Excerpt of Twelfth Night Proposal by Karen Rose Smith

"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.