The Nanny's Twin Blessings

He shook his head. “Unfortunately, Serendipity doesn’t have a preschool.”

“Oh, my,” she responded, her surprise showing in her voice. She would have thought that even as tiny a town as Serendipity would have a preschool to help the little ones with learning readiness.

“I know. It’s a huge issue, right? I’ve been in mediation over custody of the children with my ex-wife, Heather, for some time now, and being able to send the twins to a preschool might have worked in my favor. Right now, I have temporary custody. Heather sometimes visits the kids on weekends. Right after the divorce, that was how she wanted it, but now, inexplicably, she’s changed her mind.”

He sighed. “I hired you in the hopes that she and the mediators would see how serious I am about taking care of the twins and would grant me primary custody without getting the court involved.” He slapped the legal document with the back of his hand. “As you can see, that’s not working out so well for me.”

He scrubbed his free hand over his scalp, making the short ends of his hair stick up every which direction. “If my ex-wife has it her way, I won’t get to see the twins at all, except for maybe supervised visits. She’s claiming I’m an unfit father.”

“Why did she change her mind? And why would she be so unwilling to share custody?” Granted, Stephanie had just met Drew, but she’d appreciated what she’d seen so far. No one could fake the kind of love shining from Drew’s eyes when he was around his boys, or even spoke of them. He appeared to be a patient and tender father. He was even willing to hire a nanny from out of town to make sure the twins were adequately cared for full-time. If that wasn’t devotion, Stephanie didn’t know what was.

Besides, the boys needed their father in their lives.

“Two years ago, Heather left me and the kids because she didn’t like being tied down as a wife and mother. She’s a party girl, and always has been. Staying home on Friday nights just didn’t suit her.”

“Then why does she want custody of the boys now?”

He scoffed and shook his head. “There’s the rub. I don’t know. She doesn’t want to be tied down with the twins, so it only makes sense that I maintain primary custody. I’m guessing she just doesn’t want me to have them, because she wants to hurt me. I had no idea she felt so much hostility against me.”

His voice was raspy with emotion, and his gaze didn’t quite meet hers. “If she wins in court, the twins will be raised by various relatives and an absentee mother. I’m afraid for them. That’s why I have to fight.”

“Wow.” Stephanie didn’t even know what else to say. She’d grown up in foster care. She knew firsthand what it meant to be unloved, to be shuffled from house to house with no stability. She couldn’t imagine using those two precious boys as pawns in what was essentially a vindictive game.

“According to this summons, I’ve got a CFI—a Child and Family Investigator—from the court coming to the house sometime in the near future to scope out the family situation. With all your credentials as a nanny for the twins, I can only hope it will help my case.”

“It certainly can’t hurt. I’ll do whatever I can,” she vowed.

“I know I have to trust God with my boys. But sometimes I find it hard to put my circumstances in God’s hands. Their whole lives may be affected by what happens next.”

That, Stephanie thought, was the closest he was going to get to saying he was frightened, both for himself and for his sons. And she couldn’t blame him. She’d heard the stories of court cases gone wrong, where children had been hurt and even killed by misinformed decisions from the judges.

Compassion and resolve welled in her throat. She’d only known the twins for an evening, but that didn’t lessen her determination. She would help in whatever way she was able. She wasn’t going to let anything happen to those boys—or Drew, either, for that matter, if it was in her power to stop it.

She’d been praying for purpose in her life. Maybe that’s why God had sent her here—for a set of darling twins and their handsome, dedicated father.

* * *

Being served legal documents had shaken Drew up more than he cared to admit, and he was a little embarrassed that Stephanie had been there to witness his private humiliation. He made a quick decision to mentally shelve his emotions for now, until he had time to consider his next steps.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, suddenly noticing that Stephanie’s eyes were darkened with fatigue. “I’m being insensitive. I should have postponed our conversation until tomorrow. You must be exhausted from your trip.”

“I am a little tired,” she admitted. “It’s been a long day.”

