Page 42 of One More Baby for the Boss

“That’s where I’ll be.” She’d decided to drive in that direction almost on a whim, and the beauty of the mountains appealed to her greatly. She was sure she would be able to find something to do with herself there — bartending, waitressing,something.She’d land on her feet, just as she did every time. In a few months, everything that had happened in Hope’s Creek would be a distant memory.

Jack looked off at the mountains. “That’s a long way away.”

“It’s not so far away,” she said. “After all, you can see it from here. You’ll be able to see the place where I’m living, even if you can’t seeme. That’s something, right?”

“I guess,” Jack said. “Are you going to look back and think about me?”

“Every day,” she said quietly, wondering whether it was a mistake to tell him that. “I’ll never forget you, Jack, and I’ll never forget your dad, either. I’ve had such a good time here with you both, and I’m sorry I have to go now. I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too,” Jack mumbled.

“Go back inside,” she told him. “Your dad will be lonely.”

For a moment, she thought he might not do it — but he backed away slowly, then turned and ran back to the house.

Alex took a long, deep breath in, and then let it go. That was it, she knew — she would never see either one of them again. It was a battle to force herself to get into her car, and she refused to look back as she drove down the path and turned onto the main road that would lead her away from Hope’s Creek.

She had put so much faith in this. Without even meaning to, she had let herself believe that she might find something permanent here.

But Alex Hart’s only lifelong companion was, and always would be, her bad luck. Nothing else could last.

CHAPTER 20

ELIJAH

“Are you looking for someone to live in?” asked Caitlin, the new nanny candidate.

“No,” Elijah said. It was a surprise even to him. He hadn’t thought the matter through very much. But he couldn’t picture welcoming someone new into his home right now, giving the room that had belonged to Alex to a newcomer. He wished it was easier, but having somebody else in that space would only serve as a reminder of who was no longer there. He didn’t think he could handle that. “You live in Hope’s Creek, right?”

“I’m new there, yes,” Caitlin said. “Just moved into town two weeks ago.”

“And you plan on staying?” He wouldn’t put his son through the loss of a second nanny so soon after what had happened with Alex.

“I love Hope’s Creek,” Caitlin enthused. “I’m definitely here for the long haul.”

“Well, that’s great,” Elijah said. “I have your résumé and your contact information, so I’ll be getting back to you soon.”

“Do I get to meet your son?” Caitlin asked.

“I won’t be introducing him to anyone until I’m close to making a hire.” Part of the problem, he thought, had been the way Jack had so quickly become attached to Alex. He wouldn’t run the risk of something like that happening to them again. “If I decide to move your application forward, I’ll ask you to come back for a playdate with Jack to make sure the two of you get along well, and if that goes all right, we’ll finalize things.”

“In that case, I look forward to hearing from you.” Caitlin rose to her feet and extended a hand to Elijah.

He shook it. “Thanks for coming by,” he said. “It was nice to meet with you.”

When she was gone, he poured himself a glass of scotch and sat drinking it and pondering. He knew he wanted another nanny. Having Alex here had made such a difference for Jack, and Elijah wasn’t willing to let that go just because she’d decided to leave them.

But it was hard to imagine anybody filling her shoes. Caitlin’s resume was good — it was better than Alex’s had been, actually, because she did have experience in childcare. She seemed competent, and she had answered all of Elijah’s questions satisfactorily. And yet, he found that he didn’t want to hire her. And there was only one plausible reason for that.

She just wasn’t Alex. She would never be Alex. And it was impossible to imagine anybody else taking Alex’s place in their lives. Caitlin would care for Jack, but would Jack fall in love with her the way he had with Alex? Almost certainly not. And that was a good thing, probably — Jack had been too codependent with Alex — but it was hard to see it that way.

He sighed, downed his drink, got up, and went out to the kitchen. Jack was sitting at the table with his crayons spread out in front of him, coloring something in a sketchbook that Elijah hadn’t been aware he owned. He looked up at his father briefly, then returned his attention to the page in front of him.

“What are you drawing?” Elijah asked.

“A picture.”

Jack’s communication with Elijah had been short and direct lately, bordering on rudeness, and Elijah had restrained himself from calling it out or telling his son to mind his manners. It surprised him that Jack seemed to have connected Alex’s departure with Elijah’s own actions, but kids could be pretty astute about things that were going on around them, and it was clear that Jack did blame his father, at least in part, for what had happened.

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