There With You by Samantha Young
Thane
As he followed Gordanna Redburn through the bifold doors at the back of the house and onto the decking, Thane wondered who was interviewing who here.
“The children being abed at this hour will not do,” she commented as she walked down the steps into the back garden. “We’ll keep school hours at the weekends too.”
“I don’t need you at the weekend.” Or at all. He glowered at her back.
The young woman was buttoned up so tight, it was difficult to believe she was only twenty-three. And it wasn’t her conservative clothing or the prim bun she wore; it was her pinched mouth and militant demeanor.
Thane groaned inwardly in despair. Gordanna had come all the way from Cornwall for this interview. She was the tenth person he’d interviewed for the job of live-in nanny housekeeper, and she was the tenth person he was going to have to reject. It was incredibly difficult to find someone who wanted to live in such a remote part of Scotland, and Thane was quickly losing the luxury of being picky.
He’d never considered Caelmore that remote, considering Ardnoch was right next door and was a famous village. But to those used to large towns and cities, the Highlands were somewhere you visited for the scenic beauty, not a place most would consider settling down. Most people needed to be near large hospitals, vet services, shops, restaurants, and convenient amenities, not to mention excellent Wi-Fi and phone signals. Those weren’t bad here; they just weren’t the best.
Living somewhere that required patience and effort in exchange for the stunning surroundings? That compromise wasn’t for everyone.
Including decent nanny housekeepers. This one hadn’t referred to Eilidh and Lewis by anything but “the children” since her arrival.
Thane was screwed.
“But … I thought this was a live-in position?” Gordanna frowned at him.
“Yes, it is.” The guest annex was perfect for whomever got the position because it even had its own kitchenette. “But I don’t work at the weekends and would like to spend all that time with Eilidh and Lewis, which means you’d have your weekends to yourself.”
Her perturbed expression was almost comical. Apparently, it had never occurred to Gordanna Redburn to have a social life.
She harrumphed and turned on her heel again, marching toward the cliff’s edge. “This fence will never do!” she called over her shoulder to be heard against the wind. His agitation grew. Already this interview was taking twice as long as he’d hoped, and he’d told her taxi driver to wait on her. The meter was ticking—the meter he was paying for.
“Excuse me?” he said as he neared. “What about the fence?”
Gordanna scowled at him as she gestured at his safety fence. “It’s ridiculous to have something so flimsy as a guard between young children and a cliff’s edge.”
Thane narrowed his eyes at her scolding tone. How dare a young woman barely out of school reprimand his parental skills? “I’m an architect, Ms. Redburn. Trust me when I say this is a sufficient safety fence.”
From the moment she’d arrived, she’d picked apart his house, ordering all the changes that would need to be made to make it safe for the children who had lived in it their whole lives without it ever harming them.
“He’s right, you know,” a familiar voice said.
Both he and the annoying candidate turned to see Regan Penhaligon standing on Lachlan’s lawn. The American and her attractive dimples had appeared as if out of nowhere. “About the fence being safe,” Regan continued. “I tried to throw myself over it last night, and it morphed into a Transformer that saved me and then offered a therapy session.”
Trying not to laugh at her utter weirdness, Thane chanced a glance at Gordanna. She looked far from amused as she ran her eyes over Regan and raised an eyebrow. Regan wore a dress much like the one she’d worn yesterday. Conservative neckline. Not very conservative hemline.
Just like yesterday, she was barefoot, her toenails painted a bold red.
Regan’s amusement fled at Gordanna’s perusal, and she crossed her arms and glowered at the young woman as if to say, “Problem?”
“You are?” Gordanna asked, as if she had the right to know.
“Thane’s going to be my sister’s brother-in-law.”
“And do you have a name?”
Good Christ, this woman was a trip.
“Regan. Yours?”
“I’m Gordanna Redburn.” She held out a hand to Regan. “I’m the children’s nanny housekeeper.”
Uh, what?Thane turned to her, clearing his throat as he prepared for the coming awkwardness. “Ms. Redburn, there seems to be a misunderstanding. This is just an interview.”
