Page 6 of Bad Nanny

“It makes me very happy.” I sighed, at a complete loss for how else to help her through her mother’s absence. “You know that I’m never going to leave you, right?”

She nodded, her shoulders dropping. “But Mommy did.”

It took everything in me not to bad-mouth her mother, but on the off chance she eventually wanted to mend the relationship with her, I chose my words carefully. “Sometimes mommies have to leave.”

And sometimes mommies left their child at day care and texted the dad that it was his turn right before she boarded aplane. The memory sent a wave of rage through me, and I shut my eyes, practicing the calming exercise my daughter was becoming a pro at.

I tried not to blame myself for Victoria leaving, but my brain kept running through what-ifs. What if I’d tried to have a relationship with her? What if I’d been more involved? What if I’d paid more attention to what she did with the child support?

From what my private investigator found, she’d been saving as much as possible, and now she was living large in Portugal. If I wanted, there were ways to bring her back to the states, but what was the point? There was no way in hell I would leave her alone with our daughter ever again.

Delaney put her hand against my cheek, and I opened my eyes. “I’m sorry, Daddy. I made you sad.”

“You didn’t.” I put my hand over hers. “I worry about you.”

She gave me a sharp nod, as if she understood. “Penelope’s mom was in the meeting.”

I raised an eyebrow in question before realizing who she was talking about. I was surprised she’d even noticed Josie, since she’d been sobbing and buried against my chest. Delaney was observant and smart beyond her years, though. It was both a blessing and a curse.

My office phone rang with an incoming call from Ava. I picked it up, ready to work the rest of the day with Delaney on my lap, if needed. “Gabriel speaking.”

“Mr. Badden, Brett Hastings would like a minute of your time,” Ava said.

“Send him in.” I couldn’t imagine what he would need to talk to me about.

The door opened, and Brett walked in, giving me a sympathetic smile as he took a seat across from me. “Thank you for seeing me.”

“No problem. What can I do for you?” I loosened my hold on Delaney, since she was squirming to get down.

She wasn’t interested in listening to me talk business, and her mood already seemed to have improved. She got down and walked over to where her things were set up at the table in the corner.

“Your brothers mentioned that you’re having trouble finding a reliable nanny.” He looked over at Delaney and back to me. “I raised my two girls on my own when my wife passed away, so I can understand how important it is to find the right person.”

I stayed quiet, not knowing where he was headed with the conversation, but curious nonetheless.

Brett cleared his throat. “My daughter, Josie, graduated in May and has been looking for a job. She’s great with kids.”

“I noticed.” At the confusion in his expression, I continued. “We ran into her at the coffee shop, and she gave Laney a sock puppet. Does she always carry puppets around with her?”

He chuckled. “I think so. She went to school for puppetry. She makes most of her puppets.”

“Puppetry?” That’s an actual degree? I’d have to look that up as soon as he left. “Why are you here, offering your daughter to me? She’s a grown adult.”

Wow. That sounded wrong in so many ways, but Brettdidn’t seem to notice, or if he did, he ignored it. “She is but doesn’t seem very motivated to find a job and move out.” He didn’t explain further.

A woman with a degree in puppetry wasn’t my first choice in a caretaker, but at this point, I was desperate. “I’m looking for a live-in nanny. Go ahead and have her email me her resume, and I’ll give her a call for an interview.”

Brett let out a sigh of relief. “Great. I love my kid, but sometimes, she needs a little push.”

At the very least, she could watch Delaney until I found a more suitable person for the job. She couldn’t be any worse than the last four.

Chapter 3

Beige, Beige, Beige

Josie

I staredat the two-story house in front of me, unsure why I’d even agreed to the interview. Was I really considering this? I had no desire to be a nanny—or to have a job—but I needed to pacify my dad and his need for me to be a gainfully employed adult.

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