Mia Ross - His Two Little Blessings

Back in his office, he sensed that something had changed. It took him a minute, but then he registered the fact that the perfume she wore had lingered behind her, lacing the air with the scent of a summertime garden. The idea of sharing a picnic in the town’s charming gazebo with her flashed into his head.

At this point in his life, a romantic connection was the furthest thing from his mind, he thought as he resolutely got back to work.

Allowing himself to fall into a relationship with another woman battling cancer was simply out of the question. After two years of unimaginable heartache, he and his daughters had finally begun to recover from losing Sarah. He had no intention of setting them on that path again.

Resilient as they were, he wasn’t sure they’d make it through a second time.

Chapter Three

“Miss Calhoun is here!” Caitlin sang, sailing down the colonial home’s handcrafted wooden staircase and out the front door before Rick had a chance to respond.

Clearly amused, Mrs. Fields turned and gave him an indulgent smile. “She really loves her new teacher, doesn’t she?”

“Cait’s my little Rembrandt,” he said fondly, reaching out to where Aubrey sat at the kitchen table to flip the complex single French braid he’d finally mastered with a little help from an internet discussion board for dads who needed advice on such things. “Aubrey’s going to be a scientist. Right, honey?”

Munching her apple, she tilted her head with a serious expression. “Or a zookeeper. Or maybe a really good cook, like Mrs. Fields.”

The grandmotherly woman laughed and hugged her from behind. “Whatever you decide, I’m sure you’ll be the best. I’m just glad to know that girls these days have so many choices of what they want to do for a career. In my day, there weren’t nearly as many options.”

Fascinated, Aubrey spun partway around in her chair. “What did you want to be?”

“Oh, it wasn’t very realistic,” the woman responded, waving her hand as if her old dream was something that should be pushed aside and forgotten.

Ordinarily, Rick took people at their word and didn’t pry beneath the surface of what they said to him. For some reason this time he went the other way. “Maybe not, but it sounds like it meant something to you when you were younger. What was it?”

After a moment she shook her head with a wistful look. “I wanted to be a music teacher. I love children, and helping them learn new things makes me happy.”

That explained why she was so wonderful with his girls, Rick thought in admiration. He’d never asked the agency for details on prospective nannies beyond the usual references and salary requirements. It occurred to him that as he’d gotten to know more about her over the past few months, he’d begun to view the cheerful middle-aged woman as more than an employee.

She felt like part of the family. How had that happened? he wondered. Before he had a chance to ponder it, Caitlin joined them in the kitchen, pulling a laughing Emma behind her.

“Miss Calhoun said we can call her Emma when we’re away from school. Isn’t that awesome, Daddy?”

“Very awesome,” he agreed, chuckling as he stood to relieve their visitor of the load she was carrying. Glancing inside the large plastic bin labeled “Art Program,” he looked at her in confusion. “There’s a lot more in here than what you brought to the bank yesterday.”

“More of the kids’ artwork,” she explained before dropping into the chair next to Aubrey. Peering at the preschooler’s book of animals, she pointed to one of the pictures. “I’ve never seen one of these before. What is it?”

Always ready to jump in, Caitlin quickly said, “It’s a—”

Rick cut her off with a shake of his head, and she abruptly fell silent to let her younger sister answer. Aubrey was a little slower to warm up to adults, and he looked for any opportunity to encourage her to interact with people outside her very limited circle.

To his surprise she quietly confided, “I don’t know.”

“Me, neither,” Emma said easily, sliding a little closer. “Why don’t we go through the letters in its name together and see if we can figure out what they spell?”

“Okay.” Aubrey’s small index finger moved from one letter to the next as she recited the letters. If she got stuck, she glanced at Emma, who filled in the alphabetical blank. When they were done, they sounded out the name together, and she sat back with a triumphant grin. “Coatimundi. It’s really cute.”

“Well, how about that?” Emma said, giving her a quick hug. “Thanks to you, now I know what they look like, and that they live in Mexico.”

“And how to spell it,” Caitlin added, patting her sister’s head. “Great job, Froggy.”

She sat down on the other side of Emma, and the three of them leafed through the book, stopping here and there for a closer look at whatever snagged their attention. Seeing Emma with his daughters did something strange to Rick’s heart. He’d grown so accustomed to them being a three-person family that he didn’t often consider what they might be missing out on. He adored them—would lay down his life for theirs without a single thought if it came to that. Their past nannies had been wonderful, and Mrs. Fields brought a steady, compassionate demeanor into their household that he really appreciated.

But he couldn’t deny that his girls needed something more than he could give them, even though he could afford the best caretakers in the area. Even when Sarah’s own health was failing, she’d remained an unwavering presence in their young lives, calm and comforting until the end. That was a mother’s love, he realized. And no matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn’t give them that.

But Emma had an undeniable way with them, and it wasn’t the first time he’d noticed it. Maybe it was because she worked with kids all day and obviously enjoyed being around them. Or maybe she’d formed a bond with Caitlin because of her illness, and Aubrey followed along because she adored her big sister and frequently copied her behavior.

Or maybe that was simply the kind of person Emma was. In his experience, kind, caring strangers were so rare that he could quickly count them on one hand. Having met Emma Calhoun, he had to allow for the possibility that he’d stumbled across another one. If that was the case, he was beginning to get the feeling that they’d all be better off for knowing her.

“Mr. Marshall,” Mrs. Fields interrupted his thoughts in her usual brisk way. “There’s a lasagna in the oven, and it will be ready in about fifteen minutes. If you’re set for tonight, I’ll head home and let you enjoy your evening.”

“I knew I smelled something delicious when I walked in earlier,” he commented.

“Well, it’s Tuesday, and that’s lasagna night. Girls, go wash up so you’re ready when your dinner is.”

Caitlin and Aubrey scrambled for the powder room, and Rick walked their nanny out the way he did every day. After wishing her a good night, he slid the dead bolt and returned to his guest.

When he came back into the kitchen, Emma gave him a curious look, and he chuckled. “Okay, you got me. The girls like lasagna and I’m a creature of habit.”

“You don’t have to explain anything to me,” she pointed out gently. “This is your house, and you can have whatever you want for dinner.”

He knew that, but something had prompted him to clarify their routine for her. It was none of her business, as she’d told him, but he didn’t want her thinking that he was some kind of rigid financial type with no imagination. Why her opinion mattered to him, he couldn’t say, but it did.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt your dinner,” she went on, heading for the back door. “When you’re finished, just give me a call and I’ll come back.”