Falling for the Nanny (12 page)

“Alec?” she said. “May I?”

She could tell he grasped what she was asking. “Do what you think is best.”

Patty pulled up a chair at the table. “Tatum got a phone call that scared her.”

“From Mommy?”

“Yes,” Alec said. Patty was glad to see him taking his cue from her approach. “Mommy called Tatum a bad name.”

Tears glistened in the little girl's eyes. “Will Mommy mess up my birthday?”

Patty longed to erase the child's pain. “I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen.”

“Me, too.” Quietly, Alec added, “Sabrina threw a tantrum last year. Really spoiled the occasion.”

Fiona sniffled and gazed at him hopefully. “Is Patty going to stay with us?”

With a twinge, Patty saw why Alec wanted her here all the time: to reassure his daughter. But there were strong arguments against that. Above all, it would be hard to maintain a professional distance while wandering about in her pajamas. Even now, Patty would have to be diligent to ensure that her tenderness for these two and her anger toward Sabrina didn't interfere with her ability to protect them.

“I'll be here first thing in the morning, and I'll stay until your daddy's home at night,” Patty said.

“Will you come to my party?” Fiona was hugging Hoppity.

“I wouldn't miss it!”

On the kitchen counter, the phone rang. All three of them gave a start.
We're as bad as Tatum,
Patty thought.

She walked over beside Alec. The readout showed a phone number with a Manhattan area code, but no name. “I don't recognize it,” he said in a low voice.

“I'll get on the extension.” She preferred to listen that way rather than using the speaker function, since the change in sound quality might tip off the caller. “Wait until you hear me clap, then pick up.”

“Shouldn't we try to record it?”

“Under California law, you'd have to advise her first.”

Alec shot Patty a look of frustration. “Never mind.”

She reached the extension in the master bedroom on ring three. Clapped, and picked up just as Alec did. Tautly, she listened to his “Yes?”

“You left me a message to call.” Impatience laced the female voice. “I already bought my plane ticket, so don't try to talk me out of coming for my daughter's birthday. Besides, as I mentioned, Eduardo has some business out there.”

Apparently she was still in Manhattan. No guarantees about that, though.

“When do you arrive?” Alec asked.

“On Saturday, what do you think?” Sabrina snapped. Patty tried to reconcile that petulant voice with the stunning, doe-eyed woman she'd seen in Fiona's framed picture. Never trust a pretty package, Grandpa used to say. “You are giving her a party, aren't you? When is it and where?”

With obvious reluctance, he told her the time and place. “Where are you calling from?” Alec added. “I don't recognize the number.”

“It's my new cell phone.”

“What happened to the old one?”

“Why should you care?”

Fiona wandered in and Patty put a finger to her lips. When the child silently perched on the queen-size bed, Patty sat beside her and slid an arm around the little girl's waist. At this close range, Fiona could probably hear some of her mother's remarks, and Patty was ready to move away quickly if the situation deteriorated. But all things considered, she preferred openness.

“A woman called from your old cell phone and threatened Tatum,” Alec said. “Was that you?”

“Did she say it was me?”

In conducting interrogations, Patty had learn that liars frequently answered a question with a question.

“She couldn't tell,” Alec conceded.

“Well, my phone got stolen a few days ago, along with a few other things,” Sabrina told him. “Including jewelry, but not the good stuff, because that's in a safe. We think the carpet cleaners took them, but of course they deny it.”

“Why would the carpet cleaners threaten my nanny?” he demanded.

Hugging the bunny with one arm, Fiona nestled close. She seemed to be trying to bury her nose in Patty's side and the bunny's tummy at the same time, which kind of tickled.

“Maybe it was somebody's idea of a prank. Or Tatum imagined it. That girl hates me. I'm not fond of her, either.”

Patty could almost hear Alec's teeth grinding as he answered, “She left.”

“Really? Well, that's good news. Have you hired a replacement yet?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. You know, this whole situation is upsetting Fiona,” Alec went on.

“Oh, pooh. She'll be fine,” Sabrina retorted. “I'll see you Saturday.” Without waiting for a goodbye, she cut off the call.

