A Fairytale Christmas (2 page)

G
WEN
heard Claire’s soft cries through the small monitor she had on the kitchen counter. Without a second thought she turned and ran back into the hall, through the sitting room of the maid’s quarters that she’d managed to clean before the Teaberrys arrived, and into the bedroom.

“Hey, Claire-bear. I’m here,” she whispered, lifting her baby out of the portable crib. She kissed her warm cheek, changed her into a fresh one-piece sleeper and returned to the kitchen, fighting a funny feeling of confusion in the pit of her stomach.

For some reason or another she’d expected Andrew Teaberry to be older. Like sixty. Not thirty-five or so. She also hadn’t expected fathomless dark eyes or gorgeous black hair. The hitch in her breath and the way her stomach had plummeted when she’d looked at him were also surprises.

Grabbing a bottle from the refrigerator, she told herself to stop thinking about how attractive her new employer was and get her baby fed and into her carrier before he returned from getting his bags. She wasn’t sure how or where they’d work in this dusty house, but she wasn’t assuming anything. From the way he’d instantly dealt with his son for calling her babe, it was clear he wasn’t a man who took well to mistakes or assumptions. So she wouldn’t make any.

She placed the bottle in the warmer she’d brought. As it heated, Claire began to cry. Gwen tried to comfort her, but her crying only grew louder.

“Come on, sweetie. I know you’re hungry, but it will only take a minute to warm your bottle.”

Just then the swinging door swung open and Drew burst inside. His horrified gaze fell to Claire, then swung back to Gwen. “Is that a baby?”

She laughed nervously. “Well, it’s not a Siamese cat.” She rocked her sobbing child, trying to get her to settle down. This was no way for him to meet her baby! “This is my daughter Claire.”

He gaped at her. “You brought your baby to work?”

This time the flip-flop of Gwen’s stomach had nothing to do with the attractiveness of her boss and everything to do with fear. “I told you about Claire in my interview.”

“You told me you had a child. You didn’t say you were bringing her with you.”

Drew’s loud voice caused Claire’s crying to rise in competition. Gwen desperately rocked her, but the baby filled the room with her wails.

Gwen had to shout to be heard. “I did say she was still a bit too young to go to daycare and I don’t have a sitter yet. I thought the conclusion was obvious.”

“I thought you said that to let me know you needed time to look for a sitter.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry, but I hired you because I need help. Serious help. You’re not going to have time to care for a baby
and
do your work.”

Gwen’s heart stopped.
He was firing her?
He couldn’t! She needed this job. “She’s only three months old! She sleeps a lot. I can handle it.”

He looked at the screaming baby, then bestowed a look upon Gwen that sent a shiver through her. “Really?”

Mustering her courage, she said, “Yes!”

“That’s not how it looks to me. I know how this baby thing goes. I had a crying baby. Brody screamed for three months straight. I failed that semester of university. My wife left me—”

Just then the swinging door bounced closed. Gwen hadn’t even realized it had been opened again. With Claire’s crying and their heated conversation she’d missed Brody walking through the room.

Drew’s face paled, then he squeezed his eyes shut. “Perfect.” Heading for the door, he yelled, “Brody!” Then he pushed out of the kitchen.

The light on the bottle warmer finally declared the milk was warm, and Gwen took her baby to a chair to feed her.

This was not going anything like she’d hoped it would. She fed Claire and then sat at the table, totally confused about what she should do. Technically, Drew hadn’t fired her. And she needed this job. She was not leaving without a fight.

Drew ran into the hallway just in time to see the foyer door close. He grabbed his jacket from the newel post on the stairs where he’d stashed it and headed outside.

Brody bounded toward the SUV around the side of the house.

“What are you going to do?” Drew shouted after his son. “Leave?” He dangled the keys. “You’ll need these. Unless you want to walk.”

“What do you care? Mom’s on her honeymoon. You’re trying to buy some old guy’s company. And I’m stuck here.”

“Look, Brody, if I had a choice we’d be skiing right now.”

Brody snorted.

