Nanny Next Door (18 page)

“So what did you think of the movie?” Angie asked.

“It was really good,” Sydney said, even though she couldn’t recall more than a few minutes of the story.

“Wasn’t it hilarious when Jane pushed Devon off the dock into the water?”

She nodded, forcing a smile. “Yeah, it was funny.”

Angie glanced over at her. “That never happened, and the characters names were Joan and Dennis.”

Busted. “I guess I was a little distracted.”

“Did you and Danny have a fight? Did he do something stupid? Because if he did, I’ll totally kick his ass for you.”

“He hasn’t done anything. In fact, he’s been wonderful. Other than arguing about where we’re going for dinner, we never fight. It’s almost too good.” That meant something, right?

“There’s no such thing as too good. And I’m glad to hear it, because you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to him.”

Sydney just hoped Daniel felt the same way. But if he wasn’t ready to get married yet, that was okay. There was no reason she and Daniel couldn’t just live together, and raise April and the baby. They could be a family without being married.

“Daniel hasn’t mentioned finding April’s family lately. Has the P.I. had any news?”

“No. It was all pretty much a dead end. There was a cousin, but she was in rehab. Needless to say, she was in no condition to take a baby. He’s looking into adoption now.”

“He’s not seriously going to give her up? He can’t.”

“Well, he got information from a couple of different agencies, and they all told him they could place April with no problem. That was almost a month ago and he hasn’t made any arrangements. He hasn’t said he’s keeping her, but he also hasn’t said he isn’t.”

“What the hell is this?” Angie said. Sydney followed her gaze out the windshield. The street was dark, but up ahead, in front of either her or Daniel’s house, several police cars sat with their lights flashing.

Her heart dropped. Her first thought was April. Could she have choked or gotten hurt somehow? She was into everything now that she was crawling.

“Where are the kids?” Angie asked.

“Daniel’s house.”

As they got closer it was clear that the cars were parked in front of Sydney’s house, and she could see Lacey and Jordan standing on Daniel’s porch. And Lacey was holding April.

“Look,” Sydney said, pointing them out. “They’re fine.”

“Thank God,” Angie said, parking across the street from Daniel’s house. They got out and Sydney could see that there was someone in the back of one of the patrol cars.

What the heck was going on?

“Sydney!”

She turned and saw Daniel, still in uniform, walking toward them from the side door.

“What’s going on?” she asked him.

“Mom!” Lacey said, jogging up to her, April bouncing happily in her arms. Jordan was right behind her. “You are not going to believe what happened!”

“First, is everyone okay?” Angie asked, taking April from Lacey, looking her over thoroughly.

“Everyone is fine,” Daniel assured her.

“Fred, Dad’s gross handyman, was here again,” Lacey said. “He grabbed me. But it’s okay because Jordan punched his lights out.”

Sydney’s heart stalled. “What happened?”

“We were at Daniel’s watching TV and we decided we wanted to watch the X-Men movie, so I came home to get it. I was unlocking the door and someone grabbed my arm. Then suddenly Jordan was there and he punched him.”

“I was watching out the window,” Jordan said. “It was dark, but I thought I saw someone sneaking around the house. I got there just as he grabbed her.”

“And you punched him?” Angie said.

Jordan shrugged. “What else could I do?”

“He knocked him out cold with one punch,” Daniel said, sounding proud of his nephew. Sydney was just relieved he’d been there to watch over her daughter.

“I think he’s been following me around,” Lacey said.

Sydney frowned. “What do you mean?”

“It seems like I’ve been seeing him everywhere lately.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“He never looks at me or talks to me, so I just figured it was a coincidence. I guess not. I told you he was a creep.”

And Jeff thought Fred was harmless. She hoped he felt rotten when he learned what happened. Although, knowing Jeff, he would find a way to blame it on someone else. But Sydney was glad she listened to her instincts and changed the locks.

Jon Montgomery walked up to them.

“Hey, Angie. Hey, Syd,” he said before turning to Daniel. “We’re finished here. I’m going to take him in.”

“I’ll meet you there in a few minutes,” Daniel said, then told Sydney and Angie, “Let’s go inside.”

They went over to Sydney’s side door and gathered in the living room. Lacey must have gone in at some point because the lights were on.

“So, what happened after Jordan knocked this guy out?” Angie asked, sitting in an armchair with April. Lacey and Jordan sat on the couch.

“Jordan called me and I came right over,” Daniel said. “Fred was just starting to come around when I pulled up.”

“If you’ll excuse me,” Angie said, handing April to Lacey. “I don’t want to miss anything, but I have a baby on my bladder. If I don’t use your bathroom I’m going to wet myself.”

