“I’ve always known you were off limits—

and even so I’m breaking all the rules.”

Brittany tipped her head back and looked at Ethan. “What rules?”

“I’m talking about your age. You’re so very young.”

Her eyes widened. “You don’t like young women?”

“You’re fourteen years younger than me, Brittany. Have you ever made love with a man?”

For a moment she just looked at him, then she buried her face in his shoulder. “No. I’ve never before met one I wanted to be…um…with in that way.”

Pride and regret warred within him. He brushed the hair away from her cheek. “I’m flattered that you think I might be that man,” he murmured into her ear. “I wish I were, but I’m afraid I’m not.”

Dear Reader,

From the enchantment of first loves to the wonder of second chances, Silhouette Romance demonstrates the power of genuine emotion. This month we continue our yearlong twentieth anniversary celebration with another stellar lineup, including the return of beloved author Dixie Browning with Cinderella’s Midnight Kiss.

Next, Raye Morgan delivers a charming marriage-of-convenience story about a secretary who is Promoted—To Wife! And Silhouette Romance begins a new theme-based promotion, AN OLDER MAN, which highlights stories featuring sophisticated older men who meet their matches in younger, inexperienced women. Our premiere title is Professor and the Nanny by reader favorite Phyllis Halldorson.

Bestselling author Judy Christenberry unveils her new miniseries, THE CIRCLE K SISTERS, in Never Let You Go. When a millionaire businessman wins an executive assistant at an auction, he discovers that he wants her to be Contractually His… forever. Don’t miss this conclusion of Myrna Mackenzie’s THE WEDDING AUCTION series. And in Karen Rose Smith’s Just the Husband She Chose, a powerful attorney is reunited in a marriage meant to satisfy a will.

In coming months, look for new miniseries by some of your favorite authors. It’s an exciting year for Silhouette Books, and we invite you to join the celebration!

Happy reading!

Mary-Theresa Hussey

Senior Editor

Professor and the Nanny
Phyllis Halldorson

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MILLS & BOON

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For my Friday critique group, those generous and talented writers whose support has been invaluable over the years. Many thanks and much love.

Books by Phyllis Halldorson

Silhouette Romance

Temporary Bride #31

To Start Again #79

Mountain Melody #247

If Ever I Loved You #282

Design for Two Hearts #367

Forgotten Love #395

An Honest Lover #456

To Choose a Wife #515

Return to Raindance #566

Raindance Autumn #584

Ageless Passion, Timeless Love #653

Dream Again of Love #689

Only the Nanny Knows for Sure #760

Lady Diamond #791

More Than You Know #948

Father in the Middle #1060

Mail Order Wife #1133

A Wife for Dr. Sam #1219

The Lawman’s Legacy #1255

A Man Worth Marrying #1395

Professor and the Nanny #1452

Silhouette Special Edition

My Heart’s Undoing #290

The Showgirl and the Professor #368

Cross My Heart #430

Ask Not of Me, Love #510

All We Know of Heaven #621

You Could Love Me #734

Luscious Lady #764

A Haven in His Arms #863

Truly Married #958

The Bride and the Baby #999

The Millionaire’s Baby #1145

Silhouette Books

Silhouette Christmas Stories 1991

“A Memorable Noel”

PHYLLIS HALLDORSON

met her real-life Prince Charming at the age of sixteen. She married him a year later, and they settled down to raise a family. A compulsive reader, Phyllis dreamed of someday finding the time to write stories of her own. That time came when her two youngest children reached adolescence. When she was introduced to romance novels, she knew she had found her long-delayed vocation. After all, how could she write anything else after living all those years with her very own Silhouette hero?

Contents

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 One

Brittany Baldwin’s stomach churned as she pulled over to the curb and parked in front of the white colonial-style house with two-story-high pillars that supported the overhang above the porch.

It was a lovely upper-middle-class home in a historic neighborhood of Lexington, and the man she was supposed to meet here was a professor of literature at the University of Kentucky, but was she ready for this? Her first interview for her first nursing job. She’d expected to have three more years of college before actually going to work, but then…

She shook her head as if the sharp movement could drive away the searing memories that still haunted her, then got out of the car and walked briskly up to the door. The bell chimed melodiously when pushed and the door was opened by a good-looking man of medium height with light brown hair and eyes to match behind silver-framed glasses.

For a moment they just stood there looking at each other, each waiting for the other to speak.

Finally he broke the silence. “Yes?”

It was put in the form of a question, but why? Surely he was expecting her.

“I…I’m Brittany Baldwin,” she stammered, “the medical assistant Professor Thorpe requested.”

He blinked. “You’re the nurse I asked for?”

“Nursing assistant,” she corrected him, “and yes, if you’re Professor Ethan Thorpe, I was told to meet you here at—” she paused and looked at her watch “—four o’clock.”

He was still frowning at her. “Is there a problem?” she asked.

“You could say that, yes,” he growled. “I am Ethan Thorpe, but you’d better come in while we discuss it.”

She wondered what there was to discuss as he stood aside so she could step into the large tiled foyer that housed a wide staircase in the center and displayed a magnificent crystal chandelier suspended from the soaring ceiling.

Brittany was impressed, but before she could comment the man had taken her arm and was ushering her into the area to the right. His hand cupping her elbow was firm but warm and smooth, and she involuntarily leaned into it, seeking its security.

This room was a parlor furnished with beautiful antique furniture, and he led her to the settee and motioned for her to sit down. She did, reluctantly relinquishing his supporting touch, and he took a high-backed wing chair several feet away.

“Now, Ms…. Baldwin did you say your name is?”

“Brittany,” she murmured, and he continued. “I’m afraid there’s been a misunderstanding. I asked for a mature, well-trained and experienced woman capable of taking care of my father, who is diabetic and has difficulty with his short-term memory.”

Brittany still didn’t understand the problem. “I admit I’m not very experienced, but I’m well trained in nursing care as I’m sure the agency told you. I can administer his shots, oversee his diet and watch him so he doesn’t wander off—”

“How old are you?” Ethan interjected.

