Table of Contents

Cover Page

Excerpt

About the Author

Title Page

Epigraph

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Acknowledgments

Dear Reader

Copyright

“What did you feed them for lunch?” Kaitland demanded.

She set Maddie down and gathered Bobby to her.

“Cookies,” Max quietly admitted. “And milk.”

“That’s all?” Kaitland’s eyes widened.

“They seemed to like it,” he added defensively.

Cradling a child in each arm, Kaitland shook her head. “It’s nap time. I need to put them down, and then we’ll talk about their schedule.”

“Their schedule? You make them sound like army recruits.”

“You really don’t know anything about babies, do you?”

Max ran a weary hand through his hair. “You know I don’t But I’ve sent for someone from the agency at the church. They’ve assured me that…” His eyes suddenly narrowed. “Which brings me back to my original question, Kaitland. What are you doing here?”

“Surprise,” Kaitland said brightly. “I’m the new nanny.”

CHERYL WOLVERTON

Growing up in a small military town in Oklahoma where she used to make up stories with her next-door neighbor, Cheryl says she’s always written, but never dreamed of having anything published. But after years of writing her own Sunday school material in the different churches where she’s taught young children, and wanting to see more happy endings, she decided to give it a try and found herself unable to stop.

Seeing so many people hurting, afraid to reach out and accept God’s forgiveness, inspired her to begin writing stories about God’s love and forgiveness in romances, because, she says, “We can’t truly have happily ever after, if we don’t have that happily-ever-after relationship with God, too.”

Cheryl now lives in a small Louisiana town and has been happily married for fifteen years. She has two wonderful children who think it’s cool to have a “writing mama.” Cheryl would love to hear from her readers. You can write to her at P.O. Box 207, Slaughter, LA 70777.

A Father’s Love
Cheryl Wolverton

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Trust in Him in all things. Pour out your heart before Him. God is our refuge.

—Psalms 62:8

Chapter One

The shrill cries woke him.

Multimillionaire bachelor Max Stevens rolled over in bed and listened.

It couldn’t be the television since his twin brother, Rand, and Rand’s new wife, Elizabeth, were on an extended honeymoon. Besides, the sound of the TV wouldn’t reach his suite of rooms.

None of the staff at the house he shared with his brother would dare turn on a TV while on duty. And gauging from the sky’s pale light it was probably about 6:00 a.m.

Cats, he decided. Despite the gardener’s attempts, strays had obviously gotten onto the grounds again and were fighting. Max pushed himself up in bed, the silk sheet sliding down his chest and pooling at his waist. It looked as if he would have to break up the fight himself since he could still hear the noise down on the patio.

Swinging his bare legs over the edge of the bed, his toes sank into the lush tan carpet. He slid his feet into slippers and grabbed his silk robe, shrugging it on over his paisley shorts. He doubted anyone was up yet. However, in a house this size, he could never be certain of not running into the staff. It was safer to stay decently covered.

As he walked to the balcony, he rubbed a weary hand over his face. This was not how he liked to be awakened early in the morning. He had a hard day of work ahead of him. Stevens Inc. was planning two more store openings across the country and with Rand gone, all the extra work fell to Max. Not that he begrudged Rand his vacation for a moment. Rand had been in a tailspin after losing his wife, Carolyn, almost two years ago. Blind and bitter, it had taken his occupational therapist, Elizabeth, who was now Rand’s wife, to lead him back to the living. Eventually, Rand’s sight improved and he began working at the office. Max had been grateful for Rand’s help again. He wholeheartedly approved of his brother’s extended honeymoon before coming back to work full-time. Max had held down the fort for over a year, what difference did a few extra months make?

Still, it would’ve been nice to have been done with his morning devotions and prayer before this interruption. His whole day would feel off-kilter now.

Padding down the balcony stairs, Max followed the wrought-iron railing around the curve to the patio below. But when he turned the corner, he stopped and stared in stunned amazement

“Sarah!” It was his housekeeper’s fault. It had to be. “Sarah, where are you!”

He continued to stare, rooted to the spot until he heard hurried footsteps. “Oh, mercy,” the housekeeper said.

Her gasp told him he’d been wrong. “Do you have grandkids?”

“Certainly not. You know my husband and I wouldn’t keep that a secret.” She stood by him and stared too.

“Well, do something,” he finally said.

“Like what?” she asked.

“You’re a woman. Don’t you know what to do about these things?”

“That’s a sexist remark, Mr. Stevens.”

Realizing she didn’t intend to move from her position as an observer, he stepped forward. The sounds stopped. He raised an eyebrow as he peered into the laundry basket that contained the two toddlers.

“Well?” Sarah prodded.

He shot her a look that told her to mind her tongue and took another step forward. “They’re sorta small, aren’t they?”

“I guess. But you would know better than me.”

He glanced over his shoulder. “And what do you mean by that?”

Sarah had been with the household since Max was five so Max’s scowl didn’t faze her in the least Plopping her hands on her ample hips, she replied, “What do you think I mean? They look just like…look, there’s a note.”

Max plucked the piece of paper off the side of the laundry basket and began to read:

Dear Max,

I had no one else to leave them with. I’m in trouble, and have to leave. I know you’ll take care of them and love them for me. Please don’t tell anyone the secret I’ve always thought they looked like my knight in shining armor. I’ve never forgotten you. Thank you. You’re a kind man. P.S. Meet Maxwell Robert and Madeline Renée.

Max stared in disbelief at the note until a gurgle from the basket drew his attention.

Maxwell and Madeline?

Two cherubic faces stared back at him. He wasn’t sure how old they were but he knew they were too big to be newborns. And the writer of the note was right. They did look like him. They both had dark hair and one had deep brown eyes, hinting at a Cajun lineage.

But his?

Impossible! He knew that for certain. He wasn’t promiscuous.

“Well, Mr. Stevens,” Sarah said, her voice reeking with disapproval. “Are you just going to leave your kids here on the porch or bring them into the house?” She pivoted and marched away before he could answer.

His kids.

Dear Father, he thought, staring at the two children who were beginning to squirm against the bonds that held the backs of their overalls to the handles of the basket. I know these aren’t my kids. I know it. So, would You mind telling me what I’m getting myself into this time?

God didn’t answer.

Max took that to mean he would find out in time. Inching forward, not sure if his nearness would set the kids off, he picked up the two bulky blue-striped bags that sat nearby and the laundry basket that held the two tiny children.

The one with the brown eyes, he thought it was the girl since it had a pink ribbon in its hair, gurgled and kicked its feet.

The other one chewed on its toe and studied Max with a serious expression.

“Well, uh, kids, I don’t quite understand this, but for some reason your mommy left you with me. She sounded scared in the note. But don’t worry. Hopefully, she’ll be back soon because…to be honest, I don’t have the faintest idea what to do with you. But maybe we can get along fine until…until we get this all worked out.”

The blue-eyed child frowned and released his foot, kicking Max in the nose.

Max froze, afraid they’d start crying again.

The child wiggled his toes against Max’s mouth as if offering him a taste.

Max grimaced and started to move slowly toward the door, deciding the kids would be better off on the floor inside, instead of trying to jam their feet down his throat.

Madeline laughed, which caused the other child to gurgle, too.

Relieved that they weren’t going to throw a fit at his movements, Max hurried to the door. “I’m just going to take you inside now, and sit you down. I bet you’re hungry. I am.”

He paused at the doors leading into the study that overlooked the balcony. Fumbling, he managed to get the door open and make it inside. “I’m not sure exactly what you eat.”

Suddenly, he sniffed, his nose wrinkling as his eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You’re still in diapers, aren’t you?” Kicking the door closed, he juggled the basket for a firmer grip.

“We’re going to have to do something about that right now,” he said, though he wasn’t sure what. Smiling in relief at the accomplishment of getting them into the house without another bout of crying, he decided maybe this baby stuff wasn’t going to be so bad—except for the odor emanating from one of them.

Setting the basket down by the sofa, he hollered, “Sarah!”

Both children immediately jumped, then burst into tears. The terror any bachelor immediately feels at the sight of such small children had been held at bay—until those shrieks. His eyes widened and he reached out and patted first one, then the other’s shoulder. Yes, there was no doubt about it, he was in way over his head. He needed help.

“Sarah! Find me the employment agency’s number.”

Kaitland Summerville ran a hand wearily through the straight strands of her honey blond hair, pushing it back from her face. The action did no good, the blunt cut allowed it to fall right back against her smarting jaw.

Adjusting the ice pack, she tried to shuffle the paperwork that she was currently working on, but to no avail.

