That knowledge, more than anything, made my heart ache. I longed to see them. My curse was that I always became too emotionally involved with the kids I watched. Sarah and Tommy, even more so. With their family history, I wanted to help them through this transition. Now, it seemed like that would be an impossibility.
“Listen,” Janie said, her voice soft and comforting. “I don’t know what happened, but I know it’s not the kids. From what you told me, those babies adored you. Maybe Sean just decided he wants to take care of them on his own. I mean, it was only a summer job anyway, right? He probably decided it would be better if he spent time with them alone before they start a new school in a few months. That’s all.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Maybe.”
Despite her efforts to cheer me up, I didn’t believe Janie’s idea. It simply didn’t add up. “How about some lunch?” Janie asked. “Let me jump in the shower, and I’ll meet you for pizza.”
“Okay,” I said. “Sure.”
“Great. I’ll see you in a bit.”
With that, Janie hung up. I sighed and tucked my phone in my pocket. As I lazed around the house for half an hour, I thought more about what Janie said. It did make sense that Sean would simply want more one on one time with his kids. After all, they did just move to a new town.
Still, something didn’t feel right. I remembered the way Sean looked at me in the kitchen last night, his eyes boring so deeply into mine. There was something else there, something that had nothing to do with his kids.
***
I met Janie at the pizza spot. It was still slow, everyone trying to leave work for their lunch breaks. We ordered our usual and found a table in the middle of the restaurant. Janie immediately launched into a story about the latest town gossip to distract me from my recent firing. It didn’t work. My thoughts stayed focused on Sean, Tommy, and Sarah throughout the entire afternoon.
When Margie brought our pizza, she set it in front of us and pulled up a chair to join us.
“What’s up?” Janie asked, grabbing a slice.
“I have gossip,” Margie said conspiratorially.
“Oh?” Janie sat up straight, eager to hear. I smiled but didn’t say anything.
“That new guy?” Margie said. “Sean Evans? Word is, he moved out of San Diego to escape some lurid secret.”
“What?” I asked, suddenly interested.
“That’s what my dad heard,” Margie said, her eyes wide and her lips pursed. “Apparently, something sordid went down between him and his wife. That’s why he left town.”
“I thought his wife died,” Janie said with a frown.
“I think she did,” Margie said with a knowing nod. “But not before whatever happened between them happened.”
“That sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me,” I said boldly.
Margie and Janie both looked at me in surprise. It wasn’t often that I put my foot down about anything, but I couldn’t sit there and listen to Margie spread rumors about Sean. He didn’t deserve that. His kids didn’t deserve that.
“What makes you an expert?” Margie asked, annoyed.
“She knows them,” Janie said quickly. “She nannied for his kids for a couple days.”
“You did?” Margie’s annoyance suddenly vanished. She moved her chair closer to me. “What’s Sean like? How’s their house? Are the kids well behaved? Tell me everything.”
“They’re a perfectly normal family,” I said pointedly. “That’s all you need to know.”
“Oh, come on!” Margie complained. “I just know there’s something dark in Sean’s past. I can tell.”
“Leave that family alone,” I said. “I mean it, Margie.”
“I’m just saying.”
“Well, don’t.”
I glared at her openly, not bothering to hide my anger. Whatever Margie thought she knew about Sean’s past was none of her business. I refused to let her sit around and spread rumors about him, even though he’d been little more than a total jerk to me. Something inside me felt protective of him, as stupid as that sounded in my own head.
Margie raised her eyebrows and glanced at Janie. Janie just stared back at her, not saying a word. Finally, Margie got the hint and stood up to leave us alone. I was too irritated to eat so I just sat back in my chair and closed my eyes tightly.
“You okay?” Janie asked.
“I’m fine.” I sighed. My eyes opened. “She’s just an idiot.”
“Of course, she is,” Janie said. “But that’s never bothered you before.”
“I don’t want her saying things about Sean,” I said defensively. “That’s all.”
“Even though he fired you?”
Her words hit me hard, but I tried to ignore them. Nothing that I was feeling was making much sense right now. Grabbing a slice of pizza, I changed the subject to something less emotional. Talking about Sean was becoming too hard. Just thinking about him was enough to make my stomach fill with butterflies.
After a few minutes, Janie and I had yet another visitor. I didn’t see him coming, but from the look on Janie’s face, I knew who it would be.
“Hey, Emily,” Tanner said, sitting in the chair Margie left behind. “You got a second?”
“No,” Janie said.
Tanner shot her a look.
“I’m sorry about the other night,” he said softly. “I was drunk, but that’s not an excuse. I know I shouldn’t be that pushy.”
“It’s fine,” I said with a wave of my hand. “Don’t worry about it.”
“No,” Janie said again. “You should worry about it.”
“I’m sorry again,” Tanner said to me. “Although, I’m not quite ready to give up on that date yet.”
“Well, it’s not going to happen,” I said, keeping my voice polite but firm.
Tanner stood up to leave, leaning down to put his lips close to my ear before he did.
“We’ll see about that,” he whispered.
I shook my head while he walked away. My eyes followed him across the restaurant to see Sean walking through the door, Tommy and Sarah on either side of him. My heart stopped when I saw that Sean’s eyes were already fixed on my face.
Our eyes met for a fraction of a second before he turned and walked to the other side of the restaurant. The kids moved to follow him, but then Tommy saw me and changed direction.
“Emily!” he said, making Sarah turn around with a start.
They both ran over to us and threw their tiny arms around my neck. I laughed and hugged them tightly.
“Hey, guys!” I said. “Are you having fun with your dad today?”
“Yeah,” they said together.
“Why aren’t you with us today?” Tommy asked with a frown. “Dad didn’t say.”
“Well.” I cleared my throat. “It doesn’t look like I’m going to be your nanny after all.”
“Why not?” Sarah asked, her eyebrows pulling together.
“Your daddy wants to hang out with you more,” I said, smiling. “This way, you guys get to spend more time together before school starts. That sounds like fun, right?”
“Sure,” Tommy said. He nodded, but his frown never faded.
“Get back over there,” I said, nudging them both.
They waved goodbye and then ran over to join Sean at their table. I glanced over, trying to catch his eye, but he avoided my gaze. I shook my head and looked back at Janie. She was watching me closely.
“Obviously, it wasn’t something the kids said,” Janie said. “They both seem really disappointed that you aren’t going back.”
“I know.” I frowned. “I still don’t get it. If the kids didn’t say anything—”
I looked over at Sean, and again, he avoided my gaze. The kids were already diving into their pizza, but Sean wasn’t eating. Instead, he stared at the plate in front of him and fiddled with his slice. When he finally lifted it to his lips, I swore he sighed. Something was going on in that sexy head of his that I did not understand.
“I’m sure it’s nothing.” Janie shrugged. “Just let it go. You’ll get another job soon enough.”
“Yeah,” I said. “You’re right.”