"Montgomery here," Leo said as he flipped open his silver
cell phone and stepped away from the boat trailer into the
hot December sun.
"This is Verity. Heather's nanny."
The fact that he had to be reminded of her job position
spoke of how little he'd paid attention to the new nanny.
Maybe that was because he expected her to come and go as
the rest had. Maybe it was because of her glasses, tied-
back hair and oversize T-shirts. For almost a month she'd
moved around like a ghost in his house, seemingly quite
capable, as Jolene had predicted she would be, yet
definitely always in the background.
Now he was on the alert because this call most probably
concerned his daughter. "Verity, what is it?"
"It's Heather. I didn't want to bother you, but I thought
you should know that she fell against the coffee table in
the great room and cut her forehead."
Leo's heart pounded and he felt panic grip him. "Is she
all right? Did you take her to the emergency room?"
"I applied pressure and used a butterfly bandage, but you
might want to have her checked. Just tell me what you'd
like me to do."
Merely three, with her light-brown, wavy hair and her
blue, blue eyes, all Heather had to do was look at him and
his heart melted. The thought of her hurt —
"I'll be right there. Fifteen minutes tops. Is she crying?
Is she upset?"
Verity's voice was helpfully patient. "She's sitting in my
lap, sucking her thumb with her head on my shoulder."
"I'll be there as soon as I tell my foreman where I'm
going. Keep her calm and call me if you see any change."
"Yes, Mr. Montgomery."
Leo headed for the production plant.
Fifteen minutes later he arrived at his house in a select
section of Avon Lake, Texas, where the houses in his
development were quietly luxurious. His ranch house sat
back from the curb with a curved drive leading to it. He
left the car in the driveway and hurried to the front door.
Usually when he came home, he was filled with the same
sense of well-being he felt at the boatyard. Today dread
clouded his thoughts as it had when he'd learned about
Carolyn's brain tumor. What if Heather had seriously
injured herself? What if she had a concussion?
His boots sounded on the ceramic tile floor in the
entrance foyer as he headed straight ahead for the great
room. The fireplace, cathedral ceiling and skylights made
it his favorite room in the house. He barely noticed any
of that now as he hurried to the denim sofa where Verity
was seated with Heather. His daughter was dressed in red
overalls with a little white sweater underneath. Her
cheeks were pink and tear-stained, and her eyes were wide,
as she kept her head on Verity's shoulder and stared up at
him.
"Hello, baby," he said as he went to take her into his
arms. To his surprise she hung on to Verity.
Verity whispered to her, "Go with Daddy."
But Heather shook her head, held on even tighter and
mumbled around her thumb, "I wanna stay wif you."
Leo felt a stab to his heart.
With understanding eyes, Verity looked up at him, and Leo
saw her, really saw her, for the first time since she'd
been hired. There was a quiet equanimity about her that
had calmed him from the first moment he'd met her. She was
young — twenty-two. Her major in college had been early
childhood education, and in the short time she'd been with
him, she handled Heather as if she knew exactly what she
was doing. He had a feeling that had more to do with
natural ability than any schooling. Her blue wire-rim
glasses had always distracted him from looking at her eyes
before now. They were a beautiful brown, the color of
teak. Her hair, tied back in a low ponytail, looked silky
and soft. Her face was a classic oval, and her nose turned
up just a bit at the tip. Although here on the Gulf most
residents were suntanned, he noticed Verity's skin was
creamy white. "She's still upset," Verity said.
"Instead of the E.R., we'll take her to the pediatrician.
I called him on the drive here. He said to bring her right
in."
With utmost gentleness, Verity stroked Heather's hair. "Do
you want me to go along?"
"I don't think I can pry her away from you," he responded
wryly, realizing how that bothered him. Apparently,
Heather had connected with this nanny. He was grateful for
that, yet —
"Let's go," he directed gruffly, and would have turned to
leave, but then he realized he'd been doing everything in
a hurry lately. He'd also been working long hours. How
many nights had he put Heather to bed since Verity had
arrived and started caring for her?
Apparently not enough. "Let's go with Daddy," Verity
murmured to the little girl.