“I’m…uh…I’m twenty-one, but I’m well aware of the responsibility involved in caring for my patients,” she hastily assured him. “I was studying to be a registered nurse but…”

She bit back her ill-advised words and hoped he hadn’t caught them. She really didn’t want to get into that subject right now. It was still too painful to discuss with strangers, and besides, it had nothing to do with her nursing skills. She’d learned those at the vocational school after—

Unfortunately his hearing was keen and so was his curiosity. “Brittany? You were saying…?”

“Oh, nothing,” she replied, groping for a way out. “It really doesn’t apply to this situation.”

He leaned back in his chair and captured her gaze. The lenses of his glasses weren’t very thick, and she could see the flecks of gold in his brown pupils behind them. The metal frames were circular and softened the wideness of his cheekbones and the squareness of his jaw. He looked to be in his early or mid-thirties, and was a very handsome man in a quiet sort of way.

“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?” he suggested softly but with a hint of determination that would not be denied.

Oh well, this was, after all, an interview for a job. He had a right to ask questions, and if she wanted the position she’d better answer them. She just hoped she could get through it without breaking down!

She twined her hands in her lap and leaned forward as she began. “Last year I completed my first year at the university. I was working for a degree in nursing, but then in August my…”

Her voice shook and she swallowed. “…my parents were killed in a boating accident.”

He sat bolt upright in his chair. “Oh, look, I’m sorry. I had no idea. I didn’t mean to put you through this….”

She held up her hand. “No, please, it’s something I have to learn to live with.”

With her fingertips she dabbed at the unwelcome tears that had formed in her eyes. “When the estate was settled I learned they had been living beyond their means for years and were on the verge of bankruptcy. All I managed to salvage was Mom’s car, which by some miracle was paid for, and enough money to enroll in the medical assistant’s program at the career vocational school here in town.”

She took a deep breath. “It was a ten-month course and I graduated last week. This is my first job interview.”

“But surely you have relatives,” he muttered.

She shook her head. “Not unless you count two second cousins living in California whom I haven’t seen in almost ten years. I have no brothers or sisters, aunts or uncles.”

“Well I have to admit you come highly recommended by your school,” he said, “but you’re so young. And so fragile.”

Brittany couldn’t help it, she laughed. “There’s not much I can do about the ‘young’ part, but ‘fragile’? Professor Thorpe, I’m five feet six inches tall and weigh one-hundred-thirty pounds. I’ve also had strength training and my body is very well toned.”

Ethan grinned. “Don’t underestimate my dad. He’s over six feet tall, slimmer now than he used to be, but still tips the scales at close to two hundred pounds, and makes up in just plain wiliness for what he may have lost in muscle power.”

The cool reserve between the two of them had been broken, and they sat back and relaxed. “Tell me a little about your father,” Brittany said. “I understand he’s retired now, but what did he do for a living? How many children does he have? What about your mother? That type of thing.”

She knew she was assuming a lot here, asking questions like that before she’d even been hired, but she really wanted this job and she wasn’t going to make it easy for the professor to send her away if his only objection to her was her age.

“You want to know what my dad used to do for a living?” Ethan inquired. “He spent forty years as a heavy-equipment repairer. He’s got muscles you never heard of, and most of them are still fully operational even though he doesn’t exercise much anymore. You’d have a time controlling him if he didn’t want to be controlled. Fortunately, he’s even-tempered and he’d die before he’d ever touch a woman in anger.”

“Then we don’t have to worry about my strength or lack of it, do we,” she said sweetly with a touch of sarcasm.

“But it’s not your well being I’m worried about,” Ethan replied. “He sometimes loses his balance and falls. Are you strong enough to help him get up and patient enough to give him constant attention? He tends to get confused and wanders away if not supervised.”

“It’s almost impossible for any one person to lift a patient who can’t help himself,” she told him, “but I can certainly dial 911 if I need help. I’m prepared to do whatever is necessary to keep him safe and well as long as he’s under my supervision. How old is he?”

“He’s seventy-two and in good health as long as he keeps his diabetes under control, but because of his short-term memory problems he can’t always remember to give himself his insulin shots. When that happens he goes downhill fast, but I’m sure you know about that.”

Brittany knew he was testing her and responded appropriately. “Yes, I do. His blood-sugar count goes up dangerously high and he feels woozy. That’s when he’s apt to get confused and fall.”

Ethan nodded his agreement. “Right. That’s the most important reason we need a medical assistant as a caregiver.”

“I’m very good at making sure my patients get their meds,” she assured him. “What about your mother? Does she live here, too?”

He shook his head. “My mother died of a sudden heart attack when my twin brother and I were in high school. Peter and I were their only children, and Dad never married again so there’s no second family.”

“And your wife?” she asked hesitantly. “You do have a wife, don’t you?”

He shook his head. “Not anymore,” he said crisply. “My wife and I were divorced two years ago. We have an eighteen-month-old son, but he won’t be a problem for you. He lives in Pleasant Hill with his mother. I have him every other weekend.”

Brittany was startled by his disclosure. So far she hadn’t seen any sign of a woman in residence, but she’d assumed there was one. Why would any woman give up on a man with all Ethan had going for him? What had happened?

Well, that was obviously none of her business and it was time to change the subject.

“So you have a twin brother,” she said. “That must have been fun when you were growing up.”

He smiled. “No, we’re fraternal twins, not identical. Pete is six two, losing his hair and has blue eyes. We don’t even look like brothers.”

Brittany’s gaze shifted up to Ethan’s luxuriant crop of brown-colored hair, and her fingers tingled to run through it. No chance of him going bald anytime soon. “How odd,” she commented. “Does he live in the area?”

“No, he and his wife are lawyers and are partners in separate law firms in New Orleans, so you’d be on your own with Dad from eight in the morning until midafternoon at the earliest. Do you think you could handle that?”