“Go,” Daniel said, waving her away.

“I want a restraining order against him,” Sydney said. “I don’t want him anywhere near my daughter.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Daniel said. “And I think an assault charge will stick if Lacey files a formal report.”

“Does she have to do that tonight?”

“It can wait a day or two. Jon took her statement.”

“And if we get a restraining order and Fred still bothers her?”

“California has pretty stiff anti-stalking laws. We’ll keep him away from Lacey.”

“We have a problem,” Angie said coming back into the room. Everyone turned to look at her.

“What now?” Daniel asked.

“Look what I found on the bathroom counter.” She was holding the pregnancy test box in one hand, and the wands in the other. “They’re both positive.”

How had they gotten on the bathroom counter?

“I’m sorry, Mom,” Lacey said, looking mortified, her cheeks bright red. “I wanted to talk to you about it. That’s why I left them out. I didn’t think anyone else would see them.”

“Jordan, I taught you better than this.” Angie said, and the poor kid went white.

He stared at Lacey, then at his mom and said, “B-but, we haven’t even had sex.”

Well, that was good to know, although Sydney would have preferred not to find out quite like this.

“Angie, Lacey isn’t pregnant,” she said.

Clearly confused, Angie said, “But she said she put them there.”

“I hid them under the sink, she found them and took them out.”

“Syd?”
Daniel said, now as pale as Jordan. There was no doubt
he
knew exactly what was going on.

This was not the way she’d intended to handle this.

Angie slapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh, my God, Sydney, I am so sorry. I thought…if I had known—”

“It’s okay,” Sydney said. But considering Daniel’s shell-shocked expression, things were far from okay.

He was surprised. That’s all. She just needed to give him a minute, to let it soak in. He would be fine after that.

“Lacey, Jordan,” Angie said, setting the tests and boxes on the coffee table, “Why don’t we go next door and put April to bed.”

“Mom?” Lacey said, looking wary.

“Go ahead, honey. We’ll talk later.”

When they were gone Daniel reached out and picked up one of the tests, as if he had to see for himself.

He stared at it for a second, shaking his head, then he looked up at her and said, “What the hell, Sydney? How did this happen?”

“I don’t know.”

“You said you were on the pill.”

“I was. I
am.
”

“Did you miss a day? Forget to take it?”

She shook her head. “Never.”

“Then how the
hell
did this happen?”

He was definitely not okay with this. He was nowhere near
okay.

“I told you, I don’t know how it happened. It just…did.”

“I don’t want kids.”

“I know.”

“You said all you wanted was
fun.
”

“I remember what I said.”

“What am I supposed to do now? Huh?
Marry
you? I don’t want to marry
anyone.
”

“Then you’ll be happy to hear that I don’t want to marry you, either.” Why would she want to marry someone who didn’t want her? Sydney had lived through that hell already. Definitely not a mistake she cared to repeat.

“I should have known this was too good to be true,” he said. “I should have known there would be a catch.”

“You say that like I did this on purpose.”

“Did you?”

If he’d struck her, if he’d slapped her across the face, it couldn’t have stung more. If Daniel thought that she was capable of something that underhanded and deceitful, he obviously didn’t know her at all. And he sure wasn’t the man she’d thought he was.

“Please leave,” she said.

Those words, barely louder than a whisper, seemed to surprise him. He blinked, then opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, then closed it again. Then he did what she asked and left.

Feeling as if her legs might give out, Sydney sat on the couch. There was a pain in her chest, in her heart, so sharp and all-encompassing she found it difficult to breathe.

It was over. Just like that.

She heard a soft knock on the side door, and felt a glimmer of hope that maybe Daniel had come back. Maybe he wanted to at least say he was sorry. But it was Angie.

“Hey, you okay?”

“No. Not really.”

“Sydney, I am so sorry. I never even considered that those might be yours.”

“It’s okay, Angie.” If she had told him tonight, or next month, or three months from now, his reaction would have been the same. He didn’t want a baby. And he didn’t want a wife.

“He was upset?”

“You could say that.”

“He was just surprised. You guys are going to be okay.”

“No, we won’t.” The way Sydney felt right now, she would never be okay again.

What he didn’t understand was Sydney’s reaction. Why didn’t she tell him he was being a jerk? Why did she just stand there and let him push her away? Why didn’t she…
fight?

He looked at his front window and sighed. Might as well get this over with.

He crossed the lawn to the front door and let himself in. Angie was on the couch with her feet propped on the coffee table, watching TV. When he stepped inside she switched it off.

“April just had a bottle and she’s out. The kids left pizza in the fridge.” She grabbed her purse and fished out her keys, then stood. “I’ll see you later.”

