Nanny Behaving Badly Read Online Free PDF Page A

aren’t a favourite either.’
    ‘Pre-schoolers’ prerogative,’ she shrugged. Then an errant thought took hold. The son liked to fight – a gene pool prerequisite given her dealings so far with Lyle?
    ‘Josh finished kindergarten early?’ she quizzed, popping behind the counter to fetch the boy a few mini-marshmallows as cooperation incentive.
    When she returned Lyle lowered his voice. ‘An au pair family emergency. Know any top notch nannies with December vacancies, Maddie?’
    ‘Well, it’s still November so you’ve time before the festive rush. I do know some childminders but both have long waiting lists. You could approach some agencies direct?’
    Maddie set about starting over with the gloves, then smiled an encouragement. She needed Lyle to give a little here too – she was trying. He didn’t answer. Just watched as she correctly frogmarched Josh’s tiny cold fingers into place. Then Lyle looked defeated as if she’d just struck him down. As though the easy fun and practical side exhausted him.
    Was Lyle so preoccupied with business that proper life couldn’t take precedence as it should? Was it easier to bury his head in paperwork over donning the parental cloak for real? The thought was too close to her own family background for comfort.
    She tried not to critically assess Lyle now. It was something she’d learned in her previous job. Don’t judge before you know. But she also knew from personal experience that highly motivated professionals could be disinclined parents. Was this Lyle’s fatherhood footprint? Did he have hands-on parenting phobia too?
    Maddie saw Lyle ruffle his son’s dark hair and something inside her melted. She chided her assumptions.
    ‘We’ll just have to work something out fast. Josh comes first. No compromises.’
    Maddie rose to give them some space.
    She watched Lyle thoughtfully as he interacted with his son. When he held her gaze, breathing became a definite issue.
    Quickly she was too aware of details. The way his hair gave away the same hint of curl that Josh had but it was cleverly disguised by being more closely cut. But she shouldn’t be assessing this particular man because she’d just discovered he had a family in the picture.
    She should probably be running away from this situation at speed. But some strange internal force pushed her onwards. At least Lyle had an excuse for his moods, his issues; he was in a genuine fix here. Sometimes you needed intervention to help you ride the storm.
    ‘Sometimes the schedule just has to flexible when it comes to family,’ Maddie said. ‘Perhaps your wife could help? Can’t she share childcare cover?’
    ‘No wife,’ Lyle answered simply, biting on his lower lip and keeping eye contact off limits. ‘She died last year.’
    In a moment’s breath the dynamic she’d been evading hung fiercer than ever. Maddie wanted to stuff something huge in her mouth for her error. The chemistry she’d berated in herself didn’t feel so bad. Or good. But right now it just made her guilty as heck. The man was a recent widower.
    ‘Oh, I’m so sorry.’ She felt a blush rise at the blunder. She held a hand before her mouth. ‘I’m sorry for your loss.’
    He didn’t comment, just jumped to another easier topic. ‘You did a better job than me on the gloves,’ he observed, keeping his stare on the boy’s hands. ‘Thanks for the help.’
    Maddie seized the situation. ‘You’re welcome. Aren’t there any relatives who could help out to lift the pressure off you?’
    Lyle shrugged, his tongue flicking to his lips as his brain worked through things. ‘My mother’s a great help. But Josh is a really lively four year old and she suffers from rheumatism. I don’t want to overtax her. But I know she’ll help where she can. Finding a nanny will have to be a priority.’
    ‘Want me to play with Josh while you make calls?’
    Josh was still watching, intently, assessing her every move then a slow but bright smile began to