“I’m sure of it,” she said with a tad more confidence than she felt. “Also, the agency I work through has backup help always available. I can call them at any time should a problem arise.”

“Well, I don’t know,” he waffled. “I need someone who understands the situation and can deal with it. My first choice was for a male medical assistant, but the agency didn’t have any available.”

He thought for a minute, then spoke. “Look, why don’t I introduce you to Dad and see how it goes? He’s in the family room watching a baseball game on television.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Brittany said, relieved that he was at least going to give her a chance, let her meet the patient and see how they got along.

“Fine, then come on. It’s down the hall.”

Again he took her arm. She wasn’t sure it was necessary as a form of politeness, but she was glad he did. She liked the closeness it induced in her.

They walked down the hall to the right of the staircase and past a closed door until they came to a big open room across the back of the house.

It was totally unlike the parlor, or the dining room she’d glimpsed across the foyer. They were furnished in eighteenth-century decor, stately but cool and formal. This one, however, was strictly twentieth century with comfortable modern furniture, massive sliding glass doors and windows with a view that seemed to bring the colorful, well-tended gardens inside. A big-screen television set was tuned to a baseball game in progress.

The furniture divided the rectangular room into two separate areas. The television was the focal point to the left of the wide entryway, and the right side featured a marble fireplace with a long cream-colored sofa facing it from the middle of the room. There were numerous thickly upholstered lounge chairs in shades of brown, rust and beige positioned around both sides, and lamps strategically placed for reading.

An older man sat in one of the chairs with his back to them, avidly watching the screen, and didn’t hear them approach until Ethan spoke. “Dad, would you turn the sound down? We have a visitor.”

The man looked around, startled, and immediately turned off the set with the remote, then struggled to his feet. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you coming,” he said pleasantly.

“Please don’t apologize,” Brittany said, and held out her hand. “I’m Brittany Baldwin.”

She didn’t know just what she’d expected, but this wasn’t it. Nate Thorpe was tall and slender, somewhat loosely put together, like a dancer, except she could tell from the way he swayed ever so slightly when he first stood that he had a problem with his balance.

He took her hand. His grip was firm and his eyes brown like his son’s. In fact, he and Ethan looked quite a bit alike, except Nate’s hair had turned iron-gray and he wore a mustache. He also wore glasses, but his were thicker than his son’s and had tortoiseshell rims.

His eyes sparkled as his gaze traveled over her and he smiled. “My short-term memory might not be what it used to be, but I know I’d remember you if we’d ever met before.”

Good, Brittany thought. He was playful, which meant he probably wasn’t depressed.

“Brittany is here to interview for the position of medical assistant,” Ethan told him. “Remember? I told you about it this morning.”

“Of course I remember,” Nate snapped. “I may be old but I’m not senile yet.”

Brittany winced and she saw Ethan flush. “Dad, I wasn’t implying that you are—”

He paused, obviously unsure of how to handle the situation.

She wasn’t, either, but she stepped in, anyway. She and Nate were still holding hands after shaking them, and she squeezed his. “We all forget things at times,” she said lightly. “I have to write everything down if I don’t want to forget it, and this college professor son of yours didn’t even know who I was when I showed up on your doorstep right on time for this appointment. One he had set up. Everyone’s got problems, sir.”

Nate tightened his grip on her hand, then let her go. “Hire her, son, before she gets away. If I gotta be sick, I want her for a nurse.”

Ethan knew when he’d been outclassed, outwitted and outmaneuvered. What he couldn’t figure out was how it had happened! One minute he’d had everything under control and the next his own father and the nurse he hadn’t even hired yet had wrested it from him and were dictating their own terms.

Well, that was okay. He wanted Nate to make his own decisions for as long as he was able to. If Nate wanted a nurse who was young and easy to look at as well as well trained, then Ethan would at least give Ms. Baldwin a try. After all, he could always let her go if she proved inadequate.

“All right, Dad,” he said agreeably. “If Brittany and I can come to terms, she’s all yours. Now, you turn your game back on and we’ll go in the library and work things out.”

Nate grinned. “Glad to have you on board, missy,” he said, and sat back down.

Ethan involuntarily reached out to take Brittany’s arm again, but then thought better of it. There was no professional reason for him to touch her, and he liked the prickles that traveled up and down his own hand and arm when he did so altogether too much.

He hadn’t counted on hiring such an attractive nurse. Attractive! She was downright beautiful. Her rich, dark brown hair was parted in the middle and hung free to her shoulders with bangs across her forehead. He ached to run his fingers through it and feel its softness. Her eyes were grass-green and looked at him with wide speculation that made his blood rush to his head. Sexy wasn’t nearly a strong enough word to describe the way she walked and talked.

But she was also little more than a child. Twenty-one years old. A lot of his students were older than that. Hell, he’d already been fourteen when she was born!

Enough of that, he thought as he preceded her to the closed door they’d passed earlier and opened it into the library. This was his favorite room, smaller than the others with a brick fireplace, bookshelf-lined walls, a leather sofa, a large mahogany desk and a couple of desk chairs. He could relax in here, renew his energy and prepare his lessons and lectures for upcoming classes.

He found it a good place to try to clear his mind of the unsettling problems and troubling speculations his father’s illnesses had brought with them. He invited Brittany to sit down, then took the chair behind the desk.

“You have a beautiful home,” she said as she looked around. “How I envy you these books. Have you read all of them?”

“Most of them,” he admitted. “The house and antique furnishings were a legacy from my mother. She was a true Southern lady. Impeccable manners and charm were born and bred into her from generations going back to before the Civil War. She inherited the house from her father and in turn passed it on to Dad when she died.”

He leaned forward and put his arms on the desk. “It’s awfully big for just the two of us, and it’s getting more and more expensive to keep up, but we could never sell it.”

“Of course you couldn’t. You and your brother will want to pass it on to your children.” There was sympathy mixed with understanding in her tone.

Much as he appreciated her empathy, she wasn’t here to discuss his problems and he pulled his attention back to the subject at hand. “Do you really want this job, Brittany?”