She started to walk toward the door.

Wait, that was
it?
“You’re not going to lecture me on what a bastard I am?”

She stopped and turned. “I think everyone is pretty clear about that.”

Touché.

Angie stood there, obviously unwilling to divulge anything without making him ask for it. “Did you talk to Sydney?”

“Yes.”

“What did she say?”

His sister folded her arms. “Not much. I did most of the talking.”

“Was she mad?”

“No. I don’t know what you said to her, but it worked.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve pushed her away. She is…
done.
”

“Done with what?”

“
You,
Danny.” Angie shook her head, eyes filled not with anger or disappointment, but with pity. “You’re alone again. But that’s the way you like it. Right?”

With that she turned and walked out. What the hell was with everyone tonight? Why wasn’t she calling him names and telling him what a huge mistake he’d made?

And he didn’t believe Sydney would really write him off. He was the father of her child, for God’s sake. Yeah, he’d overreacted. And insinuating that she’d done it on purpose was definitely not one of his finer moments. He obviously hadn’t meant it. And she was entitled to be furious with him, but she would cool off and they would talk about this and figure something out.

And the only reason he’d reacted the way he had was that as soon as he’d figured out the tests were hers and not Lacey’s, he’d imagined him and Sydney, with Lacey, April and the baby, together as a family. And how happy they could be. And it had scared the living shit out of him. That had
never
been part of the plan. But now, somehow, it just…made sense. He was used to having her around. He
liked
having her around.

Which was probably why he was so determined to make her think he didn’t.

Which he knew made no sense at all. But old habits were hard to break. He wasn’t accustomed to letting people in. Or keeping them around.

Sydney was going to have to understand that it would take time. If they were going to make this work, they would have to take things slowly. Maybe they could live together for a while, and if that worked, then they could talk about getting married.

Maybe.

Since Daniel knew Sydney wouldn’t come to him, he swallowed his pride the following morning and went to her. He owed her that much. But the second she answered the door, he could see what Angie meant. She didn’t smile, didn’t frown, she didn’t look angry or upset. Her face wasn’t red and puffy, as if she’d been crying.

She didn’t betray any emotion at all, and it made him nervous.

“Can we talk?” he asked.

“There’s nothing more to say. You were pretty clear about your feelings last night.”

Yeah, he deserved that, although he didn’t think she was trying to hurt him or make him feel guilty. “Please, just for a minute.”

She moved aside so he could step in.

“April is taking a nap,” he said, even though she hadn’t asked. He tapped the monitor receiver that was clipped to his belt. “I’ll hear her if she wakes up.”

No smile, no shrug. She just stared up at him, that nothingness in her eyes.

“I wanted to say that last night, I reacted…badly.”

She didn’t confirm or deny it, didn’t say anything at all.

“The thing is, I’m really sorry for the way I behaved. When I insinuated that you did it on purpose, I didn’t mean it.”

Nothing. No reaction. She could have had the decency to swear at him, or tell him to take his apology and shove it.

He started to get a very bad feeling.

“Sydney, would you please say something?”

“What would you like me to say?”

“Something. Anything. You could acknowledge that I’m talking to you.”

“I hear you.”

“But you have no comment?”

“I’m not sure what you expect me to say.”

“I want to make this work, Sydney.”

She frowned. Finally some sign that she wasn’t an empty shell. “Why?”

“Because…I do.”

“But
why?
”

Daniel didn’t know how to answer that. He knew exactly
why,
but couldn’t put it into words. “Because…we’re supposed to be together.”

“Supposed to be together?”

“Yes.”

“You and me.”

“Yes.”

“The man who was in my living room last night, I don’t even know who he was. And I have no idea what you wanted me to do. Scream at you? Throw things? Maybe that worked for your parents, but that isn’t me.”

That hurt. Badly. All his life he had wanted to be anything but like his parents. But he had been a jerk last night. Instead of trying to talk it through he’d overreacted and he’d expected her to play along.

That was the last time it would ever happen. “The man in your living room last night was not me.”

“You know what they say. If it looks like a giraffe, and walks like a giraffe…”

Through the monitor, he heard April start to cry.

“You should go get her,” she said.

“Come with me. We’ll talk.”

“There’s really nothing left to say.”

“Sydney, please.”

She held the door open. “Goodbye.”

Daniel had a million things he wanted to say to her, if he could make her listen. And if there
was
a way, he sure as hell didn’t know how. She had obviously made up her mind.

Angie had been right. Sydney was
done.

And he’d been home five minutes before he realized that leaving, not staying and fighting, was without a doubt one of his stupidest moves yet. And suddenly he knew exactly what he wanted to say.

What he should have said a long time ago.