The Nanny Solution

“Unfortunately Ms. Bee—that’s Peyton’s name for her—hates the dog, if possible even more than I do,” he said.

“Oh.” Audrey got it.

“She threatened to leave me if I didn’t get rid of the dog. I confess, I considered telling Peyton it ran away and that I couldn’t find it or that it got hit by a car. But then she’d cry, and I hate it when my daughter cries. But I refuse to live without Ms. Bee, either.”

“I understand.”

“I promised her I would find someone to fix the dog, that she would never have to have anything to do with it again. It’s the only way I could get her to stay. Which is where you come in. You’re to see that the dog never bothers Ms. Bee, which is why I need someone to live on the premises.”

They reached the side of the garage, and he led her up a set of stairs on the side of the building that led to the second floor and a door; he unlocked it and stepped back, letting her go inside first.

It was an open, L-shaped space, tastefully, if sparsely, furnished, a living room, small dining area and kitchen, obviously the recent recipient of Ms. Bee’s attentions, because it was absolutely spotless. The hardwood floors gleamed, as did the countertops and the appliances.

The walls were a light, cheery butter-cream, and there were tons of windows that looked out over the backyard.

Audrey stuck her head in the door opposite the kitchen and found a bedroom and nicely appointed bathroom.

“The previous owners had a son in college who lived here, I believe, when he no longer wanted to live at home, precisely,” Simon said. “I hope it’s acceptable?”

“It’s perfect,” Audrey said.

Much more than she’d expected to be able to afford on her own, given her lack of experience at anything and lack of formal job training.

“So, you can fix the lawn, fix the dog and keep it from bothering Ms. Bee?”

She took a leap of faith.

Either that or told a full-blown lie born of the desperation to be near her daughter.

“I’m sure I can,” she said.

“Excellent.” He named a salary she thought was more than fair, given the fact that she’d be living here for free. “When can you start?”

“When would you like?” she asked.

“I suppose this instant is out of the question, given the fact that you need time to move your things in. Dare I hope, tomorrow?”

“You don’t want any references or a résumé—?”

He shook his head. “Marion vouched for you. That’s all I need.”

Audrey nodded. “Did she tell you…I mean, you should know—”

“You’re one of her strays, aren’t you? Had some problems? Trying to get your life back together? And she’s taken you in for a while?”

“Yes.” He did know Marion well.

“Have you ever been arrested?” he asked.

“No, I haven’t,” she said.

“And Marion wouldn’t let you stay at her house unless you were clean and sober now, so…Good enough. I don’t need the details. I just need someone to fix my three problems. You’re going to do that for me?”

“Yes, I am,” Audrey agreed.

“Excellent.” He handed her the keys to the apartment, turned and started walking away, still talking to her.

Audrey hurried to follow.

“I’ll leave you to introduce yourself to Ms. Bee. She’s in the kitchen, expecting you. She’ll give you all the details you need,” he said, waiting for her to lock the door behind her.

“Thank you. I really appreciate it,” Audrey said.

“No, thank you. You’re going to make my life much easier.”

Audrey nodded.

“The dog should be returning any moment. We hired a dog walker, hoping we could survive the week that way. Yes, here they come.”

Audrey followed him down the stairs and waited as a young woman in shorts and a T-shirt came up the walk, half-dragged by what looked like a long-haired, mostly black-and-white, wiry but overgrown puppy, maybe six months old.

Although having just returned from its morning walk, the dog looked as if it had just gotten out of bed and was ready to run a marathon, looked hopeful that the opportunity might be offered. Its mouth stretched wide, it appeared to be smiling, happy and eager to take on the entire world, and as it got closer, Audrey could see its beautiful coat was shot through with silver.

He was striking looking.

The young woman said, “Hello, Mr. Collier,” and tried to turn over the leash to him, but he waved it off, motioning for her to give it to Audrey.

The dog’s tail whipped back and forth madly. It made a happy, yipping sound, then eased up on its back legs until it was standing practically straight up and rested its paws on Audrey’s thighs, mouth open, tongue lolling out in greeting.

Simon Collier grimaced and said, “Sorry,” then turned his attentions to dismissing the dog walker.

Audrey smiled, looked right into the dog’s eyes as she gently pushed it back and onto all four feet. She knelt on one knee, bringing herself to eye level with Simon Collier’s nemesis.

“Hello, Tink.”

Tink’s grin got even wider. The dog put his overgrown paws on her bent knee and then eased up to lick her cheek excitedly.

Simon made a sound of pure disgust.

“We’re going to be friends,” Audrey whispered to the dog, hoping it was true. Her job depended on it, after all, and the poor baby probably didn’t have any friends at all, except for Peyton Collier.

She stood up. Tink reared up and did a little dance of pure excitement but didn’t jump on Audrey, which she took as a sign of intelligence and eagerness to please.

“That’s nice,” Audrey complimented. “You can dance.”

“You’re not going to change your mind, are you?” Simon asked, as the dog walker turned and left.

“No, but why in the world did you get a border collie?”