She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up his hand to stop her. “Think carefully before you answer. Given proper attention to his diabetes Nate could live for another twenty years.”

Again she opened her mouth and once more he silenced her. “No, hear me out. I certainly don’t expect you to spend the next twenty years of your life taking care of us—”

He heard himself say “us” and snapped his mouth shut. That wasn’t what he’d meant! She wouldn’t be hired to look after him. Just his father!

He felt the flush that colored his face but decided to ignore it and go on. “That is, I realize you would eventually want to go back to school to get your bachelor of science degree in nursing, or get married and move away, whatever, but I don’t want Nate subjected to a new caretaker every few months. He gets confused enough without adding that to the indignities he has to endure.”

Too late he saw the irritation that contorted her face as she stood and braced her arms with her hands flat on the desk.

“What right do you have to assume that nursing is just a hobby with me?” she asked angrily as he leaned back. “One I can work at when I want to, and walk away from when I don’t?”

He tried to answer but she hurried on. “Is it because I’m young? Well, don’t judge me by the way you may have acted when you were twenty-one. I take my work seriously, and if this is your way of asking if there’s a man in my life the answer is no, there isn’t. As for going back to the university, it will be years before I can afford to do that. I’m still trying to pay off Mom’s and Dad’s bills.”

Ethan was taken aback, but he also jumped up and glared at her across the desk. “Now, just a minute. I wasn’t implying you aren’t good at your job, I just want some assurance that you won’t get bored after a few months and leave Nate for something more exciting—”

“Do you call diabetes and forgetfulness boring?” she asked.

“No, of course not,” he said more softly. “I know firsthand what a big job it is, but doing the same thing day after day for a sick old man is bound to get monotonous.”

“I don’t think of Nate as a ‘sick old man.”’ Her tone had lowered, too. “I think of him as a man who needs the help that I can provide, and every stride we make forward will be exciting.”

Ethan sank back down in his chair and wasn’t surprised to see his hands shaking. “Please, sit down. I don’t usually get this emotional. It’s probably because I haven’t had to face the gravity of dad’s illness until now. He’s had the diabetes for several years but knew how to take care of himself so there was no problem.

“It was about a year ago that he started having difficulty with his blood sugar, and that’s when we discovered he hadn’t been getting his shots regularly. After a few other tests, the doctor told us Nate had developed the early stages of senility, which often shows up in diabetics, and that was causing him to forget to give himself the injections.”

He ran his hands over his face. This was harder than he’d expected. He suspected he hadn’t really faced his father’s illness before. It was so much easier to hide from it, pretend it was a temporary inconvenience that would eventually go away.

“That’s when I sold my house and moved in here with him so I could monitor him, remind him to take his shots and fix his meals,” he continued, “but there were still the dietary restrictions and the blood tests. Now he’s started wandering off and getting lost. So far I’ve managed to find him without much trouble, but he needs full-time care and I can’t give it to him and still keep my day job, which we need to live on.”

He looked at Brittany and she saw the anguish in his eyes. “I didn’t mean to insult you or imply that you wouldn’t take proper care of him, but I have to be sure the person I hire is reliable, and you’re so young and so beautiful. I can’t believe you’d be content to put up with the irritation a patient in Nate’s condition can cause.”

Her heart melted at the torment in his voice, and without thinking she got up and walked around the desk to stand beside his chair. “Ethan, I’m well qualified to watch over your father and see to it that he gets his medication.”

She put her hand gently on his slumped shoulder. He was only wearing a lightweight shirt, and she could feel the warmth of his bare skin beneath it. “I think he and I would get along really well together. I like him, and he seems to like me.”

She started to lift her hand away, belatedly aware she was taking a liberty she shouldn’t be, but he reached across his chest and held it where it was. She felt his muscles twitch beneath her palm.

“What’s not to like?” he said hoarsely. “When can you start?”

Chapter Two

Brittany shivered as she stood in front of the open door of the closet in her one-room apartment, clad only in a set of the expensive pastel lingerie her mother had bought her. Not that she was cold. She wasn’t. She was having an attack of nerves.

She’d been so confident of her ability as a medical assistant when under the watchful eye of her instructors, but from today on she’d be alone with her patient, with no one to tell her what to do if something unexpected should happen.

Her gaze traveled over the contents of the closet. What would the Thorpes want her to wear? She hadn’t thought to ask them. Some patients still expected nurses to wear white starched uniforms, but those had gone out of style years ago. In the hospital she wore a white lab coat over green scrubs, but in training for home visits she’d usually donned jeans and a T-shirt under the lab coat. Cleaning up after patients at home could get pretty messy at times.

She finally decided on a beige pantsuit that looked professional and was machine-washable, a necessity in her occupation. Since Nate was more in need of supervision than medical attention, she’d been designated his caregiver, so she didn’t think he or Ethan would mind if she dressed casually in her own clothes.

Grabbing two freshly laundered lab coats and her medical kit, she hurried out the door and locked it behind her.

Ethan told himself he wasn’t pacing the floor and that he was just wandering around the house while he waited for his dad’s nurse to arrive. However, it felt like pacing to him. A glance at his watch told him Brittany wasn’t late, rather he was early. It was only eight o’clock, and even with commuting time he didn’t have to leave the house until eight-thirty, but he wanted to go over some things with her before he left.

The chime of the bell a few minutes later sent him striding quickly to the door. He opened it and caught his breath. She was even more lovely than he’d remembered. The tan pantsuit she was wearing was strictly tailored, even masculine in its lines, but there was nothing androgynous in the way she filled it out. Her full breasts thrust gently against the material of the blouse, and the curve of her hips under the slacks was definitely not mannish.

It was a good thing they would meet for only a few minutes each day coming and going. He’d never be able to resist the temptation she was stirring in him if it lasted much longer!

“Professor? Is something the matter?” Her voice broke into his musing, and he realized he’d been standing there staring at her like a starstruck teenager.

He blinked and shook his head. “No, please, come in.”

