Maid for the Single Dad

The odd feeling returned again. He had every right to investigate a squeal, but the tone of his voice just didn’t sit right.

Of course, she might be overanalyzing because she was nervous about having just burned a big part of his dinner!

“I…Um…” She swallowed to gather her courage. “My sauce just boiled over.”

“Oh. Okay, if everything’s under control the kids and I are going to take a short walk.”

He took it so casually that Ellie blinked in surprise as Mac turned away. Sam would have screamed at her for hours for ruining dinner, proving Mac wasn’t a full-fledged grouch or even really a control freak. So what the heck was going on here?

As Mac called, “Lacy!” Ellie noticed Henry had on a straw hat and a lightweight one-piece pajama that covered his entire body to protect him from the sun. Ellie didn’t criticize Mac’s diligence. But it did further the theory that he was very protective of his children and she’d better do the absolute best job she could do when she was alone with them—

Ah! Now she got it.

The parents of the kids she typically babysat for trusted her. This guy didn’t know her. So how could he trust her? He couldn’t! That was why he seemed to be keeping the kids from her. Until he got to know her he’d probably huddle over Henry and Lacy rather than let her alone with them…and probably also question her every move. His distrust could even be the “odd” thing she sensed in the air of this house.

Lacy ran into the room. She also wore a straw hat to protect her from the sun. “I’m ready, Daddy.”

Mac said, “Let’s go.” Then he and the kids trooped out of the kitchen.

Ellie spun around and looked at the milk-covered burner on the stove with a groan. She grabbed her cell phone from her jeans pocket.

“Ava, can you get a jar of store-bought Alfredo sauce here in twenty minutes?”

Ava laughed. “Ellie, you’re going to wear me out.”

“This time I can let you in the gate.”

“Great. I’ll fill you in on the Happy Maids stuff while I’m there.”

Twenty minutes later, Ava arrived with two jars of Alfredo sauce and the maids’ time sheets to be signed for payroll. As Ellie poured the penne pasta, portabella mushrooms and red and yellow peppers into a casserole dish and then covered them with Alfredo sauce and popped them into the oven, Ava briefed her on Happy Maids’ day.

“Nothing out of the ordinary happened. The houses were cleaned as scheduled. The Maids have their jobs for tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Ava.”

“You’re welcome. Now, I have to get home. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon around this time.” Ava headed for the butler’s pantry, but stopped and grinned at Ellie. “Don’t hesitate to call me if you need something.”

Ellie shook her head in dismay. “I’m sorry but this guy is a serious control freak.” She’d finally decided to label him a control freak, if only because distrust was such an ugly word and she didn’t want Ava to realize she was uncomfortable. She might want Ellie to leave and she couldn’t. Cain and Liz needed for her to do a good job. “I didn’t dare risk a mistake.”

Ava laughed. “I was teasing. I don’t mind you calling me for help. You’re doing this as much for my boss as for yours. So we’re in this together.”

With that Ellie scooted out through the butler’s pantry and garage, leaving Ellie to prepare a salad in the twenty minutes it would take to heat the pasta and sauce.

She was just pulling dinner from the oven when Mac and the kids returned.

She greeted them with a smile. “You’re right on time.”

“Great. We’re starving.” He ambled to the door. “You may serve us in the formal dining room.”

Ellie smiled, breathing a silent sigh of relief that he’d told her what to do and quickly set the table. As she did that, Mac grabbed a jar of baby food, a baby dish and a tiny spoon.

She served the food while Mac fed Henry.

“That’ll be all, Ellie.”

Ellie nodded in acknowledgement and scurried back into the kitchen. But she opened the swinging door a crack and peeked into the dining room. Watching the happy little family, she amended her opinion of Mac once again. It seemed wrong to call him a control freak when he was looking out for his kids. In some circles that would make him a good dad.

Still, there was the matter of the missing wife. She couldn’t reconcile herself to thinking that any woman would give full custody of two adorable children to her husband. Had there been a custody battle? Were these two kids scarred for life?

Of course, his wife could be—Ellie swallowed—dead. Oh, dear. That would certainly raise a whole different set of issues! Including the curiosity of why he hadn’t told Ellie, if only to explain whether or not the kids were still dealing with that.

No. He would have told her if his wife were dead. As diligent as he was, he’d want her to be prepared about everything to do with his kids. His wife had to have left.

But where was she? And why had she gone, leaving her kids behind?

Telling herself it was none of her business and that she could handle not knowing for one month if it meant that Liz got the recommendations she needed and Cain got the contracts he wanted, Liz began scrubbing pots and wiping the kitchen counters.

When the Carmichaels were finished eating, Mac leaned into the kitchen. “We’re done. Lacy and I will be upstairs getting Henry ready for bed.”

“Okay.”

“Once you’ve cleaned up, you’re done for the day. You may do whatever you wish. It’s still hot out, so you might want to take a dip in the pool. The kids and I are in for the night, so it’s all yours if you wish. Good night, Ellie.”

He pulled out of the room without waiting for her reply and Ellie leaned against the counter with a sigh of relief.

Day one down!

After clearing the dining room and popping the dishes into the dishwasher, Ellie went to her room.

She wouldn’t mind a swim, but she hadn’t brought a suit. Plus, she needed to get up early the next morning. She set her alarm for four, so that she’d be ready for Lacy whatever time she awoke, then did a quick pirouette in the massive bedroom she’d be staying in for the next month. Her boss’s life might be a bit of a mystery. She might wonder what happened to the kids’ mom. And she absolutely had to get better at cooking. But spending a month in this suite could almost make up for that. It was the lap of luxury.

Running her hand up one of the black posts of the four-poster bed, she noticed the gold decorative rings at the top and sighed dreamily. What must it be like to have so much money that you could have everything you wanted, exactly as you wanted it?

Lifting her makeup bag from the black mirrored dresser, she turned and walked into the bathroom. Again, she stopped and stared in awe. Brown travertine tiles on the floor matched the brown tiles in the shower and surrounding the spa tub. This bathroom was as big as the kitchen in her and her roommate Mitzi’s apartment.

She set the makeup case on the counter of the double sink with black-and-gold granite countertops, then stripped to make good use of the spa tub. After a nice long soak, she stepped into lightweight pajamas, applied face cream and crawled into bed with a book. Cool silk sheets greeted her and she groaned. There was a definite difference between cleaning someone’s house once a week and staying in that house—even if it was as hired help. She certainly hoped she didn’t get used to this!

She read until about ten, then turned out the light of the brushed gold lamp on the bedside table and immediately fell asleep.

What seemed like only minutes later Henry’s loud crying woke her. Slightly disoriented, she bolted up in bed, wondering what the sound was. But the second burst of crying brought her to full alertness and got her to her feet.

“Henry!” she cried, not even sure if the little boy could hear her. “I’m coming, sweetie!”

Intending to change his diaper and take him downstairs while she warmed a bottle, she ran into the room. As her door opened on the left side of the nursery, Mac’s door on the right side of the nursery also opened. Both flew into the room and stopped dead in their tracks.

Her pajamas, though lightweight, were covering. His chest was bare above low-riding bottoms. His dark hair was mussed. His eyelids drooped sexily and his brilliant blue eyes were glazed over. He had the sleepy look of a man who cuddled after sex.