Mentally, Patty reviewed the conversation. The excuses
about the old cell phone raised a red flag. People with something to hide played the maybe-this maybe-that game, seizing on a new explanation as soon as the old one fell short. Those who told the truth usually presented their story and stuck to it. On the other hand, she didn't see what Sabrina gained by making a threat from her old cell, then pretending it had been stolen.

Except to stir up a lot of trouble. Which seemed to be the woman's MO.

Patty rested her cheek on the little girl's head. “It's scary when grown-ups argue, isn't it?”

She felt the answering nod. “That's why you're here. To protect me,” the child quavered.

“Exactly.”

Even before Alec came in, even before she saw the tension in every fiber of his body, Patty knew she'd never be able to sleep well at home. She would worry about phone calls, about Fiona having nightmares, about Alec lying there keyed up, mentally fighting battles.

Battles that might turn out to be real. It was all too easy to underestimate danger and let your guard down. To overlook that one vulnerable moment when a hired kidnapper broke in and grabbed the little girl, or when Alec opened the door, expecting his mother, and found himself facing his bitter ex-wife with a container of battery acid or a gun in her hand.

Might as well move in. “I'll go home and pack,” she told him. She'd figure out how to explain it to Mike later.

“If you're a police officer, why don't you wear a uniform?” Fiona asked. With her three favorite stuffed animals arrayed around her on the bed, she was asking her umpteenth question of the evening. In addition to her usual reluctance to go to sleep, she was still excited about Patty's return at dinnertime with duffel bag in hand.

Patty seemed completely at home beside Fiona with her jean-clad legs stretched along the bed. But then, Alec mused, she had a gift for making herself at home wherever she was.

“I'm not a police officer anymore,” Patty explained patiently, having gone over this point several times.

“But you're protecting me. Isn't that what police do?”

“Police work for the city. I'm a private detective. People can come and hire me. It's more personal.” As Patty's gaze caught Alec's, a glow spread through him at this cozy scene. It seemed so natural, he had to remind himself that they'd come together only because of his ex-wife.

Earlier, when she'd agreed to spend the next few nights here for everyone's peace of mind, he'd felt a burst of exhilaration that had nothing to do with safety issues. Being around Patty simply felt right. After dinner, they'd made popcorn and all three of them had curled up on the couch to watch a favorite DVD,
Ghostbusters.
They'd chortled at the goofy
antics, feigned terror at the funny-scary parts and shrieked with delight when the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man stalked the city streets.

For too long, Alec had missed that sense of abandon. Best of all, seeing the two adults acting silly had helped Fiona recover her high spirits.

“Does my daddy pay you?” Fiona was asking at the moment.

“Yes.”

“I thought you were his friend.”

“She earns her living as a detective. If I didn't pay her, she'd have to be off working somewhere else,” Alec explained.

“Is that why she didn't visit us in Boston?” The little girl nuzzled her panda.

“Your daddy and I were friends growing up,” Patty told her. “We stopped for a while, but now we're friends again.” A mischievous glance slanted toward him. Friends. Yes. Was it possible, when this was over and she no longer worked for him, that she could still be part of his life?

“Why'd you stop? Did you fight?” Fiona asked, her expression troubled. With a pang, Alec realized she must be thinking about the way he and Sabrina had yelled at each other as their marriage had broken down. Although he'd tried to maintain composure in front of Fiona, sometimes he'd lost his temper. Despite his care not to use ugly terms, children picked up readily on an angry tone of voice.

“No, we didn't fight,” Patty said.

“Then why…?”

“Sometimes circumstances, or other people, come between friends. It wasn't my fault and it wasn't your daddy's, either.”

As a sleepy Fiona searched for more questions, guilt darkened Alec's mood. It was wrong to let Patty go on believing that his parents had forced them to split. Until now, he'd seen
no reason to tell her the whole story. With her living under his roof, however, his continued silence made the lie seem far worse.

He wasn't a confused kid anymore. Whatever wild side she brought out in him he could deal with. Besides, he
liked
what she brought out in him.

After Fiona lost her struggle to keep her eyes open, he followed Patty into the kitchen. She rooted around into her duffel bag and took out a package of graham crackers, a bag of marshmallows and two chocolate bars.

Casting a glance toward the hallway, she explained, “I may not have much experience as a nanny but I doubt eating sweets at bedtime is good for kids, eh, doc?”

