Bringing Up Babies

Lily got into her car and drove down the winding road that led into town, not even noticing the September breeze that rippled through the multicolored leaves of the dense forest around her. She couldn’t stop thinking about Chas Brewster and had to struggle not to close her eyes in frustration, wishing for the one millionth time in her life that she’d gone to college as her sister had advised. At the time she’d thought Mary Louise had only been trying to be a good guardian, pointing out all Lily’s options before Lily committed to helping her sister with her boys. Now she knew Mary Louise understood that pretty blondes didn’t always get the respect they deserved. At least if she had a degree, no one could argue her abilities.

Lily sighed. But she hadn’t wanted a degree. She’d wanted babies. She’d wanted to marry Everett, settle down in a suburban home and be a mom. She’d wanted to car pool to Little League games and ballet recitals. She’d wanted to sew Halloween costumes and give out candy to children for trick or treat. She’d also wanted to be the respected confidante of a man who would be her best friend, her partner, her companion and her lover. She’d wanted to give advice, talk out difficulties, plan the futures of her children and enjoy every second of her life—good or bad. Because she had genuinely believed there was nothing better, nothing more wonderful or more important than spending your life giving love, receiving love and teaching others to love.

Lily sighed heavily and maneuvered her car around a particularly sharp curve.

What a fool she’d been.

Betrayal had quickly stolen all her dreams, and time hadn’t given her the opportunity to come up with an alternate plan. But she did know one thing, she would never base her dreams on something so delicate as another person’s affections. Not ever again.

She would take the job as the Brewster nanny and begin squirreling away her money, because eventually she was going to have to make some decisions about her life, some real decisions. If nothing else, she was going to have to find a way to support herself, because she didn’t think Chas Brewster was going to keep her forever.

In fact, she knew he wouldn’t.

Lily arrived at Brewster Mansion about two hours later. Her car was packed with every single thing she’d collected in her twenty-three years. Holding a suitcase in one hand and balancing a box on the other, she rang the doorbell.

Chas answered. “Come in, Lily,” he said, sounding more resigned than glad to see her, though at least he was polite. He led her through the marble-floored foyer, through the immaculate all-white kitchen with the butcher-block counter in the center and to the door of what was probably maid’s quarters.

He opened the door to a room that was twice the size of any living space Lily had ever had. “Oh, it’s beautiful,” she said before she had a chance to temper her reaction.

“I’m glad you like it. Go in, get settled, then come back to the den whenever you’re ready, and we’ll discuss salary.”

Smiling brightly, Lily nodded. With one curt bob of his head Chas turned to leave and ran smack-dab into his older brother’s broad chest.

“Why are you putting her down here?” Grant asked incredulously.

Lily watched as Chas directed Grant out of the small alcove in front of her room and closed her door, but he and Grant apparently didn’t get any farther than the kitchen because she could hear them talking.

“This is where we agreed she’d stay.”

“Yeah, I know, but I’m leaving, remember? I need my sleep tonight, which means you’ll need help with those babies.”

“I’ll take care of the kids.”

“I’m sure you’ll try,” Grant agreed, “but I’m also sure you’ll fail. So put her upstairs, as close to those kids as you can get her.”

Obviously exasperated, Chas sarcastically said, “What do you want me to do, put her in my room?”

There was a pause, a long one. When Grant replied, there was laughter in his voice. “Do you want to put her in your room?”

“Absolutely not,” Chas insisted angrily, and though all of Lily’s nerve endings began to crackle with indignation, Chas’s older brother burst out laughing.

“You’re afraid of her.”

Chapter Two

Chas pushed Grant out of the kitchen and into the foyer, not sure how much of their conversation could be heard by the woman in the maid’s quarters, and unwilling to take any chances.

“I am not.”

“Of course you are!” Grant insisted, laughing. “Look at you, you’re all but shaking in your shoes.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Chas said, and strode past his brother toward the den. “Why the hell would I be afraid of a five-foot, ten-inch woman?”

“I don’t know,” Grant admitted, following closely on Chas’s heels. “Let’s see. Why would you be afraid of her? Could it be because you find her irresistibly attractive?”

“No woman is irresistibly attractive,” Chas said, focusing his attention on straightening up the desk to get ready for his discussion with Lily about salary. To his horror, Grant burst out laughing again.

“Oh, Chas. Who do you think you’re talking to here? I know firsthand that you’re more susceptible than the rest of us to a pretty girl. But this time you’re not alone. All of us are like putty around someone as gorgeous as Lily.”

Chas pinned him with a look. “Then I guess I don’t have anything to worry about, since you’ve just admitted you find her attractive, too.”

“Of course I do,” Grant acknowledged with a hearty laugh, then he leaned over the mahogany desk and smiled cunningly. “But I’m not going to be the one alone with her tomorrow night.”

After dinner the following evening, Chas understood exactly what Grant meant. His brother didn’t even have to allude to the other mistakes Chas had made in his life. This situation had enough trouble of its own. With the kids fed and happy, the house was unusually quiet. The sun had begun to set, and sporadic lamps made cozy yellow arches of light and cast odd shadows.

All in all the whole place was too intimate.

He paced the living room, knowing he should go up to the nursery and start bathtime, but feeling it was far too dangerous. He convinced himself that Lily could handle the job alone, since Grant had taught her last night to bathe one child at a time while keeping the others entertained in the play yard.

Sighing, Chas sat on the worn office chair and leaned back. In a good many ways he was glad he’d been wrong about Lily. Like Evan’s wife, Claire, she certainly had a way with babies. Though Claire had gotten her experience by helping with her younger siblings, Lily hadn’t volunteered where she’d garnered her information about raising kids except for her one statement about babysitting for her sister. Chas hadn’t asked her to elaborate on the situation, though he supposed he should have since that would have been a normal question to ask on an interview…if his brother had let him interview her. But, now that she was here and working, if he asked for details, his probing could be construed as interest in her personal life, and Chas didn’t want Lily to think he was interested in her personal life.

Because he wasn’t. He really wasn’t in the market for a wife. If anything, a casual relationship was about as high on his agenda as a woman could get until his law practice was established and he had a better handle on being Annie’s guardian. Since Lily worked for him, a relationship with her was completely out of the question.

So that meant everything had to be aboveboard. Nothing personal between them. She was his employee. He was her boss. And that was that.

Oddly enough, Chas suddenly felt better, maybe more in control. Satisfied that he’d resolved this whole issue in his mind, he rose from his seat. He supposed he could help Lily after all.

Exactly as she had been instructed to do, she’d placed Cody and Taylor in the play yard. When Chas walked into the nursery, he immediately pulled Cody out of the colorful pen and stepped into the bathroom where Lily was bathing Annie.

“Hey, pumpkin,” he said, bending to tickle Annie’s chin. “You like the water, don’t you?”

Annie rewarded him with two swift splashes.

“She certainly is a water baby,” Lily agreed, reaching behind her for the towel she’d strategically placed so she wouldn’t have to leave Annie’s side.

Though Lily wasn’t struggling, Chas slid Cody to the floor, pulled Annie from the tub and placed her in the towel Lily held.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Anything I can do to help?”

Lily pointed to Cody with her chin. “How about undressing that one for his bath while I dress this one?”

“Sounds good to me,” Chas agreed, but as if Cody understood what had been said, he crawled around Chas’s legs and out of the room. Chas turned and tried to grab him, but he missed Cody’s T-shirt by a millimeter, and the little boy zipped off, giggling.

“Oh, great! We’ll be lucky to catch him now. He might only be crawling, but he’s a slick one.”

“I’m sorry.”