The Nanny Proposal by Tracey Bateman

Author:Tracey Bateman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-10-06T13:33:06+00:00

* * *

Hazel caught up to Louie easily despite his attempt to escape. “Louie!” He stopped and turned, his brown eyes flashing. “You must go back to the game.”

“No!” He stomped the ground with his boot, then kicked the loose dirt with this toe. “You saw. They won’t let me pitch.”

“I’m sure they want someone bigger. Your time will come, Louie.”

He sneered. “Aw, what do you know? You’re just a girl.”

She shrugged. “Perhaps, but you are being a very sore sport. I’m disappointed in your behavior. I thought you were better than this.”

“Everything okay here?”

Hazel turned to see Mr. Murphy had joined them. “Not exactly. But we are discussing the situation.”

“Well?” He turned to Louie. “What happened? Why aren’t you playing the game?”

Louie clamped his lips together as he looked at his pa, clearly trying to decide if he wanted to risk sharing the details. “It’s a dumb game. I got tired of it.” He was avoiding eye contact, squirming as though he had ants in his pants. Even if she hadn’t seen it happen, she would have known he was lying, which only compounded Hazel’s disappointment. Bad behavior was never acceptable—but lying about it only added another wrong on top of the pile. Hazel gathered in a breath and exhaled. She didn’t want to tattle on the child. She had hoped he would be forthcoming with his father and tell him what had occurred, the way he had behaved. But if he would not be forthright, then she would have to be. She assumed Mr. Murphy would ask her and turned expectantly. Instead, he nodded. “Well, I reckon it’s not a game for everyone. There’s a target shoot over there. Fannie won a doll.”

Louie scowled. “I don’t want a doll.”

Ezra chuckled. “I didn’t suppose you did. But it might interest you to know that I saw a set of painted soldiers as a prize. You liked the ones Miz Caroline ordered for Henry’s birthday, right?”

Louie’s eyes brightened, and he grinned broadly. “I’m going to win ’em!”

Ezra chuckled as he watched the boy run back toward the target shoot.

Exasperated, Hazel shook her head. Was the man really not going to follow up, ask what happened, address the problem of Louie’s temper and his poor behavior? Apparently not. Mr. Murphy was still grinning when he turned back to her. As he met her gaze, his smile disappeared. “What? Are you angry?”

With a huff, Hazel turned and walked away. “Angry? Why should I be angry? The boy made a spectacle of himself by shouting at Mr. Rubles for refusing to let him pitch.”

Mr. Murphy’s brow furrowed. “Did he say why Louie couldn’t pitch? He’s pretty good.”

Shrugging, and disappointed that he was focusing on Mr. Rubles rather than Louie’s inappropriate reaction, Hazel hesitated before responding. She might be the nanny and not the mother, but if she were to remain Louie’s nanny, Ezra needed to be aware of her beliefs about indulging tantrums. “The other players are older. Bigger. I’m sure Mr. Rubles didn’t want Louie to be hurt.

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