Nanny in Hiding

“Oh, no, we couldn’t,” Amy said. “You go on and don’t worry about us. We’ll just find something to eat in town somewhere.”

“There’s no way I’m letting you ‘find something to eat’ while I go off to a party.”

“It’s not like you invited us to come,” Amy pointed out. “We practically invited ourselves. I don’t want you changing your plans because of us.”

“Look, I’m not leaving you here alone. I called the house and told my grandmother about you, and she insisted I bring you along tonight. She said it would be the height of rudeness to leave a guest home alone while I went out to dinner.” Lorna grinned. “Believe me, when Grandmother Stella issues a command, a good Hathaway obeys.”

Amy had to admit she was curious about Lorna’s family, especially her grandmother, whom Lorna had mentioned more than once in that year they’d been roommates. But tonight was such a special occasion, and Amy and Calista were outsiders. It just didn’t seem right for them to be taking part in a family celebration.

“Now, we only have about an hour until we have to start getting ready. Grandmother’s a stickler for punctuality and tonight’s shindig starts at seven…so let’s quit wasting time arguing about whether you’re coming with me or not and let’s catch up.”

In the next twenty minutes Amy learned that Lorna had come back to Morgan Creek after getting her master’s degree and had worked in the family business ever since. She had been married, she said, but was now divorced, and had no children. This last had been relayed matter-of-factly, but Lorna couldn’t disguise the longing she obviously felt. It was there every time she looked at Calista, and Amy felt bad for her friend. Calista was the light of her life, the best thing that had ever happened to her—despite the fact she’d had to be married to Cole to get her—and Amy felt sorry for everyone who hadn’t experienced that same joy, especially when it was so obvious they wanted children.

“Now let’s hear everything about you,” Lorna said when she’d finished.

Amy looked over at Calista.

Lorna immediately nodded. “Calista, would you like to play with Buttercup in the backyard? She needs to get some exercise.”

Calista grinned. “Yeah!”

“We can sit on the back porch and watch her,” Lorna said to Amy.

Once they were settled outside—with Calista playing happily and out of earshot, Amy felt free to talk.

“Like you, I’m divorced. My ex lives in Shreveport. He’s an investment banker.” Neither was true. Cole was a high-powered lawyer turned politician and he lived in Mobile, but Amy knew from the women in the underground network that she couldn’t afford to take any chances or trust anyone, no matter who, and had rehearsed the story she would tell to everyone from now on.

“He never really wanted children,” she continued, “so he didn’t object when I decided to head for the West Coast where I understand teachers—even preschool teachers like me—make really good money.” This was partially true. Cole hadn’t wanted children. After all, how could he remain the center of Amy’s universe if he had to share her with a child? But he would have objected violently to Amy’s leaving Mobile with Calista if he’d known about it. Not because he cared about Calista, but because he knew Amy did.

The divorce had infuriated Cole. He’d fought Amy every step of the way. Where she’d gotten the strength to actually leave him and file for divorce, she’d never know, because Cole had beaten her down so much over the years, it had always been easier to just go along with whatever it was he wanted than to actually assert herself.

To retaliate and hurt her in the worst possible way, he had produced “witnesses” who swore under oath that they had seen Amy doing drugs and neglecting Calista. Because of Cole’s position and the friends who lied for him, he was given custody of Calista, and Amy was only allowed to see her twice a week under strict supervision.

“So you’re a teacher?” Lorna said. “I thought you were a journalism major.”

“I was, briefly. But during the summer between my freshman year and my sophomore year, I worked at a day-care center. I loved working with kids so much, I decided to switch to early childhood education. Up until I got married, I taught kindergarten.”

“Up until you got married?”

Amy nodded. “My ex didn’t want me to work.” Seeing the look on Lorna’s face, Amy added wryly, “How could I focus all my time and energy on him if I was working?”

Lorna made a face. “Oh. That kind of man.”

Amy shuddered. “You have no idea.”

“And yet he was okay with you moving and taking Calista with you?”

“He didn’t have a choice.”