She dropped her hand before Regan could take it. “I assumed since I’d traveled all the way from Tintagel that this was all just a formality.”
“No. It’s an interview. And I paid for your travel expenses and accommodation.”
She drew herself up straight. “Mr. Adair, I assure you, you will not find a better candidate than me to look after the children.”
“Eilidh and Lewis,” he said, his irritation building. “My children are called Eilidh and Lewis. Not ‘the children.’ And I’m afraid I haven’t made a decision yet regarding the position.”
Understanding what that meant, she sniffed haughtily. “Well, thank you for wasting my time. I’ll see myself out, and I’ll invoice you for the taxi fare!”
Before Thane could say anything else, the woman marched down the side of the house.
“What on earth did I just walk in on?”
The wind blew Regan’s copper-red hair off her face, revealing her elegant bone structure. While Thane could absolutely see what Lachlan found attractive in Robyn, his soon-to-be sister-in-law wasn’t a classic beauty. Her half sister, however, was. She had high apple cheekbones, those disarming dimples, warm, oval-shaped, chestnut-brown eyes surrounded by thick, dark lashes, and lips that were neither too thin nor too full. A resemblance existed between the sisters, but where Robyn’s nose was a little long, Regan’s was dainty.
Overall, the younger sister had the style of someone who cared about her appearance. Robyn didn’t and somehow was more attractive for it. Lachlan’s fiancée had a certain charisma that was far more appealing than any physical perfection could ever be.
“Well?” Regan pushed.
Thane scratched his beard and sighed. “I’ve been working as a freelance architect, but the jobs just aren’t coming in. To run a business, you need time to advertise it, and I don’t have time, what with juggling full-time childcare. So I’ve had to return to my job with a firm in Inverness. Between the commute and the work, I’m looking to hire a live-in nanny housekeeper. We had one when Eilidh was little, but she left for a position in the States.”
“And fence lady was the best you could get?” Regan screwed up her face.
Irritated by her blasé attitude, he bit out, “You try finding a nanny who will leave their life behind to live in the Highlands.”
Her eyes grew round. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be flippant. But honestly, I only met her for five seconds, and she’s not good enough for Eilidh and Lewis.”
Remembering how well Regan had gotten along with his children, a smile prodded his lips. “No, she isn’t.” He looked beyond her to his brother’s house. “Where are Robyn and Lachlan?”
Regan shrugged and stared out at the water, not meeting his gaze. “They went out.”
“Without you?”
She shrugged again. “They had stuff to do.” Finally, she looked at him, grinning as if she hadn’t a care in the world. But he saw shadows in the back of her eyes. “I turned up out of the blue. They had plans.”
Something was going on with Robyn’s sister. He couldn’t imagine Robyn hadn’t noticed it herself. Behind the smiles and carefree attitude was sadness and something else. Desperation?
Remembering the last redhead with shadows in her eyes who got past his defenses, Thane promptly ignored his growing curiosity. “Right. I better get back inside. Eilidh and Lewis will wake any second.” He took a step toward the house as he realized, “You’re up early.”
“Jet lag. And stupid automatic blinds in the guest room.”
He chuckled. “Ah. I see. Well. I better go.”
“Wait.” She stepped toward him, her short dress fluttering a little dangerously in the breeze. “I was actually coming over because I promised Eilidh I’d braid her hair.”
“Right.” He remembered. Part of him wasn’t too sure about Regan spending time with his children. But last night she’d been brilliant with them, while he was constantly doing and saying the wrong things. It was the first time in weeks both Eilidh and Lewis had laughed that much. Well, not Eilidh. His Eilidh-Bug found many reasons to giggle. But Lewis, his serious wee man, had been too broody for a little boy since Lucy. Thane had a terrible feeling he’d bungled that entire conversation.
“Eilidh’s not even up yet.”
“Then maybe I can come over to talk with you.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Regarding?”
She grinned. “The genius plan that just occurred to me.”