“We would.” The heavy snow had reduced itself to flurries but it was cold. Bitter cold. And he had work to do. Not knowing what else to say, Drew glanced longingly at the kitchen door. Because the top half of the door was glass, he could see Gwen McKenzie at the table with her baby. He nearly groaned. Could this day get any more complicated?

“I’m sorry you heard what you heard, but truthfully I would have thought by now that you would have guessed your mom and I had a terrible marriage. We were only married for just under a year before we divorced.”

Refusing to look at him, Brody said, “And I’m the cause.”

“No!” He laughed miserably. “Lord, no. Your mom and I had lots of problems before you were born.”

“But I added to them—”

“No!” Drew said again, this time stronger.

“I heard what you said about me screaming all the time.”

“You were colicky. That happens. Babies do not destroy marriages. Adults do. Your mom and I never should have gotten married. But she got pregnant—”

Deliberately, she’d told him later. She’d taken out loans to attend her first semester at Harvard and had known four years’ worth of borrowing that kind of money would put her too far in debt when she graduated. Drew’s family was wealthy. He and Olivia had dated and liked each other. So she’d thought they’d be very happy raising a baby and attending university—all paid for by his parents. But his parents had been furious when Drew told them they had gotten married because she was pregnant, and they’d cut him off. The happy marriage that Olivia had envisioned had quickly become a nightmare.

Still, this wasn’t the time or the way to tell Brody all that. And he wasn’t even sure he should be the one to tell Brody.
It seemed this story would be much better coming from his mother.

“How about if we talk later? Right now, I have a mini-crisis in the kitchen.”

Brody sighed and raised his face to the snow. It looked to Drew as if the cool flakes were settling him down, so when he said, “Go,” Drew headed back to the kitchen.

With a deep calming breath of his own, he opened the kitchen door and stepped inside. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

Gwen McKenzie slowly raised her gaze to his, her green eyes wary.

He knew she needed this job. He didn’t have to glance at the now sleeping baby to remember that, but he did, and his heart stuttered in his chest. He’d told Brody he had been colicky, but that had been only half the problem. Neither Drew nor Olivia had had any experience caring for an infant, and they’d had nowhere to turn for help. He knew how loudly a baby could cry, how despondent a parent could feel…how one tiny life really could throw a monkey wrench into the best-laid plans. And his plans to buy Jimmy Lane’s company were precarious at best. Despite the efforts of most of his staff, he knew nothing about the owner of Lane Works except that he was reclusive and demanding. That didn’t give Drew much to go on by way of figuring out how to handle him. So his “plan” was more like a guess.

“I’m sorry, but you having a baby here doesn’t work for me.”

Instead of the tears he’d expected, Gwen McKenzie shook her head and said, “No kidding.”

He gaped at her. Had she just sassed him? Yes, she had. He’d already had a lifetime share of sassing this morning. So
his voice shivered with barely controlled anger when he said, “Get your things and leave.”

She rose from the chair. “Fine, but I would think that a guy who can’t get along with his son would like having another parent around for some help and advice.”

An unexpected laugh escaped him. “You think
you’re
going to straighten out Brody?”

“Nope.” She headed for the door. “But I might have some ideas for how you could.”

He snorted in derision. “Right. You’ve been a parent now…what? All of two months?”

She turned and smiled. “Three. But I was sixteen only a few years ago. I think I might remember a bit more about what it was like than you do.”

Drew’s eyes narrowed and Gwen’s stomach shivered. She knew she should probably shut up, but he was in trouble with Brody and that seemed like her only angle to keep this job. Now that he’d shrugged out of the thick parka, she could not only see his expensive blue sweater, she could also see that the body he’d hidden beneath his jacket was incredible. Soft knit hugged his broad shoulders and flat tummy and stopped at trim hips encased in denim. He was handsome, rich, and he held her fate in his hands…

And she was taunting him? Was she crazy?

“Are you calling me old?”

She should be. She should think that a guy in his mid-thirties was way too old for her. She should think he was too grouchy for her. Instead, all she saw was a handsome, sexy guy who needed her help. And, strangely, even with as many problems as she had of her own, she actually thought she could provide it.

She lifted her chin. Caught his gaze. “No. I’m not calling you old.”