“Why don’t you take a break?” her assistant, Shirley, asked, her lips quirking in exasperation. “If I’d just been through what you’d been through, I would. I still can’t believe you’ve been temporarily pulled from working with the kids—”

Kaitland smiled, a weary smile. “I don’t blame Jake one bit, Shirley. True, I did nothing to provoke Johnnie’s daddy. He was drunk. But he and his wife are separated, and he doesn’t have custody. And what happened was very traumatic for the kids. It’s only natural that I step back until everything is settled. At least for the sake of the other kids and their parents. I wouldn’t want to stay and risk any censure falling on the day care or the church.”

Kaitland set the ice pack down on the table and pulled out a compact to examine the swelling.

Today had started out a rotten day and had gone downhill from there. First thing this morning, her stepbrother, Robert had called, trying to get her to go to a society function with him. She smiled wryly thinking of their conversation. She rarely went anywhere like that anymore. Still, he knew she did her best to have a forgiving nature and he was always wheedling, trying to get her to do things for him whenever he needed help. Sometimes she thought she’d rather be bitten by a rattler than to again circulate at the society events he frequented. These outings always ended in disaster. It was simply that he wasn’t a Christian. They had nothing in common except their parents had married each other when Kaitland was a preteen. When she’d managed to avoid a commitment to attending the function with her stepbrother, she had thought things were looking up.

However, she’d gone out to her car, running late, only to find it wouldn’t start. Just her luck. The water pump had been on its last legs for at least six months and she didn’t have the money to pay for a new one. True, she was the director of the local day care in the small town of Zachary, Louisiana, but that wasn’t always enough to make ends meet.

Disgusted, she’d called a cab, then a mechanic, hoping she could work out some sort of payment plan with him. The mechanic had agreed. But unfortunately for her, George had been driving the cab. George was the slowest driver in the world, she was sure of it. How he’d kept his license she didn’t know. The ten-minute trip to work had taken twenty minutes.

Because of that she had been running even later. The chapel service they held for the older kids was therefore late starting, which threw everything else behind. And right into the middle of that had come Johnnie’s daddy while she was outside; the daddy that had skipped out of town two months ago and left his wife and child destitute. He wanted his boy, as he’d said. She couldn’t allow him to take the child and had sent Shirley to call the police.

That’s when she’d been injured. Oh, she didn’t think Johnnie’s daddy had meant to hurt her. He’d only meant to move her aside so he could get to his boy. As far as she knew, Johnnie’s father had never been of a violent nature. However, he’d pushed her and in the process he had tripped over one of those stupid shrubs that all businesses put out to look nice but only ended up getting in the way.

Trying to stop their fall by counterbalancing, Kaitland had shoved back against him, but the maneuver hadn’t worked. She’d ended up with a table on top of her and he’d ended up going through a plate-glass window.

And some of the children had witnessed the scene.

The man was now at the hospital getting stitches—and sobering up—and she was sitting in the office nursing a bruised jaw.

And a temporary removal from the eyes of the parents and kids until her battered face healed. Instead of overseeing the day care for the rest of the week, her pastor, Jake, had suggested she stick with the paperwork until everything blew over. There had already been two calls from concerned parents—boy, did news travel fast in a small town. Since there was a board meeting scheduled in a few weeks, the pastor suggested they discuss the incident then. But he didn’t expect any trouble. By then any worries would be gone, Jake had assured her, and she would be able to go back to work with no problems. But she still had to wait that long.

It couldn’t get any worse.

Of course, looking at her jaw now, Kaitland saw only a very faint coloring to it. She didn’t bruise easily. She knew that from five years ago…

Her eyes still held a slightly dull glaze, no doubt from the pain in her jaw.

“Well, at least you’re not losing any pay while you’re working in here with me, though you’re probably going to be bored to death.”

Kaitland smiled at Shirley, knowing she was right. Shirley was short, no more than five foot and had bright red hair and green eyes, fitting her Irish heritage. She also possessed the energy of ten people, one of the reasons Kaitland was so glad to hire her in the first place. Kaitland hated the paperwork and was glad when the day-care center had been able to afford a full-time bookkeeper/secretary, taking the burden off Kaitland’s shoulders. Since Kaitland had helped found the day care, she’d done all the extra work. She could honestly say it was nice to be the director. Now she worked overseeing so much of what she hadn’t particularly loved to do before. The only thing she really missed was working with the kids on a one-to-one basis.

“You’re right,” Kaitland told Shirley. “I’ll be bored to death. I’d go ahead and take vacation right now, but I don’t want Jake to think I’m bailing out on him.”

“How about another job then?” a voice said.

Both women gasped. Kaitland’s eyes shot to Jake, who’d just entered the room, afraid to believe what she’d just heard. As if realizing his mistake, he said, “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I had a call from a friend who runs an employment agency. We have a mutual friend in need of a temporary nanny…Why don’t you come into my office?”

Temporary nanny? She shot Shirley an odd look and followed the pastor into his office. Once they were seated, he continued, “I didn’t mean to blurt that out. Sometimes my humor falls flat.”

Jake Mathison was thirty-two, single, but also singleminded in his dedication to his job. He’d been enthusiastic four years ago when Kaitland had approached him about the idea of opening a day-care center in their church. He’d supported her every step of the way. So, Kaitland knew he didn’t mean anything by what he’d said, but was curious anyway about what he’d meant. She sat patiently and waited as he rubbed one hand over his face.

“This is confidential.” Jake leaned forward in the chair, his gaze meeting hers and showing her the seriousness of his statement. “That’s why I brought you in here. This is something I don’t want overheard by anyone.” Placing his hands on the desk, he allowed a small smile to ease Kaitland. “As I said, a friend called the employment agency, needing a nanny. The person requires immediate help at his house. It seems that some kids were abandoned on his doorstep.”

Kaitland’s mouth dropped open. “Has he called Child Services?”

“No. No, there was a note. Um, well, the note intimated that the kids were his, though he denies it. He wants to find out what’s going on before he does anything with the children. And the first thing he needs is a nanny.”

“Why me?”

“He didn’t ask for you. He just asked the agency for someone who’s not gossipy. I’ve known you for five years now, Kaitland,” he said, calling her by the name everyone at church called her by. “I’ve never heard a word of gossip out of you. I feel I can trust you.” He leaned slightly forward again, and with earnest eyes, added, “I also know you can use the extra money. Not only can you take your paid vacation if you want, but you’ll be getting a salary, almost double what you’re earning now, while you’re on the job there.”

“Double?” Kaitland gaped. She could sure use the money. Her grandmother’s medical bills over the last year and a half, and then her funeral, had put Kaitland in debt. She was barely managing each month, which was ironic, considering her stepbrother was rich. But he’d refused to help their grandmother after she had disowned him. So, it was left to Kaitland to see to her grandmother’s bills now that she was gone. And the taxes were past due on the house her grandmother had left her. She hated the thought of losing the place. Yet, now she was being given a possible solution to her dilemma. “Why is he willing to pay so much?” Then another thought crossed her mind. “Just who is he?”

“Discretion is part of his need. And he’d want you to live in. As for who he is…”

Jake leaned back and folded his hands across his flat stomach. Why did that gesture make her feel so uneasy?

“It’s been a long five years for you, Kaitland.”

Kaitland knew he was talking about the incident, as she thought of it.

“I’ve watched you recover from the circumstances, pull your life back together and conquer almost all of your fears. You’re a strong woman, willing to work hard at the work God has called you to. Not only that, but you’re devoted in your personal life, too. Sometimes we don’t understand the trials we go through, but we have to remember that God lets us go through things to mold us how He wants us, into His image.”

“What are you getting at, Jake?” Nervously, she gripped her damp palms together in her lap. She didn’t like talking about that time. She had overcome most of what had happened.

That was the catch, though.

Most

She knew there was still some bitterness and hurt there, but was at a loss how to let go of it.

“Getting on with your life, Kaitland,” the pastor said. “I would never suggest anything that might hurt you. I feel you’re ready for this.” He paused, then, “The man is rich. I know your ex-fiancé was rich, too. I thought this might be the perfect opportunity for you to get out around that social set again and see that not all of them are like your ex-fiancé. Since I know this family and would trust them with my own sister, I feel you’d be safe. What do you say?”

Perspiration broke out on Kaitland’s skin. She’d never told her pastor the name of her ex-fiancé as she’d started at this church after that fiasco. But her pastor talked about his friends a lot. It couldn’t be…it just couldn’t be.

Still, she so desperately needed the money, she knew before she asked the next question that she was going to take the job. “Who is it?”

“You’ve heard me talk about Rand and Max Stevens?” he asked easily.

