Ian returned ten minutes later and motioned for her to join him in the hallway. Some of the tension in his expression relaxed as she came toward him.
“You couldn’t have come at a better time. I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t here. More and more I realize a person can’t be in two places at once.” One corner of his mouth hitched up. “Although I’ve been trying to these past months.”
“Take it from me, it’s scientifically impossible. I’ve tried myself, though. Did everything work out with the doctor?”
“Yes, Brandon will see him first thing tomorrow morning, but I’ll need to postpone introducing you to the teachers until Tuesday. I’ve let the school know that you’ll be bringing them and picking them up, so it’ll be okay. The one thing that’s working for us is they all go to the same school.”
“So you want me to take Joshua, Jade and Jasmine in the morning?”
Ian nodded. “And be prepared for a hundred questions from Joshua the whole way. He’ll want to know exactly what happened to Jeremy and what the doctor will say even before we know it.”
“What do you think is happening?”
Sighing, Ian glanced toward his son in his room. “It could be epilepsy, but it takes more than one seizure to determine that.” He rubbed his chin. “Now I’m wondering if some of Jeremy’s behavior these past months might have indicated petit mal seizures. I haven’t had a lot of experience with epilepsy, so I might be wrong.”
“I’m glad I’m here for you and your family.”
Ian grinned. “Just in the nick of time. Do you have any questions about tomorrow?”
“I may be wrong, but I have a feeling Jasmine will test me about getting ready for school on time.”
“No, you aren’t wrong. She even did with Aunt Louise. She has always been my prima donna, even as young as two. I think she was trying to be as different from Jade as she could.”
“I’ve told her I won’t allow her to make her siblings late for school, so I have a plan to stress my point.” Annie looked into Ian’s green eyes and for a second lost her train of thought.
“What?”
Okay, he had great eyes. She had to ignore them. Annie peered down the hall toward the girls’ bedrooms. “She will ride with me to school dressed or not. I’ll drop the others off, come home and let her finish getting ready, then take her back to school.”
“But that’s—”
“The consequence of having me drive twice to the school is that the next morning I will be waking her up thirty minutes earlier. That means she’ll go to bed thirty minutes earlier, so she’ll get the required amount of beauty rest she insists she needs.”
Ian chuckled. “My daughter is an eight-year-old going on eighteen. I wish I had thought of that diabolical plan.”
“So you’re okay with it?”
“Yes. I like your creative way of dealing with it.”
“I try to look for ways to have natural consequences for a child’s actions. It tends to work better.”
Ian checked his watch. “You’d better catch some sleep yourself.”
“I’ll peek in on the girls and Joshua, then leave.”
She started to turn when Ian clasped her upper arm and stopped her. “Thanks again. Just taking the girls to their room and putting them in bed was a huge help.”
Ian’s touch on her skin riveted her attention to his hand for a few seconds before he released his hold. Her heartbeat kicked up a notch. In her previous nanny positions she usually dealt with the mothers, but since Ian was a single parent she would be working with just him. She’d never thought that would be a problem—until now.
“It’s part of my job,” she murmured then continued toward Joshua’s room next to Jeremy’s.
When Annie climbed the stairs to her apartment, she stopped on the landing and rotated toward the yard. She saw a few lights off in the distance. The cool spring air with a hint of honeysuckle from the bushes below caressed her skin. The sky twinkled with stars—thousands scattered everywhere.
Her first unofficial evening had gone okay. It reinforced she’d made the right decision to work for Ian McGregor, instead of one of the other five offers she’d received. The family needed her, even more so because Ian was a single parent. Her only concern was the man she worked for: he was attractive, intelligent and caring, all traits she at one time had dreamed of in her future husband. Now, though, she thought of herself as a modern-day Mary Poppins, going where needed then moving on before her heart became too engaged. No sense getting attached.
* * *
Annie kept an eye on the kitchen clock while she scrambled the eggs, expecting the kids and Ian any second. When she glanced at the doorway, she spied Joshua dressed in the clothes they’d picked out together this morning. Other than his tennis shoes on the wrong feet, he appeared ready to go to school.
“Good morning, Joshua. Are you hungry?”
He nodded and plodded to the table, evidently not a morning person. He usually talked a lot, but earlier when she’d gotten him up, he’d said only a handful of words by the time she’d left him to dress.
As she turned off the burner, Ian and Jeremy entered the room. Neither looked happy. “Good morning, Jeremy, Ian.” She set a platter of toast in the center of the table, then milk and orange juice. “Did you see Jade and Jasmine?”
Ian poured some coffee and settled into the chair at one end. “They were both supposed to be coming right away.”
“I’m here,” Jade announced from the entrance. She looked ready for school. “But Jasmine is still in the bathroom. She’s decided to put her hair in a ponytail.”
“I’ll go help her.” Annie placed the eggs next to the toast then started for the hallway.
“I tried. As usual, she didn’t want my help.” Jade plopped into the chair across from Jeremy.
Annie hurried up the stairs and poked her head into the doorway of the girls’ bathroom.
Jasmine yanked the rubber band from her hair. “Ouch!” She stomped her foot and glared at herself in the mirror. “I can’t do this.”
“I can.” Annie moved toward the child.
Jasmine whirled around, her lips pinched together. “No one can pull it as tight as I want.”
“Okay. Breakfast is ready. We leave for school in half an hour.”
“I can’t be ready by then.”
“That’s your choice. You know what happens when you aren’t ready.” She’d informed Jasmine when the girls woke up. Annie left, preparing herself for the next hour and the battle to come.
When she returned to the kitchen, everyone watched her as she made her way to the table.
“Where’s Jasmine?” Ian asked, finishing up his last bite of eggs.
“She doesn’t need my help, so I reminded her of the time we’re leaving for school.” Annie sat at the other end of the table. “Which, Joshua and Jade, is in thirty minutes. Seven forty-five.”
“I can’t tell time,” Joshua said as he stuffed a fourth of his toast into his mouth.
“I’ll tell you. And you’re ready except for brushing your teeth and changing your shoes.”
“Why?”