He moved aside to let her pass him, and got a whiff of the aroma of spring flowers. Delicate and pleasing.

“Where’s your dad?” she asked as she deposited her purse and her medical kit on the table in the foyer.

“He’s not up yet,” Ethan said. “Lately I’ve been having to wake him to give him his shot and his breakfast before I leave to go to the university, but that interrupts his rest. Now that you’ll be coming every morning he can sleep a little longer.”

She smiled. “Fine. I’ll be happy to take over.”

“How about a cup of coffee?” he asked, glancing at his watch even though he knew exactly what time it was. He hoped the gesture would make her think it was a spur-of-the-moment invitation rather than the eagerly thought-out proposal it really was. “I don’t have to leave for a few minutes yet.”

“I’d like that,” Brittany said softly, and walked with him through the kitchen on the left side of the staircase to the small room they called the breakfast room. Ethan had pointed it out to her when he took her on a tour of the house the day he hired her. The sun streaming through the sheer curtains that covered the large windows flooded the area with light and bathed it in an aura of cheerfulness.

There was a round table and four chairs in the middle of the room, and two other chairs in the corners. A chest-high breakfast bar separated the two rooms, and potted tropical plants added shafts of color.

The electric coffeemaker was set up on the bar counter, and Ethan stopped to pour coffee into the mugs while Brittany pulled out a chair and sat down.

“Cream and sugar?” he asked.

“Black,” she told him, and he brought the two cups to the table and sat down beside her.

“I’ve left a list of phone numbers you can call for help if anything should go wrong,” he told her. “Mine at the university is at the top, of course, but there’s also Dad’s doctor, the next-door neighbors on either side of us and, as a last resort, my brother and his wife in New Orleans.”

“Thank you, I’m glad to have those,” she said. “I’m also interested in knowing what his limitations are aside from his occasional confusion. Can I take him out for rides or walks, or maybe a shopping trip?”

“Oh, sure, he loves to get out,” Ethan assured her. “That’s one of the biggest problems I’ve had with him lately. When he’s here alone he goes out and then can’t find his way back home.”

A voice from behind Brittany startled them both. It was Nate’s. “Ethan, you got any idea what time it is? Why didn’t you wake me up? You’re gonna be late….”

Brittany turned in her chair to look at him standing there in his rumpled pajamas, hair tousled, and an emerging twenty-four-hour beard.

He saw her at the same time and his eyes opened wide with shock. “Damn,” he bellowed, “why didn’t you tell me we had company?”

Nate crossed his arms over his chest and bent at the waist in an attempt to cover himself.

“She isn’t company, Dad, this is the woman I hired for you—”

“You got me a woman!” he sputtered in disbelieving amazement. “Look, son, I may be gettin’ older but I can still find my own girlfriends.”

Brittany couldn’t help it, she put her head back and laughed gleefully. Not that the fact Nate didn’t remember her was funny, but the looks on both his and Ethan’s faces were hilarious.

“No!” Ethan said, frustration mixed with compassion in his tone. “This is Brittany. She’s going to be your nurse-companion?”

She saw the confusion in Nate’s expression, but it was clear that he wasn’t going to give in to it.

“Well, my memory’s not so good,” he admitted, “but you got to admit my taste is impeccable.” He winked at her and put out his hand. “Welcome, young lady. Please pardon my get-up, but it’s not often I find a beautiful woman at my breakfast table.”

She put her hand in his and chuckled. “That’s hard to believe and, please, call me Brittany.”

He squeezed her hand and released it. “That’s a pretty name. Almost as pretty as the girl who bears it.”

Brittany tampered down the ire she always felt when called a ‘girl.’ After all, this man could be forgiven. He was of another generation when that title was both common and acceptable. “Thank you, Mr. Thorpe, but I’m no longer a ‘girl.’ I’m twenty-one years old. Old enough to drink hard liquor and vote.”

She caught the impish glee in his eyes even before he spoke. “Not at the same time, I hope.”

They both chuckled, and Ethan joined in as he pushed his chair back from the table and stood. “Now that we all have our identities straightened out, I’ve got to leave.”

Brittany stood up, too, and both she and Nate walked to the door with Ethan. When they got there he turned to Brittany. “The list of phone numbers I told you about is in the library on my desk. Don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything.”

“I won’t,” she said as he let himself out.

When he was gone she turned to Nate. “Do you want me to give you your blood test and injection now or would you rather wait until you’ve dressed and shaved?”

He grimaced. “I don’t need you to do that for me. I can do it myself.”

She wasn’t surprised at his resistance. He’d probably be more amenable after she’d been taking care of him for a while.

“Is that the way you prefer to do it?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“All right,” she said agreeably, “but you’ll have to walk me through it the first time so I can make sure you’re doing it right. It’s just a precaution.”

She knew it would be easier to get his cooperation if he thought he was doing her a favor.

“Sure. We keep all the stuff in the first-floor bath.” He turned and they walked together to the large Victorian-style bathroom, complete with a free-standing claw-footed tub and a commode that flushed with a chain.

Nate opened a wooden cabinet and took out the paraphernalia he needed, then stuck the end of his finger and pricked out a little blood with a sterilized needle to test on the glucose monitor. Everything there was okay so he filled the syringe and gave himself the injection in the stomach.

He’d been right. He was very good at this. If only he could remember to do it as often as required.

“Mr. Thorpe, can you—” she started to say, but he cut her off.

“Hold on there, missy, you don’t like to be called a girl, and I’m not all that hot about bein’ called an old man—”

Brittany gasped. “I never—”

“Oh, I know you’re too polite to actually say it, but why do you have to keep calling me ‘Mr. Thorpe’? It’s so formal. My first name is Nate. Any reason why you can’t call me that?”

She grinned. “None at all, Nate. Now, why don’t you go upstairs and get dressed while I fix breakfast. Remember, you have to eat within half an hour after taking the shot or you’re apt to get woozy. I don’t want you tumbling down that magnificent staircase.”