Lorna nodded. “How long were you married?”

“Seven years. Seven long years. How about you?”

“Six years.”

“What happened? If you don’t mind my asking?”

“A twenty-year-old Dallas Cowboys cheerleader with big boobs.”

“Oh, Lorna, that stinks.”

Lorna shrugged. “The bloom was off the rose by then, anyway. I realized early on I’d made a bad mistake, but I hung on stubbornly, thinking I could make it work if I just tried hard enough. Thing is, it takes two, and Keith wasn’t trying. He was looking for greener pastures…or should I say someone more adoring than I was ever going to be.”

“Were you living here in Morgan Creek when this happened?”

“Uh-huh. And that may have been a big part of the problem. He hated working for my family, but more than that, he really hated that I had more say-so in the running of the company than he did. Keith has to be top dog and he wasn’t.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe if I’d loved him more, I would have tried harder to make him happy. It wasn’t all his fault.” For a moment she was silent. Then she smiled and lifted her glass of lemonade. “But that’s water under the bridge. Now here we are, two women who have learned some tough lessons but who are cutting their losses and moving on. To survival!”

Amy clinked her glass against Lorna’s. “To survival.”

Chapter Two

Bryce Hathaway wasn’t looking forward to the evening. Although his family had always made a big deal out of birthdays, especially those of his grandmother, Stella, the oldest living Hathaway, he knew tonight’s celebration would be a trial because Stella Morgan Hathaway had been on the warpath for the past week.

The reason was Bryce’s youngest sister, Claudia. Since earning her MBA, Claudia had worked in the family business, but it was apparent to everyone that, unlike Lorna, she hated it. With Bryce’s encouragement, Claudia had begun to investigate other job opportunities. This meant there was a high probability she would be leaving Morgan Creek since there were few other job prospects in this town for someone like Claudia outside of Hathaway Bakery. But the truth was, part of the reason Claudia disliked working for the family business was the fact it was in Morgan Creek, as Bryce well knew.

Bryce couldn’t blame his youngest sister for the way she felt. As she’d put it last week, what were her chances of finding a guy she might want to spend her life with if she stayed in what she called “this one-horse town”? Bryce knew the answer: slim to none.

Hence Grandmother Stella’s displeasure, which was now aimed not only at Claudia but at Bryce himself.

Bryce grimaced. On top of having to contend with his grandmother’s dark looks and heavy disapproval, there was also the immediate problem of a nanny for his daughters. The second one in less than six months had abruptly quit the previous Friday. Bryce guessed he understood why it was so hard for him to keep a nanny. Claudia wasn’t the only educated woman who didn’t want to be stuck in a small town like Morgan Creek. And even if these women didn’t mind the town, they did mind the six-days-a-week, live-in requirements of the job. Not even the generous salary and private suite of rooms seemed to make up for these negatives.

Plus there was Susan.

Bryce knew he should be angry with his younger daughter, but it was hard for him to stay mad at Susan, no matter how far she tested his patience, because she was so vibrant and full of life. In those dark months after Michelle’s death, Susan had been the only one who could make Bryce smile and forget his pain.

But the nannies employed since the death of his wife three years earlier weren’t as forgiving of Susan’s pranks and subtle forms of torture as he was. Even Stella’s sweetness couldn’t make up for her younger sister’s hijinks and sometimes aggravating behavior, as one recent nanny had told Bryce in exasperation.

“I’ve had all I can take,” the woman had said.

“Look, I’m sorry about the lizard—”

“Yes,” she’d said, “I’m sure you are, but I’m still leaving.”

The lizard in the jewelry box was only the latest in a series of calculated attempts to get the nanny to resign. Susan had made no bones about the fact she didn’t like Miss Reynolds, and no matter what kind of punishment he exacted, he also knew Susan would never change. Until he found a nanny she liked, she would continue to drive them away.

“Daddy, I’m ready.”

Bryce blinked, then smiled down at Stella. It always amused him that his grandmother’s namesake was totally unlike her in temperament, whereas Susan personified the phrase “chip off the old block.”