Her stomach sank to her toes even as she said, “I believe I have.”

“Well, it seems there’s been some sort of mix-up and Max Stevens needs you out there immediately.”

Kaitland smiled. Max Stevens might need someone immediately, but she doubted he was going to appreciate seeing the woman he had jilted five years ago.

Nope, he wasn’t going to want to see Kaitland at all.

But her pastor was right. Though he didn’t realize it, he was giving her the perfect opportunity to lay her past to rest. Kaitland took a deep breath. She was going back into the lion’s den and would come out unscathed this time.

Chapter Two

“Come here, che’rie. Just give me the baby powder and we’ll be okay.”

Max Stevens, covered from head to toe in white dust, was down on all fours near the edge of the queen-size bed, holding out his hand coaxingly as he peppered his speech with Cajun words, trying to persuade the diaper clad little girl to hand over the dusting powder.

Kaitland stood at the door and held back her laugh.

“No! No! No! No! No!” The toddler accentuated each no with a bounce of her knees and a squeeze of the powder container, which puffed out its fine white sheen all over the forest green carpet.

Max winced, shook his dark glossy hair in exasperation then promptly sneezed when he inhaled the dusty powder that floated in the air. Only a few hours had passed since he’d discovered the children, yet somehow, it felt longer. Much longer, Max reflected.

“Come on, che’rie. Just give it to Uncle Max and let me change your diaper.”

“No!” the little girl squealed, then threw the container at him and turned, dancing away on her toes toward the bed.

“Thank you,” he said with the desperation of one totally besieged, but saw relief in sight when the little girl started to crawl up on the bed. He placed his hand on the mauve and green comforter to push himself up, but the other twin, who had been trying to pull off his shirt, suddenly decided it was playtime.

“Horsey!” the young boy whooped. With a lunge, he shot forward, landing in the middle of Max’s back.

“Oooaf!”

Max went down.

Kaitland burst into peels of laughter. “Felled by your own son, Max. I’m surprised. And you, who used to play football.”

Max’s head jerked around at the familiar voice and his eyes widened incredulously. “Katie?” he gasped.

“That’s right, Max. At least you remember my name…or should I say the name you’ve always called me.”

She strode into the room, gliding into it as if she had every right to be there. Ignoring him, she crossed to where the little girl was lying on the bed, one toe in her mouth, the other foot waving around as she waited for a diaper. Grabbing a diaper bag, Kaitland pulled out the wipes and then quickly, efficiently cleaned and diapered the child.

Max couldn’t get over how good Katie looked as he knelt there in the middle of the powder-caked floor.

It had been five years. She hadn’t aged, just gotten more graceful. Her honey blond hair was now straight instead of permed, but it was more beautiful, swaying to and fro with every step she took. She’d filled out a little, was more rounded, softer-looking, not as coltish as he remembered. Long, graceful hands worked quickly and expertly to diaper and dress the girl in a pink romper that was in the bag she’d pulled up onto the bed.

Her high cheekbones were slightly flushed with color and her lips were puckered as she made cooing noises to Maddie. Maddie laughed and kicked both feet in approval to whatever Kaitland had said.

And those eyes.

Her green eyes still sparkled like jewels when she laughed.

Five years and he’d thought never to see her in his house again…His eyes widened. “What are you doing here?” he blurted out, realizing he was seeing her in his house and had no idea why.

Kaitland glanced over her shoulder, a sardonic brow lifted. “I’m changing a diaper, Max. Don’t tell me you’ve never seen a diaper changed.”

Chagrined by her answer, Max opened his mouth to tell her he knew exactly what she was doing and that was not what he’d meant, but Kaitland continued, “The girl doesn’t look much like you, but now the boy…My, Max, he could be your twin, but you already have one of those, don’t you?” Her light tone was in contrast to her sudden intense stare at the child.

“They’re not mine.”

“Oh, really?” Kaitland asked, lifting Maddie in her arms. “And what is this one’s name?” she asked, bouncing the little girl on her hip.

“Madeline Renée.”

“And the boy?”

“Maxwell Robert,” he replied, suddenly realizing how Kaitland would take the fact that the boy’s first name was the same as his own.

“And he’s not yours,” she said so falsely that Max flushed. She was always able to goad his temper.

“No. They are not!” He enunciated each word.

“I see, little Max,” she said, winking at the boy.

“I’ve been calling him Bobby.”

“Bobby?” Kaitland asked before giving Maddie a peck and letting her down on the floor.

“Well, it would seem rather odd to call him Max, now, wouldn’t it?” Max demanded as she crossed the room.

“I don’t know,” Kaitland mused aloud, pausing to tap her chin as if in deep thought. Then, for the first time, she pierced him with those deep green eyes. “A lot of people name their firstborn son after themselves.”

“He’s not my firstborn son!”

“You have another?” she asked, all innocence.

“I don’t have any son,” he growled, then took a deep breath. “Look. It’s hard to explain. I woke up to what I thought was a cat brawl and found these two at the bottom of the balcony steps near the kitchen.”

“I see.”

“No. You don’t see. I have no idea who they belong to. Though it’s probably someone who reads those stupid rag magazines and believes I’m out to populate half of Louisiana.”

“You sure it’s not the other half that believes you’re Mr. Perfect?”

He frowned at her words.

“I’m sorry, it was only a guess.”

“I don’t know,” he finally said, brushing off his pants. “It doesn’t really matter. All I can figure out is some woman dropped off her kids hoping I’d give them a better life. For all I know, Max and Maddie aren’t their real names.”

Both children turned at those words. Kaitland laughed. “I’d say that’s their correct names, all right Now, as to their parentage—”

“They’re not mine!” he said so forcefully that Kaitland’s eyes widened.

“I wasn’t going to say that.”

“You’ve already said it twice.”

“No. I said the boy looks like you.” She smiled. “But if the shoe fits—”

“Things aren’t always as they look,” he muttered.

Kaitland suddenly lost her smile and even paled slightly. “Don’t I know that,” she murmured, the air in the room suddenly charged with memories, a time when things hadn’t been like what they’d looked.

Max remembered that time with clarity, and remembered the irrefutable proof that he’d produced to show her he knew she had been lying to him. Pain that he thought long dead and buried resurfaced, grabbing his heart and giving it an unexpected squeeze. Longing swept through him. If it could only have been different. If you hadn’t lied to me, had even just trusted me a little. But that was in the past, the best place for it to remain. These children were the present. And Katie’s presence in his house.

Kaitland walked over to the door where he only now realized Sarah stood. “Someone needs to sweep up here, Sarah,” Kaitland said. “Will you see to it?”

“Of course,” his housekeeper replied, and with an infinitesimal nod turned crisply on her heel and strode off down the hall.

“Thank you,” Kaitland called out and then returned her attention to the room as she surveyed it through narrowed eyes.

“Wait a minute,” Max protested as Kaitland looked around as if the room were a bug under a microscope. “You can’t go ordering my servants around.”

Max stepped away from the bed, attempting to disengage Bobby from where the child hung on to his pant legs. Looking down, he realized the child had drooled all over his trousers. “Aw, no,” he moaned. “These are two-hundred-dollar slacks.”

Grimacing, he pulled the child away and then, not knowing what to do, he lifted the boy into his arms.

“Have they had lunch?” Kaitland asked as she went around the room, picking up objects on lower tables and moving them to higher places and rearranging other things.

Max stared in disbelief, unable to figure out just what she thought she was doing. The baby suddenly grabbed Max’s paisley tie and jerked. He tried to disengage the choke hold Bobby had on him. Looking distracted, he glanced away from the deceivingly cherubic bundle in his arms. “What?” he asked, already forgetting what Kaitland had said.

“Lunch, Max? Have you fed the children yet?” Kaitland looked downright exasperated with him. “I don’t remember you having a memory or hearing problem. Has that changed lately?”

Max growled low in his throat, managed to disengage the child’s unnaturally strong grip then snapped rather curtly, “No, Katie. That hasn’t changed. I’m a little overwhelmed at the moment. I’ve never been around kids before, and never two at once…Watch out!”

He went running across the room to where Maddie had just grabbed a tablecloth and pulled. Potpourri spilled everywhere. “No, no, Maddie, che’rie,” he said. “Don’t put that in your mouth.”

Kaitland strolled over and picked up the cute little girl, easily removing the dried rose petals from the child’s mouth. “This room is definitely not meant for children. Where are you keeping them?”

“Um…” He looked around the room, then shrugged sheepishly.

“Oh, Max. They can’t stay in here. They need baby beds, and there are no child protectors in the plugs—”

“Child protectors?” He looked thoroughly confused.