Their gazes clung. Time seemed to be suspended. She had a feeling she didn’t have to tell him she didn’t think he was old because she found him attractive. It was probably written all over her reddening face.

“But you do need me.”

He crossed his arms on his chest as his gaze rippled over her. Suddenly feeling like a downtrodden waif, brought to the castle for the king’s pleasure, Gwen cuddled Claire to her chest.

“You’re dusty.”

That wasn’t at all what she’d expected him to say. So nervous her voice shook, she said, “I cleaned the maid’s quarters so Claire would have somewhere to sleep.”

He said nothing, only narrowed his eyes at her, as if trying to figure out if she was lying. So she hastily added, “I brought my vacuum, cleaning solutions and a bucket and mop from home.”

“You know how to clean?”

She frowned. “Of course I know how to clean.” A thought struck her and she said, “You don’t?”

He shook his head.

Her spirits lifted. “There’s another thing I could help you with.”

He raked his fingers through his hair and looked at sleeping Claire again. She could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he drew the obvious conclusions. Claire wasn’t a bad baby. Gwen knew how to clean. And this place was filthy.

“I won’t even ask for more money.”

His mouth dropped open, then he snorted a laugh. “Right. As if you’re in a position to bargain.”

“Come on,” Gwen said, a slight note of feminine pleading in her voice. She instantly regretted it when his gaze caught hers and that “thing” sprang up between them again. The air
she breathed turned hot and shivery. Something like electricity arched between them.

It was another item in the laundry list of problems they had. His son was trouble. The house wasn’t falling apart around them, but did need a good cleaning. She had a baby who might disrupt everything. And they were attracted to each other.

But he also had a business he was trying to buy. In their phone interview he’d told her he needed to be in West Virginia to be close to the seller. And now he needed somebody who could bring order to the chaos of this house. “Maybe I
should
ask for more money?” Cheeky, perhaps even a tad over-confident, she strolled over to him. “You’re stuck here. There is no cleaning service in Towering Pines. You’re also lucky you found me—an administrative assistant who doesn’t mind a temporary job and has time to work at your beck and call. You have what? Four weeks to negotiate this deal before Jimmy Lane loses interest and moves on?” She smiled. “I think you’re the one who isn’t in a position to negotiate.”

He held her gaze. “So you’re saying it wouldn’t cause a problem for you if I asked you to clean this kitchen while I left for a conference call?”

“Are you going to give me the raise?”

“How much?”

“Another two thousand.”

His eyes narrowed, but they never left hers. “All right. But you’d better be worth it.”

She strolled away, suddenly seeing that the best way to communicate with this man was as an equal. And maybe that was what Brody was doing wrong? Not quite sure where that thought had come from, she shook her head to dislodge it and went back to the negotiations at hand.

“Sure. I’ll clean in between administrative assistant
assignments. As long as you don’t mind that I wear old jeans and ugly sweatshirts.”

He crossed his arms on his chest. “Look around. There’s nobody here to impress. And even if there were this house would ruin any chance we had of impressing them.”

She couldn’t help it. She laughed. “Yeah. Big-time.”

“So we have a deal? You work as my administrative assistant when I need you and clean in your downtime. You can dress any way you want and bring your baby.” He caught her gaze again. “As long as you keep her out of my way.”

“Does ‘out of your way’ mean you don’t want to see her? Because I was hoping I could keep her in the same room with me. I have a swing that will rock her to sleep and keep her sleeping for hours.”

He groaned and squeezed his eyes shut, but in the end he sighed and said, “Fine. But if she cries you leave the room.”

“Got it.”

“Great. As long as we stick to our commitments, this should work out fine.” He walked over and held out his hand to shake on the deal.

When Gwen took it, little sparkles of awareness danced up her arm. Their gazes caught and clung.

Now all they had to do was forget about their attraction.

D
REW
turned to leave the room, his hand tingling from just touching Gwen’s. He told himself it was ridiculous to be attracted to somebody closer to Brody’s age than his own—and with a
baby,
no less—but it didn’t stop the tightness that had captured his chest.

“Um, Drew?”