He chuckled. “I’ll bet you’re used to having men fall for you,” he teased.

Things went very well for the next two weeks. Nate didn’t forget who she was again and greeted her enthusiastically each morning when she arrived. They enjoyed each other’s company and got along just fine all day, but it was a different scenario with Ethan. He left as soon as she arrived at the house, and was coolly polite when he got home.

It seemed obvious that he didn’t especially like her, but why? He never complained about her work. At times during the few minutes of their comings and goings he even complimented her on how well his father was doing under her care, so why wasn’t he more friendly?

If he had a girlfriend there was no evidence of it. The only family photographs in the house were one of Ethan’s infant son, Danny, an adorable little tyke, which was displayed on the fireplace mantel in the family room, and one of Nate’s late wife, Sybil, Ethan’s mother, which Nate kept on his nightstand in his bedroom.

She wished Ethan would ask her to stay and visit sometimes. Maybe even invite her to dinner. She knew they did quite a bit of barbecuing in the evenings, but in the two weeks she’d been there they’d never mentioned having dinner guests.

Then, on the Thursday of the second week, a few minutes before Ethan was due home, the doorbell rang. Brittany, who had been rinsing dishes in the sink, grabbed a towel and headed for the foyer, but Nate beat her to the front door. He opened it and she saw his shoulders stiffen as he said, “Hannah? What are you doing here? Where’s the baby?”

Brittany stopped in her tracks. Hannah? Baby? Could this be Ethan’s ex-wife and their son?

Brittany stood there listening to a woman’s voice coming from outside. “He’s out in the car. Can you help me bring some things in?”

“Sure,” Nate said, and walked out the door where Brittany could no longer see or hear them.

Curiosity got the better of her, and she put down the towel and walked over to the open doorway. There she saw a white minivan with the side door open parked at the curb in front of the house. Inside was a child strapped into a car seat and a blond, statuesque woman wearing designer jeans and T-shirt and loading Nate down with various items of baby furniture.

What was going on here? Nate shouldn’t be burdened with all those heavy and ungainly items. He might stumble and fall!

Without hesitation she hurried out the door and across the lawn to the curb to confront him. “Nate, don’t try to carry all that stuff at once. Let me help you.”

The sound of her voice apparently surprised the woman, who had been leaning in the van to retrieve several suitcases. She backed out and glared at Brittany.

“Who are you?” she asked gruffly.

“I’m Brittany Baldwin, Mr. Thorpe’s caregiver, and you are…?” She wasn’t going to let this woman intimidate her. She took her orders from Ethan and no one else.

“I’m Hannah Thorpe,” she said sharply, then turned her attention again to Nate. “When did you get a caregiver, Nate?”

He shrugged. “It was after the last time you were here. She takes real good care of me.”

Hannah looked Brittany up and down. “I’ll bet she does.” Her tone was venomous. “Takes real good care of your son, too, I should imagine. I figured it wouldn’t be long before Ethan would take up with some other woman, but I expected her to be full grown.”

Brittany gasped. “Now, wait just a darn minute—” she started to protest, but Hannah was already halfway up the driveway to the house with the suitcases.

Brittany and Nate followed close behind with the pieces of baby furniture.

“Why are you bringing all this stuff over here?” Nate asked as they set their burdens down in the foyer. “We’ve got all we need to take care of Danny for his weekend visits.”

“Tell you later,” she said as she turned and hurried outside again, Nate and Brittany not far behind.

They all reached the van at the same time and again Hannah spoke to Nate. “You and Florence Nightingale here can finish emptying the van and I’ll get Danny.”

Brittany bristled at the mockery in the other woman’s tone but saw no point in pressing the issue.

Hannah climbed inside the vehicle and started unbuckling the baby from the car seat while Brittany and Nate waited for her to finish so they could get in to retrieve the other articles.

While they stood there waiting, Ethan’s car turned into the driveway and he got out. “What’s going on?” he asked as Hannah backed out of the van with the toddler in her arms. “This isn’t my weekend to have Danny.”

“It is now,” she said crisply, and held the child out to him. “Here, take him. He’s heavy.”

Ethan took his son and nuzzled him playfully on the neck. He was an adorable child with blond curly hair and sparkling blue eyes. “Hi, guy,” Ethan said as he lifted the kicking and giggling little one over his head. “To what do I owe the unexpected pleasure of your company?”

“Da-da,” the little boy burbled, and grabbed a fistful of his daddy’s hair.

Ethan didn’t display pictures of Danny all around his house, Brittany thought, but the look on his face when he hugged his little son left no doubt of his love and pride in the youngster.

“I’m glad to hear you consider his company a pleasure,” Hannah said sourly, “because you’re going to get plenty of it. I’m moving to Chicago tomorrow, so I’m afraid he’s all yours.”

Brittany couldn’t believe what she’d heard, and apparently neither could Ethan. “You’re what?” he roared.

“You heard me,” she snapped, “but let’s go inside so the neighbors aren’t treated to an earful.”

She wrestled a high chair out of the van and carried it up the driveway, followed by Ethan carrying Danny. Neither Brittany nor Nate knew what to do, but they finally grabbed some boxes and brought up the rear.

Back inside the house Ethan picked up a folded playpen and led the way down the hall to the family room. The others put down their burdens and followed. When they reached their destination Ethan put the youngster on his feet and Danny immediately took off running from table to sofa to chair, all the while squealing with delight.

“This room has been pretty much childproofed,” Ethan said. “I’ll let him run around for a while, but we can put him in the playpen if he starts getting into things.”

Hannah slumped down on the sofa with a sigh. Even in jeans and no makeup she looked like a model. Her complexion was radiant and her short, blunt-cut hair was blond with golden highlights.

“I need a drink,” she announced. “I’ve been going at top speed all day and still I’m nowhere near ready.”

“Ready for what?” Ethan demanded. “What’s this nonsense about moving to Chicago? I’m telling you right now, if you’re planning to transfer up there, forget it. I’ll never give my permission for you to take Danny so far away.”