“And those lamps won’t last an hour. Kids tend to gravitate toward the forbidden. You need to get your staff up here and have them baby-proof this room right now. Get rid of all these tablecloths that hang down and replace them with shorter ones. The kids look to be about fifteen months, is that right?” Kaitland stared at him expectantly.

“I don’t know.” He felt like a helpless green recruit in an army full of generals—or one general in particular, he thought sourly, eyeing Kaitland with a suddenly wary eye.

She shot him a reproachful look, and he had the vague thought that she was thoroughly enjoying his discomfiture. This was the first time cool, debonair Max had ever been less than the perfect sophisticate in front of her.

“Well, that’s about the right age,” she continued. “They can walk, but still use things to pull themselves up.”

Bobby began to fuss and Max looked panicked.

“Bounce him gently on your hip, like this,” Kaitland instructed.

Max watched Katie bounce Maddie, then imitated her.

Bobby immediately threw up. “Ugh!” Max hollered and thrust the child out at arm’s length.

“What did you feed them for lunch?” Kaitland demanded, instantly setting down Maddie and gathering Bobby to her.

Max looked at the brown stain with revulsion. “Cookies.”

“And?” she asked when he didn’t say anything else.

“And milk.” What did she want? A whole list down to the bug Maddie had tried to eat from the floor the last time she’d gotten out of the chair that he’d had to sit her in every two minutes.

“That’s all?” Kaitland’s eyes widened.

“They seemed to like it,” he added defensively, realizing belatedly that his mother had never allowed him cookies for any meal when he had been a child…or, come to think of it, as an adult, before she’d died.

“They’ll both have tummyaches,” she warned.

As if out of sympathy with her brother, Maddie suddenly tossed her own cookies, all over the green carpet. Kaitland gathered her up in her free arm. “There there, little one,” she comforted as the baby began to whimper.

“Well, this room is definitely out for a while. Find me a nearly empty room for these two…maybe your library, and bring some blankets. It’s nap time. I need to put them down and then we’ll talk.”

“Talk? About what?”

“Why, their schedule. What else?”

“Their schedule? You make them sound like army recruits.”

“You really don’t know anything about babies, do you?”

Max ran a weary hand through his hair. “You know I don’t. But I’ve sent for someone from the agency. I was assured they’d have someone out here by this afternoon.”

Max’s eyes suddenly narrowed. “Which brings me back to the original question I was going to ask you before you sidetracked me. What are you doing here?”

“Surprise,” Kaitland said brightly and headed toward the door.

“Surprise? What does that mean?” he asked, grabbing the diaper bags and starting after her.

“It means, Max, that I’m the new nanny.”

The thud of the bags hitting the floor could be heard all the way out in the hall.

Chapter Three

“No! No way! You’re not staying.”

Kaitland winced at Max’s adamant tone. However, that didn’t stop her from heading down the stairs. She refused to stand there and argue, with two sleepy kids in her arms.

“Katie, are you listening to me? I said no way!”

“I’m not deaf, nor do I even pretend to be,” she replied, entering the library. “Oh, my, have you changed this into an office?” Papers covered the tops of two desks and new equipment had been added.

“Rand and I do a lot of day-to-day work here. I tend to go into the office only two or three times a week.”

Ignoring him, she went to the plush tan sofa. Setting the children down on their feet, she quickly pulled the throw blanket off the back—this used to be Max’s favorite spot to relax when she’d known him, and he always kept a blanket there—and spread it over the leather. Picking the children up, she lay them down one by one and tucked the blanket around them.

“No!” Maddie yelled, then immediately stuffed two fingers in her mouth, closing her eyes.

Bobby whined, then, grabbing the blanket, he curled it against his cheek and with a shuddering sigh was out.

“They were exhausted,” Max whispered, stunned, absently handing Kaitland the blanket he’d grabbed on his way out the bedroom door.

“I imagine they’ve had a full day and night,” Kaitland murmured softly, putting the blanket and some throw pillows as padding on the floor next to the sofa in case one of them accidently fell off.

She heard Max inhale and knew he was about to blast her. “Shh,” she said, and motioned toward the door.

Max nodded curtly and went into the hall. With the door pulled almost closed, she turned to him. “It’s been a long time, Max.”

Looking disconcerted, Max stared for a moment then sighed. “Yeah, Katie, it has. Long enough that I had decided I’d never see you again.”

He started toward a small sitting room where the family gathered at night to watch TV.

“Surely you knew someday we’d see each other again, Max?”

“I hadn’t expected it under these circumstances,” he muttered.

Kaitland laughed. “You were expecting these circumstances?”

“Of course not,” Max said curtly, then apologized. “I’m sorry for snapping. But you could have given me a warning you were coming.”

“What would you have said if I’d called and told you it was me the agency hired?”

He scowled.

“That’s what I thought.”

“Surely you don’t want to work for me, do you?”

Kaitland’s smile turned wistful. I’d like a lot more, she thought. “What do you think?”

Inside the cozy room he went straight to the phone and dialed the agency.

“Max, wait,” she pleaded.

His gaze turned tortured for only an instant before hardening. “Yes, this is Max Stevens,” he said to the person on the other end of the phone. “When I called this morning, I asked for an older woman, Christian, fifty or so, the grandmotherly type.” He paused. “I see.” There was another pause. “There’s no one else?” Casting a harassed look at Kaitland, he replied, “Thank you.”

Kaitland stared at Max, waiting for the ax to fall. When he didn’t speak, she took hope and pleaded her case. “It’s not going to be that bad, Max. The kids won’t be any trouble. And as you’ve said, you don’t know the first thing about them. Besides, I’m an emergency foster parent. I’m used to dealing with kids in stressful situations.”

“What happened to your job at the day-care center?”

“You know about that?” She had been his secretary years ago, before the incident, but hadn’t realized he knew anything about her life after they’d broken up.

He shrugged. “Jake talks about his church.”

“I still work there. I’m on a leave of absence.”

“What happened? Why?”

It was her turn to shrug. “I had an accident with a belligerent parent My pastor thought it best to keep me out of the spotlight Especially if my cheek bruises.”

Max’s gaze sharpened and he came forward. “You were hit?” he demanded, taking her face in his hands and tilting it toward the east window.

His hands felt good. His touch awoke old memories in her, memories of when he’d held her tenderly within his embrace and kissed her good-night, leaving her with his own reluctance to part for even so short a time. Longing, deep and painful, filled her chest. His scent was still the same, spicy, musky. Oh, Father, how can I stand this? she silently asked.

Max’s thumb ran over the slight swelling that her hair almost concealed. His breath fanned her face as his thumb stroked back and forth. Suddenly, realizing what he was doing, he released her and stepped back.

“I wasn’t hit,” she replied, just a little husky, despite her accelerated heart rate. “A table fell on me when the man and I tripped.”

He said nothing for a moment, then, “I don’t see how this can work, Katie. There’s just too much past between us.”

Panicked, she decided to play her trump card. Max was a good man despite his unwillingness to forgive her so many years ago and his determination in suspecting her of lying. She didn’t want to tell him this, but seeing him now, she realized there was something still between them, something that had to be settled one way or another. And if he wasn’t willing to make the effort, she suddenly was.

“I need the job, Max. If I can’t get a new one within the month…” she paused. Should she tell Max she’d lose her house? No, she decided, it seemed too much like begging. She had some pride, after all. “I’ll have some serious problems,” she concluded.

Max whipped around to stare at her. “But why? Your stepbrother—”

“Refuses to help me,” she replied before he could remind her how rich her stepbrother was.

That was a sore point she’d not quite gotten over in reference to her grandmother’s health. Her grandmother had disowned Robert just before she fell ill with cancer. Kaitland was never sure why. Her grandmother never told her the cause of it. Somehow her grandmother had her will changed without Kaitland knowing it. When it was read, Kaitland was stunned to find out the house and almost all of the money that was left belonged to her. What little money there was ran out before the hospital bills and funeral were paid for.

“If you need money—” Max said, interrupting her thoughts.

“Don’t even say it,” Kaitland warned, her eyes narrowing. “After what has gone on between us, it would be wrong if you offered me anything.”

“But you’ll work for me.”

Kaitland flushed just a little. “Yes.”

She knew it didn’t make sense to Max. They had almost married, which should have made her more amenable to accepting a loan, but for her it was just the opposite. No, it would be easier to work for him and not feel indebted.

“You aren’t making this easy for me, Katie,” he finally said, running a weary hand through his hair.

“I hope not,” she replied brightly, despite the tension.