“It's not exactly healthy for grown-ups, either.” When had he grown so prim and proper? Alec wondered, so he added, “But who cares?”

“Watching
Ghostbusters
always makes me hungry for s'mores. I brought this stuff along for the grown-ups.” From a cabinet, she handed him a plate. “I'll show you how to make them.”

“What makes you think I don't know?”

“Do you?”

Trust Patty to go right to the heart of the matter. “Only in the theoretical sense.”

“I suspected as much. Watch and learn what you've been missing.” On her plate, she slapped down a double-sectioned graham cracker and topped it with two marshmallows. Into the microwave they went for ten seconds, enough for them to puff to double their size.

Alec leaned against the counter. “Patty, there's something I've been meaning to tell you.”

“If it has anything to do with the size of my butt, save it.” She whisked out the plate. “Okay, now this part you have to do fast, before you lose the heat.”

“I like the size of your butt.”

“That's good. I may have to skip working out at the gym for this weekend, but I'll be back at it next week. So the butt, ample as it is, won't be growing.” She slapped a chocolate bar atop the layer of marshmallows, then topped that with another graham cracker and pressed until the marshmallow oozed out the sides, its heat half melting the chocolate. “What was it you started to say?”

He took a deep breath. It hadn't been hard telling Bailey at the wedding reception, so why did he suddenly have to search for words? “Remember when we broke up?”

“I hope that's not a serious question.”

“No, it isn't.”
Just go for it.
“I didn't tell you the whole story.”

She stopped with the gooey chocolate concoction halfway to her mouth. Alec had the uneasy impression that it took a lot to freeze Patty with a s'more inches from her lips. “Yeah?”

“My parents did pressure me pretty hard. They said if I didn't bring up my SAT scores, and lost out on scholarships, they weren't going to help pay the gap between my college savings and my expenses. That would have been a pretty big gap.”

She set down the plate. “You said they threatened to cut you off entirely unless you dropped me. No college fund, no nothing.”

“They didn't go that far,” Alec admitted.

“Then why'd you dump me?”

“Because I kept getting into trouble around you. I figured sooner or later I was likely to screw something up that couldn't be fixed.” That sounded lame, even to him.

“I didn't pour drinks down your throat the night before the SATs.” She had an unusual air of stillness. He almost wished she'd show anger. Disgust. Whatever she was feeling.

Maybe it went too deep. The idea cut like a knife. Patty always seemed so resilient! “I know. I'm sorry.”

“If you didn't think I was good enough for you—no, wait—if you decided I was the wrong girl for you, you should have told me.” Patty folded her arms. “I wouldn't have shot you, although I did go out and shoot some clay pigeons in your honor.”

“I'm sure they richly deserved it.” He'd have enjoyed throwing the targets into the air and shooting alongside her. Except that hadn't been the idea, had it?

“Why'd you lie?” she pressed.

“Because I didn't trust myself,” Alec said.

“You mean you didn't trust me.” Her face was still unreadable.

“I didn't trust the part of myself that came out around you,” Alec said. “Patty, at seventeen, I had this adolescent streak of rebellion, but our academic system doesn't grant any leeway. Everything's on the record. Everything counts. I was competing with people who never screwed up, who kept their noses to the grindstone. And I didn't hail from any special group that the powers-that-be make allowances for. No impoverished background, no physical handicaps to overcome. So I had to be perfect.”

“Except to me.” Pain shimmered in her eyes. A kind of pain he'd never seen in her before, not even then. Or perhaps he'd been too immature to recognize it.

“I didn't mean to be cruel. But I was, and I regret it. A lot.” He squelched the urge to keep talking, to tell her he'd come clean because he didn't want half-truths and secrets to stand between them. He'd had no idea that the old wounds he was reopening had cut so deep.

She regarded him with no trace of the warmth they'd shared earlier. “It's good that you told me. Like turning on the lights so I can see things clearly.”

How do I fix this? How do I make her smile again?
No chance of that tonight, he feared. But…eventually?

He recognized now that his long silence had added weight to his deception. While he'd gone about his studies and married and had a child, Patty had had to cope with a broken heart. That was what he'd inflicted. Unwittingly. Stupidly. Selfishly. But throughout, she'd had the consolation that his parents had forced his hand.

Now he'd taken that away. She had every reason to think less of him. A lot less.