He stopped. Half afraid she was about to say something about their attraction—maybe even tell him she didn’t want her
old
boss hitting on her—he faced her.

“We still need supplies.” She winced. “I brought my equipment from home, but no real cleaning supplies. To make the bathrooms usable I think we need some disinfectant cleanser.” She caught his gaze. “I also noticed there are no sheets or towels or pillows. No laundry detergent, dishwashing detergent, dishes or silverware. Or even basic pots and pans. You could also probably use a coffee-maker—”

Relieved that she was focusing on the job, Drew reached for his wallet. “And food?”

“And food.”

“Okay.” He pulled out several hundred-dollar bills. “Can you take care of getting all of that?”

“I don’t think we have a choice.”

She glanced at the stack of bills then back up at him. “You
do realize we don’t have a Saks Fifth Avenue, right? I’m only going to the local discount department store.”

“Are you telling me you have too much money or not enough?”

“I’m saying the sheets won’t be silk.”

He laughed.

A wonderful feeling filled her again. Her pulse scrambled. Her knees weakened. Her brain became fuzzy and dreamy. When he wasn’t being angry with Brody, he was actually a fun, nice guy—

That had to be irrelevant! It would be insanity for a woman with a baby to find a man who obviously didn’t like kids attractive. Especially a boss. A rich boss. A man so far out of her league she shouldn’t even be looking at him.

Drew’s cell phone rang in the silent kitchen. He clicked a button and said, “Teaberry.” A pause. “Actually, I don’t even have my laptop set up yet. The fax, printer and two boxes of files are still in my SUV.”

He walked toward the kitchen door. “I pretty much know Jimmy Lane’s biggest objection to the Teaberry Corporation buying his company is that I’m not a local, but I’m fixing that. I’m moving into my grandparents’ old homestead,” he said, shoving against the swinging door and then disappearing behind it, effectively shutting off his conversation to her.

Ignoring the unwanted sparkle still twinkling through her, Gwen glanced down at sleeping Claire. “Well, this is going to be different than what we’d expected, but not something we can’t handle.”

Once Claire was dressed in her snowsuit, Gwen left for the store. A few more inches of fresh snow had fallen on the road since her last trip, making the drive down the mountain slow. She spent an hour at the discount department store, and
another hour at the grocery, trying to guess what two rich guys would be able to cook for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

With her shopping completed, she stopped at her house. Not only did she pack extra clothes for Claire, she packed extra clothes for herself. She’d leave at least two outfits of cleaning clothes and two outfits of administrative assistant clothes in the maid’s quarters, just in case.

She also packed Claire’s swing—a gift she’d gotten at her baby shower. Now she had Drew’s full permission to have Claire at the house, there was no reason Claire couldn’t be totally comfortable.

The drive back up the mountain was even slower than the drive down. When she entered the kitchen, carrying Claire in the baby carrier and three plastic bags of towels, Brody was sitting at the kitchen table, looking bored out of his mind.

“Help me bring in the things from my car, would you?” she said lightly as she dropped the bags on the kitchen floor. She tossed her keys to Brody. “I’ll be out in two minutes. I just need to put Claire down for her nap.”

She didn’t know where Drew was, but she and Brody took so long carrying in the bags and putting the groceries into the kitchen pantry that Claire had awakened from her nap. After Gwen got Claire from the bedroom and fed her, she again found Brody in the kitchen.

“Blue towels and linens are yours,” she said to Brody, who was remarkably cooperative. From the way he’d behaved with his father, she’d thought he’d throw a fit when she asked for his help. But he hadn’t even flinched when she’d asked him to carry in the groceries and linens. She pointed at the bags that contained his linens. “Why don’t you take them upstairs?”

He grabbed the bags. “Got it.” He turned to leave the kitchen, but as he passed the table where Claire sat in her carrier he stopped and smiled at the baby. “She’s cute.”

“Yeah.” Gwen smiled, too. Another surprise. She’d have thought rich, obviously spoiled Brody wouldn’t care one way or another for a baby. “I adore her.”

The swinging door opened and Drew walked in. “Hey.” He glanced at the bags still on the floor and the cleaning supplies lined up on the kitchen counter and faced Gwen. “Thanks.”