He shot her an exasperated look. “Fine. You have the job. But, before you celebrate, I want to lay down some ground rules. The past is the past. We leave it there. This is strictly an employer-employee relationship. Your job is to take care of the children, see they are cared for and want for nothing. You only need to tell me what to get and it’ll be done. Is that under-stood?”

“Yes, Max.”

“Well, good.”

She hid her smile. Max looked as if he thought he’d lost the battle but couldn’t figure out why. She knew why. Just by being in the same house, the past was going to creep up until it was dealt with and taken care of.

“First we’ll need cribs for the children. With that they’ll need sheets and bumper pads and a couple of light blankets. What about some clothes? Do you want me to run over to the church and check their clothes closet—”

“I can certainly buy anything the children need,” Max replied, affronted.

Kaitland paused, then asked the question that had been burning in her since she’d first arrived. She’d known the kids weren’t Max’s. He lived by the moral code of his faith. She took his word, too, for Max also didn’t lie. “Why do you insist on seeing to this problem? You could call Child Services and the children would be taken away and you’d never have to be responsible for them again.”

“But I am responsible.”

Her eyes widened in shock, thinking she had misjudged him.

“Not that way,” he replied, clearly exasperated. He dropped wearily onto the couch. Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes. “Someone left them on my patio with a note addressed to me. I don’t know if the person was a crackpot or someone who really thought I could help the children. But whoever it was put their trust and faith in me. I won’t palm that off on some overworked agency that would probably separate the children out of necessity.”

Kaitland nodded. That would probably happen. Though Child Services didn’t like to do that, they had to find somewhere for the children.

“I have plenty of money,” he said. “Enough to last two lifetimes. And this house is big enough to hold forty or fifty people. So there’s plenty of room. It won’t hurt to keep them here.”

She smiled, gently, doing her best to hide the misting of her eyes. “You’re a good person, Max Stevens.”

“No, just practical,” he argued gruffly, refusing praise as he always did. “I’m going to call one of the investigative people we use in our business. I’ll put him on the case and see if he can find out what happened to the mother. After all, how hard is it going to be to track down a set of twins that were born about…fifteen months?” At her nod, he continued, “About fifteen months ago.”

“I honestly don’t know. I imagine easier than tracking down a single child.”

“My thoughts exactly. So, I figure within a week, maybe two, we’ll have this all cleared up.”

She hoped they had more than just that cleared up, but she didn’t say so. “Are you going to order the cribs and clothes, or do you want me to go shopping. I should warn you, if I go shopping, the children will be left here with you.”

His eyes widened. “I’ll call my store immediately. It’s nice owning a large chain of retail stores.” He suddenly grinned. “I’ll have my secretary at the office go downstairs to the store and find someone who knows about babies and send over everything they’ll need. Two of everything,” he amended. “That should work.”

Kaitland shook her head in disbelief.

“Now, about my office. When do I get it back?”

Kaitland shrugged. “I imagine when the kids wake up, which could be anywhere from an hour to two hours.”

“But I’ve got a lot of work to do,” he began.

“Bring it in here,” she replied.

Grumbling, he stood and walked out of the room, listing to her or himself, she wasn’t sure, what he needed to accomplish today.

Same old Max, except she didn’t remember him taking quite this much interest in the business five years ago.

She headed up the stairs to the room where the children had been. She found the maid, Lavina, in there finishing cleaning up the mess. “You’ll need to get someone up here to take all the knickknacks out of this room, Lavina. They’ll also need to remove the bed. Mr. Stevens is turning it into a nursery for the twins.”

“I’ll get Tim from the stables to help me this afternoon,” the maid said.

“You’d better go ahead and do it now,” Kaitland told her. “Mr. Stevens is ordering cribs and I imagine they’ll be here in an hour or two. Also, do you know which room I’m staying in?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Miss Summerville. Sarah told me to put your bags in the room across the hall, unless you want the one across from Mr. Stevens?”

She knew Max’s room was next door to the babies’ room. The one next to her would be across the hall from him and larger than the one she was in. “No. This is fine. I need to be close to the children. As a matter of fact, if you could find a small twin bed I might just sleep in here.”

“Oh, no, ma’am. Sarah wouldn’t approve of that at all. She was telling me how much she likes you and has missed you around here. She’d be very upset if you weren’t completely comfortable while you were here.”

Kaitland grinned. That sounded just like Sarah. “Very well. Thank you, Lavina.”

“And Darlene is to help you with the babies whenever you need it. Sarah said those two are too much for one person. She said of course Mr. Stevens, being a bachelor, wouldn’t know, nor would he remember how much of a handful he and his brother were. She said that he deserved a taste of what he’d put her through growing up. I think she’s quite excited about having the little mites in the house.”

Kaitland’s grin turned into a full-blown smile. “I’m glad. You tell Sarah I’m sure Max is going to get a great big taste of what it’s like to have two toddlers underfoot. Now, go on. I need to unpack.”

She walked across the hall to her suite. Pushing open the door, she immediately smiled in pleasure. Light mauves and browns decorated the space. There were no balcony doors like the room across the hall, but the shutters on the large window made it possible for her to keep the room as bright as day or dimly lit A large overstuffed, floral-print couch sat near two armchairs, creating a comfortable sitting area. A polished oak armoire held a TV and VCR, as well as a stereo. A low bookcase held a collection of interesting titles. She knew the door to the right was the bedroom and bathroom.

Crossing the plush carpet, she found out she was right. Max’s room was larger. She knew he had a small gym in the second room off the main room, as did Rand. Max had explained the layout of the house once to her.

“Oh, my,” she breathed, looking in the room. Yellows and green pastels decorated the bedroom, along with pink and blue pastel watercolors hanging on the walls. She wondered who had decorated this. Certainly not an interior decorator. Her bag was sitting on the bed. She unpacked, putting everything in the cherry-wood armoire as she went. Her last thing to unpack was the first thing she had packed—her Bible.

Taking it out, she sat down on the bed and opened it. She was surprised to find she had opened it to a familiar scripture, “You will not fear,” it started, and ended with, “I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.”

Smoothing her hand over the worn pages, she prayed, “Father, please help me, guide me in what You would have me do. I thought this would be so easy, coming here and facing the past. But, well, I’ve discovered I still have some kind of feelings for Max. Oh, I’m not sure what they are, but they’re there. I don’t want to hurt Max again, but I refuse to put myself in the path of hurt, either. Open the doors for healing between us even if that means we solve the problems and never see each other again. All I know is this has to come to a head. Thank You, Father.”

She laid her Bible down and stood. Taking her suitcase, she tucked it under the bed and then turned toward the door.

“Round one goes to Daniel,” she whispered. She had faced the lion in his den and come out unscathed.

“Now let’s see what happens in round two,” she murmured.

Chapter Four

“I’ve got Dugan Lawrence, head of security at our stores, checking into the twins’ background,” Max said, hanging up the phone and turning to where Kaitland had just entered the den. “And Jennifer is buying the store out, if I know her.”

“Jennifer?” Kaitland asked quizzically.

“My secretary. She loves kids and became my secretary when Rand had his accident.”

Max watched Kaitland digest that as she seated herself across from him in one of the overstuffed chairs. He couldn’t get over how good she looked. His heart beat a staccato as he unobtrusively studied her again. She was like manna for a starved soul. He thought he’d gotten over her, was no longer empty without her, but seeing her now…He forced himself to push those feelings aside and remember how she’d betrayed him. It would not be good to act the fool again. “Do you have any problems with living in? What about your own house or your job?”

“Jake gave me time off. I’m on vacation. I have four weeks built up but hadn’t taken any of it until now. As for my house, I imagine if I can run by once or twice a week, it’ll be okay. I can call and stop the paper, and my mail all goes to a post-office box anyway.” She shrugged daintily. “There’s nothing else to worry about”

“What about personal phone calls and such? Do you need to forward your phone?”

“No. The only people who would need to get in touch with me are at the church. Jake will forward any urgent messages to me.”

He nodded. “About publicity. I’d like to keep this situation quiet. You know how the news media constantly hounds Rand and me. This would be a field day. Not that I have anything to hide. But I’d like to have some answers, know who these kids belong to before this hits the papers.”

“I understand.”

“But?” he asked, seeing the look on her face.

She hesitated. “I’d as soon not be in the middle of a media feeding frenzy, either. If you’ll remember, I almost was, five years ago…”

“I thought we agreed to keep the past in the past?” Max asked, his tone harsher than he’d intended.

Kaitland sighed. “I’m sorry. You asked.”

“Yes, I did. And yeah, I wondered why those pictures never hit the newsstands.”