“Then let’s table this discussion for now and pick it up tomorrow morning. I’ll see you to your room and get your bags for you so you can settle in for the night. It’s nothing fancy—just a furnished room over the garage—but it has its own entranceway so you won’t be stumbling over Pop and the twins when you need some privacy.”

She smothered a yawn, making Drew feel even guiltier for keeping her from her rest. Studying her face thoughtfully, he realized that her eyes were puffy and shaded by dark circles, as if she hadn’t been sleeping well.

He definitely didn’t want to push her when she was already exhausted, but he was still curious about her situation. It occurred to him that moving out here to be a nanny for his twins might have been a last resort for her. No one else had answered the advertisement he’d placed, and with good reason. He wasn’t offering much in the way of a salary, especially for someone who’d been a successful nanny in a large east coast town. Who would want temporary employment in the middle of nowhere?

Stephanie Cartwright, apparently.

The question was, why?

“Drew!” His father’s loud, gruff voice echoed down the hallway. “The boys are waiting on their story.”

“Coming,” Drew called back. “Give me a second. I’m sorry,” he apologized to Stephanie. “Would you mind waiting a few more minutes while I tuck the boys in?”

She chuckled and gestured with her hands. “I see what you mean about your father. Go. I can wait.”

“Bring Stephanie with you,” the old man hollered, almost as if were eavesdropping on the two of them.

Drew tensed and turned back toward Stephanie. “Do you mind?” he asked with a quirk of his lips. “Pop’s not going to stop until he gets his way.”

“No problem, really,” Stephanie assured him. “I’d love to spend a little more time getting to know the twins, and I’m sure they’re anxious to have their daddy tuck them in.”

“Probably,” he agreed. Their bedtime ritual had become one of Drew’s favorite parts of the day, when his two sleepy boys were all quiet and cuddly. Tonight, however, he doubted they were either, what with all the excitement in the household. Getting them to calm down enough to go to sleep might be easier said than done.

Then again, Stephanie was a nanny. Maybe she had some fresh ideas for rustling rowdy preschoolers into bed and under the covers.

“Drew,” his father called again. Impatiently, in typical Pop fashion. Stephanie might run for the hills yet.

“Yeah, yeah,” Drew replied, winking at Stephanie. “What did I tell you?” he concluded in a mock whisper.

She giggled lightly, which erased some of the weariness from her countenance.

He felt her eyes branding into his back all the way down the hall, and unease once again bore down on his shoulders. He couldn’t help but be uncomfortable. What was she thinking about?

How he’d just been served? His apparent failure as a father?

He hoped she could see beyond the legalities to his heart. Being a dad was everything to him, and he wanted to keep it that way. Having her on his side would definitely be a positive factor, especially now that this was going to court.

The moment the twins realized Stephanie had entered the room behind him, they squealed and bounced on their beds. In Drew’s opinion, it didn’t help matters that she jumped right into the fray, laughing along with them and stirring them up to even greater noise and excitement. The idea here was to calm them down enough to go to sleep.

“Settle down, boys,” he instructed gently. “It’s already past your bedtime. If you guys want me to read you a story, you need to lie down and cover up. Right now, no excuses.”

“But, Daddy,” Matty whined, rubbing his bright blue eyes with his little fists. “We’re not tired yet.”

Drew smothered a chuckle as Matty’s objection was punctuated with a big yawn. The boys weren’t tired—they were overtired.

“We want to stay up and play with Miss Stephie,” Jamey protested.

“It’s Stephanie,” Drew gently corrected, ruffling Jamey’s hair with his palm. “And she’ll be here when you wake up tomorrow. She’s your new nanny. She’s here to take care of you.”

Stephanie placed a hand on Drew’s arm. “My name is hard to pronounce when you’re just learning how to speak. Stephie is just fine.”

“Steph-eee,” Matty said proudly.

“Very good, Matty,” Stephanie praised, causing Matty to straighten his shoulders and sit an inch taller.