Brody turned away from Claire. Without a word, he headed out of the room.

Drew winced, but swung his gaze to Gwen. “I didn’t expect you back so soon.”

“I’ve been gone for hours.”

“Really?” He looked at his watch. “Wow. That time certainly flew.”

The temptation to remind him that he’d left Brody alone and bored the whole time she was gone was strong, but she resisted. Not only had he scoffed when she’d suggested she might be able to help with his son, but also he hadn’t added “help with his son” to the list of things he wanted her to do when they were negotiating. It might not have been intentional, but Brody was his child. His responsibility. She was only an employee. If he wanted her help, he’d have to ask for it.

Still, she couldn’t resist the urge to mention that Brody had carried in the bags—if only because the way Brody behaved had her thinking something was off in the relationship between Drew and his son. Maybe even unjustly off.

“Brody carried in most of the groceries and linens. I couldn’t have done it without him.”

He sighed. “Yeah, I figured that out. His mother’s never complained about him. Deep down he’s an okay kid. I’m getting the feeling he’s just mad at me.”

Drew’s cell phone rang again.

He clicked the button. “Teaberry. Can you hold on a second,
Hal?” He caught Gwen’s gaze. “Two things. First, while you were gone I got a lot of the dust up in the office.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. She couldn’t imagine a man in a pale blue cashmere sweater dusting a filthy room, but now that he mentioned it she did see a fine coating of dust on his sweater and jeans.

“So I’m ready to start working. I’m going to have a list of people I want you to e-mail with the landline number for the phone. But while I’m gathering that list of names why don’t you go check on Brody? Maybe take the vacuum cleaner upstairs and show him how to use it. I’d do it, but I have a feeling he’ll listen better to you.”

Gwen’s heart turned over in her chest. Brody was a good kid, and Drew seemed like an okay guy, yet the two of them seemed to be at war. Still, she’d pushed her luck already, getting to keep this job. She wouldn’t overstep any boundaries.

Tuesday morning she came prepared. Revved up. Ready to go. With a sloppy sweatshirt and jeans under her thick coat, she let herself into the kitchen and found Brody at the stove, making eggs—which were burning.

Choking as she entered the room, she used her free hand to wave the smoke around. “Step away from the stove.”

He laughed. “My pleasure.”

She set Claire’s carrier on the table and immediately took the skillet off the gas burner. Before she could do anything else Drew burst into the room. “I’m getting e-mails from three lawyers, all of whom have looked at a different part of the agreement I want to send to Jimmy Lane. I need you in the office now!”

As quickly as he’d popped into the room he popped back out. Gwen glanced at the baby carrier, then at Brody.

He said, “Go. I’ll make toast. I’m fine.”

She quickly grabbed the baby carrier, put sleepy Claire into the portable crib, stashed the baby monitor in the big pocket in front of her sweatshirt and raced to the office. When she got there, Drew was on the phone. After two minutes of listening to him argue with an attorney, she glanced longingly at the door.

She could have made Brody’s eggs by now. Maybe even the toast.

After five minutes she started to fume. She could have easily made Brody’s eggs, put on a pot of coffee, squeezed some orange juice
and
set up Claire’s swing in the office.

Just when she was ready to leave to do something productive, Drew ended his phone call.

“Okay. I’ve e-mailed all three lawyers’ comments on the agreement to the account I set up for you. All you have to do is print them.”

She opened her mouth to lambast him for calling her in for such a simple assignment and then making her wait, but he added, “Your password is Claire.”

Her anger deflated. He’d remembered her baby’s name? Stupid, dreamy thoughts about how romantic that was popped into her head. But she stopped them. Mostly because they were ridiculous, schoolgirl stupidity. She wasn’t a schoolgirl anymore. She was an adult. A woman with a baby. Someone who didn’t build fantasies around offhand comments.

When she was done printing the legal assessments, Drew told her to clean the master bedroom. He pointed at the sofa. “I slept on that last night and it wasn’t even a little comfortable.”