“Oh, Max, you had that all figured out Remember, I was in on the conspiracy with whoever it was that slipped you the pictures. They were angry at me and wanted to make sure you knew I didn’t really love you.”

“Katie,” Max began.

“You brought this up, Max,” Kaitland said, remembering those years when she had waited day after day then week after week until she had figured out that the sick person who had snapped pictures of her and ruined her soon-to-be marriage was not planning to release the photos to the media and ruin the rest of her life, as well.

“I don’t want to fight,” he warned.

“Oh, no, of course not,” Kaitland said gently, defeat in her voice. “It was easier to accept what you saw in those pictures and find me guilty.”

“You can’t deny you were in Senator Richardson’s arms kissing him,” Max said desperately, the old pain boiling up anew. “I saw the pictures. How can you explain it?”

Kaitland smiled, but it wasn’t a smile of pleasure. She remembered that night. Going up to her stepbrother’s room. She’d thought, at the time, that the note sent to her had been from her stepbrother. Who else would call her to his bedroom in the middle of a party? Of course, later she realized that the person had simply gotten their rooms mixed up. Her and her stepbrother had connecting rooms. But at the time, she had simply thought her brother might be ill.

She’d found out differently. Going into the darkened room, looking around, she had been surprised when large muscular hands had closed around her shoulders. Gasping, she had spun around, only to see Senator Richardson, very drunk, standing there smiling at her. She remembered his words about inviting, her room and cook up our own little fun. Realizing his intentions, she had backed away, but he’d thought it funny, some grand game. It was during that struggle that someone had snapped shots of their intimate embrace.

She almost shuddered, remembering how close she’d come to getting raped. Shame had prodded her not to tell anyone of the fiasco in the bedroom. Since she was spending the night, she had escaped to her room and changed her ruined gown. But she’d not gone back down to the party. She’d hidden in her room, crying over what had almost happened.

And if she’d pulled away from Max’s touch for the next few weeks it had only increased her shame, and her inability to explain why she suddenly didn’t want to be touched.

She hadn’t been able to tell him, certain he would look at her differently. When she’d finally decided to confess, it was too late. That someone else who had evidently witnessed her humiliation and taken pictures had sent them to Max. Yeah, she didn’t much like the media, either, for whoever the scum was that had taken the pictures had certainly gotten revenge. She still couldn’t understand why one of the magazines hadn’t bought them…assuming that is what happened, as she was almost certain it was.

“That’s the problem, isn’t it?” she said sadly now. “You never once asked me to explain the pictures. You just waited until I showed up for our date that night and then dropped the pictures in my lap and told me they had been delivered to you, anonymously. And since they were pictures of the bash over a month before, the one you didn’t go to with me, it was obvious, according to you, that I was not as committed to the relationship as you were.”

“You never even offered an explanation,” Max argued.

“You should have trusted me,” Kaitland said unhappily.

“But the pictures…” Max raised his hands helplessly, then let them fall back to his sides.

Kaitland saw the hurt and pain that she was sure was mirrored on her own face. She remembered her terror when she’d seen the pictures, the sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach when Max had stared so coldly down at her. She had opened her mouth to explain, but suddenly realized all of her fears were coming true. Max was not going to believe whatever she said. She was doomed to even try. And belatedly, she realized the main reason he wouldn’t believe her was because she had not been the one to tell him. Still, the pictures were so incriminating.

“Yet you won’t explain?” he said now.

Pride stiffened Kaitland’s spine. It would do no good. She knew his mind was set against her. Had those pictures not shown up, they would have worked through the situation, but all Max could see was that she had not come to him until someone else had implicated her so he believed what he saw in the photos. “No,” she finally said, thinking it useless to argue further.

He shook his head. “Then it’s best we forget it and remember this is only a job between us.”

Kaitland’s heart breaking, she nodded. “Agreed, again.”

“Very well.” Max cleared his throat and wiped the emotion from his face. Kaitland could still see what he thought of as her betrayal burning in his eyes. “I told Jennifer to have the furniture delivered by noon today. I’ll be calling my lawyers to make sure we’re not breaking any laws by keeping the kids here. Would you be willing to act as an emergency foster parent should the need arise?”

Kaitland inclined her head. “Of course. I imagine, though, you won’t have any problem housing them here temporarily since the note was left for you.”

“How do you know about the note?” he asked, surprised.

“Sarah showed it to me.”

Max rolled his eyes. “I should have known.”

Kaitland giggled, the tension between them finally easing. “She was ecstatic at the thought that you might be getting served back some of what you put her through when you were a child.”

“Hey, it was Rand, not me, that drove the woman to gray prematurely.”

“Not according to her,” she replied. “You were, after all, the one with all the broken bones each time something went awry.”

“But it was Rand who masterminded the situations.”

“We only have your word for that,” she said, smiling with the good memories they had once shared. “As I remember, Rand has a completely different story.”

“Ask Elizabeth. I’m sure Rand has told her the truth.”.

“I know Elizabeth,” Kaitland said. “And I’m sure she wouldn’t divulge a secret Rand might share.”

Max’s smile immediately dimmed. Kaitland realized the issue of trust between Rand and Elizabeth had reminded Max of the betrayed trust he felt Kaitland had dealt him. “If you’ll excuse me, Max. I need to get upstairs and make sure everything has been moved,” she said abruptly. “I’ve got Darlene sitting with the little ones right now. She’ll be helping me out as I need it. After making sure Sarah has a menu for the children, I’ll go relieve Darlene. Bobby and Maddie should be awake by then and I’ll take them outside to play until the room is ready. You’ll have your office back and can work in peace.”

Max nodded. “If they need anything, come tell me.”

Kaitland imitated Max’s nod, so formal, polite and distant “I’ll do that”

She stood and strode from the room.

Max sighed, his rigid posture deflating the minute Kaitland was out of sight. She’d just had to bring up those pictures. It seemed like only yesterday when a courier had hand-delivered the package to him. Thinking it was something Rand had sent over from the store, Max had strolled into his office/gym in his room upstairs. He was running late. Kaitland was due any minute and he still had his cuff links to apply and his jacket to slip into. He’d bought a special gift, a matching necklace to go with the ring he planned to give her tonight. Oh, they were engaged, but the ring she had worn was his mother’s. He’d asked her to wear that until he found the perfect ring for her—which he’d discovered and which had just been delivered that day. A beautiful teardrop emerald surrounded with diamonds. The wedding band was emeralds with clusters of diamonds around them. It was exquisite. And to go with the ring was a matching necklace. He knew the color would bring out the glow of Kaitland’s eyes, accentuate the gold highlights in her hair.

He could hardly wait to present it to her over dinner.

Grabbing his letter opener, he’d slit the manila envelope, tipping it so the papers would slide out.

Pictures had slid out instead. Pictures and a note demanding money.

Pictures of Kaitland and Senator Richardson as he kissed her, his arms wrapped around her, holding her tightly to him. A picture of Richardson falling onto the bed with her while her hands tangled in his jacket, her own leg showing up to her thigh. Another of the senator’s hand pulling her dress from her shoulder while her head was flung back in abandon.

His face had flushed hot before every bit of blood had drained from it He’d dropped into a chair, certain he was going to pass out. Then he’d thrown up.

His stomach had twisted with rage. He’d wanted to go out and destroy the senator with his bare hands. And Kaitland. He’d almost cried over the pain of her betrayal. He probably would have, had Sarah not chosen that moment to tell him Kaitland was there.

Instead, holding on to every shred of dignity he could muster, he’d marched downstairs and dropped the pictures in her lap, wanting her to break down and tell him they were a lie. Even though he knew they couldn’t be, he wanted her to tell him that.

But when she’d paled and looked guiltily up at him, he’d known the truth. She was seeing the senator. All of her odd skittishness the past month suddenly made sense. And he’d thought it had been because he hadn’t given her the official engagement ring yet The joke had been on him. She hadn’t wanted a ring, was probably flinching at the thought of having to wear it when she was interested in someone else.

He’d never felt such pain or betrayal as in that moment, especially when he accused her and she didn’t deny it. No, she’d simply stood, with an unfathomable look in her eyes, and turned and walked out the door.

And he hadn’t seen her since.

In five long years.

Except in his dreams. Yet those dreams were less and less frequently, and through prayer he had been certain he had put her behind him.

Then she showed up on his doorstep, just when he was finally going forward again with his life. He’d found his niche at work, had plenty to keep him busy, had even been thinking about asking his secretary out, though he wasn’t really interested in her romantically.

“Katie.” He whispered her name out loud, shuddering at the feelings just saying her name evoked. “And I’m fool enough to keep you on, even when I realized what you’re here for.”