He waited.
Regan threw out her arms as if to say, “Voila” and continued, “Meet your new nanny housekeeper.”
Confused, he shook his head. “What?”
“I’m staying here for the six months I’m legally allowed, and I need a job. Like Robbie said, I am amazing with kids and have lots of experience as a nanny. And I know I don’t look like it, but I can clean, I can cook, I can do laundry. Six months gives you plenty of time to find a perfect and permanent nanny housekeeper.”
Thrown by the offer, Thane tried to think of a polite way to say “no way in hell.”
“Regan … I just don’t think it would be a good idea to hire a family member. And for all intents and purposes, that’s what you are now.”
There. That was diplomatic. And reasonable.
Her face fell. “Oh.”
Guilt suffused him, which irritated him. “I’ll keep an ear out about other jobs that might work for you, though.”
“Right.”
“So … I’ll see you later, then.”
“But what about Eilidh?”
He sighed. “Some other time.”
“But I promised her today.” Regan crossed her arms again and tilted her chin stubbornly. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t break my promises.”
“That’s not what I’ve heard.”
He cursed himself as soon as the words slipped out.
Regan stepped back as if he’d punched her in the gut.
The remorse he’d experienced earlier was nothing compared to now. “Regan—”
She held up a hand, cutting him off. “I have no idea what my sister has told you about me. And I don’t care. I love her dearly. In fact, she’s the person I love most in this world.”
He heard the sincerity in her words, but it confused him, considering she’d abandoned Robyn when she needed her little sister the most.
“But Robbie and I are different people, and with a little distance, I realized our parents kind of turned us into exaggerated versions of who we really are. I think that made her see me in a way that wasn’t reality. I’ve got this wild reputation that I don’t deserve, like I’m not someone a person can count on. But I am.”
He gave her a flat smile. “Regan … when you don’t answer your sister’s calls or emails after someone almost murders her—twice—that is the very definition of someone a person cannot count on.”
Tears brightened her pretty eyes, but Thane refused to be moved by them. He’d fallen for pretty, false tears before. A redhead who liked to play the victim.
However, Regan swallowed hard, blinked rapidly to push back the tears, and threw her shoulders back. “Yeah, I guess that’s true. I’ve made a lot of mistakes when it comes to Robyn, but I’m here to do better. To be better for her. And I don’t need anyone to believe that. Words are just words. My actions will speak for themselves.” Her eyes narrowed. “So this is me. I don’t break my promises. And I promised a sweet little girl I’d braid her hair today.”
Feeling his resolve crumble, Thane grumbled and gestured toward the house. “Come on in.”
The woman beamed those bloody dimples at him as she sashayed past. “You’ve got coffee, right?”
“Yes.” He followed her inside. “Would you like a pastry with that, madam?”
Ignoring his sarcasm, she replied with annoying perkiness, “Sure!” and then side-eyed him as they walked into the house. “You weren’t kidding about pastries, right? Because you got my hopes up to here.” She raised her arm past her head.
Trying not to laugh at her playfulness, Thane assured her, “Not kidding. I bought them to prepare for Ms. Redburn’s early visit. Apparently, however, ‘pastries are an unhealthy breakfast temptation to have around children.’”
Regan snorted. “What an uptight bore. I’m a way better candidate than she is.” She winked at him. Actually winked at him.
Refusing to be charmed by Robyn’s sister, he set about heating the coffee and setting a plate out for her to choose from the array of pastries. Turning to look at Regan, he watched as she moved around, taking in the place. It was the same layout as Lachlan’s, but his late wife, Fran, had chosen a more traditional shaker-style kitchen.
As if the thought of Fran had conjured her presence, Regan caught sight of the wall that led toward the front entrance—the wall with all their family photographs.
He stilled as she walked over and studied the images.
Knowing it was coming, he braced himself as she turned to ask in a soft, gentle tone, “Where’s their mom?”
The hollowness that always followed a mention or thought of Fran opened in his chest as he crossed the room to stand with Regan. He brushed a thumb over one of the framed photographs.
