“Yeah, one sec.”
I heard a little mumbling, followed by an audio change, like I was being put on speakerphone, and then Rae’s voice.
“Jace, honey! We just got off the phone with Polly Alberton. She sounded very . . . put together. I told Jackson we needed to call you as this is the first I’ve heard about you being a manny.”
“Nanny,” I clarified as I heard a snort in the background followed by a little thump.
“Right, right. How did this come about?”
I ran my hand through my hair. “It sort of fell in my lap. I’d met Polly on a few occasions when I valeted for her at the country club. And then I talked to her at the elementary school last week. She has two great kids and she’s new to town. I mean, newer. She’s actually Judge Alberton’s daughter. Do you know him?”
Jackon piped up. “Judge Alberton?”
“Yeah.”
“No.”
The light turned green and I eased my car forward. “Anyway,” I continued, “her kids needed a nanny for the rest of the summer. We kept running into each other and got to talking . . .”
Stop talking about her so much.
“It’s good money, and I said yes.”
It was silent for so long I thought the call had dropped, but it still read as active on my car’s screen. Unease prompted me to fill in the silence.
“I thought I could bring the kids to Young Wills. You should see the youngest, Ryla. She’s only six but I bet she’d be a natural onstage. Max is ten, but he’s real shy, so he might only sit in the audience. Then again, we’re always needing stage crew, maybe I could get him to join in eventually. I wouldn’t think you’d need to do any background checks on her or the kids before they join Young Wills. But feel free to do a background check on me if Polly wants one.” I paused. “Not that I need to tell you how to do your job.”
That was more words than I’d ever uttered, in one go, to Jackson. Or Rae.
I braked before an upcoming turn, flipping on my blinker. The steady ticking was probably the loudest sound on the call.
“Well, Jace,” I could practically hear Rae’s smile as she finally spoke up, “we certainly appreciateallthat information. And I can’t speak for Sienna, but I bet she’ll be thrilled to have you bring the kids along.”
Damn it. I didn’t think this all the way through.
“See, nothing’s set in stone. I don’t know if?—”
“Good luck! We’ll see you and the kids on Tuesday. Can’t wait!”
“Bye,” I muttered, but she’d already hung up.
Bamboozled.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
POLLY
I’ll stay home with my Kindle and my cat. They never disappoint.
Melanie Harlow,Man Candy
I’ve never been asked to do this, but if I was asked to find a needle in a haystack, my guess is that even if I went through it one piece of hay at a time, it would still be faster than brushing my daughter’s hair.
“Oww! You’re pulling!”Ryla yelped, scooting forward on her bed and out of my reach, as I painstakingly teased apart the world’s biggest rat’s nest in her hair. I was literally pulling it apart hair by hair. My daughter had a sensitive head. My daughter had a sensitiveeverything.
“This is why we need to brush it every night, sweetie,” I explained, trying to keep my voice gentle.
“I brushed it last night!” Ryla lied, tone indignant. She absolutely didn’t brush it last night. Getting her to brush her hair was akin to giving a cat a bath.