She shrugged. “I’m not asking you to. I can’t take him with me. I’ve been offered one of those once-in-a-lifetime promotions, but I’ll have to headquarter out of the Chicago office. Also I’ll be traveling a lot, both national and international. So, I’m leaving Danny with you. You’ve always complained that you don’t get to see enough of him.”

She straightened up and looked around. “Where’s my drink? Surely one of you big strong men can fix me a margarita.”

“I’ll do it,” Nate volunteered, then looked at Brittany. “Come with me and I’ll show you where the liquor cabinet is.”

She already knew where the liquor was kept, but she also realized that she had no business standing around eavesdropping on the Thorpes’ private conversation.

A hot flush stained her cheeks and she hurried along beside Nate on their way to the kitchen.

“I’m sorry you had to hear all that,” he said gruffly. “When those two start having at it, things can get pretty heated.”

“I’m the one who’s sorry,” Brittany corrected him. “I should have left the minute Ethan got home. It’s just that everything happened so fast—Where does Ms. Thorpe work?”

“She’s a big shot in a company that manufactures computer parts, and she’s determined to break through the glass ceiling and make it all the way to the top. And don’t apologize,” Nate said. “I’m glad you stayed. Do me a favor and don’t leave yet.”

Brittany blinked. “But all this is really none of my business—”

“Don’t be too sure,” Nate said as they reached the kitchen. “Ethan’s gonna need help tonight, and much as I love my frisky little grandson I can’t keep up with him.”

Nate retrieved the key to the liquor cabinet from its hiding place in a drawer, opened it and fixed Hannah’s drink. “My sons think I don’t know how infirm I am and I let ’em believe that, but I do know. I won’t risk lettin’ little Danny get hurt or lost because I had one of my spells of confusion when I was supposed to be watchin’ him.”

He finished mixing the cocktail and picked up the glass. “I’ll pay you overtime, of course.”

Brittany noticed that his hands were shaking and she silently but firmly took the glass from him before it spilled. This was a sign that his blood sugar was low and it was imperative that he eat something.

“Of course I’ll stay if you want me to,” she assured him, “but as a friend, not a nurse. There will be no talk of paying me overtime. Now, get a peach out of the fridge and eat it while I take this drink to Ms. Thorpe.”

He smiled. “You’re a sweet girl—uh, I mean woman. Sorry, I forgot—”

She felt a rush of affection much as she would feel for a grandfather if she still had one.

“That’s all right.” There was a catch in her voice. “I’ll make an exception for you. You may call me a girl anytime you want to.”

She turned and walked toward the family room.

As she got closer she heard Ethan and Hannah arguing. “There’s no way I can take Danny full-time on such short notice,” Ethan said angrily. “You might at least have given me a few weeks’ warning.”

“I just got word of the promotion yesterday,” Hannah explained testily, “and it’s predicated on whether or not I can be there and take over on Monday. I agree it’s unreasonable, but don’t forget I didn’t want a baby in the first place. If you’d used a little more restraint…”

She let the sentence trail off as Brittany felt the hot flush of embarrassment. “I worked hard to get where I am in my career today,” Hannah continued, “and I don’t intend to give it up. Besides, we always agreed that as soon as Danny was old enough you’d take physical custody of him.”

She glanced up and saw Brittany coming through the doorway with her cocktail. “Well, it’s about time,” she snapped.

Brittany clenched her jaw in an effort not to respond to the other woman’s taunt. As she walked over to the couch and handed the drink to Hannah, the baby let out a wail from the front of the house. Ethan turned and strode quickly up the hall, leaving Brittany and Hannah alone. Neither spoke at first, then Hannah said, “Are you really a nurse?”

“I’m a medical assistant,” Brittany explained. “I see to it that Nate gets his shots and his meals on time, and watch him to make sure he doesn’t wander off.”

Hannah took a sip of her drink. “You aren’t going to be taking care of Danny, are you?” The disapproval in her voice was strong.

“That’s not what I was hired for,” Brittany said angrily. “I’m a nurse and Nate is my patient. You and Ethan will have to decide who takes care of the baby.”

Just then they heard Ethan, Nate and Danny coming back to the family room. Ethan carried the crying child. “Now what’s wrong with him,” Hannah asked sulkily. “He’s been fussing all day.”

“Well, for one thing his diaper’s wet,” Ethan told her. “Also, he’s probably tired and hungry.”

“Well that’s not my fault,” Hannah whined. “I can’t do everything at once. The only reason he was happy when I first brought him over here is because you and Nate spoil him to death.”

Ethan gently patted the child’s back. “Where’s what’s-her-name? The latest nanny.”

“Hayley,” Hannah said, supplying the name. “Ungrateful little snip. She packed up and left as soon as I told her I was moving to Chicago. I thought you might want to hire her to take care of Danny over here, but she said something about going to stay with a friend in Los Angeles and took off. She’d planned to give me her notice tomorrow.”

Even though she hadn’t had much experience with small children, Brittany had always been drawn to them and she could understand why Danny was so upset. The atmosphere in the room was volatile, and even though he wouldn’t understand what was being said, the voices raised in anger were chilling.

Her heart went out to the poor little guy, who was sobbing noisily on his daddy’s shoulder, and she looked at Ethan.

“If you’ll give me a diaper I can change him,” she offered.

“Would you?” Ethan asked.

“Sure,” she said.

“I’ll get them.” He left the room to return a few minutes later with a package of disposable diapers and baby wipes.

He walked over to where Brittany was standing and put the box on an end table, then peeled Danny’s arms from around his neck and handed him to Brittany.

Danny would have none of that and screamed, “No, Da-da, Da-da” as he held his arms out for Ethan to take him again.

Danny was solid and his kicking and squirming made it hard for Brittany to hold on to him, but she backed away when Ethan tried to take him again.

“No, let me keep him,” she said. “If I can wrestle two-hundred-pound men in and out of hospital beds I can surely tame a twenty-five-pound baby.”

