Small-Town Nanny by Lee Tobin McClain

Author:Lee Tobin McClain
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2016-08-25T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

After Susan left the table, Sam tried to focus on Fiona, new in town and someone his mother-in-law wanted him to get to know better. “She’s perfect for you and Mindy, Sam,” Helen had whispered as Fiona approached the table. “I know, four kids is a lot, but you have the resources. And she’s happy to stay at home. Wouldn’t that be wonderful for Mindy?”

The hard sell had made him feel resistant, but Fiona was a genuinely nice woman. They chatted easily about the small liberal arts college they’d both attended, although in different years, about how Rescue River was a great place to raise a family, about people they knew in common, since Fiona was related to Marie.

There was something shuttered in her eyes, some distance, some pain. Still, she was pretty, with her long, wavy red hair, tall as a model but with pleasant curves. Obviously smart.

Sam’s attention strayed, wondering where Susan had gone. He scanned the crowd down by the band’s tent, where the sounds of pop music emerged alongside patriotic favorites. Checked the food area, where the fragrance of barbecue and burned sugar lingered.

No Susan, though.

“Look,” Fiona said, “I get the sense that Helen is trying to push us together, but don’t feel obligated to stick around and talk. I’m not in the market for a relationship. I’m just trying to straighten out my life after my husband’s death.”

He snapped back to focus on her. “I’m sorry for your loss. I faced that and I’m dealing with it, but it’s not easy when you had a great relationship and high hopes for the future.”

She stared off across the field where people were starting to stake out spots to watch fireworks. Craned her neck, perhaps to see her kids, who were over at the face-painting station with Mindy, under Daisy’s supervision. Then she turned back to him. “Be glad if yours was a clean break, Sam,” she said, her voice surprisingly intense. “Not everyone has that. In a way, it’s harder if the loss was...complicated.”

He cocked his head to one side, looking at her and wondering about her story.

One of her children ran to her, a girl of seven or eight, and whispered something in her ear. The two talked in low tones while Sam thought about what she had said.

Thinking about Marie.

It had, in fact, been a clean break. He’d never had any reason to doubt her faithfulness or her love. They’d been genuinely happy together. And right up to the end, her faith had been strong, had guided him even, kept him on a positive path.

It was only after her death that he’d strayed away, mentally, from his faith. Had gotten angry with God about what He’d taken away, not just from Sam himself, but from a little girl who’d sobbed for days as if her heart was breaking—which it surely was—about the loss of her loving mama.

But Mindy had only positive memories of her mother. She’d been well-cared for, and even

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