Nanny in Hiding

Why had he been so impulsive tonight? His mother was right. It wasn’t like him. Normally he thought things through and investigated all aspects of a situation before he acted. Yet in the case of someone to care for his children—a job that was crucially important—he had acted on instinct, never mind the fact he had belatedly decided it might be wise to check Amy’s references.

Why?

Later, as he supervised the girls in their bedtime rituals, he still hadn’t come up with an answer to his impulsive act. It was only as he climbed into bed and turned out the bedside lamp that the answer came to him, and it startled him.

Something about Amy Gordon reminded him of Michelle. Bryce punched up his pillow and turned on his side.

Amy didn’t look like Michelle. Michelle had been blond with gray-blue eyes. She’d also been taller than Amy, an all around bigger woman. Yet there was something, some quality the two women shared, although Bryce couldn’t exactly put his finger on it.

He thought about his impulsive act for a long while before finally deciding it didn’t matter why he’d acted the way he had. For some reason he liked Amy and he instinctively trusted her. No, he didn’t know a lot about her background, but he was a good judge of people, and he would lay odds Amy Gordon was a good person and her references would all check out.

So he wasn’t sorry he’d offered her the job. In fact, he had a strong feeling she would be the best nanny his girls had ever had.

“So tell me about your brother,” Amy said. She and Lorna were sitting on the porch—Lorna in the swing, Amy in a nearby rocking chair. Each sipped from a glass of wine. The heat of the day had finally succumbed to nightfall and the strengthening wind that promised rain before morning. It was so peaceful sitting there in the moonlight, listening to crickets chirping and the wind rustling through the leaves of the big magnolia tree that dominated the front yard. Amy could feel all the stress and worry of the past couple of days falling from her shoulders.

“Bryce is one of the good guys,” Lorna said. “Of course, I am prejudiced since he’s my brother, but even so, it’s true. I admire him and respect him more than just about anyone in the world.”

Amy couldn’t help the stab of envy. She had always wanted brothers and sisters. “What happened to his wife?”

“Ovarian cancer. She died three years ago.”

“That’s tough.”

“Yes, it was. We were all pretty broken up about it. Michelle, well, she was special. We all loved her. Even Mother.”