Him and Fran on their wedding day.
“Francine died,” he replied. “Two months after Eilidh was born.”
“I’m so sorry.” He felt her hand on his shoulder, the gentle squeeze of comfort.
Shrugging off her touch, he marched back into the kitchen. “How do you take your coffee?”
Silence followed his question, but to his relief, it was soon followed by, “Milk, two sugars.”
He raised an eyebrow, grateful for the change of subject. She returned to the island, her expression a little wary. “Two sugars?”
Regan gave him a half-hearted smile. “Sweet tooth.”
“Dad?”
Lewis stood at the bottom of the staircase in his Marvel pajamas, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he stared curiously at Regan.
“Hey, bud.” Thane strolled over to his son to give him a morning kiss on his head. “Your sister still sleeping?”
Lewis nodded, his focus on Regan.
“Morning.” She gave him a little wave.
In answer, Lewis surprised Thane by walking over to climb a little sluggishly onto the stool beside her. Unlike Eilidh, who woke up bright and bubbly, Lewis was like his old man and needed time to wake up. He rarely talked until he’d eaten breakfast.
“Hi,” he said to Regan. “You came.”
“I promised I would.”
“Eils will be glad.” Lewis yawned and then asked randomly, “Have you seen the Red Sox play?”
His son liked American baseball. Watching their interaction in curiosity, Thane pushed Regan’s coffee and a plate for her pastry toward her, took her thanks, and got Lewis’s breakfast together. All the while, he listened to the two of them chat about baseball. Regan’s dad was into baseball, so she’d gone to games when she was younger, but she admitted she wasn’t one for sports. Though, she announced proudly, Robyn was going to teach her MMA.
Even when Thane had put a bowl of cereal and juice in front of his son, Lewis didn’t take his eyes off Regan. She chatted animatedly with him about the small baseball team his friends had formed, and he noted how relaxed Lewis was.
Lewis wasn’t even three years old when his mum died. Like his father and his uncle Lachlan, he was serious by nature. He was also protective of his family and sister, and shy of strangers. He’d never really taken to anyone outside the family, including Robyn and Lucy, the way Eilidh had.
But there he was smiling and giggling at Regan’s story about a time in high school when she was supposed to be guarding home plate and someone walked by with a hot dog, and she was so busy trying to persuade them that the hot dog should be hers that she let someone slide into home.
“Did you get the hot dog?” Lewis asked.
Regan grinned mischievously. “Best hot dog ever.”
So focused on how his son interacted with this woman, this near stranger, he didn’t hear Eilidh come down the stairs.
“Regan!” his daughter squealed, and he turned to watch her almost trip off the last step in her excitement to get to Robyn’s sister.
Regan hopped off her stool to catch Eilidh as she flew at her. Despite her slender build, she hauled Eilidh into her arms with ease, beaming at her. “Hey, superstar.”
Eilidh clasped Regan’s face in the palm of her hands and said with an almost grown-up tenderness, “You came!”
And just like that, Thane saw the genuine fondness soften Regan’s expression. “I keep my promises.”
Fuck.
Thane couldn’t possibly be considering accepting Regan’s proposal.
It was preposterous. His kids hadn’t even known the woman for twenty-four hours. And yet, they’d bonded with her faster than he’d seen them take to anyone.
Moreover, he’d liked how she’d handled Lewis at dinner. What she’d said about kindness and the way she’d defused the tension at the table. She had a knack for knowing just the right thing to say to the children to settle them.
Lachlan would be against it.
So would Robyn.
Or would they?
Regan had worked as a professional nanny, so clearly, other parents had trusted her with their kids.
And Thane was in a real bind.
He started work on Monday, and he still had no nanny.
What was he even thinking?
No.
He hadn’t been entirely lying when he said that hiring family wasn’t always a good idea. Besides, Robyn might not want Regan around for the next six months.
No.
Regan was out of the question. He’d just have to come up with something else. And fast.