Well, what had he hoped her to be here for? To start up their relationship again? Preposterous. It was way too late for that. He should have known she was here for the kids, not to see him. But for one tiny moment he had forgotten everything. When she’d first walked through the door, he had remembered the feeling of joy, of contentment, before the ugly memories had rushed in.

“I was a fool,” he repeated. “A total fool if I think I’m going to get any work done with you in this house.”

Hearing his own weak voice, he vowed not to let Kaitland Summerville interrupt his life in the least. No, he would continue to work, would ignore her presence, would get on with his life as he’d been doing for the past five years. And she wasn’t going to stop him.

Standing, he left the library, heading toward his office. She was not going to bother him in the least. Everything was going to proceed according to his neat little schedule, and peace would again reign in his house.

Chapter Five

“Sarah! Katie! Get in here!”

Peace, indeed, he thought sourly. Had it only been a half hour ago he had thought that? “Darlene, grab Maddie. No! Not the fax—”

The crash sounded all the way into the hall.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Stevens. I thought they were asleep so I just ran to the bathroom…”

Max looked in dismay to the overturned fax machine. The beep of an incoming fax had obviously been the culprit behind the kids’ untimely wakening. But the fax wasn’t the only casualty. His desktop had been cleared and Bobby sat in the middle of it, eating a pencil.

Maddie was covered with dirt from the plant she had dug up, one of his Easter lilies or prayer plants or something. He wasn’t sure of the name of the plant that opened only occasionally. The tan carpet was dotted with little footprints that reminded him of a bear cub. It looked as if one of the children—probably Maddie since he knew her propensity for dancing—had padded in little circles all over the floor.

Running to Bobby, Max immediately removed the pencil from the child’s mouth, only to find a rubber band in his mouth, too, and…“Ouch!” He jerked his finger back, looking at the red swollen digit.

Bobby simply grinned toothily at him then spit out what looked like his eraser…or what was left of it. “Open up,” Max said, wanting to check, but afraid to stick his finger back in there.

“Oh, no, Maddie. No. No!”

Max looked over at Darlene and groaned. The contracts his secretary had sent over were demolished. Even now Darlene was digging pieces of paper out of Maddie’s mouth. Those that the little girl hadn’t tried to eat were covered with muddy little paw prints.

“What happened?” Kaitland came running into the room, her eyes widening in despair at the signs of chaos. She hesitated, not sure which child to take until Max held Bobby up.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know they were awake. I was in with Sarah—” She stopped midsentence, looking at Max with growing dismay.

Max didn’t have to ask why. He felt the warm liquid running down Bobby’s leg wetting his tan shirt. “His diaper is leaking,” Max said bleakly, thinking that at this rate his dry-cleaning bill was going to bankrupt his company.

“I’m sorry, Max,” Kaitland said. “I’ll just take him. Darlene, bring Maddie. I’ll, uh, come back and clean up…”

“Let Darlene or Sarah see to that.”

“Of course, Max.”

She turned toward the door, talking to Bobby as she hurried out.

“And Katie?” Max called, picking up the ruined contracts and looking at the chew marks on them.

Kaitland paused, glancing warily back at Max. “Yes?”

“I think Maddie’s hungry.”

“Yes, Max,” she said and scuttled out the door. Then to Sarah, “Could you get the children some carrot sticks. I’m going to take these two out back where they can wear off some of their energy.”

Toting one child in each arm, Kaitland went into the library and grabbed the checked quilt then went out back. She avoided the formal gardens—no telling what they’d eat there—and the pool area. Instead, she went farther out toward the outer wall where there was a huge section of green lawn. The children could run there and do little damage.

“Here you go,” Sarah called, huffing up behind Kaitland.

“Oh, thank you,” Kaitland said, gratefully seeing not only the snacks, but drinks, a washcloth and a diaper bag, too.

She spread the blanket then called both children.

Maddie immediately came over and plopped down on the quilt. “It’s going to take a little longer for little Bobby to get used to his nickname,” Sarah said, bringing Maxwell Robert over to where Kaitland was. She dropped by her with a groan. “Should have gotten closer to a bench, young lady,” Sarah grouched good-naturedly.

“I’m sorry, Sarah,” Kaitland responded, even as she wiped up Maddie. She exchanged children with Sarah and went to work on Bobby, including changing the sopping-wet diaper.

She pulled out the snacks and sipper cups from the bag and said a quick prayer with the children. Amazingly, they both settled right down and began munching their snacks. “Good thing they like this. I wasn’t sure what to fix them. I guess it’s just going to take time for us to figure out what food they like.”

“The way those two wolfed down the cookies Max fed them earlier, I doubt you’re going to find very little those two don’t like to eat.”

Kaitland sighed as she watched the two little ones exchange snacks and resume eating. “They’re so adorable,” she said. “But at the rate everything has gone this morning, I’m afraid Max will let me go before I have a chance to find out their likes and dislikes.”

“Oh, pshaw,” Sarah said. “I have to disagree with you, Kaitland, dear. I haven’t seen Max this animated in years. Not since you left his life.”

“Since he dismissed me from it, you mean.”

Sarah leaned forward and patted Kaitland’s hand. “Don’t know why you’ve waited so long to come back and straighten it out. Should have been taken care of a long time ago, if you ask me. But of course, Max is so closemouthed. It doesn’t matter what happened back then. It’s obvious Max still cares for you.”

Kaitland raised surprised eyebrows. “What in the world makes you say that? It’s obvious every time I’m in the room that Max is in a foul mood and can’t wait to get away.”

“Exactly.”

Kaitland wrinkled her forehead in confusion. “You’re not making sense.”

“Of course I am. Ever heard the old saying, where there’s a spark, you can get a fire going?”

Kaitland laughed. “Yeah, but don’t you know an out-of-control fire can destroy everything around it?”

“Not this, dear. Max is led by God, and so are you. You’re both just too stubborn to forgive and forget, though. When Max finally let’s go of his hurt, I think you’re gonna find that fire back. But with God tempering it, it ain’t gonna get too out of control that either one of you gets hurt again, if you both remember to rely on God this time.”

Kaitland blinked back sudden tears. If they relied on God this time. How true. When they’d had their problems before, instead of turning to God for help, they’d both allowed their wounded pride to stand in the way. That had caused untold problems. However, unlike Sarah, Kaitland didn’t believe this was a second chance. She just wanted to make peace so she could get on with her life. She knew Max would never trust her again, not that she couldn’t really blame him. Her mistake had cost her someone very dear to her. If she and Max could part as friends, she would take that and be happy. If Max could only forgive and forget. That was the key. And with her in the house, around him every day, that might happen.

“I hope you’re right, Sarah. I’d like the pain between us healed.”

“Ms. Summerville?”

Kaitland glanced up to where Darlene stood. “I wanted to let you know the furniture has arrived. I’ve got some people working on arranging the room right now. And there’s someone here to see you.”

“Me?” The only person Kaitland could think of was Jake. “Could you stay with Bobby and Maddie?” she asked Darlene.

“Sure. I led the person to the gardens. I wasn’t sure where to put him…”

“That’s fine,” Kaitland said, wondering where Timms, the butler, was.

“And I have to get back to cooking,” Sarah said. “Don’t you let them young ‘uns outta your sight, Darlene. You hear me?” Sarah added, heaving her body up off the ground.

“Yes, ma’am,” Darlene said, sitting down next to the children. Bobby immediately plopped into her arms. Maddie, obviously feeling left out, pushed her brother then squirmed up next to him on Darlene’s lap.

Kaitland laughed and, with a kiss to each one’s head, she turned and headed toward the gardens. Who in the world could it be that had come to visit her?

Then she spotted the dark brown head and knew.

Her stepbrother, Robert.

Robert and Max didn’t get along. Darlene wouldn’t want to leave him where Max might run into him. Kaitland had never understood the hostilities between the two men. She knew Max didn’t approve of Robert’s lifestyle, but he’d never discussed it with her, just told her to be careful around Robert What could her stepbrother do to her that Max worried about—or had worried about, she amended.

Except take her to a party where she ended up getting attacked, she told herself. Well, Max had been right and she’d learned her lesson.

“Robert,” she said, stopping at the garden gate where Robert stood. “What are you doing here?”

“I couldn’t believe it when your pastor told me where to reach you,” he said. In many ways, his dark brown eyes and dark complexion reminded her of Max. He, too, had Cajun blood in him from his mother’s side of the family. Whereas Kaitland was light and fair, taking after her mother, Robert took after his mother. Her father, who was Irish, left only his green eyes and gold highlights to Kaitland.