Leo looked at Verity again and found himself thinking how
pretty she was, even though she was sloppily dressed. He
found himself liking the sound of her voice. He found
himself...getting stirred up in a way a man shouldn't
around a nanny.
Their gazes connected and, in a flash, he saw the same man-
woman awareness in her eyes that he was feeling. Then she
glanced away, and he was glad. He certainly didn't want to
delve further into that.
In his SUV, driving toward the doctor's office, an awkward
silence surrounded them.
Leo headed north on Lonestar Way, Avon Lake's main
thoroughfare, leading toward the college side of town. The
college housed about 10,000 students, and the town itself
had a growing population of more than 7,000 now. But Leo
knew Avon Lake would always keep that small-town flavor.
At least, he hoped it would.
Heather's pediatrician was located in one of the old
houses near the college. Leo knew Verity took a course at
the campus once a week, though he didn't know much else
about her, except what she'd given on her résumé. She'd
attended college at the University of Texas and had been
born and bred in Galveston.
Maybe because of his reaction to her for those few
moments, maybe because her silence made him wonder what
she was thinking, he asked her, "What course are you
taking this semester?"
As she shifted in her seat, he felt her gaze fall upon
him. "I'm not taking a class officially. When I accepted
the position with you in November, I was too late to
register for the term. But I'm auditing a class on
children's play techniques."
"You're working on your master's?"
"Yes, I hope to. I have an advisor now. I'll be meeting
with him soon to choose courses for next term."
"It's hard to believe Christmas is less than a month away.
Did you have an enjoyable Thanksgiving?"
They hadn't talked since then, and Leo didn't even know
where she'd gone. She'd left early in the morning and come
back late that evening after he and Heather had returned
from dinner at Jolene's.
Quiet for a few moments, Verity finally answered, "It was
fine."
Casting a sideways glance at her, his interest was piqued,
maybe because of everything she wasn't saying. "Did you
spend it with family?"
"No. I went to Freeport for the day."
"And met friends?"
Again, that little silence, and then she shook her
head. "No, I had dinner, then I drove to the beach for a
while."
Now he was even more intrigued. Didn't she have family?
Why would she spend the holiday alone? If he asked those
questions, he'd become more involved than he wanted to be.
Heather suddenly called from the back in her super-fast
baby voice. "Vewitee. Vewitee. I wanna feed duckee and go
for ice cweam."
Verity gave her full attention to Heather as she
turned. "Not today, honey. We have to go to the doctor's
so he can look at your head."
"No doctor. I wanna feed duckees."
Peering into the rearview mirror to see his daughter, Leo
caught sight of her lower lip pouting out. He hated to see
her cry. "What if we go feed the ducks after the doctor
looks at your head?"
After thinking about that for a few moments, she
returned, "Ice cweam, too?"
"It's going to be close to supper. Maybe we could stop at
the Wagon Wheel and get that chicken you like so much.
They have ice cream for dessert."
"Chicken and ice cweam!" Heather said gleefully. Verity
laughed, a pure, free sound that entranced Leo, as she
commented, "Ducks, chicken and ice cream all in one day.
She's going to hold you to every one of those."
"Like an elephant never forgets?" he asked with a chuckle.
"Something like that. I can't believe how her vocabulary
is growing, just in the few weeks I've been here. Each day
she's becoming more coordinated, too. I've seen it before,
of course, with the children I've worked with, but just
caring for one child, and seeing her change almost daily,
is absolutely amazing."
"I know Jolene probably mentioned it, but I don't remember
how you heard about the position with me," he prompted.
"I have a friend in the career counseling office at UT.
She knew I was looking for a change, called me and told me
about it."
"A change from what you were doing or where you were
living?"
"Both."
That concise word was the end of the conversation unless
Leo wanted to pursue it. He didn't.
Sitting beside Verity, smelling the floral scent of her
shampoo or lotion, very much liking the sound of her
laughter, he felt as if he were awakening from a long
sleep. It was disconcerting. He'd gotten used to his life,
and although Jolene often told him he was in a rut, ruts
were damned comfortable.