Page 4 of Rush

Entering the living room, Linc saw the TV was off. He made his way to the sliding-glass doors and parted the drapes but the backyard lay empty—the swing set and the gated pool both unoccupied. Though it was a little late in the afternoon for an outing, Linc assumed Rebecca, Sophie’s nanny, must have taken her to the community park to play with the ducks. She liked to bring them bread to throw into the small, man-made lake. Anything Sophie liked to do, Linc made sure she had access to it. He guessed people could accuse him of spoiling her, but those people could kiss his ass. She deserved every little joy he could give her after the blow she’d been dealt. No small child should ever have to endure the loss of a parent let alone both in one fell swoop.

Stripping off his shirt as he walked up the stairs for a quick shower, he came to a sudden halt when he reached theentrance to his bedroom. Rebecca lay on his bed, draped in his team jersey, legs spread with her hand down her panties. Six months ago, he would have welcomed finding a half-naked, pretty woman in his bed, but these days the sight just pissed him off. Rebecca was here for Sophie not him.

“What the fuck?”

Her eyes widened and with a small shriek, she reared back, making Linc believe the scene, at least, hadn’t been staged. But any sympathy he had for her was short-lived when her lids fell to half-mast and a sultry smile appeared on her lips. “Care to join me?”

Seeing red, Linc growled through gritted teeth. “Where’s Sophie?”

She misinterpreted his words either by choice or sheer stupidity because she didn’t heed the anger in his tone. “She just went down for a nap. We have plenty of time.” Her hand, which had flown from the inside of her panties upon his arrival, skimmed down over the flat of her stomach, her fingers inching back toward the elastic waistband in an effort to be enticing.

It didn’t work. Not by a fucking long shot.

God damn but he was tired of this shit. How hard was it to find a caregiver who didn’t have an ulterior motive?

“Get up, get dressed, and get the hell out,” he seethed. Knowing Sophie was asleep in the next room kept his tone low but there could be no mistaking the venom behind his words. But if that hadn’t been clear enough, he also slipped the shirt balled in his fist back on, aggressively yanking the cotton material over the waistband of his jeans.

Rebecca didn’t misunderstand anything that time. The come-hither smile instantly fell from her lips as she scurried toher knees, the fabric of his shirt falling to cover her thighs as she knelt in the center of his bed. “I’m sorry. Please don’t fire me.” She tried to back pedal. “I’m a huge fan and really like you, and I was hoping you liked me too.”

Linc repressed a snort of derision. Oh, he was sure she liked him all right. Liked his money and his fame. He’d been named People magazine’s sexiest man alive last year and Forbes 30 under 30 this year. He was sure she loved that too. Before Sophie, he relished women throwing themselves at him, not caring they were using him for one reason or another. He was young and living the time of his life. But now he had Sophie, and though it might sound cliché, she’d changed him. Having someone dependent on him made him realize there was more to life than fast cars and faceless women.

When Linc remained silent, Rebecca pressed harder, a note of panic entering her tone. “I’m not sure what came over me. Please, I can’t afford to lose this job, it pays double what I usually make and I really love it here.”

Linc’s lips thinned and his jaw locked at her most important omission. He counted to ten. When he felt he had his temper under control, he countered, “And Sophie. You don’t want to lose your job because you care about Sophie, right?”

Confusion clouded her features for a split second before comprehension dawned. That was one second too long for him to give a crap about anything else she had to say. “Of course, Sophie. I mean, I assumed that was a given. I’ve really fallen in love with that little girl. My heart would break if I had to leave her.”

She was a liar, and he was done. “You have five minutes. If you’re not gone in that time, I’m calling the cops.” That threatusually worked and would hopefully save him from further dramatics.

He gave her his back, done discussing the matter, and made his way down the hall to Sophie’s room. Her door was cracked and he nudged it open with his toe, peeking inside. She was asleep on her side and curled around her beloved stuffed bear. Though not a train, his name was Thomas after her favorite TV show. She may not talk but, in a roundabout way, she had named him, shaking her head at each suggestion Linc had thrown out, nodding when he’d finally landed on the name she wanted. They communicated a lot that way. Linc had gotten pretty good at guessing what she may want or need, but what he really wanted was to hear her sweet voice.

He clenched his jaw to keep his anger in check at the injustice of Natalie’s death as he watched the subtle rise and fall of her daughter’s chest for a few minutes before quietly closing the door and making his way back down to the kitchen. Glancing down the hall toward his bedroom before he descended the stairs, he didn’t see Rebecca and hoped he wouldn’t have to make good on his threat in order to get her to leave.

Movement caught his eye as Linc leaned against the marble countertop, arms folded across his chest. He saw Rebecca sail past the kitchen, purse slung over her shoulder, thankfully back in her own clothes—though she could’ve taken his jersey with her as he’d never wear the fucking thing again. Twin spots of red hit her cheeks when she caught notice of him—a good sign her parting would go off without incident. Which it did. Averting her head, she hastened to the front door, leaving without saying a word. Linc let out a deep breath, happy she hadn’t caused a scene.

He was done with the nanny agency. But that left him with a new dilemma. He’d need to find someone qualified onhis own. That meant background checks—something the service provided—which meant time—a commodity, as he’d already established, he was in short supply of. While he was off for the season, he still had work obligations. Take that day for instance. He’d had the ad campaign which wouldn’t wrap up until tomorrow and then there was the signing he had on Friday at a popular, chain sporting goods store. Not to mention his daily workouts which ate up his whole morning.

Having to find a new nanny was going to be a huge pain in the ass, but that wasn’t the worst part. The disruption it created in Sophie’s life was what really got to him. Linc worried enough about Sophie still not talking and the reassurance from her therapist that she would talk again when she was ready wasn’t helping him sleep at night. She needed fucking stability, damn it. Sure, he was a constant now, but when the season started and he had to be on the road having a stream of revolving caregivers come in and out of her life wouldn’t help her feel secure.

Pulling out his phone, he called the one person he could count on when in a jam.

Oz picked up after only one ring. “Yo.”

“I need a favor,” Linc said by way of greeting.

“Hit me with it.”

“I had to fire Rebecca.”

“Shit. Man, I’m sorry.” No one knew better than Oz the bind that put him in.

“Yeah, me too. I have a commitment tomorrow that I can’t reschedule. Do you think you can watch Sophie for a few hours.”

“No problem. Bring her on over.”

“Thanks, man. I owe you one. Or is it a hundred by now?”

Oz chuckled again. “You know Emerson and I are always here to help with whatever you need.”

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