Robert, being no blood relation, had no look of the family about him. Of course, her grandmother had raised them most of their life as their parents had died in a tragic car accident not long after they married. With no relatives, Robert had been raised by Kaitland’s grandmother, too.

That was part of the ongoing tension between them now. Robert had never thought Kaitland’s grandmother cared for him. And Kaitland refused to listen to Robert bad-mouth the woman who had raised them both. That was one reason she was so surprised to see him.

“Max Stevens needed a sitter. I was available.”

“Those his kids?” Robert asked, nodding toward where the two little children sat playing with Darlene.

“No, those aren’t his kids.”

“Then what’s he doing with them?”

Kaitland sighed. “Don’t ask me to gossip about my boss, Robert. You know I won’t do it. Suffice it to say, they aren’t his children.”

“Your boss, huh?” Robert asked.

“Yes, my boss.”

“He was once much more.”

“Robert,” Kaitland warned. Robert was not a Christian, and scorned anything to do with church. He loved to find anything at all to needle Kaitland with when it came to morals.

“Okay, okay,” Robert finally relented. “I don’t know how you could work for the man after what he did, but that’s up to you. I just wanted to check on you and find out what happened at the day care to send you running off.”

“I wasn’t running off.” Pushing open the gate, she headed down the curving pathway, ignoring the sweet fragrance of roses and azaleas, the climbing honeysuckle bushes, until she arrived at a bench. Seating herself, she motioned to Robert, who had followed her, then told him about the confrontation she’d had with the man at the day care. “Jake felt it was better for the children who witnessed the incident, and their parents, if I took some time off,” she finished. “This job was available. So, after reassuring the children that there was no harm done, I came out here for the next few weeks. Besides, Jake has been encouraging me to relax. The pressure of the expansion project we’re planning has been exhausting and he thought that coming here and straightening everything out might give me a chance to clear the air of the past. Satisfied?” Though that wasn’t the entire story. Kaitland had wanted to do something new and different. Jake had known that, too.

“Your pastor thinks you need rest?” Robert asked, a conniving look on his face.

Instantly wary, for Robert rarely showed such interest in her, she said, “Yes, why?”

Robert reached out and took her hand. “I have a function to attend next week. You know my girlfriend deserted me a year and a half ago and I haven’t found anyone to replace her at these social occasions.”

“Is this one of those dinner parties?” she asked suspiciously.

“Please, Kaitland. Senator Bradley will be there. It’s very important I talk to him. He’s one of the men against the gambling issue and I need a chance to sway his decision.”

Of course. She should have guessed that Robert’s desperate need of her company had to do with his work as a lobbyist.

Kaitland removed her hand from her brother’s grip. “You know I told you after what happened with Senator Richardson that I’d not go to those parties. I hate them.”

“That was an accident Richardson was drunk. Things like that don’t normally happen.”

“So you say. I don’t like the way everyone judges me by what I wear, eyeing me, attaching a price tag to my dress. It’s demeaning. Besides, I don’t have the money to buy a dress for one of those functions.”

“I’ll buy you the dress,” he said, grabbing her hand again. “And it’s only because you don’t know anyone that you’re uncomfortable. Max Stevens attends those parties sometimes. I bet if he was there you’d attend.”

“If I went with Max, then I might,” Kaitland agreed. “But I’m not going with Max. I’m his employee. Therefore, the point is moot.”

Robert’s face turned red. “You’d go with him, yet you won’t go with your brother.” He shot to his feet, his hands fisted. “Your grandmother brainwashed you against me. It’s always been like that, you know. I’ve always been the outsider.”

Kaitland shot to her feet, too, dismayed at the turn of the conversation, though not surprised. “That’s not true, Robert. You know Mimi loved you just like she did me.”

“No. She loved you, tolerated me. And you’re the same way. I come here begging for one small favor and you turn me away like she always did. You’d think you’d care a little more about me than that, you who profess to love thy neighbor. Or is that it? You can love your neighbor—” he motioned toward the mansion “—but not your own brother.”

With that, he stormed down the path.

Kaitland collapsed back against the bench. It would do no good to chase Robert right now. He’d only argue more. And she did feel a little guilty about what he’d said. She loved her stepbrother. But her grandmother had disinherited Robert, and left everything to Kaitland.

However, she was terrified of those parties. Why couldn’t Robert understand the burden she carried inside her after that night? She didn’t want any part of what had caused the pain and fear in her life. Not again, not just when Max had come back into her life.

If she went to a party like that now, it would only dredge up more hurt and probably get her fired faster than she could blink.

Wearily, her shoulders drooped. “Why now, Father? It looks like I might have a chance to clear the air between Max and myself and suddenly all of these old problems are making themselves known again. Why?”

With a sigh, she rose from the bench and went back out the gate and toward where Darlene sat with the children. She wondered how she could have thought it would be so easy coming back here, seeing Max and then going on with her life after this temporary job was over. She was afraid this was just the beginning of more momentous things to come.

Chapter Six

Max was avoiding her and the children.

Kaitland juggled the diaper bag as she arranged Maddie in her arms and urged Bobby onward down the long carpeted hall of the building that housed Stevens Inc.

Oh, it had not been obvious at first as Kaitland had adjusted herself to the children’s rigorous schedules. But as Maddie and Bobby had settled into a routine, it had quickly become apparent to Kaitland that Max wasn’t just missing supper and spending more time than usual at the office. She had no doubt he was doing his best to detach himself from the situation.

The children didn’t notice, as they had not grown used to Max yet But Kaitland noticed. He’d taken to coming up the balcony stairs to his room in the evenings. And if he did pass through the house when she and the children were still up, and happened to run into them, he made some excuse about being tired, or making it an early night and they’d discuss anything that might need discussing at a more opportune time.

And to think, that first night she’d caught him unawares, she had only planned to ask him if she could take the children to the zoo.

Well, he was done avoiding her. She was about to put an end to that, she thought again determinedly. After all, Max had made the decision to keep the children until their mother, whoever that was, could be located. He should at least spend time with them. The children had no one else. It was up to her to make Max realize that, whether he wanted to or not. She assured herself that was her only motivation and that she wasn’t upset that he’d been treating her as if she had the plague every moment since that first day.

“Door!”

Kaitland, brought abruptly out of her reverie by the lunging child as she pointed at the door, glanced at the squirming Maddie in her arms and noted how intently she examined each door they passed. “Yes, Maddie. Door. No, Bobby,” she admonished gently as the toddler on her right reached toward the leg of a very delicate table with a very expensive china vase sitting on top of it. “Come on. Take my hand,” she urged him, grabbing hold of his chubby little hand just in time.

She swerved to avoid the cherry-wood table that sat just outside the main doors leading to Max’s office.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded to the receptionist who was just coming out of a side room, then barged into the secretary’s office before the receptionist could stop her.

A young girl, no more than twenty-three years old, Kaitland guessed, looked up from her computer. “May I help you?” she asked, her glance taking in one child, then the other. Surprised, Kaitland watched the woman smile sweetly at both children with a gaze that was soft and loving. Maddie clapped and squealed.

“Go!” Bobby said, reaching toward the secretary.

The secretary winked before glancing back in query at Kaitland.

“I’m here to see Max…Mr. Stevens.” Kaitland suddenly realized she didn’t even know if Max was in. In the past, he had rarely done the traveling for the company. He had held simple nine-to-five hours unless problems cropped up. Of course, back then, Rand had been around to take care of most of the problems. Now, Max was doing the bulk of the work. Maybe he wasn’t here.

“I’m sorry, Jennifer,” the receptionist said, coming into the office almost on Kaitland’s heels, but the young blonde interrupted her.

“It’s all right, Mary.” With a small nod, the younger girl dismissed the older woman. “You must be Ms. Summerville?” she inquired politely if a little coolly.

The children were both squirming and despite her resolve, Kaitland suddenly felt like squirming, too. She knew how much Max demanded of his secretaries. How could a woman so young be in such a position of responsibility? Long blond hair coiled in a French twist at the back of her head gave the woman an air of sophistication. Remarkable blue eyes regarded her with wisdom beyond her years. Her long slender hands were more suited to modeling than typing, Kaitland thought. She in her plain jeans and short-sleeve sweater, suddenly realized how underdressed she must look compared to the woman’s tailored suit and silk blouse. “Yes, I’m Kaitland Summerville. I know Max said he had to work today, but I needed to see him…”

The girl frowned over Kaitland’s use of Max’s first name, causing Kaitland to wonder if maybe there wasn’t more going on between the secretary and Max than she realized. She watched as the woman buzzed the office. “Yes, Jennifer?”

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