“Well.” Patty glanced down at her plate. “Guess I'll eat this while I unpack.” Slinging the duffel over her shoulder, she grabbed the snack and walked off.

At least she was heading for the hallway instead of the exit. Alec had to be grateful for that.

 

T
HIS ROOM WAS TOO SMALL
. At the moment, the condo felt too small, as well, although it had more square footage than the house Patty was renting. In her current mood, the entire town of Safe Harbor might be too small.

As she unpacked, it took all her self-control not to slam the drawers or smack the hangers around in the closet. Alec had
chosen
to break up with her. She'd ached for him and longed for him and made a fool of herself in front of Grandpa. If Alec couldn't control his own choices and had to punish her for them, maybe the guy really was too weak for her.

That had been a dozen years ago. He'd faced up to it now. Couldn't he have broken it to her sooner? Or waited until she'd enjoyed her snack? It had gone cold. Just not the same. Tasted good, though. Chocolate, marshmallow…

It galled Patty to admit how much his lie had affected her. In her heart, she'd sheltered a tiny kernel of belief that at some level Alec had been just as devastated as she was by their breakup. Even though she'd accepted that he'd happily married
a woman who pleased his parents, she'd compared other men to him and found them lacking. She'd wept at movies about lovers forced to part—okay, she'd jeered at them along with her guy friends, but there'd been the occasional traitorous tear in the corner of her eye.

If he'd told her the truth in high school, it would have knocked her flat. Opened a bleeding gash for everyone to see. But then she would have
healed.
Because she'd have seen that Grandpa was right and Alec didn't deserve her.

In fairness, she supposed his reasons for dumping her had been valid enough by his standards. He'd set the bar high in his career, and achieved it. You had to admire that. But…hey, weird thought. All this while she'd kept her distance from Darlene Denny who, it turned out, hadn't disliked her quite as intensely as she'd thought. Patty was tempted to march down there and apologize, except she couldn't figure out for what. The person who ought to apologize was Alec.

He had. But not enough. Twelve years shy of enough.

Well, she'd promised Fiona she'd stick around for the weekend, and she'd secured Mike's reluctant consent. He hadn't been keen on the idea, but she'd assured him Alec understood she couldn't stand guard duty in her sleep. So as long as she'd committed herself, she might as well stick it out and quit holding a pity party.

After licking the last of the chocolate off her fingers, Patty went to the bathroom to wash her hands. From the living room, she could hear the TV. It sounded like a documentary, some fellow with a British accent droning on about future technologies. These days, that meant about five minutes from now.

While washing, she started to hum “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” Even after she stopped, the annoying melody kept playing through her head.

Back in her room, Patty pushed the tune aside and sat down
to take a hard look at Sabrina's latest actions and see if she could dope out any clues to what the woman might do next. In her laptop, she typed:

 

Calls and threatens nanny.

 

What had that accomplished? Tatum's departure might work to Sabrina's benefit if she intended to go back to court and claim Alec wasn't providing a stable environment. More likely, it showed pure meanness and a disregard for Fiona's feelings.

How sneaky, to keep the call so short that Tatum hadn't been able to make a positive voice ID. Still, Sabrina's usual tactic was to vent, not use restraint.

Could it be Eduardo's influence? He had to be a cold character, to abandon his wife and kids. Rich, successful, a smooth operator. Was this some kind of game to him? Or did he have more self-serving goals?

According to Mike's research, the Patron family owned a large food-packaging plant that exported many of its products. In addition, they'd acquired a small firm in the biotechnology field and were reputed to be investigating ways to expand its product line through research.

Mike had said he didn't see what Eduardo had to gain by antagonizing Alec. If anything, the lab director might prove a valuable connection to help identify growth areas in fertility treatment. This had become a major field in medicine, now that more women were waiting until their thirties, forties and sometimes even fifties to complete their families. And California, with its wide-open laws about fertility procedures, including in vitro, surrogacy and egg donation, was one of the centers.

None of this gave Eduardo a motive to tick off Alec.

Patty jotted another note:

 

Claims apartment break-in.

 

If that were true, there should be a police report. Mike could check it out. Still, a real burglary wouldn't preclude the possibility that Sabrina had lied about the phone's being stolen.

Note number three:

 

She and fiancé to fly here Saturday.