She picked up the packages and carried them and the child to the other couch. “There now, little guy,” she crooned. “Don’t be afraid. I just want to put dry pants on you.”

She sat down and held Danny over her shoulder the way Ethan had, then lightly massaged his back and talked quietly to him in a reassuring tone. He still sobbed but he was no longer so frantic.

Finally, when Brittany was fairly sure he would submit to her ministrations, she laid him on the couch on his back and unsnapped the inside seam of his blue denim overalls.

She continued to talk to him all the time she worked. There was no conversation in the room. Everyone watched in silence, undoubtedly afraid he’d tune up again if it was broken.

When she finished, she picked him up and sat him on her lap. He waved his arms and grinned. She had the distinct impression that everyone was fighting the urge to break out in applause.

What a ridiculous idea! She’d managed to quiet Danny, but after all she was a nurse and, besides, she had a natural affinity for children.

She looked up at Ethan. “If you want me to I can give him his supper. Nate’s overdue for something to eat, too. I’m willing to feed them both while you and Ms. Thorpe put all these baby things away—”

“Sorry, guys, but you’re on your own,” Hannah said as she stood up. “I have all I can handle getting my own stuff packed and ready to leave.”

She turned to face Ethan. “Contact our lawyer and have the necessary papers drawn up transferring custody of Danny from joint to you. I’ll sign them. All I ask is reasonable visitation rights.”

She dug her car keys out of her purse. “My flight leaves at three-thirty tomorrow afternoon. I’ll come by on my way to the airport and say goodbye to Danny. Make sure he’s available.”

She turned and walked up the hall and out the door.

Brittany sat on the couch with the contented baby on her lap, and Ethan and Nate stood, all three staring after the retreating figure in utter amazement.

“Well I’ll be damned,” Nate gasped. “Don’t that beat all! I never did like that woman, son, but I figured that since she was the one you chose to marry it wasn’t up to me to criticize, but now…”

He let the sentence trail off and grabbed the back of the couch Brittany was sitting on with both hands. Brittany caught the movement out of the corner of her eye and instinctively called out “Catch him” as Nate wavered back and forth.

The sharpness of her tone set little Danny off again, but Ethan understood the warning and wrapped his arms around his dad’s shoulders.

“It’s okay, Dad,” he said soothingly as he steadied Nate and walked him around to the front of the couch.

Brittany stood up with the crying baby in her arms, and Ethan stretched his father out in a reclining position on the sofa. “You all right now, Dad?” he asked anxiously.

“I’ll get his candy,” Brittany said, and hurried to the kitchen, still carrying the squalling child, to get a roll of fruit-flavored Life Savers. It was a quick way to bring her patient’s blood-sugar level back up to normal and avoid diabetic shock.

When she got back to the family room Ethan stood up and took Danny from her while she sat on the edge of the couch and handed Nate the proper number of candies. While he chewed she kept her hand on the pulse in his wrist and her eyes on the slightly uneven rise and fall of his chest.

“Is he going to be okay?” Ethan asked above the clamor of Danny’s sobs.

“Oh, yeah,” she assured him. “His blood sugar apparently took a dramatic fall due to the stress of all the upsetting things going on around here, plus he missed his afternoon snack. I was fixing him something to eat when your wife arrived and got everything in an uproar.”

“Ex-wife,” Ethan corrected her.

Brittany got a perverse pleasure out of Ethan’s hurry to deny any close relationship with Hannah. How could that woman just abandon their baby like this? It’s true her company hadn’t given her much time to make a choice between her career and her child, but she could have at least shown a little remorse. Instead she didn’t seem to be able to get away fast enough.

“Yes, well whatever,” she said, “Nate needs to eat. I noticed you have an assortment of TV dinners in the freezer. Is it okay if I heat some of those in the microwave?”

“I’d appreciate it very much,” Ethan answered. “I like roast beef. What will you have, Nate?”

“Fried chicken,” Nate said, but before Brittany could protest that deep-fried chicken was filled with fat, Nate continued. “It’s a brand especially made for people with dietary restrictions. My doctor has approved it.”

She was happy to hear that. “Okay, then, and what does Danny eat?”

“I’ll feed him,” Ethan said, “while you fix dinner and take care of Dad. There’s plenty in the freezer. Take whatever you want for yourself.”

“Fine,” she said, and looked at Nate. “You stay right there and don’t try to get up. It won’t take but a few minutes to microwave your frozen chicken. Do you still have black spots in front of your eyes?

He shook his head. “No, that candy did the trick. My hands aren’t shaking, either.”

For the next few hours Ethan and Brittany worked unceasingly. Ethan fed Danny, then put away the baby furnishings he needed and carried all the things he had duplicates of, such as high chairs and cribs, down to the basement. Brittany fixed the TV dinners for the three adults and kept an eye on both Nate and his little grandson.

At seven-thirty she caught up with Danny and gave him a bath. He splashed happily in the tub, getting her almost as wet as he was. She rummaged through the chest of drawers in the nursery upstairs and found a pair of pajamas with cartoon characters printed on them. She put them on him and sat down with him in the handmade chair that Ethan told her had rocked several generations of Thorpe babies to sleep.

For a few moments Danny tried to get away from her and play on the floor, but she held on to him firmly and started to sing lullabies as she rocked. In no time he relaxed, put his thumb in his mouth and nestled against her.

Brittany hadn’t had much experience with infants and toddlers. She’d done a fair amount of baby-sitting in high school, but her charges had been mostly older children. This little one was pure joy. His skin was so soft, his hair still tousled, and he smelled of soap and baby powder.

She was still humming when she heard a soft sound somewhere between a gasp and a sigh and looked up. There, leaning against the doorjamb, stood Ethan. There were lines of fatigue at the corners of his eyes and mouth and he looked exhausted.

Their gazes locked and clung and wouldn’t be torn apart, but it wasn’t the magnetism that held her entranced. It was the raw hunger that seemed to look out of his very soul as he watched her cuddle his child.

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