “Remember when you asked me why I didn’t see Abby after the divorce? It’s because my wife lied to me.”

Julie’s conscience pricked.

“She was bipolar, but she never bothered to share that fact with me and I was too blind to put it all together. I didn’t find out about her illness until a year after the divorce. I found her meds and confronted her. She accused me of spying on her. That’s when I started trying to regain custody of Abby. I didn’t know anything about bipolar disorder. There’d been nothing like that in my family. Do you have any idea how it affects people?”

“I do. My close friend’s mother is bipolar.”

“Then you know the damage it can do to children.”

Wrapping her arms around her middle, she tried to fend off the images of what little Abby might have endured and keep her focus on Gil. “I do.”

“I started custody proceedings, but that only made Leah angrier. That’s when she and her sister started their campaign to discredit me. Every time I showed up in Mobile to visit Abby for the weekend, there was some new hoop to jump through or some event that had come up that demanded Abby stay with them. One time I’d gotten as far as Hattiesburg when the police stopped me and said I had no right to take Abby across state lines.”

Julie moved closer. “Oh, Gil, I’m so sorry. That must have been horrible for you.”

He ran a hand along his jaw. “I can only guess what they told Abby about me. She probably thinks I’m some kind of monster.”

“I don’t think she does. But you will have to work harder to show her how much you love her. Find out what movies she likes to watch. Read to her each night. Tell her about yourself, and share the memories you have from when she was a baby. And don’t let her retreat to her room so much.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Has Abby been to see a psychologist about her grief?”

“Yes. And he said she’s shy and she’ll come out of it when she’s ready, and not to push her.”

“I don’t agree.”

Gil narrowed his gaze. “What makes you an expert? Do you have children?”

Julie blanched. “No. But I do have a degree in child psychology and years of experience with children.”

“But that doesn’t give you the right to...”

His cell ringtone intruded. He pulled it from his pocket and stepped away. When he faced her again, she could see the deep concern in his eyes and the hard set of his jaw.

“Is everything all right?”

“No. More bad news. We lost a bid we were counting on.”

“Sorry.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Forget what I said earlier. I appreciate all you’ve done. I just want to make her laugh the way you did. How did you do that?”

The pleading in his eyes drew her closer. She looked up at him, her gaze skimming the faint stubble appearing on his face and the small scar beneath his lower lip. She wondered where he’d gotten it. “Time together. We talk on the way to and from school. We are together each afternoon until you come home. She’s gotten comfortable with me.”