She caught the giggle that nearly bubbled out. It wasn’t funny that he’d been uncomfortable, but the look on his handsome face was priceless. Still, she only nodded her understanding and left the room.

She ran into Brody on the way to the maid’s quarters to check on Claire before she went upstairs.

“What’s up?”

“Nothing.” She stopped in front of him. “I’m just on my way to clean the master suite.”

“Need any help?”

She swallowed her surprise. “Well, yes and no. I am capable of cleaning that room myself. But a little help would make the job go faster.”

“I’ll get the vacuum.”

The master suite was huge, but as dirty as everything else. While Brody sucked dust off the heavy drapes, the bare mattress, the walls and the carpeting, Gwen cleaned the bathroom. Brody put the sheets and pillows on the big bed. She placed towels in the bathroom. In two hours they had the room sparkling.

Brody said, “Now what?”

She shrugged. “I need to check in with your dad. See what he wants me to do.”

His eyes darkened. “Okay.”

“Hey, if it’s housework, I’ll happily share it with you.”

“Might as well. There’s nothing else to do in this dump.”

With that Brody left the room, and Gwen stared after him. When he was busy he didn’t call the place a dump. One word from her to Drew could get Brody something to do. But she was so afraid to say that word. She’d already pushed him by negotiating to keep Claire in his house, and she’d pushed it even further by demanding extra money for helping with the cleaning.

And Brody was his son. That was personal. She couldn’t, absolutely couldn’t, butt into that.

Unfortunately, when she reached Drew’s office and he kept her waiting as he talked on the phone for forty-five minutes,
stopping her every time she headed for the door, with a “just one more minute” signal with his index finger, she truly empathized with Brody’s boredom.

In fact she’d got so bored by the time he disconnected his call that she said, “You do realize Brody is bored, right?”

His face scrunched in confusion. “What?”

“While you’re back here working, Brody’s rambling around this big house with nothing to do.”

Obviously impatient, Drew glanced down at the notes he’d taken during his phone conversation.

Irritation crackled through her. “Don’t you care?”

Drew looked up slowly, hooked her gaze and held it for several seconds without saying a word. Finally, he said, “He has a cell phone that connects him to his friends and probably hundreds of thousands of online games. He’s fine. This is none of your business.”

Because he had her on that, she answered honestly. “Maybe not. But I’m the one walking around the house, bumping into him, seeing how bored he is, and you’re the one sitting back here so engrossed in your work that I’ll bet you don’t even know what time it is.”

As if to confirm her suspicion, Drew’s gaze fell to the clock on his desk. His face registered shock, but his voice was calm when he said, “Since it troubles you so much, you’ll be glad to know I talked with Max, the farm’s caretaker, this morning. I want to open up the Christmas tree farm, and he tells me that with a little help he could probably be ready Saturday after next. Once Max gets here this afternoon Brody’s going to have plenty to do.”

Her mouth fell open in dismay. She didn’t know which part of his plan to address first. “You’re going to make him work on the Christmas tree farm?”

Drew glanced up lazily. “I take it you have a problem with that, too?”

Embarrassment suffused her. Was she an idiot? Arguing with the man who literally held her future in his hands? The salary from this job would make it possible for her to finish her education, and once she finished her education she could get a teaching job to support herself and Claire. They wouldn’t live in the lap of luxury, but they’d be fine. Especially since she and Gill had inherited her mom’s house in Towering Pines. Gill didn’t want it, but to Gwen it was home. Not having to pay rent meant she really could live comfortably.

If she got her degree.

Suddenly Claire’s cry roared through the baby monitor in her sweatshirt pocket. Drew about jumped out of his seat. “What was that?”

She pulled the monitor from her pocket. “Baby monitor. Claire’s awake.” Without another word, she headed out of the office.

He stopped her. “I’m going to need an hour or two to review some new information I just got. It would be great if you could clean the kitchen.”

“Okay.” Great. That kept her and Claire out of his way, and gave her something to do—but not Brody. Of course, if he strolled into the kitchen again she could ask him to help her, but by now she was feeling like his taskmaster. Brody had already volunteered more than the normal sixteen-year-old. What he needed was something fun to do. Like snowboarding or skiing.